I shared a room with a Romanian, made Bosnian friends, discussed Hajj rites with a nice group from Cambodia, had selfie with celebrities and shared a tent with Pakistani, Mozambicans and South Africans.
All this while having ice cream and chocolates, laughing, hugging and bonding. In that very instant, you’re reminded of the verse “.... from every distant point”
The sun is scorching, the heat is an oven, but the smiles are bright. Every step is a reason for further reflection and thought. Everyone you meet is a close brother. The spirit of Hajj embodies a unique sense of companionship and closeness. Even the soldiers had hand-held sprinklers on the streets to cool down the pilgrims, and they do so with smiles.
But how did I get this fortunate?
Let’s start from the beginning. Ten years ago, I took my late mom Hajj; she passed shortly after. It was her dream to visit the holy lands. She was enthusiastic and energetic all the way. She fell ill immediately after we arrived back.
So, when I received visa confirmation and ticket from the Saudi Embassy in Mogadishu last month, to be part of the special group of the King’s guests, I was overcome with emotion. It was nostalgic, but I was more thrilled. I felt the presence of my mom once again. I could hear her words, her laughter, her prayer, I visualized us walking together hand in hand to the Haram. I could see her face while she was deep in supplication.
Luck is when you make the journey of a lifetime once again, and get VIP reception and platinum hospitality. It feels like a good dream.
To be part of the guests of the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is a rare honor. Twenty of us from Somalia, beaming with joy, clad in the two all-white shawls, reciting “labbaik” all the way to Makkah.
Having made two flights, a four-hour layover in Dubai and a couple of hours of a bus ride to Makkah, we were all tired and needed a shower. But when we were received with Zamzam water and dates and Arabian coffee amid smiles and pleasant “salams”, we were instantly rejuvenated. We didn’t even take the option to rest a bit, but proceeded straight to the Haram to perform Umrah.
It was in Arafat - where the Prophet Mohammd delivered his Farewell Khutbah, and gave his counsel - that I felt an overpowering sense of spirituality. The otherworldliness of Arafat is in the location, the mountain, on the faces of the thousands of people bracing the 50 degree heat and a scorching sun. You see an elderly mother trekking. Everywhere you turn are faces of people submitting to Allah, tearful and beautiful. You fall in love with Islam again and again. It’s overwhelming.
It’s as though you are hearing the Prophet’s Khutbah, amid the whistles of the hot winds and the blighting mirage of the sun, you can almost hear the Prophet’s words, “O People, lend me an attentive ear ... an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by taqwa (piety) and good action”
In his immense wisdom, our beloved Prophet knew there will come a day and time when people like me will don the white shawls and walk amidst all colors and hues, amid rich and poor, young and old, and from every far corner, united as Muslims, submitting to the will of Allah.
For me, Arafat was the ultimate spiritual moment of Hajj. In the tent we were sharing with other nationalities, it was quiet, and sacred. Everyone was in supplication, some crying softly, others standing upright with hands raised.
It was while on the bus ride from Muzadalifah, that I interacted with Nigerian brothers from Maiduguri, Borno State. Jolly fellows who are very outgoing. We discussed Islam in Nigeria and were even curious about polygamy in Somalia. I think it’s a cultural phenomenon that Somalis share with Nigerians.
And we laughed when a Macedonian brother told us that back home they were told to beware of the Somalis and their stampede, for they are huge. We told the brother, those could be the Nigerians, not us. We’re tiny and harmless.
In the tents of Mina, we saw Sir Mo Farah, also invited from the UK in the same program, as a guest of the King. He felt a sense of belonging with us. We spent moments together, took selfies and jointly prayed for progress and our people.
The most heartwarming feature in this experience for me was the fact that Somalis nearly made the largest ethnic majority. Twenty from Somalia, twenty-four from Djibouti, seven from Kenya, one from Ethiopia, one from South Africa, one from New Zealand, one from the UK, two from Finland and I was told one from Sweden. All this courtesy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
This was indeed a five star Hajj. To the Saudi Embassy in Mogadishu, you make grand dreams come true. God Bless!
*Mohamed Hirmoge has served as a communications strategist at the Somali Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia. Additionally, he is the former Horn of Africa correspondent for CGTN (China Global Television Network).
