The Hajj: performing Islam's most significant pilgrimage

"I opened my eyes and tried to focus them through the steady stream of raindrops washing away my tears. As my vision adjusted, the noise silenced by my meditative focus slowly returned: the loud chanting of the talbiyah (pilgrim's chant) by tour groups of pilgrims as they move in snake-like chains, announcing to us and God of their arrival; the scrunch of a thousand discarded plastic bottles being trampled by worshippers as they moved like a white glacier towards the revered Mount Arafat ('Mountain of Mercy')."

"I could again see the dark, pregnant clouds overhead and hear the whispered pleadings of those around me who, just like I had been seconds previously, were completely lost in their faithful incantations; eyes closed and hands outstretched, facing the holy Ka'aba, way off in the distance. Its direction is easily ascertained by the gigantic, gleaming green and gold clock tower that now looms over the cube-shaped 'House of God' like an oversized lighthouse in the desert."

"For a Muslim's Hajj to be accepted, they must be standing at sunset on the plain near the Mountain of Mercy on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah. This is the only non-negotiable rite of the Hajj. All others can be excused for valid reasons, but not this one, which is why throughout history, would-be Hajjis, even those on their deathbeds, have asked to be carried here ahead of sunset."

A pilgrim accompanied his mother and aunt on Hajj, experiencing intense emotion amid rain, chanting, and teeming crowds. Pilgrims chanted the talbiyah and moved in snake-like chains toward Mount Arafat, crushing discarded plastic bottles underfoot. Dark clouds and whispered pleas filled the plain as worshippers faced the distant Ka'aba, its location marked by a gigantic green and gold clock tower beside the House of God. Hajj rituals occur between the 8th and 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah, but presence on the Plain of Arafat at sunset on the 9th is the only non-negotiable rite. Arafat holds deep tradition as the site where God forgave Adam and Eve.

Read at CN Traveller