RIYADH: More than a pillar, Hajj has always been a time for building spiritual connection, cultivating empathy and practicing patience.
Previous Hajj performers spoke to Arab News about how their experiences created serene and meaningful evenings for contemplation and connection that have altered their perception of the world through conversation and playful competitions.
“After a long day of manasik (Hajj rituals), evenings had a really different rhythm, almost like stepping into another dimension after the intensity of the day,” said Othmane Elammouni.
Former pilgrims describe evenings filled with prayer and storytelling after completing the day’s rituals. (SPA)
Their group would usually gather outside in circles and trade stories about their lives back home, he recalled. Cultural differences were always one of the most popular topics, along with food.
“After Maghrib prayer, the staff organized question games, trivia-style competitions with prizes for the winners. It sounds simple, but it was honestly one of the highlights. You’d have people from completely different countries on the same team, laughing and getting competitive over questions,” he said.
The evening would usually close with a lesson from a well-known university professor or scholar. Afterward, there would be a one-on-one session for anyone who had deeper or more personal questions they wanted to ask privately.
After a long day of manasik (Hajj rituals), evenings had a really different rhythm, almost like stepping into another dimension after the intensity of the day.
Othmane Elammouni, Former Hajj pilgrim
He remembered a moment that stuck with him — being asked by a man in a wheelchair to be his companion for the journey. As this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform Hajj, he had intended to stick close to the guide and make sure every step was performed correctly, but that plan shifted the moment the request was made: “Being chosen to assist someone in need, in that place of all places, felt like a blessing I hadn’t expected,” Elammouni said.
As they walked through vast spaces and condensed crowds, people would part for the man in the wheelchair to pass through.
Shared activities such as games, conversations and prayer circles help create a sense of community among pilgrims from different backgrounds. (X: @HajMinistry)
“Even in queues, even in the most packed spaces, priority was given. Flags from every corner of the world, faces from a hundred different races, all moving as one and answering in a single unbroken voice, ‘Labbayka Allahumma labbayk’ — it sends a shiver through your skin just remembering it,” said Elammouni.
Abeer Sultan attended Hajj for the first time last year, but even with proper preparation she was unsure what to expect.
“I still felt like I was going to the unknown, but after seeing the amount of people in the tent, it kind of felt familiar but so new, since everything was shared and there was no longer any privacy,” she told Arab News.
Shared activities such as games, conversations and prayer circles help create a sense of community among pilgrims from different backgrounds. (X: @HajMinistry)
Depending on the ritual demanded by the day, mornings start with Fajr prayer, a light breakfast paired with Nescafe 2-in-1. “It only tastes good there,” she said. “Most prayers are done together, but since it was so hot, around 40 degrees, some of us stayed in (our) rooms, praying and reading the Qur’an.”
What she did not expect, said Sultan, was for their tent to have a “supervisor of happiness.” In the evenings, when the prescribed rites were finished, a female preacher would organize sessions based around various topics, and sometimes the supervisor of happiness would come up with a competition.
“Even at the men’s section, I would hear them singing ‘Ya Taybah” like it’s the last day of their lives,” Sultan recalled.
Shared activities such as games, conversations and prayer circles help create a sense of community among pilgrims from different backgrounds. (X: @HajMinistry)
The happiness supervisor asked them to decorate their tent for Eid, she said: “My mom got excited and voted to put me and my sister in charge and everyone agreed. The funny thing was that there was nothing to use to decorate the room, so we started using whatever we had available, such as umbrellas, tissues, fans, etc., and it was a way for us to bond with each other,” Sultan said.
After returning home, Sultan’s Hajj memories were full of the journeys that brought people from across the world to her tent to share the experience. The patience she harbored during the trip gave her “a sort of new perspective on how we choose to live and what we dedicate our lives to.”
Jumana Shaheen, who performed Hajj during her mid-teens, said her group held board game nights and played chess, but most evenings consisted of the women sitting together and sharing challenges they have overcome, life lessons and prayers that got them through difficult times.
“At that time in Saudi (over 10 years ago), it was very different, so things that they … did to make life more enjoyable, how they created other women’s circles and things like that in their houses to support one another,” she told Arab News. On other evenings, people would sit alone to contemplate, pray, manifest or journal.
“What I found super powerful is the conversations that women would share, whether it’s certain prayers or rituals,” said Shaheen. “I remember I learned about moon water … basically, you would put water out when the moon is full and use it to water plants. They shared how this brought more fullness and abundance in their homes.”
