Muslim Views . July 201722

ONE of the great rewardsof being consulted by intending Hajj pilgrims is

to hear their narrations.There is always the trepidation

of being vaccinated, and to easethe anxiety we employ a variety ofstrategies, which include them re-lating their viewpoint of their in-tended pilgrimage.Sometimes, not a word is said,

not due to fear-induced paralysisbut due to emotions.Many were simply too over-

whelmed by the blessing and hon-our of undertaking the journeythat they would not utter a word.The tears rolling down their

cheeks, the avoidance of eye con-tact and the gulp-like swallowingtold a story on its own.Sometimes it comes in a flood,

with different torrents of thoughtsconfusing the gentle flow of thespoken tide.Most of the related tales are of

gratitude, of being honoured to begiven a chance to be more Allah-conscious, of being given a newleash in life and of being able to re-pent and attaining redemption.What always fascinates me is

how much pilgrims are preparedto sacrifice in the quest to performHajj as perfectly as they perceivepossible.She consulted me months be-

fore she was due to depart oursouthern shores. She had planned,saved and dreamt of her Hajj andit was finally going to materialise.She informed me of her prepara-tions and how she planned to stayas long as possible in the HolyLand.She was going to spend every

minute of the precious time therein worshipping her Creator in thetwo holiest mosques in Islam.

The vast majority of Muslimswill only perform Hajj once intheir lifetime, and she was one ofthose who were acutely aware ofthis fact.There was not going to be any

regrets about not having hadenough time to do all the activitiesshe had planned.The Saudi authorities only

allow a certain duration of stayand she was going to be of the firstto depart SouthAfrica and ofthe last to re-turn. Sheplanned to havesix weeks com-pletely detachedfrom herworldly, mun-dane affairs andonly be involvedwith her innerspiritual self.Her work

was quite de-manding andagain she hadplanned everyaspect way be-forehand. Heraccreditation toperform Hajj had come throughearly and she had set things in mo-tion immediately. All her workhad been prepared months in ad-vance and was ready whenever itwas required.For the duties that would re-

quire her physical presence whileshe was away, she had asked for areplacement way ahead of thescheduled times needed for suchrequests to be approved. She hadput in her leave requests timeouslyand had not thought that therewould be any problems in it beinggranted.

She had informed her superiorssome time back of her intention toperform Hajj, and they wereaware of the normal duration ofthe journey for the ordinaryCapetonian. None of them had in-dicated any discomfort with herplans, and she mentioned that oneof her superiors was a Muslimwho had performed Hajj already.‘However, things are not going

as planned,’ she said. She said itmatter-of-factly, and did not seemperturbed by her statement at all.‘What do you mean?’ I asked,

my curiosity stirred.‘My work got back to me and

are absolutely understanding ofhow important Hajj is to Muslimsso they have no problems with megoing. What they have a problemwith is the duration of the leavethat I requested. They say that it is

longer than they can grant,’ shereplied.‘I am sure you can take unpaid

leave,’ I suggested.‘I told them that; I even said

that my whole leave period can beunpaid. I don’t mind that if theleave is an issue, I just want to gofor Hajj,’ she explained. She elab-orated how she had had meetingswith management and had tried toexplain her side of the story but tono avail.The maximum time off they

were prepared to give her was fourweeks.

‘What about the Muslim who ispart of management?’ I asked.‘That person was of the opinion

that Hajj was in reality only fivedays long and that a month wasmore than enough,’ was her reply.I was dumbstruck.She worked for a big institution

and her time away, as in any suchorganisation, should not havebeen a problem.However, her absence would

have inconvenienced, not paral-ysed, them as they would have toredeploy someone or even hiresomeone on a temporary basis.If they were willing to do it for

four weeks, surely they could do itfor six weeks.I thought of what difference

two weeks could mean to her.However, I am probably the lastperson to ask! Two extra weeks!

Her early arrivalin Saudi wouldnot be an en-gagement of tol-erance andendurance asthe airport andother transportstaff would bemore than ade-quate to handlethe number oftravellers.As she would

be leaving be-fore the major-ity of pilgrimswould arrive inSaudi Arabia,she would havemore opportu-

nities to enter the Prophet’sMosque in Madinah. She wouldhave more time to spend in theRoudatul Jannah, in the sereneand immensely spiritual environ-ment that not even massivecrowds can eliminate.In Makkah, there would be

more tawaafs possible, more timeto spend in the Haram, whetherreciting, praying or just letting thesights of the Ka’bah overwhelmher.I spoke then of the medical ben-

efits of going early. This gives theperson more time to acclimatise to

the oppressive heat and decreasesthe chance of heat stroke.Also, orientation and getting

used to the massive crowds be-come easier.‘So what are you going to do?’

I asked.‘I am going for the six weeks,’

she said determinedly.‘And your work?’ was my next

predictable question.‘Doc, I am not going to give up

my long held desire. WhateverAllah wills will happen. I’ll con-sider my future after Hajj but untilmy journey is complete, it will bethe only thing occupying mymind,’ she answered.She explained that she would

not resign from her job as shewould lose some of her benefits.She was not going to claim for

sick leave even though she hadplenty of that available. In fact,she was determined that shewould indicate to them, in writing,that she had more than enoughreasons to go for six weeks andwould be departing on a particulardate.‘If they call me to a disciplinary

meeting or fire me before I leave,I’ll state my case and leave asplanned and do something when Icome back.‘If they say that they would

consider that I absconded on theday I departed without their per-mission then they must institutesteps against me on my return.They can even fire me while I amgone. But I am going to depart onmy booked date.’Some often say that you are

tested during Hajj. The obnoxiousbehaviour of fellow travellers, thenon-delivery of agents, the disdainthe authorities treat pilgrims with,often lead to an upsurge of angerand hatred, which, while at timesprobably justified, is against thespirit of Hajj.Her test started way before she

even spread her wings. I did nothear from her again but I am surewith her resolve and determina-tion, Allah will smile on her.May she and all other hujaaj

have a Hajj maqbool and Hajjmabroor.

‘I just want to go for Hajj’

What fascinates me is how much pilgrims are prepared tosacrifice in the quest to perform Hajj as perfectly as theyperceive possible, writes DR SALIM PARKER.

The hajji wanted to arrive early in Saudi Arabia so that she would have more opportunities to enter the Prophet’s Mosque inMadinah, which is known for not allocating much space for women in the Roudatul Jannah. Photo SALIM PARKER

‘I told them that; I even said that my

whole leave period can be unpaid. I

don’t mind that if the leave is an issue,

I just want to go for Hajj,’ she explained.

She elaborated how she had had meetings

with management and had tried to explain

her side of the story but to no avail...