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Written by Samira Ali Gutoc
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Saturday, 10 January 2004 |
Hugs and tears, abayas (black gear for women) and kimons (white gear for men), the young and the elderly. With solemn goodbyes to their bidding loved ones, hundreds of Muslims, mostly elderly from Lanao del Norte dropped off the five buses in an official send-off at the NAIA, constituting the second batch of Hajj pilgrims this year. A total of 7 batches this year totaling more than 3000 pilgrims starting Thursday left for Mecca, Saudi Arabia through Saudia Airlines, under the auspices of the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA). They join millions of Muslims observing the annual rites that culminate in a religious holiday, Eidul Adha.
Holding hands, some of these first-timer visitors to the “Holy Kingdom” form groups under the leadership of a sheikh, who number almost 50 to serve these year’s more than 3000 pilgrims. On top of a pilgrim’s veil or headgear is a ribbon colored green, aqua-blue or even the Philippine flag itself. This color-coding scheme is to distinguish each contingent apart from the other.
With their sheikh, a respected Islamic community leader in tow, these faithfuls will fulfill one of the holiest tasks among the 5 pillars of Islam – that of visiting the Holy Place, the Black Stone Qaaba in Mecca and fulfilling this once-in-a-lifetime privilege.
Pilgrims are oriented to do acts of Hajj which start with - Ihram:(Donning the pilgrim's garb). Talbiyah: (The saying of labbaika Allahumma labbaik), Tawaf: (Circumambulation), Sa'y: (Walking to and fro between the hills of Safa and Marwah),Wuquf: (Staying at Arafat)...etc, all of these are "meaningful actions and feelings with deep meanings that the pilgrim experiences spiritually" says an Islamic Hajj rites guide website.
"Muslims believe that Abraham visited Mecca and helped his son Ishmael build a house of worship, the Kabah, here. The Kabah still occupies the town center. The enormous open-air mosque that surrounds it is the focal point of the next stage of the Hajj.
Inside the mosque walls, every pilgrim performs several simple rites. First, you circle the Kabah seven times in a counter clockwise direction. This rite, called Turning or Tawaf, is a form of prayer performed only in Mecca. Going around the shrine's draped walls, you literally place God's House at the center of your life.
Pilgrims now cross the mosque to a long corridor on its southern side. The corridor, or Masa'a, runs between two foothills enclosed within the building. Here pilgrims walk back and forth seven times at a brisk pace in a rite called Sa'y or Running that imitates the steps of Hagar, Ishmael's mother in the Torah, who rushed between the hills in search of life-giving water for her infant son. The story and the rite express the effort required in a person's search for salvation. The sudden appearance of a well in this desert landscape is the core of a miracle that Muslims believe saved Hagar and saved a branch of Abraham's family in Mecca. Not accidentally, this rite places a mother's story at the heart of the Hajj.
The Zamzam well that saved Hagar and Ishmael is within the mosque, too. Each pilgrim sips from its water as a reminder of the real results of spiritual effort and to be connected with the foundations of a religious tradition that emphasizes the worship of one God."
The event culminates in the slaughtering of an animal to commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice of his son, Ismael, in observance of Eidul Adha rites.
This year’s head of Philippine Hajj delegation is lone Basilan Rep. Abdulgani “Gerry” Salapuddin, who also heads the Phil. Muslim Leader’s Forum (PMLF).
Other partner agencies that helped the OMA in this year’s Hajj are Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Tourism Authority, the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Customs, the Manila International Airport Authority, the Saudi Airline Management, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the Philippines, and the Office of the President.
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