Experience of Islamic pilgrimage conjures unmatched satisfaction 

In June, The Observer’s Hajji HASSAN BADRU ZZIWA and wife traveled to Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca for their first hajj.

In this second of two-part series, he shares the rollercoaster journey to Mecca, its beauty and rituals, the elation of becoming a hajji as well as a scare when he collapsed.

Being part of the 1,460 Ugandan pilgrims for this year’s hajj couldn’t have prepared me for what to expect during the three weeks in the holy cities of Medina and Mecca. The first four days in Medina had already taken a physical toll on me and my wife but now we were headed to Mecca for another 15 days.

On June 19, 2023, at around 4 pm, we left Medina and made a stopover at the Dhul Hulaifah Miqat mosque, about 7km away. It is here that pilgrims make the intention (Niyyah) to make their hajj before getting to Mecca. We found hundreds of Muslims here from different countries going through the mandatory rituals. All the men pilgrims were asked to don white robes as per Islamic norms.

From here, we embarked in a convoy on the 450-kilometre journey to Mecca. It was so hot, but all buses are air-conditioned to reduce the hostile heat. At 7 pm, we stopped for refreshments and held both the salat Maghrib and Isha. On a normal day, the journey from Medina to Mecca costs between 135 and 150 Saudi riyals (Shs 135,000 to Shs 150,000).

That is enough to show you the length of the journey ahead of us. The government invested a huge sum of money in technology. There were CCTV cameras manned on the streets and in public buildings. The roads were also lit with street lights. On the journey, most of the pilgrims were asleep, apart from the few who were engaging the guides on the bus on different issues.

We finally arrived in Mecca at 10 pm and we were driven straight to our hotel on Jeddah road, near Bin Laden mosque. All the pilgrims were given arm tags, which indicated the continent code. For example, all pilgrims from Africa were given a tag code of No. 32 and accommodated at hotels along Jeddah road.

This did not only help the security to monitor and identify the pilgrims by their country of origin, but it also helped the pilgrims easily access their residential areas.

THE KAABA AND GRAND MOSQUE

We were booked in the Al Tayseer Towers hotel; four pilgrims of the same gender occupied one room, which had four beds. After checking in, we immediately left for the Grand mosque (Masjid al-Haram), which is about 700 metres from our hotel. This is the largest mosque in the world, with a capacity to accommodate more than three million people in both its outdoor and indoor praying areas.

It also encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba. Masjid al-Haram is identified by a huge Royal clock, mounted on a skyscraper complex adjacent to this mosque. So, this royal clock helps visiting pilgrims easily locate the direction of the mosque as well as the Kaaba.

The plan was to arrive at mosque early in the wee hours of Monday, June 19 because we wanted to start performing the required rituals of circling the Kaaba early enough to avoid the hostile weather, which was nearly 45 degrees Celsius. To our shock, by the time we reached this mosque, all the gates leading to the Kaaba were closed by mosque security due to the presence of large crowds already inside.

We were advised to wait until Tuesday morning at 6 am. This hajj recorded the largest pilgrimage in recent history following the removal of all restrictions, especially after Covid-19. Last year, more than a million pilgrims performed the hajj but those aged beyond 65 were barred. In 2020, only 10,000 pilgrims were reportedly allowed to attend this annual event.

This time, all restrictions were removed by the Saudi government. I used the delay in accessing the Kaaba to tour the Masjid al-Haram. This huge mosque, which is still undergoing expansion, has more than 300 gates and each gate is named after Saudi royals as well as Prophet Muhammad’s companions.

Thirteen of these gates are reserved for people with disabilities. The mosque is also surrounded by skyscraper complexes, which are under the management of the mosque. The mosque also has three levels, with two of them occupied by men and the rest by women.

In order not to get lost, you have to identify some features of the mosque, like buildings or gates. Inside the mosque, the eyes take you to expensive materials like marble, which is used on both floors and walls. The roof also has every expensive golden material you can think of.

When it comes to prayer, Muslims face it from different directions, provided they face the Kaaba—unlike in Uganda, where we all face the Qibla (direction of the Kaaba). There is also no restriction on both men and women mixing, as per Islamic teaching. I was told it was due to unmanageable crowds.

Here, the Saudi government also deployed hundreds of security operatives who helped guide the pilgrims. I was also impressed by the way police handled the big crowds without any reported harassment. The security operatives here are not armed but call people to order and reduce the possibility of stampedes. The management of the mosque made life easier for the elderly, people with disabilities, or the sick by providing wheelchairs and electric cabs.

There are areas where lost items are kept. One of our colleagues lost his phone and after a few hours, he reported and got it. After the morning prayers, we started queuing to go to the holy Kaaba; this was the real test of the pilgrimage. There was a lot of pushing, with each pilgrim trying to force his or her way inside the mosque.

I finally reached within 10 metres of the Kaaba. Like many pilgrims, I shed tears of joy. I kneeled down and praised the Almighty Allah for attaining this milestone. The Kaaba is a black silk-clad stone structure, and it has four corners with a golden door. It was built by the prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail.

It is mandatory for all pilgrims to perform the rituals during the hajj or umra. We walked around the Kaaba the prescribed seven times. However, it was a tedious exercise involving through pushing. The towering Nigerians and Senegalese pilgrims used their energy and numbers to outdo other pilgrims.

Sheikh Silliman Ndirangwa, who has performed about 42 pilgrimages, took us through the prayers and other relevant rituals. We were joined by many other pilgrims from Uganda and other countries to benefit from his prayers. We later performed more rituals at the two small historical hills of Safa and Marwa. These two places are located adjacent to the Kaaba.

The pilgrims travel the three-and-a-half kilometres back and forth seven times. This tradition is associated with Prophet Ibrahim’s wife Hajar, who ran in both hills searching for water for her thirsty son Ismail. Since then, a well around the water source has been dug, which is known today as Zam Zam well.

Throughout the exercise, Sheikh Ndirwanga still took us through all the rituals, reciting all the prescribed prayers (Dua).

MUCH-NEEDED REST

After these two events, we rested and returned to our hotels. In the days that followed, some pilgrims returned several times to encircle the Kaaba. At the hotel, the bond between the 70-member group there became tighter. The feeling of spiritual cleansing was palpable. We were like brothers and sisters regardless of nationality or race.

For those who fell sick, there was free treatment either from the two health workers we travelled with or from the Uganda Hajj bureau, which had a base adjacent to our hotel. The bureau, on a few occasions, served food to all Ugandan pilgrims. But sometimes our female pilgrims, especially the Nyindo sisters, also served food to some group members. My wife, too, filled the gap by teaming up with her hotel mates to prepare and serve food.

THE BEAUTY OF MECCA

The city is relatively noise-free. People here are so religious that everything stops when it is time for prayers. They abandon whatever they are doing to hold prayers. During hajj season, believers conduct prayers everywhere, including in designated areas like roads.

There are no playgrounds, nightclubs, theatres or other leisure-related activities in Mecca. Many people involved in businesses sell all types of merchandise, mostly imported from China and Europe. The businesses here are owned by the indigenous people, but they are mostly operated by Egyptians and other workers from Asia.

The Saudi women mainly remain indoors or work in top offices, but not as shop attendants or hotel receptionists. What touched me most was the honesty of the people here. They stick to their word. There are hardly any acts of lawlessness. Despite hundreds of CCTV cameras mounted on almost every buildings here, I did not hear any break-ins or loss of a phone or money to a thief.

There are no burglar-proof windows in shops, forex bureaus or other businesses like we see in Kampala. Motorists obey traffic laws, and police book offenders without taking a bribe. Just in case you break traffic laws, your car is photographed, an invoice is sent to you, and you pay the fine.

The upper Mecca has all the expensive and original merchandise you can think of but it is expensive for the less privileged. It is only here that international banks, big supermarkets and restaurants like KFCs are located.

MINA AND THE HILLY ARAFAT

On June 26, we were driven to Mina for further mandatory rituals. This city is just eight kilometres outside Mecca. We camped in tents, which covered a distance of about three kilometres. The place is orderly and pilgrims are booked according to continents and then subdivided according to countries of origin. 

We spent the first day without doing anything. However, the organisers had it rough with pilgrims due to limited drinking water and facilities like washrooms. It was chaotic, especially when pilgrims lined up to use the toilets. It emerged that the pilgrimage arrived before the completion of the new sites.

FINALLY, BECOMING HAJJI ZZIWA

On June 27, we were driven to Mount Arafat, about 14 kilometres from Mina. This place is believed to be where Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon before he left for Medina.

This hilly and sandy site is also known as the hill of mercy and blessings. Since we arrived here on the ninth day of the lunar Islamic calendar (June 27), just a day before the celebration of Eid Adhua, we spent the entire day seeking Allah’s mercy and blessings.

It was at Arafat that the sheikhs preached the importance of hajj and the day of Arafat in a fully-packed tent. In the afternoon, Sheikh Ndirangwa, after leading the congregation in prayers, announced that all pilgrims were officially given the titles of hajji and hajat.

This announcement sent the pilgrims into wide cheers as they hugged one other. The celebrations continued in other tents. Late that evening, we were driven to Muzdalifah, about 10 kilometres from Arafat. We arrived late here due to the heavy traffic jam and the big crowds. We stayed for a few hours after picking up more than 60 small stones meant to hit Satan at the nearby Jamarat.

We left in the morning and walked to Jamarat, which is about seven kilometres away. Due to the distance, the old and sick pilgrims were advised to return to Mina. Jamarat serves as a symbol of Ibrahim’s rejection of Satan. So, performing the symbolic stoning of the Jamarat during the hajj is a way Muslims denounce Satan.

We exercised this practice for three days. After finalizing all the rituals in Mina, we returned to Mecca.

THE SATISFACTION

We repeated the same rituals of circling the Kaaba and other rituals at Safa and Marwa. It was after this that it was announced we were done with the hajj. Still, we had to rest another week of rest before returning. Incidentally, I got a minor scare just two days before our return.

I collapsed and was rushed to the Uganda Hajj bureau clinic, where I was treated for exhaustion and dehydration before being discharged a few hours later. On the flight back home, there was a feeling of satisfaction from virtually all pilgrims, while many were so exhausted that they slept off the whole journey.

We finally touched down at Entebbe International Airport on July 6 at 1 am and three hours later, we were home amid cheers and drumming from relatives and friends. And to our surprise, my close friend Abby Mukiibi and our relatives organised a welcome party for us. We could not stop thanking everyone who made our pilgrimage a reality.