According to Saudi official figures, this year (1440 H/2019) a total of 2,489,406 people, including 634,379 from Saudi Arabia and 1,855,027 from other countries performed Hajj. From India, a total of 2 lakh Muslims (women -48 %) went to perform the Hajj. Various Hajj Committees arranged for 1.4 lakh pilgrims. Rest (60,000) preferred Private Tour Operators (PTOs).
Hajj is a six days deeply spiritual and stern physical experience of rituals (8th to 13th Zilhijja) spread over various sacred historical places, including Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifa, Jamrat, Haram e Ka’ba and Sa’ey (the area between the hills of Safa and Marwah hillocks close to Ka’ba. Sa’ey is a ritual of walking back and forth seven times between them) in Makkah. To arrange such a huge congregation is a challenging task. At several previous occasions, unpleasant incidents caused losses of life and property. Alhamdulillah this year all went smoothly. The managers of the two Holy Mosques have mastered to control the movement of pilgrims systematically. Twice Tawaf e Ka’ba of 26 lakh pilgrims and providing a corridor for infirm people is a challenging task but was arranged and controlled very well, MashaAllah.
The Hajj is replicating a set of rituals as performed by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) himself with his companions during his first and only Hajj, in 632. Those accompanying with him observed his every move and these steps are performed in the same sequence. Some of its elements go back to the time of the Prophet Ibrahim who built Ka’ba with his son Ismail (1813 B.C.) By the grace of Allah, this contributor also got the call (with wife, son, and son-in-law) to go through the unique experience and be part of such a big spiritual and physical activity.
The Guest of Allah
Officially Hajj Pilgrims are called ضیوف الرحمٰن or the guests of Rehman. So the occasion of the Hajj is especially a great gift of Allah for the hosts and locals to treat the pilgrims as guests are traditionally treated in Arabs. But we noted with pain that instead of sense of serving, the greed to squeeze the visitors more and more has set in local behaviour especially in Jeddah and Makkah. An official message at the end of Hajj rituals on the eve of August 13 called upon “The Zaifur-Rehman,” “to kindly evaluate the provided services, in the Holy places.” So we have an obligation to respond and humbly indicate what impression people gather from the behaviour of locals and apathy of officials.
It starts from the pilgrim’s arrival at Jeddah Airport. We reached around 7 P.M. on August 5. Immigration was smooth and took just a few minutes. For the first time scarf-wearing women staff welcomed the pilgrims at the counters. They did their job smartly, behaved humbly and politely like daughters and sisters.
But soon we came out for forward journey; to hire a taxi for Makkah became a bitter experience. Normal Taxi fare from Jeddah Airport to Makkah (90 Kms.) is 250 SR or even less for 5 persons. But on that day the taxi operators were demanding an exuberant amount of around 2000 SR. Tired and harassed Ihram-clad passengers had to cough out 1000-1200 SR to reach their destination in Makkah. Same extortionist attitude of taxis was seen in Makkah. They will ask even 10-15 times more of normal fare to ferry pilgrims to and fro Masjid e Haram to their Hotels. Many private vehicles were on the road to exploit the occasion. Likewise, 50 SR was charged for head-shaving, while the normal rate is 10 SR. However, restaurants and tea stalls charged normal rates and served quality eateries.
When we asked taxis drivers in Makkah about such high charges, they told us that Taxi owners have doubled, tripled landing charges of their taxis for the Hajj session. And strangely, the Government takes no notice of such practices.
This was in Jeddah and Makkah. Perhaps people forget the call of Surah Quraish, “So they should serve Allah (follow His directions), the Lord of this House (the Ka’bah). He has fed them against hunger, and has made them safe from fear.” Serve Allah, or Worship Allah includes serving the Guests of Allah.
It was not so in Madinah. The behavioural features, as we felt at two places, have marked a difference. Madinan people replicate the goodness as silver remembrances of the Prophet’s teachings. However, Hotel charges have been doubled for Hajj session. Pakistani restaurants can be spotted everywhere and Indian eateries of high test with low price are available easily.
The Cleanliness
The keepers of two Holy Mosques give great importance to hygiene and cleanliness of the two complexes and around since the early 1900s. Hundreds of workers and machines are engaged round the clock to keep every inch tidy, dust and dirt free. Muslims should learn from this for their own surroundings at home. But we were deeply saddened to see equally pathetic conditions on roads when we stepped out from our camp in Mina for Arafat and then to Muzdalifa from Arafat. Huge truckloads with freebies were stationed on the sides of the roads without proper management of garbage removal. Lack of civic sense among people and absence of proper directives for keeping the place tidy made the situation shameful. The miserable failure of the Baldia to keep the roads garbage-free made it difficult for pilgrims to walk on roads as eat-overs, empty or half-filled bottles of water and wraps of food items have striven at every step. Even in Muzdalifa the “Guests of Rehman” have to sit in between the heaps. Many toilet and washroom complexes provided at roadsides were found giving stench, some without water.
However, this time arrangements at Jamarat were excellent. Workers were on duty to remove each and everything thrown on roads, in spite of a large number of dustbins were provided. Movement of pilgrims was regulated right from the gates of camps. Pilgrims were released in such a staggering way that reaching to Jamarat and stone-pelting rituals became easy, hassle-free and safe. Likewise, farewell Tawaf or Tawaf e Ifada was arranged on the ground as well as on multi-storey roofs. Whenever the ground area of Tawaf was over-crowded, Hajis were guided to the escalators. The 24 hours non-stop stream of Tawaf and Sa’ey seekers is a unique feature of Hajj and Umra.
The Trauma at Hajj Terminal
On the return journey, Hajis had to face unexpected trauma at the Hajj terminal in Jeddah. The Hajis were stopped to take trollies to bring their luggage from the parking area to the check-in facility. Even some Hajis were asked for an underhand fee of 50 SR for a trolley. It took us almost three hours to get boarding passes and security check. The immigration process was smooth as enough counters were in action. But for the personal check-up and scanning hand-baggage, there is a single window, only one scanner and long queues of men and women to get in.
The staff members looked insufficient in number and tired. They looked overworked and so jittery. This is not the way to see off the Guests of Rehman. I consider these week points as black spots against the great Arabian and Islamic tradition of hospitality for which KSA is known. We pray to Allah and hope all will be fine once the situation as apprised by the officials turns for the better and remedial steps are taken for the future. May Allah accept our intentions and grant our Hajj pilgrimage with His pleasure and acceptance.