The Hajj: Day Six (Last Day)

The Hajj
Day Six

(Mission of the day: Stone the three pillars; perform circumambulation in Makkah; Supplicate abundantly; Go back home to Jeddah)

I saw people leaving tents with their luggage, trolleys and blankets. They were hoping to stone the pillars and then go directly to Makkah, in order to avoid coming back to the tents to pick up their luggage. We had some people who left as early as 10am, others at 11am, while some left at 12 noon. The 10am group came back with a success. They were the first ones to be there. The 11am group came back with no success. They claim that the police had formed a human chain around the group of probably 100s of people, and slowly shifted them away from the Jamaraat. This group told us that there is a the potential for a stampede. God, I hope not. We postponed our departure. We decided to leave after the late afternoon prayer. The catch was that if you delay your stay till evening prayer, you have to spend another night, stone the next day and then leave.

Soon news started to trickle in, from people returning to our camp with no success. “There’s been a stampede!” “About 50 people have been killed!” “100 people have died!” “No! 150 people have been crushed in the stampede!” The numbers were increasing each time someone came back to the tent. It was a horrible feeling. Why did it have to happen on the last day, when thankfully enough, everything went to well the previous days?

My parents and I left later in the afternoon. We were having our luggage delivered directly to Jeddah so thankfully we did not have to carry anything. The number of people seemed incredibly high, more so than on previous days. It was so crowded we were not able to get up on the ramp, and risked going on the ground floor. I saw people entering and leaving from the same opening. There were big neon signs, and ticker tape bulletins, asking the pilgrims to Calm Down, Do Not Enter, One Way….but no one was paying attention to these notices. There were ambulances lined up. God, I hope we don’t see any bodies here. There were policemen, military men and navy men all there, trying to control the over-enthusiastic crowd. Soon, we were caught up in the madness. People literally kicked you, pushed and shoved you, so much so, my dad and I stood on either side of my mom protecting her. Why can’t these people be patient?

We still managed to get to stone the three pillars, but it was amidst constant pushing, shoving, shouting, hitting, and walking over shoes, bags, and garbage. The whole experience of it made me realize that these people needed to be more patient, and only then can everything work out safely. But who’s to listen?

We made our way out from the Jamaraat. There is one more thing left for us to do to complete our Hajj: to perform circumambulation around the Kabaa in Makkah, the Farewell Tawaaf as it is called.

I remember when we were walking down the road from Mina to Makkah, when we saw about three Indian men, lying down on the floor, covered in a cloth. They all had their left arm missing. Their faces expressed such sadness, and evoked sympathy from me. They were so crippled, I felt compelled to give them money. I gave some to the first one, then to the second one, when suddenly there was an ambulance coming from behind us. In an instant, these three men, jumped up from their position, quickly wrapped their cloth, hid the money and literally ran to the side, hiding from what they probably thought were the police. They blended in with the crowd. We were in shock. Such con men taking advantage of pilgrims. Soon, these men went back to the middle of the road, laid down their mat, and got into the same position, making sad faces and raising their right hands for money.

Is it lawful for such beggars to mint money from unsuspecting pilgrims? I think not. They will be answerable for their actions, for deceiving people. As we walked further down the open road, we saw several other Indian men, all with missing left arms, and came to the conclusion that a leader has got these men, chopped off their left arms, and now forces them into beggary. Sad state of affairs. As the moment came nearer and nearer for us to finish our Hajj, and re-emter the reality that is in the world, my heart longed to stay here for the rest of my life.

We finally made it to Makkah, performed the circumambulation, and walked between the two mounts Safa and Marwa seven times. We prayed our prayers, and made “duas,” and came to realize that we are done with Hajj. Where has the time gone? Is it already over? I just felt like as if I was leaving Jeddah for Mina yesterday. For the first time since I’ve come to Hajj, I wept silently.

I came home to Jeddah, went straight to bed without changing. I was totally exhausted. My sleep was catching up to me. I slept for 13 hours straight!

Hajj accomplished.

Mansur