Al Hajj

Al Hajj

     Last year in 2010, I went to Al Hajj with my family. It was very difficult but at the same time it was so exciting. We prepared our bags and joined a campaign. We got new friends while on our trip who shared with us Al Hajj. We did all the rituals of Al Hajj.

Al Hajj is something that every Muslim must do if the opportunities are available like money, health and free time to go. There are three types of Al Hajj, individual Hajj, Al Kiran Hajj and Enjoyment Hajj and we used Enjoyment Hajj. First of all, we prepared our bags and drove to the airport; it was so crowded with people who were going to Al Hajj. Then we went inside the plane and started our trip; it took us three hours to get to KSA by plane. When we arrived at Jidda airport we took a bus and went to Mecca. After we arrived we put our bags in the hotel and we went to The Ka’bba and circled it seven times and prayed near to Ibrahim’s shrine. It’s an archaeological stone which shows his feet. Next, we went to Safa and Marwa which are two mountains and walked between them seven times. Late, we went back to the Hotel and took some rest. In the morning, we had our breakfast; we took a bus again and went to Mina and stayed at Mina Towers; they separated us into two sections, women section and men section and each section had rooms; we stayed in Mina for two days just attending lectures, praying and meeting new friends. Later after three days, we wore Al Ihram and went to Arafa at 4 am; we stayed there until the sunset; we made our tents and sat there for praying and attending lectures. Next we took the bus and went to Al Muzdalefah to get some stones for stoning then we went back to Mina. In the next day in the morning, we changed our clothes and cut our hair and went for stoning; we threw stones on three obstacles; they are three big holes that you throw seven stones on each one of them because it says the prophet Ibrahim threw seven stones on the devil in each one of them: minor obstacle, central obstacle and major obstacle. After that, we went to Mecca and did farewell cruising and Ifaadah Cruising around Al Ka’bba.

     In the end, we went shopping in Mecca’s Mall and then we prepared our bags and went to the airport for going back home. It was a very difficult trip but at the same time it was so exciting; we met new friends, saw new things and got some experience. I really enjoyed our trip and I wish I could go there again in the future with my wife and kids.