MAKKAH, 1 January 2007 — Among the throngs of millions of Haj pilgrims who have arrived in the Kingdom from over 180 countries from across the world this year, there are many people with lots of interesting stories to tell.
From the Egyptian woman who saved pennies in a box for over a decade to make the once-in-a-lifetime trip to the former American bartender and from the Palestinian refugee who defeated all odds while living under a brutal Israeli occupation in order to come to the Kingdom to the Indonesian pilgrim who lost his loved ones in tsunami there are millions of people who have wonderful and also heartrending stories to tell.
Arab News mingled with crowds to listen to their individual stories. The scene of pilgrims of different nationalities and languages sitting in one place talking and praying is something out of this world. When unable to speak or understand each other’s languages pilgrims can be seen using their hands to communicate with each other.
Sitting among a huge crowd of pilgrims in Mina was Layla Abu Leef, an Egyptian woman in her sixties. Busily observing the crowd moving and praying she greeted us with a smile when she learned that we were journalists.
Layla was extremely happy that she had finally made it for Haj this year. It was her lifelong dream to come to Makkah and something she thought was impossible on account of her financial situation. “I am a widow and managed to support myself financially by treating people with bone fractures using old and traditional medicine,” she says.
The old woman lives in a small village in Egypt and says that in spite of her not having a stable financial income she managed to save SR10,000 over 15 years in order to finance her trip to Makkah. “I have an old little iron box in which I would save money. Every time I open the box I add money equivalent to SR6 or SR10, which is not much. I was praying to God that I would stay alive and be able to make it for Haj. I did not want to borrow money and I wanted to make the journey using my own money,” she said clearly delighted to have finally arrived for the annual pilgrimage.
Ashraf Hamada, 41, is a Palestinian-American who says he never thought he would see himself performing the Haj. For years he worked in bars as a bartender serving alcohol in spite of that being against the teachings of Islam. “I came to a point where I questioned myself. Is this the way I want to live. My whole life was wasted in drinking alcohol and serving it. I decided to stop and wash my sins by coming to Haj,” he said.
“I was very scared to come because I had never come for Haj in my life. I came with my wife because I wanted her to share this experience with me. The way I feel coming here with millions of Muslims from all over the world cannot be described,” he added.
In defiance of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Sapheya Amer, 60, lives in a refugee camp in the West Bank. With the political situation in Palestine under turmoil Sapheya says she never thought she would finally be able to come for Haj. For more than 30 years she has been trying but each time unable to do so because of the Israeli occupation. “It is a great feeling to be in Makkah for Haj where I do not have to worry about Israeli checkpoints, shootings, humiliation and arrests. For thirty years I was dreaming to live in peace, something that I have finally found here.”
As the Arab News team moved around Mina, we came across a Moroccan national drinking water and looking at the crowd with a smile on his face. When we asked him why he was smiling he said he was wonderstruck by the beautiful picture of many people of different nationalities, culture and languages united in one purpose as one. His name was Abdul Kader Gaadu who owns several fabric shops in his native Morocco.
“I had a sad experience last year when I lost my only son. He wanted to go to Europe to find a better life and sneaked onto a boat but drowned before he reached there,” said Abdul Kader. “I came for Haj to find inner peace. Losing a son is a terrible feeling but it is what Allah has destined. I feel comfortable and I feel like I want to put all the pain and suffering behind me and start a new life,” he said.
Safi Al-Rahman is an Indonesian pilgrim in his fifties. He came to Haj also searching for peace and comfort after losing his wife and children in the tsunami.
“The tragic crisis brought me closer to Allah. It was a wake-up call for me. Allah has granted me a new life. I have a lot of money but there is no one to inherit it and so I decided to spend the money to come to Makkah,” he said.
Another interesting pilgrim we met was Abdullah, an American pilgrim who converted to Islam after 9/11. Abdullah was previously known as John and this was his first trip to Makkah for Haj. Abdullah said that the scene of pilgrims coming to Makkah on the news some years ago was inspiring. He says he was taken aback by seeing pilgrims united wearing a single uniform despite their differences and praying in one direction.
After 9/11 he began to read more about Islam and then converted to Islam. “I managed to convince my wife to convert to Islam last year. I am planning to come for Haj every year now for as long as I live,” he said.
As the sun sets over the heads of the pilgrims the sounds of their praying to Allah can be heard in the distance. The sounds and sights that are experienced during Haj is something unparalleled in the world today.
