The
Haj is about attaining purity. But how
does one sustain that purity in a world where ‘dirt’ is so easy to gather?
Haj
provide a mechanism for that as well.
10th
ZIlhajja, the third day of Haj is a busy day. It is also the day of Eid-ul-Adha
or Bakri-Eid as popularly knowing in India.
The
first important activity on this day during Haj is to stone the devil, who is
represented by three huge pillars at the far end of Mina. There are TV screens
in the camps which relay the crowd situation at key sites allowing you to decide
when to undertake the journey.
At
11:00 am we felt refreshed enough to make the trip. The plan was to take the
metro services reducing the walking to only the train station and back, which
itself was more than a kilo meter each side. However once we reached the
station we realized that the metro services were stopped due to the huge crowd.
This left us with no option but to walk the 4 KMs to the stoning site.
The
authorities have built an air-cooled, canopied road with water outlets at every
few meters on either side to protect the pilgrims from the blazing sun and heat.
The progress though was slow since many people were still tired and it took us almost
two hours to finally reach the site.
Standing
in the plains of Arafat on the afternoon of 9th Zilhijja was about attaining
purity by seeking forgiveness. The stoning of the devil on 10th (and
subsequently on 11, 12 and 13th Zilhijja) is about sustaining that
purity by building resistance to what is wrong.
Stoning
the devil is a ritual to commemorate the incident where the devil tried to lead
Abraham astray into disobeying God’s wish to slaughter his son Ismael. Abraham
resisted the devil by throwing pebbles at him at three different places.
The
Haji revisits that incident by throwing seven pebbles at a huge oval pillar
which symbolizes the devil. However before throwing each pebble it is
prescribed that the person has to recall in his mind one occasion where s/he
did a wrong, where they gave in to the temptation of the devil. As you remember
a wrongdoing, then pick the pebble and throw it at the devil, you are not
stoning the external pillar but that something inside you which tempted you
into that transgression.
The devil does not reside in that
pillar, but in our own deeper selves. That is the essence
of this ritual.
And
when you repeat this exercise on all the remaining days of Haj (stoning all 3
pillars, unlike only the ‘Big’ devil on 10th Zilhajja) trying to
remember each transgression of yours and then pelting the ‘devil’ inside which
made you do that, you are building in yourself the ability to resist the wrong,
to throw a mental stone at the ‘devil’ whenever he attempts to bait you again.
And
the ‘bait’ is all pervasive you realize as soon as you return tired from the
long walk back to your camp. The exhaustion makes you prone to frustration and
anger and it is visible around you in the tent. A few are angry for what they
term the mismanagement of the tour operator since they left Arafat, others are
frustrated with the delay in the sacrifice (which is the next obligatory ritual
after the stoning of the devil) because without confirmation on the sacrifice
having been made at the government slaughter house they are unable to divest
their ihram and the restrictions that
come along with it, while some blame the Saudi government for not being able to
manage the metro services. There is gossip, hurt, blame and argument as the
devil gets back to work immediately after being stoned.
And
it doesn’t take time to realize that there is no devil that lies outside, all temptation,
all dirt resides inside us – in our ego, in our laziness, in our flawed intents
– and till we do not become conscious about it and build the habit of ‘stoning’
it, sustaining purity would be difficult.
Late
in the evening we received news of the sacrifice being done so we shaved the
head and removed the ihram. There was
a feeling of happiness all around on having fulfilled a major portion of Haj.
Restrictions, even if they meant closeness to God, can be a burden.
Late
next morning, on the 11th of Zilhajja, we left for Makkah for tawaaf-e-ziyarat, or the circumambulation
of the Kaaba during Haj days, the final mandatory ritual. There was
unprecedented crowd in Masjid-al-Haram and even the first floor and the roof
top which requires covering a greater distance for the tawaaf due to the bigger circumference were completely packed. Yet
my wife was insistent that we do the tawaaf
in the mataaf, the open area
immediately surrounding the Kaaba. Whether it was her strong belief or plain right
timing but we managed to sneak into the mataaf
immediately after the noon prayers when the sun was at its hottest.
Many
times on TV and in few movies we have seen the famous Makkah footage of the huge
gathering doing the rounds of the Kaaba, packed tight together with no empty
space as if the people were standing still and the ground below was rotating
like a conveyor belt. It is an amazing scene even from the outside.
What
is it to be inside the scene? To be
one of the many thousands seeking and praying as they circled the revered place.
Once
you enter that swirling mass of people you are alone despite the crowd. There are
many distractions; wanting to finish quickly by trying to find empty spaces, timing
your rounds, correcting others, staying in touch with your group etc. However success
lies in submitting yourself to the flow, following the automatic motion. And
giving yourself to God; spending that hallowed time that would not come again
soon in your life, probably never again, in praying for yourself and everyone
you know and seeking forgiveness and wisdom for the life ahead. Then the crowd
exists only as a huge vehicle for your journey, taking you along, strengthening
your objective by their own congruence of intent.
It
is humanity besieging God and you feel a part of it.
By
the time we finished our tawaaf and saee (the seven rounds between Mount
Safa and Mount Marwah) it was late afternoon and as we walked into the basement
of Masjid-al-Haram on our way out, all the nostalgic memories of hours spent
leisurely there during the early days of our pilgrimage came rushing back. Today there was hardly a place to sit.
We
took a private bus to Mina for the second day of the stoning of the devil. In
order to avoid stampede due to people moving in both directions, the
authorities have built ‘one-ways’ which meant we had a good 2.5 kms walk from
where the bus dropped us. It was night by the time we finished the stoning and
thankfully for us the train services had resumed. We boarded the metro back to
our camp.
It
was 9 PM by the time we alighted at Mina 1, our camp destination. A couple of
handcarts were selling memorabilia and toys, a few tea and cold drink stalls on
the road manned largely by African women awaited the odd customer, a police
jeep moved about silently and small groups of pilgrims walked around with
casual indifference. There was a strange stillness all around, a resigned calm
after all the urgency and frenetic activity of the last three days as if the
air around had sensed that the action was over, the deed almost done.
Life
assembles in Mina only during these five days of Haj.
We
had complied with all mandatory and most of the obligatory rituals. What
remained was the stoning of the devil on 12th Zilhajja, the fifth
and final day of Haj and then back to our hotel room and the flight home a
couple of days later. We trudged back quietly along the small ascent, absorbed
in our own exhaustion and relief. There was no need to hold hands diligently any
longer for the fear of getting lost because there was no crowd anymore and in
those four days we had begun to know the place and its roads. Returning to the large
tent with only a cramped single foam mattress as a bed felt like returning home.
How soon does one get attached to the
place one stays.
Next
day the main topic of discussion at breakfast was whether lunch should be
served at the camp, or would people finish the stoning of the devil and return
to the hotel and have lunch there. After long debates and many suggestions it
was decided that the elderly would provide proxies for stoning the devil (the
rituals allow this if you are not physically fit) and take an early bus back to
the hotel with the luggage, while the others would complete the ritual and
reach directly. Lunch would be served at the hotel in Aziziya.
It
is interesting how hygiene factors override everything else and occupy our thinking. Maslow has
got it perfectly right.
We
left a little after noon for the third stoning of the devil. The train journey
was comfortable as most of the crowd had already planned their return. By 2 PM
we finished the stoning and reached Mina 2 station from where our hotel was a
15 minute walk.
The
air at the hotel was festive and congratulatory. Men and women sat in the lobby
and welcomed each one as they returned from their journey. A feast was laid out
for lunch and everyone hugged and wished each other fondly recounting their
stories of the last five days. Despite the tiredness and fatigue there was liveliness
and the joy of having reached the destination, of achieved the purpose.
We
were Haji’s now.
[In
the next episode we will complete the final ritual – the farewell visit to the
Masjid-al-Haram and undertake the return journey back home.]
