Today is very cold, but not as windy as it was last night in Mina. Our day began very early. By 6 a.m. everyone was milling about, preparing to move. This is the most important day in the lives of the pilgrims. We are hoping that the weather will be warmer at Arafat. As I write this, the valley of Mina is reverberating with what can only be described as the thunderous, melodious chanting of the “talbiyah.” Sun or no sun, the march to the plains of Arafat has begun in earnest.
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All the pilgrims who have performed Haj before that I have spoken to are overwhelmed by the changes that have taken place over the last two decades in the two holy cities. They are amazed at the road network — often winding at times through a series of tunnels — and the smooth flow of pilgrims from their countries into Makkah, Madinah, Mina and Arafat.
“Everything is very well-organized. Come to think of it, managing over two million people year after year is — and always will be — a logistical challenge. The Saudis have not only measured up to it but have done an excellent job,” said Dr. Mohammed Sharawy from Los Angeles.
This is his eighth Haj. In the past, the journey to the two holy cities was full of adventure, pitfalls and even at times danger. There were no airplanes landing at the Haj Terminal in Jeddah. Traveling the long distance to the holy cities usually meant being part of a caravan. According to one writer, there were three main caravans for pilgrims: The Egyptian caravan originating in Cairo, the Iraqi one from Baghdad and the Syrian one which, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, originated in that city— modern Istanbul — and collected pilgrims along the way and then proceeded to Makkah from Damascus.
“As the journey took months if all went well,” the writer notes, “the pilgrims carried with them the provisions they needed to sustain them on their trip. The caravans were elaborately supplied with amenities and security if the persons traveling were rich, but the poor often ran out of provisions and had to interrupt their journey in order to work, save their earnings and then go on their way. This resulted in long journeys which, in some cases, spanned 10 years or more.”
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After regularly angering many of its customers, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has now let this year’s pilgrims down as well. Many pilgrims bought prepaid “Sawa” chips through their relatives and friends working here in the Kingdom. The chips should have enabled them to keep in touch with their families at home and also should allow the people at home to keep in touch with those performing Haj. But simply speaking, there is no network. Either STC did not set up enough communication towers or there is insufficient bandwidth to cope with the tens of thousands of calls from one area. The whole purpose of the prepaid chips has thus been defeated and money has been spent for nothing.
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Even though thousands of would-be pilgrims have been turned back at Makkah’s checkpoints because of no permits, there are still too many unauthorized pilgrims performing Haj. In the absence of proper accommodation, they sleep under bridges and on roads, obstructing the movement of traffic, bringing everything to a standstill and frustrating both the public and the police. The unauthorized pilgrims are also responsible for unhygienic conditions in the areas where they rest, sleep and eat. They seldom throw trash into bins. “They are jeopardizing the health of other pilgrims but they don’t realize that. We cannot be strict with them. After all they are the guests of Allah. They have to realize what they are doing themselves,” said one annoyed official at the Haj Ministry. According to the official, it is easy to avoid the checkpoints at all places. For example, he says, an illegal pilgrim will get off the bus or car just before a checkpoint and will take a long detour into the desert to get to the other side of the checkpoint before boarding another vehicle and continuing his journey. More checkpoints only mean more breaks.
“They have learned to beat the system,” the official said, wringing his hands.
***
We have arrived at Arafat. The minarets of Nimira Mosque are magnificent, rising up from the plains. It is 11 a.m. and the sun is beating down but the pilgrims are unperturbed. They continue reciting the talbiyah with even greater vigor. Like them, my eyes are filled too for no obvious reason. And nobody makes the effort to stop the tears from trickling down. Everybody is very emotional. Two million pilgrims and yet every pilgrim is alone in his own way. We have a plan to climb the Mount of Mercy or Jabal Al-Rahmah, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) delivered his unforgettable farewell sermon, enunciating far-reaching religious, economic, social and political reforms. We wonder if we will succeed in doing so.
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Describing the standing (wuquf) scene at Arafat is a very tough task. It reminds me of the Englishwoman, Lady Evelyn Cobbold, who became a Muslim and took the name of Zeinab. In her Haj journal, she wrote: “It would require a master pen to describe the scene, poignant in its intensity, of that great concourse of humanity of which I was one small unit, completely lost to their surroundings in a fervor of religious enthusiasm. Many of the pilgrims had tears streaming down their cheeks; others raised their faces to the sky that had witnessed this drama so often in the past centuries. The shining eyes, the passionate appeals, the pitiful hands outstretched in prayer moved me in a way that nothing had ever done before, and I felt caught up in a strong wave of spiritual exaltation. I was one with the rest of the pilgrims in a sublime act of complete surrender to the Supreme Will which is Islam.”
Indeed.
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In the midst of all this religious fervor, a crisis unfolded. A young couple brought their three-month old infant with them. The father was carrying the baby when the young couple became separated in the crowd. At first it did not seem too serious, but within half an hour the sun came out and the infant began to grow hot. Seeing the father and child in distress, we helped by removing the baby’s sweater and carrying the child in order to give the father a much needed rest. But no matter what we did, the poor baby was miserable. He wanted his mother to feed him and give him comfort, but she was lost in all the white. Two and a half hours later we had to move on and the baby was still miserable. Small children are out of place among the Haj pilgrims.
***
It is 5 p.m. At sunset the pilgrims will begin to move toward Muzdalifah. For all, a wonderful but extremely long and arduous day will be over.
