By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Loading article content...
Loading article content...
BOSASO, 22 October 2026 Amal Bank and Arafat Company have launched a new service in Bosaso called “Labbayk,” designed to make it easier to perform Hajj and Umrah.
The service is part of Amal Bank’s efforts to develop modern financial services. Its aim is to provide customers with a simple, transparent and reliable service for Hajj and Umrah travel.
The launch ceremony, held on Thursday, was attended by the Chairman of the Puntland Chamber of Commerce, Mohamed Aideed Jama; the Bosaso District Commissioner, Abdirahman Jinaac; religious scholars; officials from Amal Bank and Arafat Company; and other guests.
Amal Bank’s Head of Sharia, Sheikh Abdiaziz Haybe, explained that the service is open to every Muslim. He said the bank will purchase the travel package from Arafat Company, including flights, hotel accommodation and all other services the pilgrim needs, and then transfer it to the customer through the Islamic financing method of Murabaha.
“The person who receives this is someone who has means but has not been able to plan for it, and we partner with them so they can go and worship,” Sheikh Abdiaziz said.
He added that customers will go through the standard Murabaha requirements, including a guarantor, an identification document and a regular income. For those who wish to save for their journey, the bank will act as a trustee, holding their money until the day they travel.
Arafat Company Chairman Ahmed Abdi Samatar described the service as one that was needed and whose time had come. He said people need to be given easier access to acts of goodness.
Ahmed said Arafat Company was founded in 2019, bringing together religious scholars and people experienced in Hajj and Umrah services. In 2023, the company launched its “Holiday Umrah” programme, timed for school, university and madrasa holidays, so that parents can take their student children to the holy land.
He called on companies and banks to reward their best employees with Umrah trips and to encourage students who have completed memorising the Quran.
Officials from both companies expressed hope that the community will make full use of the new service.