Hag, Haaaj, or Hajj

I laugh every time I hear people say hag.  Of course, usually Egyptians say it this way.  But, you’ll find other variations like haaaaj (with with the softest ’j' sound you’ve ever heard.  I like to use the Quranic way – hajj (you say the ’jj’ sound as if you a truck is stopping abrubtly.)  Some people think I’m mispronouncing it. 

The point is not how you say it but what it means.  It’s the second home for Muslims. Even if you’ve never been there (like me), it’s always in your heart like it’s your connection to God. Most people who go say it’s the best journey they made in their lives. This might be scary but many say it feels like the Day of Judgement.  Two million or more people jammed packed in a small area all walking and driving to another area for days. 

A place and time where you feel that nothing wordly matters – at all.  All you are worrying about is making the most of your time and seeking rewards from Allah.  A place where Prophet Adam (a.s.) built the kaaba and later Prophet Abraham (a.s.) rebuilt it with his son Prophet Ishmael (a.s.).

There are so many aspects that I can revel about but the one that I think about often is how organized Allah made our religion.  I mean, if you left it up to the Muslims, there’s now way in —- that they could organize anything even remotely close to this.  (If you’re Muslim, you know what I”m talking about.)  But Islam has all of these things built into it.

Who else can get over two million people from every country in the world to gather in one place, doing the same rituals and feeling so inspired in a place where not a single iota of violence is tolerated?

Astonishing.

There are a small minority of non-Muslims lurking on the internet, huffing and puffing because Makkah is a private area only for Muslims.  But you know, the funny thing is, I bet those same people wouldn’t step into Saudia Arabia if I paid them.  My answer to these people is that just like I’m not allowed to walk into anyone’s private property, non-authorized people are not allowed to enter this area of Saudia Arabia because it’s private property of the Muslims.  If you really want to go, there always is a way.

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photo credit: Al Jazeera English