Day 4 went without any hassle. It was pretty quiet during the day. Small groups of pilgrims headed to the Jamarat complex, either on foot or via the Makkah Metro, to complete the stoning ritual. It was extremely peaceful. At times one just could not believe that there are nearly 3 million pilgrims here in this city of tents. Since there is no high anxiety and since this Haj has gone pretty smoothly in every way, everyone has begun to optimistically look forward to an early departure from Mina on Tuesday.
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The pilgrims went into Haj as one sea of white but now on Day 4 their national and ethnic differences are appearing. The different areas of Mina are divided by regions. Africans, South Asians, Indonesians and Europeans are all grouped in specific areas for example. Walking through the tents, the odors of different foods waft through the air and one can instantly determine which nationalities are housed in that area. Most people are now wearing their native dresses, so it is amusing to see how the fashions change from one area to the next even though the tents remain basically the same. Many pilgrims are seated in any small public space near their tents selling small goods from their native lands. The nature of these items change too as one moves through the different ethnic areas.
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Now that the pilgrims are relaxed as most of the major rituals had been completed, it is time for them to talk about the difficulties they encountered during this journey of a lifetime. The Egyptian pilgrims claim that coming by ship makes Haj more of a challenge as they have long journeys from their villages coupled with tiresome waits for an available vessel and then many suffer from seasickness. Pilgrims from certain African countries are limited in the amount of foreign exchange available to them for their trip. The Turkish pilgrims lament the fact that their nation does not have higher pilgrim quotas so that more of their people can come each year. Expatriates are unhappy because they dislike the regulation that requires them to get permits at exorbitant rates to perform religious rituals in their homeland.
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Having said that, it is important to remind ourselves that the current difficulties associated with Haj just cannot compare to the extremely trying situations pilgrims faced just a few decades ago. Just consider the spread of disease at Haj. At this Haj, colds and the flu are the primary contagious diseases. Twenty years ago meningitis was the killer to fear. In decades before that cholera and typhoid were potential killers. The Saudi Ministry of Health's efforts at prevention, monitoring and treatment mean that Haj is largely disease free. Attempts are made to provide pilgrims with modern conveniences while in the Kingdom. Everything from the Haj Airport Terminal, to fleets of buses, mobile communications networks and even food delivery services are made available to the pilgrims. Just imagine the numbers that must be served — 3 million people, all in the same place at the same time, all needing the same services for one week and then they will all disappear again until the next year. How much does it cost to build and maintain the infrastructure alone for that sort of operation?
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In the old days, when people went to Haj it was not only the journey of a lifetime, it was perhaps the last time that pilgrims would ever see their friends and relatives in their homeland. The trip was long. If the pilgrims didn't die of disease, then perhaps they'd be attacked by bandits or their boat would capsize. Many made the journey in stages. Traveling for a while, then stopping to earn some money and then traveling again. Trips that took five years or longer were not uncommon when Muslims set off for Haj. Many pilgrims chose not to return to their homelands.
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Hospitality is at its peak here in Mina. And this has been the case for more than 1,430 years. According to an article in Aramco World, within the Quraysh tribe, clans developed guilds around three major types of Haj-related hospitality: Siqayah, supplying free water, often cooled in earthenware jugs; Rifadah, feeding pilgrims without charge or at only modest cost; and Sidanah, the cleaning and maintenance of the Kaaba and the Grand Mosque. Now, however, these functions are carried out by various combinations of Saudi government agencies, charitable organizations, individuals and — especially in the case of the Siqayah — by the descendants of the guilds that inherited the roles from the original clans. The only role still filled by an original clan is the keeping of the keys of the Kaaba, which is the responsibility of the Bani Shaybah today as it was even in the centuries before Islam.
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There can be no two opinions about how much pleasure Saudis derive in serving the pilgrims. This is what Iyad Madani, the former minister of culture and information, wrote in a magazine once: "I was born in Makkah and grew up in Madinah, and Madinah was always full of Hajis. They shared the city and the mosque with us. We grew up being with Hajis, looking at Hajis, hearing Hajis. When I was a young kid, they were objects of great curiosity: Their different costumes, their food, their features. Everyone developed a feel for the Haj, a built-in image that becomes part of you." According to Madani, it is the human element that he likes the most about Haj. "When you come to Haj, you become your real self. People take off the layers of pretending, and you see real people as they truly are. People express themselves in the simplest ways, in the way they pray, in the way they find their spot in the mosque, how they react when they are waiting to finish their stoning, the way they ride the buses, the way they find their way to the Mount of Mercy." Very interesting, isn’t it?
