The general belief in my part of the world, the African continent, is that your first Haj happens only when called by Allah and in spite of whatever preparations you make, you will only make it to the holy land if your time to answer that special call has come. Some who may have prepared so well end up not making the trip while others who never imagined they will make the trip suddenly find themselves on their way to Haj.
I only became sure I was destined to answer the Haj call when I found myself on the plane bound for Jeddah. Many on that same flight who were making the trip for the first time like me felt the same way as we had all anticipated that flight with bated breath. Seeing Jeddah with its dazzling light from the air announced our entry at last into the holy land and lifted our spirit. The formalities at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah were bearable and a couple of hours later we were on our way to Madinah.
We entered Madinah after the morning prayers and we were all eager to see the famous mosque of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). However, the problem of moving to our accommodation delayed some of us from this cherished first visit until the following day. The following day, after going round Madinah on a guided tour of historic places like the Quba Mosque, Uhud battlefield and cemetery and other places, which we had read so much about and now encountered, we ended up at the Prophet's Mosque. The environment was very welcoming though getting to pray at the Rawdah (inner precinct of the Prophet's mosque) was a Herculean task. I made three attempts to pray at the Rawdah in my one-week stay in Madinah before I became satisfied. The stay in Madinah was so stress free, comfortable and the daily visit for prayers at the Prophet's Mosque was such a pleasure that one wished the whole of the Haj period had spent in that manner.
Arriving at Makkah before dawn after a rather long journey from Madinah in Ihram and reciting the Talbiyah all the way, was the first indication that performing the Haj would not be a piece of cake. Soon we herded ourselves into the Masjid Al-Haram to perform Umrah rites and our first site of the Kaaba was humbling rather than overwhelming. The emotion was like “this is the much photographed, much talked about sacred house, which we have been facing in our prayers all these years.”
We were now so close to even touching it! Allah-o-Akbar! Umrah rites completed, our group went through the ritual of getting lost, losing our bearing and having to ask for directions before we could find our way back to our residence. It was not a funny experience. I passed the long days before the commencement of Haj rites making the daily visit to the Haram for prayers, drinking Zamzam, shopping in the innumerable shops for taking home souvenir, religiously buying my daily copy of Arab News which I was forced to "discover" while in Madinah when a brother from home gave me the news by phone, of first, the killing of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. Through Arab News, I followed the tremendous preparations of the Saudi authorities for the Haj and I learned about some of the things to expect as a pilgrim during the Haj.
You can never prepare well enough for the Haj rites as a first-time pilgrim. Being told about it can never take the place of the actual experience. The tranquil stay at the tent city in Mina, the standing at Arafat, the long and tasking night at Muzdalifah, the grueling trek to the Jamarat Bridge for the first throw of pebbles at Satan, then the throwing of pebbles on subsequent days and the Tawaf Al Ifadah and Sa'ee marking the completion of the Haj rites, were experiences apparently difficult but made easy to accomplish because they were collectively undertaken and shared with fellow pilgrims. The whole of the Haj rites itself tells us that when things are done in unison, with single mindedness, with sincerity and with cheerfulness and respect for fellow men and women irrespective of race and status, the outcome will always be success and satisfaction.
Post Haj stay in Makkah for me was a period of rest, contemplation and reflections on the lessons of Haj. I was impressed with the organizational ability of the Saudi authorities and their unceasing efforts to make the Haj a more comfortable experience for pilgrims every year. I was amazed at the massive construction projects under way around the Haram and in other parts of Makkah; all to make the Haj in future a more comfortable experience for pilgrims. I wondered at the strain the pilgrims of bygone days must have gone through in their own journey of faith and was almost feeling guilty that we have had it so easy. However, I wished transportation of pilgrims during the Haj days between and around the holy sites should be looked into more seriously to reduce the mostly unavoidable physical strain pilgrims go through by the unending trek from one place to the other. Also, through the mutawif groups or other kinds of arrangements, pilgrims should be well informed of what they would encounter in performing the various Haj rites.
I left Makkah for the onward journey back home through Jeddah with a feeling of spiritual fulfillment, a much fitter body and with loads of tales to tell and souvenirs to give the eagerly waiting family and friends.