RIYADH: If Hajj were not a mandatory pillar of Islam, would Muslims still go through the trouble of performing it, year after year?
The unfaithful might say no, why bother? But once you sit with Muslims, just for a short while, and hear a few of the Ummah’s stories, you realize that the faith that most of them carry does not come from obligation, but hope.
“Hajj is a refuge for all Muslims,” 33-year-old Hassan Al-Dawood told Arab News.
This will be his first time performing Hajj after circumstances beyond his control prevented him from doing so last year.
The past few years have been quite challenging for Al-Dawood, having gone through familial difficulties, job instability, personal health issues, and his mother’s struggle with heart disease.
He spoke about how the pilgrimage represents the doors in life that opened to him after others had been closed.
“What further strengthened my determination to go for Hajj was an injury I suffered last Ramadan that limited my mobility,” he said.
That incident made him reflect on life’s unexpected turns and gave him the resolve to move forward while he remains in good health and financial standing.
“God Almighty always opens His doors, and among the greatest and most noble of those doors is the door of Hajj and the journey toward it,” Al-Dawood expressed.
“I pray to God Almighty to grant everyone who longs to perform Hajj the means and ability to do so,” he continued.
Sanaa Ahmed, an educator from Saudi Arabia, spoke of a string she felt in her heart tugging her toward “His Sacred House.”
She said: “Since last year, I have been overwhelmed by a powerful feeling urging me to accept God’s invitation to visit His House.”
Ahmed described feelings of immense longing and joy ahead of this journey, hoping to free herself from all the burdens she carried — sins committed or shortcomings in drawing closer to God.
“My hope is to carry all those burdens with me and cast them upon Mount Arafat, so that afterward I may soar upward through higher stages of nearness to God Almighty,” she said.
Faith that most Muslims carry does not come from obligation, but hope, as Arab News found out when talking to some of the pilgrims. (AFP/File Photo)
There was no room for worry in her feelings, Ahmed added, and every emotion she felt was positive: excitement, joy, happiness.
Her goal is to finish reading the entire Qur’an in Makkah.
“My greatest hope is for my soul to return as light as a butterfly gliding through a garden of worship, sipping from the nectar of this sacred act and reflecting on the spirituality of those prayers, so that my soul may humble itself with every prayer and every connection with God.”
Sacred hope and connection are feelings shared across the Ummah. Nawaf Al-Maskati, a 37-year-old from Bahrain, will also be performing Hajj for the first time this year.
After trying for the past two years, Al-Maskati remains certain that everything happens at the right time.
“I was very intentional about wanting to do this while I am still young and physically able.
“I want to be able to fully immerse myself in the spiritual weight of the experience without being hindered by physical limitations,” he said.
Al-Maskati is looking to have a complete personal and spiritual reset, having heard of the transformative impact Hajj has on people, even long after they have returned home.
He would like to use this pilgrimage as a way to step back, redefine his priorities and revisit aspects of life with a fresh perspective.
“I want to come back with a clearer sense of purpose and a renewed spirit … The biggest thing on my mind is ensuring I live the spiritual experience rather than just checking off ritual requirements.”
As it is his first time, Al-Maskati admitted to being a bit nervous about the logistics of everything and making sure he is performing all his rituals correctly; he said he has been reading extensively about the process to calm those fears.
Al-Hassan noted the remarkable progress that has been made in recent years in organizing and facilitating the rituals, noting the implementation of the Hajj permit distribution system for eligible pilgrims as a contributing factor.
“The state plays a major role in ensuring pilgrims’ safety and creating an organized and comfortable environment for performing the rites.
“This organization becomes stronger and more refined year after year, easing fears related to injuries or accidents caused by overcrowding and poor organization,” Al-Hassan remarked.
Zainab, a Saudi doctor and mother of two, also expressed some worry in making mistakes, but her excitement to perform the rituals of Hajj and her certainty that her prayers will be answered, for her and her loved ones, far outweigh that anxiety.
“For a very long time, I have dreamed of performing Hajj. But the demands of work, along with many years spent studying, kept postponing it,” she said.
“But this year, I made the decision that nothing worldly would stand in the way of fulfilling this pillar of Islam.”
Zainab hopes to see herself from a different perspective — a common theme among our first-time pilgrims — reaching a state where she thinks of nothing except God Almighty.
Susan Saeed, a 28-year-old working in a corporate setting, spoke to Arab News about the path through life that brought her to this point.
Saeed said that it has been 10 years since she last performed Umrah, and although the will is there, the reason it has taken her this long to perform Hajj is that she does not have a male mahram.
In her early to mid-20s, Saeed was figuring out how she wanted to live her life at a time when she was preoccupied with material things, while still holding onto her daily prayers.
“However, this past year, I’ve come to terms with how religion is also about rituals, like what I say when I first wake up, how I react in social situations, etc.,” she said.
She described how she came to look at Islam as something inherently embedded in every aspect of her life — big or small — rather than a list of dos and don’ts.
“I’m personally motivated to avoid being ‘fake,’ and in our day and age of constant distractions, I find this very important.”
Saeed admitted that one of the factors that made her feel like she did not fit the standard for the “ideal Muslim” is not having a male mahram to accompany her.
However, three things happened this Ramadan that changed everything.
First, her good friend will be going to perform Hajj with their family, who were very excited about the idea of having Saeed join the trip.
Second, Saeed spoke to an older role model she trusts about her anxieties regarding the political situation in the region, and she responded with an Arabic saying that roughly translates to: “Live your life like you’ll live forever, and pray like you’ll die tomorrow.”
Third, and possibly the biggest factor, was a conversation with a coworker on a Tuesday morning over coffee and a breakfast burrito.
Her colleague spoke about how common it is, especially among the young, to treat Hajj as if it will be more convenient in the future.
Yet so long as we are young and capable — financially and physically — we shouldn’t put it aside, they said.
“It is a fareeda (mandatory) after all,” Saeed said.
“This colleague is a millennial, and she always jokes about how my generation — Gen Z — can be entitled and slow to action and linked it to Hajj, and I thought, you know what, she might be right.”
It was those three instances, as well as the pragmatic thought that even though she is unmarried, the safety and order necessary to perform the rituals will be provided by the Kingdom’s authorities, that made her decide this was the year.
Saeed was initially nervous to tell her family, worried they would react negatively to the news because they were not able to go themselves this year.
But in the end, they were nothing but happy and supportive.
“What was really lovely was my friend’s mother ensuring I’ll be with them at all times … (saying) I’m like a daughter to her.
“It felt right, and I’m just thankful to Allah SWT that I can go,” she said.
“(I am) also nervous that I’ll be so tired that I won’t go through the list I prepared of things I want to make dua for … It will be 40+ degrees C after all,” she lightheartedly added.
She shared her excitement for the Day of Arafat (the holiest day in the Islamic calendar), for her prayers to be heard, for expiating her sins and for finally feeling liberated from worldly constraint.
What Saeed hopes to gain is a closeness to God and remembrance that this life is finite.
“A reset of my heart, I want it to be more directed towards what matters.
“Also, I would love to find ease with the idea of wearing hijab.”
She also spoke of wanting to feel closer to the Ummah and what it means to be Muslim as a collective.
Saeed shared a verse from Surat Al-Kahf (18:28): “And keep yourself patient (by being) with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance.”
