The Hajj Odyssey - Part 1
Odyssey
noun od·ys·sey \ˈä-də-sē\
1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune
2: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest
The greatest show on earth. 3.5 million people. Each of them adorned in either black or white, simple. An ocean of people stretching as far as your eyes can see, each one nearly indistinguishable from the other. And a time and place when every Muslim wants to be there. This is the great pilgrimage, and I wanted to be a part of it.
I had barely landed in Saudi Arabia to study arabic, when the Hajj season began. Our flight there was filled with pilgrims, some seasoned travellers and some who looked like this was the first time they had strayed from their front porch. Each a look of excitement and anxiety, as if the butterflies that were floating in their tummies started performing aeronautical maneuvers. I hadn't planned on doing hajj that year, but I met someone, who I will never forget for the remainder of my life. Unlike all the other acquaintances, plastic friends and friends that I had pushed away, he is the definition of a best friend. A true bromance if you will.
Mo* was one of 3 of my room mates, but he brought something to the table that none of any of the other people in my life had done, competition. I always strived to do better than he did, and always came short. He pushed me to better myself and I become a much better person and to me this was intoxicating. When he told me he was going for Hajj with or without me, I started to realise that I would have the worst case of FOMO (fear of missing out). I also began to see the beauty of what was happening on our doorstep. We were students in Medina and 5 hours away was an event that some people can only dream of attending. I was as close as could be to a life changing event and I was not going to take the opportunity? Impossible, I had to go.
This came unfortunately with a few caveats. Being so new to the country my passport had gone to be converted into a residence permit. I also needed permission from the government to go which I couldn't get without my passport. If you get caught trying to enter Makkah without permission you could get put into holding, followed by deportation and a 10 year ban from the country, not forgetting expulsion from university. The stakes were high. Permission is not one of the pillars of pilgrimage, but It's there to ensure the safety of pilgrims as permission usually is bundled with accommodation, food, travel and a team of people that will be your guide on your journey. Which are all the things we didn't have. Hajj can be extremely dangerous, and without proper assistance you can die.
I know this next part may offend some people, but I would rather speak the truth. We did what we thought was best and asked some of the senior South African students about the best approach to doing this. It was common knowledge that people do this every year, and people have even been caught by police and some officers didn't have a problem with it. When the Ameer (leader) of the South African group heard about our plans an immediate meeting was held in our dorm room. Mo and I found ourselves surrounded by 5 seniors assuring us that if we got caught they were not going to help us. They're discouragement came as a shock to us as they were going as well. We may have been new students but we weren't new born. We understood the ramifications quite clearly and all we wanted was some direction on how to go about getting from point A to B. It was made quite clear that if anything happened to us, we shouldn't call them. We weren't looking for hand holding we just wanted some leads. The rest of the evening was spent listening to them reminisce on their past experiences doing the Hajj run. I was a little annoyed at this point hearing them discuss how they had accomplished their Hajj runs and how much fun it was, and at the same time discouraging us.
I was in a sudden lull at this point, little did I know there were plenty more curve balls that had already been pitched. There was another senior brother from the South Africans who was a little more positive. His words which are as clear as corruption in South Africa were "Just go". That's all that we needed to hear. A little nudge, and spurt of positivity. We immediately started looking for a taxi driver. A skilled taxi driver knows all the old roads, which weave around busy checkpoints and prying concerns of policemen waiting to stop you. We found a young man who ironically was named Yusuf. He sat at the rank sipping Qahwa and fiddled with the tassels on his iconic red prayer mat. His confidence assured us and we were convinced we found our man. He had been doing run every night and knew the way like the back of his camel.
For some reason I still waited for another cue. In the back of my mind I knew as the days progressed security would tighten and our chances of making it through were growing slimmer. I will never forget the next moment. We we're praying Maghrib, and Sh. Salah al Budhair was leading the prayer. The verse that he recited was:
Chapter :Az-Zukhruf Verse No:68
يَا عِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ
043:068 My worshippers! No fear shall be on you this Day, nor shall you grieve,
This was our big cue, after the prayer Mo and I glanced at each other and without saying a word, we both got the message.
Tonight's the night. Tonight we leave for Hajj
noun od·ys·sey \ˈä-də-sē\
1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune
2: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest
The greatest show on earth. 3.5 million people. Each of them adorned in either black or white, simple. An ocean of people stretching as far as your eyes can see, each one nearly indistinguishable from the other. And a time and place when every Muslim wants to be there. This is the great pilgrimage, and I wanted to be a part of it.
I had barely landed in Saudi Arabia to study arabic, when the Hajj season began. Our flight there was filled with pilgrims, some seasoned travellers and some who looked like this was the first time they had strayed from their front porch. Each a look of excitement and anxiety, as if the butterflies that were floating in their tummies started performing aeronautical maneuvers. I hadn't planned on doing hajj that year, but I met someone, who I will never forget for the remainder of my life. Unlike all the other acquaintances, plastic friends and friends that I had pushed away, he is the definition of a best friend. A true bromance if you will.
Mo* was one of 3 of my room mates, but he brought something to the table that none of any of the other people in my life had done, competition. I always strived to do better than he did, and always came short. He pushed me to better myself and I become a much better person and to me this was intoxicating. When he told me he was going for Hajj with or without me, I started to realise that I would have the worst case of FOMO (fear of missing out). I also began to see the beauty of what was happening on our doorstep. We were students in Medina and 5 hours away was an event that some people can only dream of attending. I was as close as could be to a life changing event and I was not going to take the opportunity? Impossible, I had to go.
This came unfortunately with a few caveats. Being so new to the country my passport had gone to be converted into a residence permit. I also needed permission from the government to go which I couldn't get without my passport. If you get caught trying to enter Makkah without permission you could get put into holding, followed by deportation and a 10 year ban from the country, not forgetting expulsion from university. The stakes were high. Permission is not one of the pillars of pilgrimage, but It's there to ensure the safety of pilgrims as permission usually is bundled with accommodation, food, travel and a team of people that will be your guide on your journey. Which are all the things we didn't have. Hajj can be extremely dangerous, and without proper assistance you can die.
I know this next part may offend some people, but I would rather speak the truth. We did what we thought was best and asked some of the senior South African students about the best approach to doing this. It was common knowledge that people do this every year, and people have even been caught by police and some officers didn't have a problem with it. When the Ameer (leader) of the South African group heard about our plans an immediate meeting was held in our dorm room. Mo and I found ourselves surrounded by 5 seniors assuring us that if we got caught they were not going to help us. They're discouragement came as a shock to us as they were going as well. We may have been new students but we weren't new born. We understood the ramifications quite clearly and all we wanted was some direction on how to go about getting from point A to B. It was made quite clear that if anything happened to us, we shouldn't call them. We weren't looking for hand holding we just wanted some leads. The rest of the evening was spent listening to them reminisce on their past experiences doing the Hajj run. I was a little annoyed at this point hearing them discuss how they had accomplished their Hajj runs and how much fun it was, and at the same time discouraging us.
I was in a sudden lull at this point, little did I know there were plenty more curve balls that had already been pitched. There was another senior brother from the South Africans who was a little more positive. His words which are as clear as corruption in South Africa were "Just go". That's all that we needed to hear. A little nudge, and spurt of positivity. We immediately started looking for a taxi driver. A skilled taxi driver knows all the old roads, which weave around busy checkpoints and prying concerns of policemen waiting to stop you. We found a young man who ironically was named Yusuf. He sat at the rank sipping Qahwa and fiddled with the tassels on his iconic red prayer mat. His confidence assured us and we were convinced we found our man. He had been doing run every night and knew the way like the back of his camel.
For some reason I still waited for another cue. In the back of my mind I knew as the days progressed security would tighten and our chances of making it through were growing slimmer. I will never forget the next moment. We we're praying Maghrib, and Sh. Salah al Budhair was leading the prayer. The verse that he recited was:
Chapter :Az-Zukhruf Verse No:68
يَا عِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ
043:068 My worshippers! No fear shall be on you this Day, nor shall you grieve,
This was our big cue, after the prayer Mo and I glanced at each other and without saying a word, we both got the message.
Tonight's the night. Tonight we leave for Hajj
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