On any other day, the rain would have been welcome and there would be rejoicing. But yesterday, there was a desperate rush by the pilgrims to leave Mina before sunset. The rainstorm turned an already difficult situation into a waterlogged misery.

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This was the second time that it rained during this year’s Haj. On Wednesday, the sky had been overcast for much of the day. Then at 8 p.m. the wind began to blow and soon a gentle rain began. Within a few minutes lightning crackled through the skies and thunder boomed between the mountains. The rain never became very heavy but the gusting winds combined with the thunder frightened many pilgrims and the illegal, temporary tents set up on the outskirts of Mina became casualties of nature’s power.

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Not all pilgrims were afraid of Wednesday’s rain shower. Some said the rain was a sign, both of Allah’s mercy and that their pilgrimage had been accepted. A number of Asian pilgrims, who hail from lands where it rains, came out of their tents and danced in the thunderstorm. It was over in an hour, with no evidence of flooding, which has caused so many problems in the past. By midnight the streets were dry and the weather remained cool till morning.

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Thursday morning everyone woke up and began to pack up. According to religious injunctions, pilgrims who haven’t left Mina by sunset must stay for another day. With the Haj rituals nearly finished, the pilgrims wanted to stone the Jamrat and move to their accommodations in Makkah and beyond. At 10 a.m. we made our way to the Jamrat and it seemed that nearly every pilgrim in Mina was walking in that direction as well. The crushing crowds were a surprise. Each group is supposed to stone the devil in specified time periods. The closer we came to the Jamrat Complex, the denser the crowds, until we could move no further. We were very nervous, recognizing that these were the conditions under which catastrophes had occurred in the past. Eight helicopters were flying over the Jamrat from the Ministry of Defense, the Saudi Red Crescent, the Interior Ministry and the Royal Saudi Air Force.

***

The stoning was scheduled to begin at noon and the potential for disaster had been recognized. At 12:10, we received a mobile text message from Saudi Telecom instructing pilgrims to hold their positions and if possible remain in their camps due to congestion at the Jamrat. Worried pilgrims turned back from the Jamrat and returned to their camps. We spoke to several and they said that they were in no hurry to leave Mina and that they didn’t mind to wait until the next day to go if it would be safer for them to do so. Unfortunately, it turned out that this was not possible. When the pilgrims went back to their tents, they found that the carpets had already been rolled up and the packing of all the bedding was under way. They were informed that if they remained, it would have to be without any support from the pilgrim establishments. Neither beds nor food would be provided. The pilgrims had no choice but to turn around and wait for the signal to move forward for the stoning ritual. According to some officials, from next year the government will advise some Haj missions from countries such as Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Nigeria, which bring more than 100,000 pilgrims each, to plan to stay in Mina for four days, instead of three. This would result in the pilgrim establishments making adequate arrangements for food and shelter on the fourth day.

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This has been the most successful Haj in recent memory, but there are still issues mostly focused on the challenges of moving 3 million pilgrims between the holy sites. The movement of pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah was less than ideal. On Monday night we saw many pilgrims camping on the road at Muzdalifah. Instead of moving off the road and toward the plains, they simply sat down in the roadway. It was unacceptable. One Pakistani journalist said his 75-year-old mother was nearly trampled while walking to Muzdalifah. She found herself in a position where she couldn’t move forward due to pilgrims squatting on the roadway and the oncoming crowd continued to push from behind. She told her son that she saw death coming.

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As the pilgrims got ready to leave Mina, the final challenge was before them. How could they reach Makkah? In theory and by contract, the Haj agencies are supposed to provide transport to pilgrims from Mina to Makkah. In reality, it is impossible. The roads are completely clogged. Huge buses can’t come into Mina to reach camps. This means that most pilgrims walk from Mina to Makkah, making their way through tunnels constructed for this purpose. Pilgrims finish the stoning ritual and then return to their camps to collect their belongings. Then they start to walk. For the aged and infirm it is a strenuous trip that takes hours. There is no help or comfort along the way and this time it's a journey carried out in pouring rain. Let us hope that the completion of the Mashair Railway helps bring some improvement in this situation.

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We end this year with the story of Mohammad Ismail, a 20-year-old Saudi from Makkah. Ismail had no intention of performing Haj this year. He was out cruising the streets of Makkah on Sunday night when the Cairo radio station he was listening to played a beautiful song by Umm Kulsoom. Known to her millions of fans as the “Nightingale of the Nile,” and widely regarded as the greatest female singer in Arab music history, Umm Kulsoom died in 1975. After hearing her sing, Ismail decided to perform Haj on her behalf. He had some doubts about whether his action would be permissible, since some people feel music is unacceptable. However, his father assured him that performing Haj on behalf of any Muslim is a welcome gesture. That very moment, Ismail put on his ihram and left for Mina. May Allah accept his Haj and bless all pilgrims, returning them safely home.