This Haj season, an old home set up by the Nizam of Hyderabad State, Afzal ud-Dawla Bahadur, would accommodate 1,153 pilgrims from the former Nizami provinces.
Rubath, a pilgrim house built at the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to serve Hajis from Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka which were once part of the Nizam’s State, would also provide food for the pilgrims who were selected by a draw of lots this month. While 568 pilgrims who would get to stay at Rubath during Haj-2017 are from Telangana, 450 are from Maharashtra and 117 from Karnataka.
It was Mir Barkath Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur, who assumed the Nizam title in 1967, who declared Rubath a Waqf property which should be used for public good. Apart from those selected by the draw of lots, 10% of the accommodation at Rubath is reserved for the descendants of the erstwhile royal family of Nizam.
The management rights of Rubath was granted to Md. Mudar Hussain Al Shareef, a Saudi national, in 1980. Currently, his children Md. Mudar Husain Al Shareef and Sheikh Yousuf Awad Al Ahmadi maintain the property, which has been serving the travellers for over 100 years. Since their takeover as Nazer or caretakers of Rubath in 1996, the pilgrim home has been maintaining strict records to facilitate maximum number of travellers from deprived economic backgrounds. “The Rubath tradition shows close ties between different States in India,” said Deputy Chief Minister Md. Mahmood Ali, who conducted a review meeting on Thursday with the departments that coordinate the Haj pilgrimage.
This year, 3,676 pilgrims from Telangana, 2,672 from Andhra Pradesh and 700 from Karnataka would go for Haj. A total of 7,045 passengers would start their journey from Rajeev Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. The Deputy Chief Minister directed the officials to make all arrangements to facilitate a smooth pilgrimage. The first flight to Saudi Arabia from Hyderabad left on July 14 and the last left on Saturday.
Rubath, located on a prime property on Taqwa Street, Mecca, has already started taking applications for the next Haj in 2018.