MAKKAH, 27 February — The Makkah-Jeddah Expressway has been heavy with traffic since Monday as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims began to head for King Abdul Aziz International Airport to catch flights home after completion of the Haj rituals.
As the six-day annual pilgrimage officially concluded on Monday, many of the estimated 1.4 million pilgrims, who came from nearly 160 countries, headed to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah in order to offer special prayers and visit historical landmarks in the holy city.
The Grand Mosque in Makkah and the surrounding yards are still crowded with pilgrims who want to make most of their time in the holy city inside the mosque, reading the Holy Qur’an, performing tawaf (the circling of the Holy Ka’aba) and reciting prayers.
The pilgrims have been overwhelmed by the spiritual experience and most of them expressed their desire to come back to rekindle their faith.
Many pilgrims said they could not express their feelings in words when they first saw the Holy Ka’aba and the Haram Mosque. “It was incredible. It strengthened my faith in Allah,” said P. Muhammad, a pilgrim from the south Indian state of Kerala.
For Fouziya, 28, an Indonesian who works as an interior designer, the experience was very touchy. “I hope we could come again to these holy places,” she told Arab News. She also pointed out that Indonesian pilgrims were given good training and education before they traveled to the Kingdom.
Many were not happy with the unbecoming behavior of their fellow pilgrims and stressed that the pilgrims should be more disciplined and tolerant. Sabran Nafiah of Malaysia’s National Institute of Public Administration said he was shocked to see some pilgrims throwing waste in the courtyard of the Holy Mosque.
“We should uphold the Islamic discipline. Islam has given the utmost importance to cleanliness. We should not litter or spit in the streets and public places,” he said.
Nafiah also urged fellow pilgrims to uphold the spirit of Islamic brotherhood and make way for others, especially the disabled and the weak.
Nafiah expressed his objection to the mixing of men and women inside the Grand Mosque during prayers. “There are designated prayer areas for women. It is not proper for them to stand in the same line with the men or in front of them,” he said and hoped the authorities would look into the issue seriously.
Nafiah and Nigerian Yousuf Ibrahim were happy with the excellent facilities readied by the Saudi government in the service of the pilgrims. “They have done their job perfectly well. It’s we the pilgrims who are to blame for the problems... we create a lot of mess in our hurry to perform the rites,” the said.
Ibrahim proposed construction of another pedestrian road to facilitate movement of the pilgrims between the holy sites. “The authorities should encourage the pilgrims to walk. The distance is not very long and it is much easier on foot than on the buses. It will also help solve many problems related to pilgrim transportation,” he added.
T.K. Abdul Rahman, a teacher, called for an alternative means for the pilgrims to identify the point at which they have to start the tawaf.
“The present demarcation on the floor creates a lot of confusion and leads to unnecessary congestion near the line during the tawaf. Pilgrims move slowly when they approach the line to ensure that they start their round at the right point,” he explained.
He suggested that putting up of illuminated signs overhead along the line would solve the problem to a great extent.
