Having had a little rest in our hotel after arriving in Makkah, we proceed to do the Umrah, as we are following the tamattu’ method of pilgrimage, which is the one preferred and recommended by the Prophet (peace be upon him). It involves doing the Umrah on arrival in Makkah, releasing yourself from ihraam, i.e. consecration, on the completion of the Umrah, then start ihraam again for the pilgrimage on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah. When I performed my first pilgrimage 40 years ago, there were several structures in the Haram compound, such as the pulpit where the Imam stands to give his sermon on Friday, the arch known as Bab Bani Shaybah, etc. All these have been removed many years ago to increase the area of tawaf and free it of spots of congestion.
Now we join the crowd to start our tawaf. I expected it to be heavy, particularly at this time with the pilgrimage only a few days away, but I certainly did not expect it to be as heavy as this. We are hardly moving. We started with the men baring their right shoulders, as recommended in the first three rounds of the first tawaf, whether it is the tawaf of the Umrah or the one done on arrival. However, the top towel cloth we are wearing could not be maintained in position because of the close contact with other pilgrims.
It is amazing how people are moving slowly and their voices are heard as they say their glorifications of God, or their supplication. Some are reading from the Qur’an, some appealing for forgiveness. All are turning to God, hoping for acceptance. They speak mostly in Arabic. There are groups of non-Arabic speaking pilgrims who say their supplication in their own languages. You hear Turkish, Persian, Malay, Urdu and African languages, and you realize that people are either glorifying God or praying to Him, because in all these languages Arabic words are included, particularly in the context of worship. Yet we do not reflect long on this unity of various peoples, because we want to attend to our own worship. We move very slowly; there is no chance of jogging as recommended in the first three rounds of this tawaf. The slow movement gives us a chance to say our supplication in a more relaxed way, but the crowding and the need to ensure that our women stay with us tend to distract us a little.
As we completed three-quarters of the first round, one or two in our group are suggesting that we complete the tawaf on the first floor. We discuss this briefly. Although the tawaf is a form of prayer, it differs in the fact that it is not rendered invalid by ordinary speech. The idea appeals to most of us, but some are worried that it will take much longer and will be more tiring. Anyway, we complete the first round and go upstairs. We find the tawaf round well marked, particularly at the point of starting and finishing. Here people are moving easily, despite the fact that as time for the obligatory prayer approaches more and more worshippers arrive and they try to move forward, causing a hurdle for the ones doing the tawaf. Anyway, we are all in worship and we accommodate one another.
I am not sure which took longer: the first round of tawaf we completed on the ground or the rounds we did upstairs on the first level. The distance upstairs is perhaps seven or ten times longer, but the easier movement helps. It is practically impossible for anyone to estimate the numbers of people doing the tawaf at any time. The more intriguing question is who are greater in number: the ones doing the tawaf on the first level or those on the ground level.
Anyway, we finish our tawaf. It has taken us more than two hours. Out of season it can take as little as seven minutes. We stopped in the middle because it was time for the congregational prayer, and we completed it when the prayer was over. It is a highly fulfilling spiritual experience, even though the crowding and the congestion take away a considerable portion of this fulfilment. I wonder what the Saudi authorities can do to reduce the problem. I read somewhere that a moving belt can be put in place to make the movement faster. It is an attractive idea. It will be of great help, even if it speeds up the movement by 20%, but what sort of belt would carry such load?
Our scholar tells us to offer the two rak’ahs recommended after the tawaf. Some of us wonder whether we should choose a spot behind Maqam Ibraheem, but the scholar says that the Maqam refers to the entire Sacred Mosque, and any place is just as good. This is certainly helpful, as I do not fancy more walking. After we have finished praying and supplicating, our scholar explains that it is time for doing the sa’ie, which is another walk. He explains that we do not have to do it immediately. We can go and rest in the hotel and then come back. Some of us choose to do it straightaway; some decide to wait until after the next prayer, which is due in less than an hour, resting in the mosque until then. My wife and I decide to offer the next prayer and go to the hotel for rest. We will do the sa’ie later.
The sa’ie involves walking between the two hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah seven times. While the tawaf is a special type of worship initiated by the Prophet Abraham, on instructions from God, after he and his son Ishmael had completed the building of the Kaaba, the sa’ie commemorates the action of Hagar, his wife. Abraham left Hagar and her baby son, Ishmael, at this spot as he was commanded to do by God. The place was uninhabited, with no water, shade or vegetation. As he moved away, she asked him why he was leaving them behind. When he did not reply, she asked him whether it was God’s orders. He confirmed this, so she said: “Then the One who commanded you to do so will not abandon us.”
After a short while whatever she had of food and drinking water ran out. The child was thirsty and cried for a drink. She looked everywhere, but found nothing. She ran to Al-Safa and looked in the distance, but there was nothing, so she ran in the opposite direction and climbed Al-Marwah. Again she found nothing. She ran again to the other hill. She did this again and again. Ultimately, she realized that the child stopped crying. As she approached him, she saw the water gushing forth close to him. She realized that God has given her a well of water. This is how Zamzam started, with an angel’s strike in the ground. She surrounded the spring with stones and sand, in order to keep it in place. The well signaled the start of human life in the place, leading to the establishment of the city of Makkah.
The sa’ie commemorates this effort by a woman who was looking after a little child, yet at the same time, she had surrendered herself and her child to God. This surrender is clear in her words, “The One who commanded you to do so will not abandon us.”
My wife and I came back at night for our sa’ie. It was relatively quieter even though many thousands were doing it at the ground level and the first level. When we completed seven rounds, each trip from one hill to the other counting as one round, we cut a bit of our hair and thus completed the Umrah. Now we were free of the restrictions of ihraam until we begin the pilgrimage.
Tawaf is a form of prayer, so it can be offered voluntarily as many times as one wishes. I remember in my last pilgrimage I did a few voluntary tawafs, but with all this crowding and congestion, I was hesitant. So, I discussed the matter with our scholar. He said that staying away from tawaf at this time, with the intention of making it easier for other pilgrims, is preferable. More reward can be earned by simply spending time in the mosque, reading the Qur’an, glorifying God and offering voluntary prayers. I will keep to these for the next few days.
