Hajj – thoughts of a local Muslim

Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem,

Light, this is all what my eyes can see. Am I on Earth or up in the sky? The center of all emerging lands makes me feel out of this world. Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, attracts over 3 million pilgrims every year and this year is no exception despite swine flu, heavy rains and other worldy obstacles. 3 million people all in one place, out and about the legendary cube-like black building, the Kaabah, in the Saudi desert. So much makes for this life-changing humane and spiritual experience.

Surrounded by hypnotic plains and mountains, men and women gather only for one purpose: purifying themselves from this world by remembering, praising and begging Allah for forgiveness and submitting our body and soul only to Him, the One True God. Abraham, our father, with the help of his son Ishmael, built the Kaabah pure, with no useless ornament. On his footsteps and those of Hagar his wife, Muslims from all genders, all colours and all walks of life regardless blink and breathe, walk and run, eat and drink, smile and cry and pray, pray together.

Such is Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Mecca. How many are they to come back and tell you how they have met Allah though this unique collective experience? Am I on Earth or up in the sky? If you were to see Mount Arafat, up on the Moon you would think . Indeed the day of Mount Arafat!…This is the most demanding stage of this journey, where the believers will beg their Creator for absolute forgiveness and for the Garden of Eden. Dressed with the typical unstiched white garment, Muslims will express the most uncluttered humane condition while fasting from dawn to sunset. Fasting precedes the feast of Eid ul Fitr. Eid ul Fitr is the last day of Hajj and it marks the beginning of the new you: to celebrate this beautiful change inside we will share our drink and what we eat from the sacrificial sheep.

We shall return to Earth and become dust again someday. All the prophets including Abraham, our Ibrahim, we will all be ressurected for sure and stand before our Lord. Standing as we stood, humble, on the Mount Arafat.

Yacine is a French filmmaker living in the West of End Newcastle. He is currently working on grassroots projects with the Islamic Diversity Centre in Newcastle.

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November 30, 2009 - Posted by Abu-Tayeb Khairdeen | hajj | hajj, muslim

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