King Fahd’s concern for the welfare of pilgrims is evident at a personal level, as much as in the vast expansion projects. There are innumerable instances where King Fahd has intervened personally to help pilgrims in the performance of the Hajj. In April 1999, a group of 162 guest pilgrims left the Kingdom on completion of their Hajj which had been financed at the personal expense of King Fahd. Again in 2000, King Fahd issued instructions that some 1,500 Muslims (amongst them, 160 from Europe and the United States and a further 300 from Kosovo) should be invited to perform Hajj at his own expense.

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