In January 2007 I made a promise to document everything about my Hajj (pilgrimage) 2006-2007 trip. My plan was to do it in a novella fashion because I had a lot of theories, comments, and future plans to write about. Why should I write about something that a zillion others have written about before? I would never be able to fully grasp the entire Hajj perspective in one post. Time, as always, was not my friend. It took me five months to write 40 pages right before my computer crashed erasing everything stored in My Documents folder and ever since then I've been hesitant about re-writing it.

To be inspired is one of the things that we, generations of today, need to find in order to proceed with our existence. But to be inspired religiously… that’s something else.

I need to write this for you. I need to remind myself that I could still be a better person, the person I was around the turn of the year.

I’ve come across many people, good people, who said that they weren’t ready to perform Hajj, that they’re not in a point in their lives where they could actually step towards Allah SWT and ask for forgiveness. To those people I say ‘I wasn’t ready either’. I’ve been delaying Hajj since 2002. My excuse was… I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to repent. I knew that I must change once I go there. Delaying it is so wrong. One never knows when he/she will die. To live a life that is totally directed at pleasing Allah SWT is the ultimate destiny. Climbing Everest will not make you a better man. If you’re living the way Allah wants us to live, why are you afraid? Why do you fear going to Baytullah? Why do you fear facing your sins, begging for forgiveness?

And so I decided to write the following brief points that I think might benefit whoever gets the ultimate opportunity to perform Hajj, the most beautifully reviving rokn.

Arafat

Sob7an Allah there is something about that place. The fact that as you get to sit there for do3a2 and tafakkor is one of the many signs of mercy bestowed upon us by Allah SWT. You get to remember each and every sin you've ever committed. I was told that I should beware of Al Shaytan when I’m over there for he tries so hard to ruin Arafa for pilgrims… and I must pass that same advice to you.

I was told by a colleague of mine that Al shaytan lurks there. Mafeesh 7ad la beysally wala beyed3y. El nas sob7an Allah are either sleeping, eating, or talking about omoor el donya. I was prepared based on that. As soon as I woke up that morning, I grabbed a chair and sat outside the camp, away from the other people who were with me at the camp, with my small bag that contained my small Quran and do3a2 books. I prayed for myself, my family, my friends, and my colleagues at work. Sob7an Allah... I kept feeling sleepy and dizzy all day. I drank around ten cups of tea and four coffee cups. Wallahy wallahy al shaytan tries to distract you by chit-chats, food (they served us shrimps for God’s sake.), and eyelids heavy as the world. Al 7amdulella I didn't sleep for a second. W sob7an Allah the more you pray, the more sins you remember. الحمدلله على نعمة الاستغفار

الحمدلله على نعمة المغفرة

I remember my father was absolutely shocked when he asked the guys at the camp, ‘So when will we be heading to Arafat?’… Then they said ‘Well, we are at Arafat khalas’. ‘Tab we'll gabal?’ la2 howa keda... I grabbed my cousin and my father and off we went to jabal Arafat... It was awfully crowded so we just stood next to it for a couple minutes, prayed, then left back to the camp.

Al Mozdalefa

It took us forever to get to Al Mozdalefa. That’s the place where you collect the stones for the stoning of Al Jamarat. Getting there is not easy and even though you’re sitting in an air conditioned bus, it gets frustrating. My advice to you is, forget about the road, the driver. Don’t look out the window. Just grab a Quran and read. It’ll take away all your worries.

We had to park the bus in the middle of the road near the end of Mozdalefa to collect our stones. We couldn’t find any other spot to park the vehicle. And so I got off the bus with my little torch and headed towards a cliff to collect stones for me and both my parents who were with me on the trip. Now what happened next is beyond any reason known to man. سبحان اللهSomethings can not be explained. Now here’s what happened. Wallahy wallahy stones appeared out of nowhere. I dropped to my knees and started picking the stones out. Once I gathered all stones at a certain area and face some other direction to look for others, when I looked back there’d be more stones to pick from. Sob7an Allah I’m sure that I emptied that spot out, but there’d be more and more a moment later. فعلا... يقول الله كن فيكون

Al Jamarat

KSA did a great job by constructing several routes for the stoning. The whole thing is very organized. There’s even a schedule for every country to follow. Since we, Egyptians, are a superior race, we do not abide to any schedules. The original plan is for each country to be divided into groups. Group A gets to march together in order, stand in line in front of each Jamara, go throw their stones in order, then move over to the next Jamara. The Turks were scary, I must say. They’d follow all the rules, then at the last moment they run, stepping on all that comes in their way, to throw their stones at the Jamara. I swear they looked as if they actually thought they were trying to kill the devil himself. ربنا يتقبل They looked too sincere.

The first time I went alone. To be honest, I was a bit scared. Scared of being crushed in the crowds, of not knowing what to do, or of not having enough stones… I don’t know. But here’s my advice: 1. Go at around 3:30 am (The setting is amaaazing). 2. Avoid crowds. No rush. 3. Count like you’re in kindergarten. I swear I kept messing up on counts every time I threw. Was it the devil messing up my head walla just me being a bit shaky… I don’t know. I’m just glad I had enough stones to throw the Jamara till eternity.

On my way back to the camp after the final throwing, I felt that I was a new man. The relief, the clean slate, the soul liberation, everything… undescribable. If you ask me I’d say that Hajj is not a fardh, it’s a ne3ma.

الحمدلله

The second stoning I did with my sister, her two year old daughter, and my brother-in-law. I got to see my niece throw her first stone. :)

I know that I have slipped into Donya once or twice after I got back from Hajj, but I still have the memory of that man with me to remind me every time there’s a chance for sinning revolving around me.

Another piece of advice for men: You know that seamless cloth that you wear for Hajj (Bashkeer or whatever)? Buy two to wear on top of each other. It gets cold down there at Mena and you wouldn’t want the cold to be something to worry about.

Useful tips

1. I performed all tawaf from the roof. It’s beautiful from up there. It’s less crowded so it’s excellent if your wife, children, or parents are with you and you can sit by the fence so you can see Al Kaaba while praying.

2. I didn’t like the fact that, when women were sitting in the front row, some dude would come out of nowhere and ask them to sit way back. If they ask me, I’d say that the guy sitting behind her should be the one leaving his spot. Oh well… nothing’s perfect when it’s human I guess.

3. Try and get a copy of الورد المصفّى المختار. It’s beautiful and it’s sold in almost every bookshop around the Haram. I must have read it like 30 times on my 18 day trip. It says everything a person would want to pray for.

4. I don’t think that I need to remind you not to buy anything except food once you’ve performed 7ijjat Al Wada’a.

5. Since my parents were unable to perform tawaf on their own they had to get wheel chairs pushed by some young kids working at the Haram. I learned later that you can get those chairs from someplace keda downstairs, but you have to register in advance or whatever. I never got the system. So we’d hire those kids to push both my parents we khalas. They’re overpriced though. I don’t think I can remember how much I paid, but I think it was 100-300 Saudi Riyals depending on when they were hired. Tell your parents not to be embarrassed to ask them to walk slowly cos most of them tend to run it like it’s a sporting event.

On the last day at Makka, we couldn’t find them. My father decided to perform Tawaf Al Wadaa by himself. My mother couldn’t so now I had to go look for a wheelchair. Sob7an Allah the moment I walked towards an escalator I found one parked right next to it. I asked the guard if it belonged to anyone and he said that he didn’t know and that I could use it if I wanted to. (The guards are usually very helpful if you learn how to follow the system. Most troublemakers were Egyptians who still believed that other Arabs still ride camels.)

And so… I used the chair and pushed my mother through the tawaf. It was beautiful.

الحمدلله

6. Infections. Now that’s something you gotta be prepared to face. Sob7an Allah I felt like my body kept pushing away the virus in fear that I wouldn’t be able to perform the Hajj duties for the three of us. I kept resisting until the final day when I performed the final stoning. Right there and then… I breathed in all the virus in the world. I did not care anymore. I was done. :)

Make sure you pack all required medications before you leave. Toilet paper is a must. Toilet seat protection (whatever they call it) is a must. Panadol Cold & Flu (the green one) is useful. We couldn’t find it over there.

7.If you’re gonna buy a galabeyya aka deshdasha from there, make sure you ask the dude if the material isn’t transparent. Yes, there are cheap ones over there.

8.لا جدال لا جدال لا جدال . YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT.

9. Speaking of clothes… they sell excellent clothes fel Madina.

10. It gets very, very crowded before and after prayer. So make sure you get there at least 30 mins before prayer and only leave 30 mins after.

11. Make sure your slippers are the exact fit of your feet. Things get kinda loose when you’re stuck in a crowd and someone could accidentally trip you over by stepping on your slipper.

12. If you find yourself at a crowded area, make sure your mother or wife are in front of you and put your hands around them to push away anybody who feels the need to push (There are many of those).

13. I’d hate to say this, but the guys from Southern African countries really know how to punch and push. At one point they totally pushed my mother to the ground. They do that at tawaf and they usually gang up against others. Bottom line… avoid them, Turks, and Malaysian women.

14. If you get a chance to leave your praying carpet and go to get a Zamzam water cup at Al Haram, make sure you bring the guy sitting next to you a cup. The look on their face leaves a mark on your soul wallahy. It also got me to know three people. One Algerian who kept telling me how much he wishes to live in Egypt and study at Al Azhar (if only he knew), one guy from Cameron who works at the WHO, and another Iranian fellow whom we still email from time to time.

15. All things put aside, I will never forget that South African woman whom I overheard while she stared at the Ka’aba saying ‘La ilaha illa Allah’.

The group from Azerbaijan hugging and kissing each other in congratulation for completing Hajj right after their tawaf al wada’a, the groups from Australia, the US, the UK, and the two guys from Denmark… they all got me to thinking…

هل حسابنا حيكون زي حسابهم؟

ربنا يتقبل منّا و منكم و منهم ان شاء الله

If you have any questions regarding Hajj, please don’t hesitate to contact me @ ragin.raven@gmail.com