ISLAMABAD: Zainul Abideen, a Pakistani driver working in Saudi Arabia, could not believe his ears when he got a call last month that he had been chosen to perform the Hajj pilgrimage this year.
One of the holiest rites in Islam, Hajj usually brings millions of worshippers from all over the world shoulder to shoulder. But this year, the Saudi government limited attendance to curb the spread of the coronavirus, shrinking one of the world’s most famous crowds to a select, socially distanced few.
Zainul Abideen, a Pakistani driver working in Saudi Arabia, performs Hajj between July 28 to August 2, 2020 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo courtesy: Zainul Abideen)
Last year, some three million white-clad pilgrims from across the world flocked to Makkah to attend Hajj. But with large gatherings impossible given the pandemic, only a few thousand pilgrims — Saudis and foreign residents living in the country — gathered this year.
Abideen said he was one of only five Pakistanis who performed Hajj this year, though Arab News could not verify this figure from Pakistani or Saudi officials. He said he was tested for COVID-19 and had to be in quarantine for four days in a hotel in Makkah prior to leaving for Hajj.
Zainul Abideen, a Pakistani driver working in Saudi Arabia, performs Hajj between July 28 to August 2, 2020 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo courtesy: Zainul Abideen)
“I was very happy; it was as if I had reached heaven,” Abideen, who hails from Pakistan’s northwestern Swat district and has lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, told Arab News in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “In the Grand mosque, I felt that I was roaming around in heaven.”
“If anyone says he would spend 100,000 Saudi riyals to be able to attend this Hajj, he would not have gotten this chance because there were limited people who got the chance,” Abideen said. “There are billions of people but Allah has chosen a few of us to perform Hajj.”
Abideen said his kafeel had applied on his behalf to perform the Hajj before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Like other energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council states, foreigners working in Saudi Arabia must have their residence permits made by a national sponsor known as kafeel.
When Abideen got the call that he had been chosen, he was worried about expenses, expecting the limited pilgrimage to be more expensive.
“I inquired from the caller about total expenses of Hajj this year; he replied there will be no expenses as all costs would be borne by the Saudi government,” he said, adding that transportation, accommodation and other arrangements for the pilgrimage were fit for “kings.”
