The Deepest and Most Profound Journey Into Islam
Issa Daniel Mark.
As a public health educator and a relatively new Muslim, I would like to share a few personal and professional perspectives with the Islamic community regarding my Haj this year. Hopefully those blessed with responsibilities involving pilgrims will be able to make use of these reflections in ways that will benefit the pilgrims as well as the organizers of this very important and inspiring event.

My experiences in Saudi Arabia were very positive. I was physically, mentally and socially challenged and rewarded. There were many times when I felt like we were in the midst of heaven, surrounded by angels and believers worshipping our Loving, Merciful God.

There were also a few times when I felt fear, loneliness and despair. These were times when I was forced to face doubt, laziness and a few of my other shortcomings, which resulted in spiritual growth, greater trust and a better understanding of my dependence on Allah’s Strength, Love, Mercy and Wisdom.

As an American, my initial reaction to the enormous crowds was shocking. But living in Jerusalem for many years and praying with the crowds in Masjid Al-Aqsa on Fridays and holidays, has taught me to be extra patient with (and very appreciative of) our large and growing family. I hope and believe that these two characteristics, patience and appreciation, can be developed significantly in ways that can facilitate future pilgrimages. Hopefully this will allow more cooperation and consideration among the pilgrims thus reducing sicknesses, injuries and deaths.

Like many pilgrims I was concerned about the trash, leftover food, and especially the germ-filled body fluids accumulating on the street. These are clearly public health dangers! The growing chorus of voices from the pilgrims is sending out a clear alarm telling us that there is a need for public health intervention!

I highly recommend pre-pilgrimage education and test, which could be required of all pilgrims before obtaining a Haj or Umrah permit. Pilgrims need to be extra considerate about health and sanitation. A few hours of instruction can make a world of difference in containing many illnesses... Personal oral/nasal fluid collection bags and masks should be required for all those who are sick and these must be readily available (from tour coordinators as well as from the health clinics). As an additional measure of protection, healthy pilgrims could be encouraged to wear nearly “invisible” ultra light goggles and nose filters to prevent exposure to many of the health risks.

Like many pilgrims, I was also concerned about the pushing, yelling and impatient behavior which lead to hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries, and countless encounters with fear, pain and discomfort. Some people have suggested that this is supposed to be part of the pilgrimage experience and an acceptable cultural component in some of the regions that send pilgrims.

However many Muslim scholars agree that a more peaceful pilgrimage requiring maturity and patience is far more preferable. If we accept the challenge to be more considerate of each other, Islam will be perceived as an even more friendly religion which is likely to quicken the pace at which people (especially in the West) embrace Islam.

In my case, some encounters with the crowds bordered on violence, which pushed me into facing a number of challenging questions - questions that some traditionalists may find difficult to even ask, let alone answer. But considering that the majority of Muslims are non-Arabs, and therefore unbound by the non-Muslim traditions within Arab culture, the Arab world must face these questions at some point in the future. Likewise non-Arab Muslims must also examine how traditions, politics, conformity and superstitions within the non-Arab world may be detracting us from the most matured service we can give to Allah.

Are we truly ready to sacrifice a bit of our personal time, money and comfort to serve God? Or are we going to allow immature, self-centered behaviors to continue causing confusion, sickness, injury and death?

As Muslims, we must accept the realities of the world we live in, even if we disagree with some aspects of these harsh facts of life. Otherwise we are living in a fantasy world, which is like living a lie. Only if we face reality can we be effective in changing reality toward the ideals found in Islam. We must guard ourselves against exaggerations and over generalizations, for these lead in the same direction that lies do. We must face the shortcomings in our own communities as well as the difficulties placed on us from outside our communities. If we want to encourage non-Muslims to join our faith, we must set a good example and prepare a healthy place for the new believers, many of whom are spoiled by the conveniences and comforts of the Western world. I believe that the truth in Islam has solutions to all of our problems, but only if we are freed from the blind traditions of our ignorant, pre-Muslim pasts.

Islam has been such a wonderful gift to me. I have grown so much in the last six years that I have been a Muslim. I have grown significantly in the last few weeks while I was in Makkah and Madinah. And I am sure that I still have much more room to grow and so does our community of believers. I hope and pray that the whole world can experience the joys and the responsibilities that I have found within Islam.

My Haj was a combination of spiritual bliss as well as some real difficulties. The difficulties were based on the challenges I already mentioned. So I will end this article by sharing a few of the happiest reflections from my journey which started before I even landed in Saudi Arabia.

Getting a visa as you know is a challenge in itself. My visa arrived six days after the group from Jerusalem (with whom I had hoped to travel) had already left. I was so surprised that I was still able to go at that point, that I was nearly speechless. Tears of joy filled my eyes a number of times, especially when I called a dear friend to straighten out a misunderstanding we had a few weeks earlier. A two-hour delay at the airport in Amman allowed me to meet a really friendly Saudi Arabian pilot who gifted me with a small bottle of fresh Jordanian olive oil. As we flew over the desert, I was overwhelmed with emotion, the beauty and the harshness. Each second was bringing a plane loaded with pilgrims closer to Makkah.

When we landed, we were greeted by friendly, relaxed and well-organized officials who made sure that everyone got to their appropriate destinations. The young man who volunteered to assist me, had an extra challenging time trying to understand what to do with a new American Muslim living in Jerusalem, especially considering the fact that I was looking for a group that was in transit from Madinah to Makkah. My circumstances were further complicated by the strong desire I had to pray in Madinah. An assembly of brothers (whom I had only just met) found a good working solution to my dilemma and a short time later, I found myself flying to Madinah with a huge smile on my face.

When I arrived in Madinah, I was adopted by a wonderful group of Jordanian brothers who fed and looked after me in ways that deserve much more praise than I will say here. The next morning, predawn, I experienced one of the major highlights of my trip: My first encounter with the Prophet’s Mosque. It is so spectacular and such a blessing to be there. The mosque looks like a huge palace, but one which is completely dedicated to God and brilliantly filled with light and a peaceful inviting presence. I remember my first prayers there. Words are incapable of describing the heavenly sensations I experienced. However, I can say that I felt that I was surrounded by mercy which lifted my spirit high up into the upper reaches of God’s presence.

My time in Madinah was extended by outside forces from one or two days to four days and finally to six days and each day was a great gift and another great mercy from Allah. There were so many emotions and a great deal of excitement involved in putting on ihraam, in circling the Kaaba, in walking between Safa and Marwa, in throwing stones and in climbing up to the cave where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) first received revelations.

I felt blessed each place I went, meeting people from many, many countries and nearly every continent. So many men and women praising Allah, submitting to His perfect will and appreciating the words I shared about how and why I embraced Islam. The cultural richness was so colorful and so touching. I even learned to appreciate shopping, for each gift I bought for a family member or friend was purchased with a memory and a prayer in service to Allah.

Based on my only experience in Saudi Arabia, I would say that the pilgrimage is the deepest and most profound journey into Islam and into the community of believers than most pilgrims realize until they arrive. Because the pilgrims’ time in Makkah, Mina and Arafat is relatively short and there are so many people. It would be very helpful for the participants and the organizers to carefully coordinate preparations and plans for the Haj, weeks before the pilgrims arrive. I also want to thank Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and all those working with him, for their great efforts in the service of pilgrims and in organizing this largest gathering of Muslims in the world.






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