British would-be Hajj pilgrims express disappointment, hope

Sehzad and Aziza Husain were not able to do Hajj this year but hope to perform the pilgrimage in 2021. (Supplied)

• Only a limited number of people who reside in Saudi Arabia will be performing Hajj due to the coronavirus pandemic
• Muslims from 160 nationalities who have never done Hajj before have been selected to perform the pilgrimage

LONDON: British Muslims who had planned to perform Hajj this year have expressed their disappointment at not being able to do so, while clinging to the hope that they will be able to go on the pilgrimage in 2021.
Last year, more than 2.5 million Muslims from around the world gathered in Makkah and the surrounding area for the religious journey.
This year, however, only a limited number of people who reside in Saudi Arabia will be performing Hajj due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Muslims from 160 nationalities who have never performed Hajj before and who are fit and healthy have been selected to fulfil the fifth pillar of Islam. 
Saudi security personnel and health practitioners who have recovered from COVID-19 will make up 30 percent of those who have received permission to perform Hajj. 
Sehzad Husain, 39, a London-based businessman, was planning to perform Hajj this year with his wife Aziza Husain, 38, an assistant head teacher at a primary school in the British capital. The onset of the pandemic means that the Husains will not be performing Hajj this year. 
Husain told Arab News that they booked their Hajj packages in January and paid for them in full because they were “extremely happy” at having the opportunity to perform the pilgrimage and were determined to go. 
“I feel very sad at not being able to perform Hajj this year,” Husain said. “Initially I was very excited about performing Hajj and was looking forward to it. I’d already started making preparations.”
He said they were still optimistic about performing Hajj even as coronavirus cases started to increase in the UK.
“We were hearing rumors that a limited number of people from each country would be able to perform Hajj. We were confident that we’d be among those people as we’re young, fit and healthy, and we’d paid for our packages in full already. We were prepared to pay extra if the price increased,” he added.
Husain described the disappointment that he and his wife felt when it was announced that overseas Muslims would not be able to take part.
“I somehow thought we’d end up going, so the decision was disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do,” he added.
Husain said they were set on performing the pilgrimage this year as his wife works in education and this would be the last year that the days of Hajj would fall completely during the academic summer holidays in the UK. 
“It’s very hard for teachers to get time off during term time, so that was the rationale behind us booking this year,” he added.
Although this is not the couple’s first Hajj, as they had both performed the pilgrimage separately before they were married, the Husains were looking forward to going on the spiritual journey together.  
“Although we’ve performed our once-in-a-lifetime obligation, we’ve always wanted to go together,” Husain said.  
“I travel regularly. I usually go abroad two or three times a year, and to this day nothing matches my experience of Hajj. It was a brilliant experience,” he added. 
“I’m happy that my Hajj package for 2021 has been booked and paid for. I think I’ll feel more excited as Hajj 2021 draws closer. We pray and hope that we’ll be able to perform the pilgrimage next year, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high,” Husain said.
“I’m privileged to be in a position where my place is booked and paid for. My wife and I are also lucky to have performed Hajj before.” 
Muslims must perform Hajj once in their lifetime if they are able to physically and have the means to do so. 
Some people save for years before they are able to do the pilgrimage, and try to spend as much time as possible in Saudi Arabia as they do not know when they will next get an opportunity.
This year, the price of Hajj packages in the UK ranged between £5,500 ($7,003) and £13,000 depending on a range of factors including how far hotels are from the holy sites, meals included, type of package and services offered within them. 
Hissam Syed, 42, works as a property manager in London and had planned to perform Hajj with his wife Reem Selim, 42, who is a civil engineer.
The couple had been saving for their first Hajj and had booked relatively early in August 2019.
“Performing Hajj costs a lot of money and we’d been saving for it for a long time. We didn’t take many holidays because we were planning to take a whole month off to perform Hajj. We wanted to spend as much time as possible in Makkah and Madinah as we may not get the chance to visit again,” Syed told Arab News.  
He said he felt “very disappointed and disheartened” when he learned that international pilgrims would not be able to perform Hajj this year.
“However, we understood that this decision was taken to ensure the safety of all. I’m still not over the disappointment,” he added. 
Syed said he and his wife are looking forward to performing Hajj next year if it is open to foreign pilgrims residing outside Saudi Arabia and if it is safe to do so. 
He said it might be difficult to wear a mask during the Hajj season that will fall in mid-July next year due to the scorching heat, but “the spiritual journey of performing Hajj will outweigh the difficulties experienced. I’ll be very excited once I’m informed that we’re able to perform Hajj.”