Day 7 – The Sites

December 20, 2006,
In Burj-Al-Aqsa with a tinge of annoyance…
Dear Journal,

I woke up in the morning very excited because the tour guides said that they will be conducting a tour of all the sites to see while in Makkah. They mentioned Arafah, Mina (so we can get an overall feel for the place before the Hajj starts and the place is flooded with people), and the Cave of Hira so that made me wake up really early and anxious to go and see the sites. When the word ‘Hajj’ is mentioned, images that normally come to people’s minds is of the Mount of Arafah with people having their hands high in the sky making supplications to Allah. Others think of the white tents in Mina that serves as a stark contrast to the desert all around them. When one mentions the first revelation, people automatically start thinking about the Cave of Hira. I was ecstatic that I was actually going to view these places in real life instead of just looking at a postcard…

The only problem was that my waking up early came up to be to no avail; the buses were coming very late and we had to wait in the lobby doing practically nothing except for moping around and waiting to get on the bus. While waiting, I surveyed the scene that was around me; people lounging around the coffee table relaxing and talking to one another, people still signing into the reception table and with heaps of luggage behind them, and with people contemplating with wise looks on their faces…

Whoa, the last one came as a surprise especially since I had literally looked all around me and my gaze had ended up there last. It was one man that was sitting in the hotel’s front steps looking out into the streets with a face that was filled with deep thinking. I saw it was Imam Karim Abu Zaid and I was just filled with awe by just looking at him. It reminded me of the Sujood, in which we put our head, which is considered the most honorable part in our body, on the floor showing that we are nothing in comparison to Allah. Here is one of our leaders sitting on one of the hotel steps while people are lounging in plush sofas… Watching him sitting there silently made me reflect on how my perspective had changed about him in the past few days…

Day 6 – Day of Umrah

December 19, 2006
At Burj al-Aqsa horrified on how my hair looks…
Dear Journal,

Today, we woke up first at Fajr time and for once in a very long time, it wasn’t one of my parents trying for more than a hour to wake me up from my deep sleep or the alarm clock. No; it was the Adhan – I woke up immediately and I had a sudden rush of excitement and pride that I was in Dar-al-Islam (The Muslim World). My friends, family, and I all headed towards the Haraam to pray. The closest we got for prayer so far was about 30 yards at least outside the building so it was still very far out. Today, we were going to perform the Umrah, so we were to actually go inside the Haraam and see the Ka’bah!! I felt another flurry of excitement in my stomach (I don’t think I’ll be able to eat breakfast if this continues…).

The Iqamah was given and we all quickly got up and got ready for prayer. After we got up from Ruku’, I looked up by accident (or was it curiosity?) and all I saw was rows and rows of pilgrims praying towards the Ka’bah. That was a very awe-inspiring event for me; seeing all these people together just for one cause – to glorify Allah… We finished prayer and went back to Burj al-Aqsa for breakfast. We arrived at the hotel and went to the 4th floor, which was the dining room for the hotel. We were astonished, there was at least 20 dishes of different salads and fruits alone not including all the dishes that included meat, rice, and other foods. Since it was breakfast time, the main courses included beans, cheese, and eggs – just like the hotel in Jordan. I took two hard-boiled eggs, bread with butter, some hummus, and some fruits. Normally in America, I would just leave the house without eating any breakfast, and here I was, feasting on so much food…

Day 5 – In Saudi Arabia!

December 18, 2006
In Burj al-Aqsa terribly excited
Dear Journal,

When the bus came, we picked up all of our luggage and headed outside towards the bus. IT WAS FREEZING even compared to America’s temperature. I learned it was always this cold at night because of its close proximity to the sea. We got in the bus shivering in our Ihrams and went towards the airport, all together finally as a group. When we got in the airport, we went towards the check-in area to get our boarding passes.

They were all extremely friendly since they knew we were Hajjis and we got our boarding passes with no problems. While getting our luggage together after we got our boarding passes, I noticed two large portraits above us on the wall. One was the usual portrait of King Abdullah (the sovereign of Jordan) that was everywhere in every single place (and almost every room) we passed in Jordan. However, the other was a new portrait that I never saw before; it showed King Abdullah in an Ihram doing Tawaaf around the Ka’bah.

Our whole group went together towards our flight gate. To get there, you must pass through this “Duty Free” shopping area. It reminded me of Ikea that you have to go through mostly everything to get to the exit. Talk about marketing everywhere… We got in the plane soon after and I got a seat beside my mother while my brother got a seat with our father. I finally relaxed over the thought that we were on our last plane to Jeddah and they couldn’t send us back to America now. I drifted off into a sleep for some time…

Day 4 – In Jordan

Sunday, December 17, 2006
About to leave Alia Hotel
Dear Journal,

After everyone got through yesterday at “Fraport”, we checked if there were any seats empty. They said there was exactly four seats left; we quickly rushed to get our boarding passes through and went straight for the airplane. “Fraport” was pretty interesting; since our terminal was on the other side of the airport, we used this skyline metro to get to the other side. It was a nice ride and since it was aboveground, we could see everything around us. Frankfurt looked cold, bitter, and uninviting, which made it look nice if compared to a horror movie. We got to the airplane and made it in the nick of time.We found out that since we were on the waiting list, all our seats were scattered. We didn’t really care because we were happy we even got on the plane. Beside me though, there was this man complaining to an official that he asked for a seat beside the window in First Class and instead, he got a seat in the middle. I shook my head in amusement – our family was trying our best to even get on the plane and here, we have this man complaining because he didn’t get a window seat. I went to my seat (it was a window seat) and sat beside an elderly man. We both introduced ourselves and found this man to be a very interesting person. He was a professor in Sweden in the field of archeology and frequently traveled to different places doing work there. He said he helped students from developing countries that came to Sweden to complete their studies. He also oversaw different projects started by the Swedish government in developing countries and the projects normally had his PhD students in them.

Day 3 – In "Fraport"

Saturday, December 16, 2006
In “Fraport” very apprehensive
Dear Journal,

After I slept for a while, I read some Qur’an and then I talked to the guy sitting beside me until the flight was over. I learned he was originally British but married a German lady and so he lived in Germany. I told him my dad studied in Britain and got his PhD there. He asked in what university did my dad get it, and I told him it was in Manchester University. He laughed and he said he also studied in Manchester University. He said after finishing his studies there, he married his German wife and moved to Germany. His job there was overseeing different parts being made for the Airbus plane all over the world. This time, he traveled to Los Angeles and North Carolina (or was it south?) to oversee the parts being made there. By the looks of him, he seemed like a very rich man which puzzled me on what he was doing in Economy Class. He told me that his boss wanted everyone to be equal and even his boss would sometimes be on Economy Class. This instantly made me think about the Ihram; two pieces of cloth that everyone has to wear, regardless if he is rich or poor which shows full equality in the eyes of Allah. He also told me a lot about Germany, which was a real eye-opener to me because all I knew about Germany was that Hitler was once dictator there and he started the Second World War. By the end of the flight, I also learned many German phrases such as “Godenmogen” (Good morning) and “Jeutchs” (Goodbye). On a normal United Airlines airplane, they have three seats beside the window instead of two. They may have those on other airlines, but I never remembered recalling those on any other airline. Anyways, our flight was no other different; I was in the middle of the three seats and on my right was the British/German guy and on my other side was a Mexican-looking guy. It really puzzled me though; we were headed to Germany, what was a Mexican guy doing in this plane? I asked him where he was from and he replied, “I live in Germany, but I was originally from Mexico”. I was half-hoping him to scream “April Fools!” but when it didn’t come, I was in shock thinking of a guy saying German with a Spanish accent. Kind of weird…

Day 2 – Towards Frankfurt

Friday, December 15, 2006
Aboard the plane towards Frankfurt
Dear Journal,

Today, in the morning around 8:30, we woke up and got ready to go to the Jordanian Embassy. Alhaji came and we all went together to the embassy, which was in Washington D.C. We arrived in the embassy building, which was built according to Jordanian art and architecture. It was interesting because all the embassies we passed on the way were also built according to their countries’ architecture and it seemed like you were entering another country every time you passed by an embassy. We entered the building and went to the people in charge of visas and immigration issues. We asked if we could get a Jordanian transit visa today so we could go on Hajj. The answer was simple, a little too simple… NO.

They said it takes 6 to 8 weeks to finish processing it and to get to us and then they asked if we still wanted it. We declined because by then, Hajj season would be over. We went home once again feeling worse by the second. Alhaji said that at 4:00, to go to the airport to get a seat and to keep trying until 10:00. The only problem was getting four empty seats in one airplane especially since it was Christmas season.After he left and we arrived home, it was around noon so my mom told me to get ready for Jumuah prayer and to eat before leaving. I got ready and after finishing my meal, I prayed to Allah to somehow get us a flight before Jumuah prayer because everyone would be pelting me with questions on why I was not on Hajj if I went to Jumuah prayer. Interestingly, after a couple of minutes, the phone rang. I wondered who was calling because everyone knew we were on Hajj. My dad went to answer the phone and came a few minutes later with a wide smile. I inquired what happened and he said what Wa’eel, the main travel agent, just told him; “Go towards the airport right now. You have a flight for your family and you only have two hours to get there and check in. Insha’Allah, you’re going on Hajj…

Day 1 – Rejection

Thursday, December 14, 2006
At home pretty miserable…
Dear Journal,

Today was supposed to be the day we set off for Hajj but some problems occurred which didn’t make it possible… We first arrived at the Dulles airport happy that we were going on Hajj today. I met a lot of my friends from Virginia that came to see us off. I also met one of my friends, Maarij, who was also coming on Hajj with us. We took our luggage and we went to check it in and to also get our boarding passes for the United Airlines trip. So far, everyone got their passes smoothly, including Br. Karim Abu Zaid, who was our spiritual guide for the trip and the current Imam of PGMA (Prince George’s Muslim Association).When it was our turn, we went up and showed our passports and tickets. The lady’s smile slowly turned into a frown as she typed into her keyboard. She asked, “It says you’re using your Bangladeshi passport for this trip. Is this true?” We affirmed it was true; we were using it because we reapplied for our Canadian passports since it expired, and it didn’t come back yet. She said since we were spending 12+ hours in Jordan (which was one of our stopovers); we had to leave the airport to stay in a hotel according to Jordanian rules. To leave the airport, all people with Western passports had no problem but for the rest, they needed a Jordanian transit visa. Moreover, since we didn’t have a transit visa, we couldn’t go on Hajj until we got it…