Day 20 (25 August 2018):
Without a doubt the best sleep I have had since being in Saudi. Although my virus was terrible. Practically the whole of our group was affected.
I managed to go jummah with Muhammad Muridi and the Travel Express worker at Rajhi Masjid. First time I had experienced a car without A/C. The experience was unforgiving but one I thoroughly enjoyed. I felt like this would make me realise how lucky we really were throughout our time in Saudi.
After Jummah the Travel Express lads invited me for lunch. Myself, Shiraz, Muhammad Muridi, Bashir Snr & Jnr, Mohammed Egyptian, Aasman, Qasim, Umar and the Sheikh indulged on an amazing fish plater. I loved every moment of that dish and was grateful for the invite. The Sheikh left promptly after. Throughout my trimp I used to observe the Sheikh. The way he walked, talked and just the way he conducted himself..
My cold/flue had picked up in the evening. Nevertheless, we had to perform our Ifraad tawaf (Hajj Tawaf). Practically the whole group went to the Haram to compete our final tawaf. I was adamant that my mum follows the rules so I stuck to Group Leader C like a leach. *By this time, I realised that Aasman, our group leader was clearly not interested in leading his group or even helping others. Allhumdulilah, there were 8 of us with the group leader, and we all managed to complete our tawaaf. This was the only time where I could recite all my dua’s and prayers without having to constantly chase mum.
After finally completing our tawaaf everyone embraced one another. I was extremely numb at this point. Not knowing what to do or say. I just went over to my mum and embraced her. I gave her a kiss on the cheeck. I thanked her. If it was not for my mum persistence this would have never happened. I was invited by Allah (SWT) to complete this journey. How fortunate? How Lucky was I? People save up for a lifetime and sell all their lands to complete this journey.
A few tears rolled down my eyes as my throat thickened up. This was obviously in isolation from the group and far from my mother. I was hugely proud of her. All I remember saying to her was, this was a new start and that a pledge was made to Allah (SWT) for change, and we should honour this.
We went Five guys after and it was totally worth it even though I had a terrible sore throat. Never have I tried a better burger or milkshake. I met a young man named Zaim (One Call). He seemed like a pleasant young man so I decided to converse with him. We had a brief 5-minute conversation and then we went our own ways.
We ate our food at the Hyatt Regency which was our meeting point. The place filled up with One Call and Travel Express Guys. Everyone embraced and hugged one another. I pinched myself, this was real, we had completed our Hajj. Q didn’t finish his tawaaf, am not going to specify my reason, but it was funny and he also saw the funny side.
Late night Tea
Bed time.
Day 21 (25 August 2018)
Abdul-Shahid (A family relative from our village in Bangladesh) was contacting me several times as he wanted to meet up. He lived in Jeddah and made his way to Makkah. Unfortunately, his driver was incapable of making it to our compartment even though I sent him my location.
Q, his wife and my mum were planning to go for tawaf in the haram later that night. Considering I was still struggling from my flue, I said that I would not be going.
My mum decided in the eveninng that she was going so I had no choice in the matter. I decided that I would meet with Abdul-Shaheed if he was about. I managed to meet him next to Burger King opposite the Haram. We embraced with a hug. He was totally shocked when he met me. I spoke for a good 30 to 40 minutes where very few words were returned, he was in total shock and did not make for good conversation. We had taken a couple of photos and I decided to head back to the Haram. Only issue, I had no phone to contact my mum.
Q, his wife and mum were looking to go for tawaf in the haram. Considering I was still struggling from the flue and I was still feeling weak, I said that I would not be going.
After searching the Haram for a good half an hour, I managed to bump in to Imran and Amar near the Zam Zam area. Amar was going to perform Sai, so, Imran decided that we should a grab bite to eat in the Clock-Tower. Imran was suffering from home sickness. I was quite shocked as Imran’s body language always suggested otherwise. Imran disclosed some of the trauma that he had suffered whilst he was there. Myself and Imran bonded as I suffered afraction of what he was subjected to for three weeks.
*We also bumped in to Sheikh Suleman Ghani who was aimlessly walking around the food court. I managed to get a photo with him.
Finally, I was able to get hold of my mum and Q’s wife . They met us at the restaurant where me and Imran were seated. I was feeling so unwell and this was visible for everyone to see. Without vocalising my feeelings, I was appealing to mum and Q’s wife logic to call it a night. None of them did. So, I had drugged myself up and threw in a Vitamin C to keep me going. My mum was driving me insane, running around doing the tawaaf. I wanted to say something but I lost the will to raise my voice. In one hand I wanted to do the tawaf’s because I wanted to get all my dua’s in, on the other hand, my body was giving up on me.
Coming close to Fajr at around 3:30pm we finished our final tawaf. Q’s wife still was discontent because she couldn’t pray in the Hateem (Semi-Circle of the Hajj). So enough was enough. I marvelled my way until we were positioned for them to pray 2 nafl in the Hateem. I was having not having No for an answer. At this present time I was not listening to anybody; both women now were in the middle of some of the mess that I was trying to keep them away from for the last 10 day but I was a man on a mission!!!
People were pushing and barging; the force could have had someone seriously injured. I dodged and dived most of it but the women were not as physically apt as me and were struggling. Eventually, after a struggle, we got to the Hateem, but it was cordoned off. Sod’s law.
I then decided we were going to pray right near the haram. Q’s wife and mum panicked, they were afraid of the melee. I stood firm on my decision. I marshalled our way until we were in front of the haram. I let both the women touch the haram and then we prayed 2 nafl. Q’s wife prayed 2 nafl and she made dua, tears were running down her face as she muttered a thank you. My firm decision making in this particular situation paid off.
Fajr was completed and I made everyone wait until I was able to exchange money. Probably a bad decision looking back at it now considering it had taken us three hours to exchange the money. There was only one person working in the exchnage which piled our misery, also women customers were given priority. Say what you want about the Saudi’s, women are given more priority then men.
Day 22 (26 August 2018)
We stayed up for breakfast, I drugged myself with medicine and then I went to sleep. I had a nice-long warm shower and I felt like a new man. I refused any day-outs with the usual’s and mum. I sat in my favourite place and blogged away; Shiraz saw me and leapt at the chance to bug me about one thing or another. I felt like I was in a good place so it was all good.
Q asked me again if I wanted to go Souk Salam with him, his wife and my mother and I totally refused. I wanted to do things at my pace now. The last three weeks had drained me and I was mentally/physically tired.
Rahul and Sameer were going Makkah Mall. They kindly invited me to join them for McDonald’s. It was a good time to hang out with Rahul and Sameer. Both brothers were fantastic. After Baskins and Robins we made our way back to the compartment. Me and Rahul bonded, our family lives were similar, it was nice to relate with him. I bonded well with Amir, Rahul and Samir during that time. Apart from being fantastic people they liked football and enjoyed a bit of banter.
I made it in time for the One Call lecture. Yasin Bhai kindly invited me to his post-hajj lecture. This was my third lecture that I attended. As always, the lectures were very informative and impassioned. Yasin Bhai really struck home with his message. Ever stone was turned in his 45-minute talk. I really gained a lot from his talk and it propelled me to ensure that I had to change when I came back from Hajj.
After the talk, there was still another hour to go before Maghrib. I went outside to warm up in the Saudi heat. My sidekick (Shiraz) was quick to follow with his bottle of water. He was telling me about something or another and I always listened. Abu Eesa, came out with his little entourage that seemed to follow him everywhere he went. Shiraz proposed a dare that he would ask Abu Eesa some awkward questions. I
The dare was not really given my approval, he was gone before I could give my consent. I watched the conversation for a couple of minutes before it descended in to a water fight. In all honesty, Abu Eesa saw the funny side and started recording the water fight. I had taken a liking to him. But I was always confused why most of his group members never smiled.
Maghrib came and went. Mum was back and Q had a huge grin. It was nice to see the brother happy. I had an awesome day too. I felt fully energized. My throat infection had calmed down and things were on the up.
I spent time with Q and Mo in the reception area. At around 11:30pm whilst I was blogging, Nottingham aunty and uncle came down stairs dressed up. They informed me that they were going to perform there Ifraad tawaf tonight with a couple that said they were going to take them. After 45 minutes they were still sat with me. It became obvious that they had been stood up. Aunty and Uncle were both in their 60’s or 70’s and their health was not in the best way. I told them to go to bed and that I would inform Travel Express staff so that they could organize someone to assist them tommorow. Just to put their hearts at ease I showed them the message.
To my surprise,the boys in the room were up. I spoke with Sheikh Husayn at length. The more time we spent together the closer we got. He was a cool guy and I felt like I could learn so much from him. After all he was a graduate of the famous Al-Azhar academy.
We both had a herbal hot-drink before we sounded off to sleep.
Goodnight
Day 23 (27 August 2018)
Our last full day in Saudi before our return to good old Blighty. A few things had to be completed before Maghrib including a tawaf at the Haram.
Overall, I had enjoyed almost every single day of my journey. I have met some fantastic people throughout my time here and really look forward to tying these bonds forever once am back. Like millions of the Hujjaj that were reaching the end of their journey, a huge chunk of sadness had consumed my heart. Nevertheless, our trip has reached its natural conclusion. We all had carried illnesses and were suffering fatigue, I think this was Allah (SWT) way of asking us to politely leave.
After breakfast me and mum decided to pack our bags so that we that we did not have to pack last minute. We were extremely organized throughout this trip.
Considering how clumsy I can be and my general laissez-affaire attitude to packing. I would say that I was pleasantly supervised by my efforts. If, one thing I had observed in my recent travels abroad, I work well when am left on my own. Being in my comfort zone makes me complacent.
After packing I went to the reception area and started my blogging. I also had the opportunity to chase Travel Express about the old the aunty and uncle who still had not performed Tawaf. They agreed to having a word with them so that they could arrange something.
Group Louder or pilgrimer?
Fast forward after Asr. Myself and Sheikh Hussayn were getting ready to head off to Makkah. We both agreed to sharing a taxi. This decision was made easier considering my Mother had shared a room with his wife for 10 days and they had also been very close. Shaky Hussayn, had wanted to hire a van to take uncle, however, uncle and aunty were not responsive to the knocks made on their door.
As, I was leaving. I spoke to Bashir Jnr and Abdul Zaman about uncle and aunty. I explained the situation for the third time and stayed super calm and polite. Abdul Zaman immediate response was to ask me why I didn’t take them.
I then realized what a terrible individual he really was. This was his 10th pilgramage to Hajj and this was his 9th or 10th as a voluntary group leader. I did not want to dwell too much on Abdul Zaman throughout my journey as did not want to clutter this blog with negativity. However, a lot of the hujjaj that were part of his group were critical of his role as group leader, including myself. I reserved my opinion for this blog.
Other than taking the register and informing everyone of Sheikh’s arrival. Abdul Zamaan did not really do much for his group. He barely interacted with his group, whenever we went to perform Umrah or Tawaf, he would disappear and complete it on his own.
I never personally had a problem with him. If anything, we managed to get on well. Although I was aware that he was not doing his job appropriately. I would have interjected earlier, however, I did not want to ruin my journey because of someone else’s lack of effort. However, this current situation infuriated me as he was expecting me to do what he was given a free plane/hotel ticket for and most importantly they were both extremely vulnerable. In all honesty, I would have been to help but he was the leader. It was frankly his responsibility to help his group members. There were several other incidents which I personally witnessed, however, this blog is not here to slander people. However, there was a reason, why I was in awe of One Call.
Brother’s in Islam, color does not divide.
Myself, Sheiky Husayn, Mother and Sheikh Husayn’s completed our tawaf. We ended up losing each other. Mum wanted to complete one more tawaf. I couldn’t refuse even though time was not on our side. Ultimately this was her trip and I wanted her to get as much closure from this trip as possible. The family has suffered and the only situation to our problems was calling to Allah.
The normal hustle and bustle of tawaf was something you embrace whilst your here. I do not think you can ever get used to some of the behaviors in the Haram but ultimately you stay have to stay calm. Why people push, shove and punch always bothered me. The room for walking space was very little. Quite often your reduced to mini-steps which made life more difficult.
As we were making our way through the third tawaf, a brother (Black African) had gently put his hand in front of me, when I looked on my right, I saw that the brother was protecting an amputee performing tawaf using only his hand. I grabbed the brothers hand to support him for this great deed so that we can aid the amputee brother. By the fifth round we had another brother (Caucasian brother) join us in our cause. We managed to go through the 7 rounds. All three of us embraced in a hug before we left. This one action ultimately representated our religion. We were all equal in race, color and creed for the greater good of pleasing our maker. The love and brotherhood was encapsulated in those few seconds and then we went our own way. I could now leave the Haram content.
We prayed Magrib. I had my hand across my mothers shoulder whilst admiring our last view of the Kabah. I gave her a kiss and I asked her if she was content. She gave me a smile and that was all i needed to see.
May Allah accept our Hajj and help us to stay on the right path and continue to be at his mercy.
We did our final bits of shopping in the clock tower and made our way back before Esha. Myself and mother were very happy in what we achieved so we were both buzzing.
Q came with a huge smile for dinner. I was happy to see him happy. This was our last dinner together. He told me about his last experience in the Haram. By a stroke of luck he found uncle in the haram who had lost wife. Q had helped uncle found his wife and had also helped them complete all the necessary tawafs. Q was sharing the humorous side of the story, however, the subtext to this story was very concerning. Travel Express, lack of interest for these two vulnerable adults was a concern. The moral standard I always apply is, what would you do if that was your family member?
Packing time, Amin to the rescue.
The last bit of packing from our last bit of shopping had rendered my suitcase fully packed. Amin decided to help me put in the last bit of gift’s in to my luggage. I was grateful. Packed and ready now.
Last tea with Q (sob sob)
I went downstairs to meet Q for my last tea with Q. We both reflected on our journey and what we had learnt? and what we would be taking back. I gifted Q a tasbih, I realized that he preferred a particular type, so I bought him a similar one. He was taken back. But he was worthy of that gift.
Bedtime
Day 24 (28 August 2018)
Fajr prayers. I got used to Sheikh’s voice and unique recitation. I was going to miss his recitation and I was really going to miss seeing most of the brothers from both groups.
We had our final breakfast. I spent a bit of time messing around with Shiraz and shared a few conversations with the One-Call brothers. Me and Q went out to the shops to buy extra luggage. Q decided to buy me one of the fold-up prayer mats and paid for my shape-up. I really insisted that I didn’t want a shape-up as I was extremely fussy with my hair.
We packed our bags and made our way downstairs saying our last goodbyes to one another, exchanging numbers and taking the last selfies. A cake was brought by the hotel owners for our group. The Sheikh was not too impressed. I realized very quickly how to react based on the Sheikh’s reaction. He was not too impressed about a lot of things so I never really said or acted in anyway that would cause a reaction from him. Thank god he never tried the cake.
We all left for the coach. We waited a good half-an-hour before the coach had taken off. By that time I needed the toilet. I found out that the toilet’s in the coach were not working. It had taken us an hour and bit to arrive at Jeddah Airport. However, the coaches arrived too early so we were asked to wait. I asked Abdul Zamaan if I could quick use the toilet, he responded with a no, so I let him know that I was leaving, and I stood firm with this decision. He reminded me that I was doing this at my own cost.
Now that I left the coach in desperateness. I was even more desperate to find a toilet. Luckily, I saw Yasin Bhai, we embraced, I quickly told him of my predicament. Without a blink or a thought, he directed me to the toilet and showed me that there was a place to perform salah. Yasin Bhai was a blessing, whenever I was in a bad place, the brother always popped up with that huge embracing smile. May Allah reward his sincerity and may he always be kept on the righteous path.
After returning. Yasin bhai enquired where Abdul Zaman was. I said he is sitting on the coach. He was shocked, he quickly urged me to get him out of the coach so that he can provide our travel documents to the authority otherwise we would be stuck here. Abdul Zaman was too busy on his mobile tending to his meat and poultry business. On a side note, his organic poultry meat looked good. I think Egyptian Mohammed (travel express) informed him that he should provide documents. Everyone in all the coaches and performed the salah.
The Horror at Jeddah.
45 Minutes later we arrived at Jeddah departures. It was nothing that I have ever been exposed previously. It was absolute bedlam. It had taken me a good 15 minutes to find my suitcase, another 10 minutes to find a trolley and another 6 to 7 minutes to get hold of two bottles of Zam Zam. I also had taken time to help Yasin Bhai and his group so that they could get their Zam Zam. There was not as many men in their group plus Yasin bhai helped me out so much. This is the least I could do. We still had another 4 and half hours before our flight? What could go wrong.
I sat on my flight annoyed and flustered. I lost my hand luggage with my thobe, 4 kgs of Ajwa dates, 100 pounds of tasbih and one or two other gifts. Amir and myself had a confrontation with a bunch of Egyptians’ who jumped the cue; much to everyone’s annoyance the Saudi officials did nothing, I was not registered to board the plane after 3 hours of waiting in a cue at check-ins, I then went to the Saudi customer service desk in which they did not speak to us and literally threw the ticket at me and Egyptian Mohammed. Security had taken an hour and half to get through. The staff were too busy on YouTube, having conversations and walking away from the desk for no apparent reason; none of their behaviours made sense to me. Amir’s Mother-in-law collapsed and was in no position to make her way to the gate. I then lost my luggage after sharing a few kind words with Saudi Security, after they unnecessarily searched me 4 times to flex their ‘muscles’.
*On the funny side. During our fight with the Egyptian’s, Amir’s mother-in-law put herself in front line to fight them. She was a courageous woman and one that you need not pick a fight with. Amir had to move her away but she really was insistent on fighting this battle.
Allhumdulilah, I was on the plane and nothing really could be done about my luggage. The rest is in Allah’s hand. I slept through Most of the flight. I really needed sleep so I was happy.
Seeing my Baj:
At 7:45am after three weeks. The biggest benefit was seeing my sister after tìhree weeks. How much I remembered her, prayed for her, missed her, wept tears for her and now finally we were united. I embraced her and I didn’t want to let go. Inshallah, hopefully, I can take her to Hajj one day. May Allah (SWT) bless and preserve our relationship.
El-Hajj Mohammed X- Hajj Blog 