Muslim Views . September 201826

ABDULLAH* was in his seventies, still relatively nimble,of sound mind and absolutely ecstatic. He had been accreditedfor Hajj!

He had saved for over ten yearsfor this journey. He had little for-mal education and his low-key,civil servant job paid the bills butthere was never enough to save.Prior to the last decade, his time,money and, in effect, his whole liferevolved around his family.

He provided a comfortabledwelling for his wife whom henever wanted to work, while si-multaneously seeing to the needsof his aging parents. His parentswere recalled by our Creator first,and his wife soon thereafter, whileshe was relatively young.

He saw to the upbringing of hischildren and, two decades later,was involved in financially assist-ing his grandchildren.

Hajj was never on his minduntil he was in his sixties. He hadsome spare time and decided to at-tend evening madrasah classes.The Hajj seed was planted.

Ahmed* was in his twentiesand vaguely remembered tellinghis widowed, childless aunt someyears earlier that he’d be hermahram one day when she per-forms Hajj.

Little did he know that she hadlisted his name with her applica-tion, and great was his shockwhen she announced that the twoof them would be going as theyhad been accredited.

He had no clue about the ritu-als of Hajj, no desire nor inclina-tion to embark on the journey, andwas certainly not by the financialmeans. He decided that he wouldinform her that he would not ac-company her and went to herhouse on a blisteringly cold, win-ter’s day.

In fact, he recalled that theweather was as dark, gloomy andmiserable as he felt. When sheopened her door, the radiant glowon her face welcoming him, andthe warmth of the family excitedlygreeting him from inside the livingroom, embraced him. ‘I am soblessed that you are accompany-ing me,’ his aunt lovingly smiled.

‘No Aunty, I am blessed to beaccompanying you,’ he instinc-tively replied. He then realised thathe had to go.

Abdullah was always an inde-pendent person. He meticulouslysorted out his finances and en-sured that all his debts were settledand that he had more than suffi-cient funds for the journey as wellas for any emergencies. He alsohad his contingency sum set asidefor all types of presents that hisfamily might request while he wasin the Holy Land.

He knew that the many well-wishers who would visit him be-fore his departure wouldinevitably slip an envelope con-taining some money in his hand orpocket with their final greeting.He resolved that he would not usea cent of this money for himself orhis family. He made a resolutionthat all that money would be dis-pensed to the needy and poorwhen he was in Makkah andMadinah.

Abdullah was a kind and hum-ble man, a fact that he did not re-alise but the rest of the world did.They showed their gratitude, andhe was shocked when he diligentlycounted the gifted money theevening before his departure: itwas close to the entire cost of hisjourney.

Ahmed learnt everything aboutthe Hajj in the two months priorto his departure. He had to makehasty arrangements with his em-ployer, who nearly terminated hisservices due to what they per-ceived unreasonable and excessiveleave demands. They agreed to un-paid leave and this aggravated hisalready woeful financial circum-stances. He had recently bought asouped-up vehicle whose thirsty

engine whizzed through his wallet,and he sat with other huge, self-in-flicted debts.

His aunt visited him one day. ‘Ithas always been my intention totake you along with not a single fi-nancial obligation. I have alreadypaid for our full packages. You donot have to worry about any-thing,’ she informed him.

He was close to tears and veryemotionally informed her that hewas selling his car. She was awarethat it was his pride and joy andhis status symbol amongst hisfriends. ‘Please don’t do that,’ shesaid.

‘I want to; Hajj is a much moreimportant journey than anythingthose four wheels can take me on,’he replied.

Abdullah and Ahmed weretravelling with different Hajjgroups but were on the same flightfrom South Africa.

The groups first went to theCity of Light, the City of Peace,Madinah, and were accommo-dated in the same hotel. Ahmednoted Abdullah coughing at thebreakfast venue one morning.‘That elderly man does not lookwell, and seems all alone,’Ahmed’s aunt observed.

He went to Abdullah and askedhim if he needed any help, and theoffer was politely declined. He didnot see Abdullah the next day andenquired about his whereaboutsfrom the group leader, who wasclueless but gave him Abdullah’sroom number. Ahmed went tocheck up on him and found himall alone, sweating profusely andbreathing with difficulty.

Ahmed knew that I was travel-ling with his group and hastilyurged me to attend to Abdullah. Iobliged.

Abdullah was in tears. ‘I hadeverything perfectly planned. I wassupposed to be greeting theProphet (SAW) this morning andhere I cannot even get out of bed,’he said. After I examined him, I re-assured him that he merely had aninfection which would resolvesoon.

‘Hajj is still more than a monthaway and it is infinitely better to

be sick now than during the fivedays of Hajj,’ I said.

‘But I had all these plans, Doc!’he said. He then explained his de-tailed itinerary for each day. Thisincluded giving money to a needyperson each day. The money hehad been gifted by family andfriends was divided into dailyaliquots and neatly wrapped intoindividual packets. ‘Do you needmoney to buy medicines for thehujaaj?’ he asked me. I politely in-dicated that we had enough med-ication.

Ahmed had tears in his eyes.‘What’s wrong?’ I asked. He ex-plained that he had sold his carand intended to donate a portionof that money to the poor in theholy cities.

‘I initially did not want to comefor Hajj because I was not spiritu-ally and financially prepared butnow I am so glad that I have ac-cepted the invitation. Uncle Ab-dullah, I will distribute yourmoney along with mine today andthe days that you cannot do so.Once you are well we can do it to-gether,’ he offered.

This gesture was readily ac-cepted. I later walked with Ahmedto the Prophet’s (SAW) Mosque.Even the huge crowds could notdistract from the serenity of themost peaceful city on this planet.After prayers, he met with a SouthAfrican resident in Madinah whotook him to some desperately poorlocals.

Abdullah was up and about thenext morning, attributing his rapidrecovery to the ‘good doctor’ butI knew that it was the peace ofmind that played a significantpart. I noticed him sitting atAhmed’s table and they clearlyhad found something in common.

Hajj was still some time away.Their Hajj had already startedand, somehow, though they hadstarted from vastly different ori-gins, they had reached the uniformpath of generosity and content-ment. They had indeed arrived.Labaik!*Not their real namesFor more Hajj Stories visitwww.hajjdoctor.co.za. You maycontact Dr Parker via email:salimparker@yahoo.com

We plan but we are only human

He had no clue about the rituals of Hajj, no desire nor inclination to embark on the journey, and was certainly notby the financial means, writes DR SALIM PARKER.

If we look, there will always be lightPhoto SALIM PARKER

Sometimes, just as it takes a while for the umbrellas that provide shade to open,it can take time for the benefit of the journey of Hajj to be appreciated.

Photo SALIM PARKER