'I cried at sight of the Kaaba'
An estimated 2.5 million pilgrims from 187 countries and regions undertook the haj, from December 28, 2006 to January 1, 2007, making it the largest-ever such gathering to date.
In the time of Muhammad, there were no flights to bring haj pilgrims to Mecca in just a few hours, and pilgrims did also not have to deal with the logistics and security problems posed by the more than 2 million haj pilgrims today.
Now, while the waters of the Zamzam well which Muhammad led his followers to drink is provided by Mecca's hotels to their patrons, pilgrims have to suffer the exhaust fumes from cars as they gather in Muzdalifah as part of the haj.
The first sight
In more than 1,300 years, the haj has never been an easy trip for Muslims. Every year, there are people who die of natural or other causes during the haj, but this has not deterred more pilgrims from all over the world following in the footsteps of their prophet.
Among the 2.5 million pilgrims were 9,785 Muslims from China who will now add the title "Haji" to their names, to indicate that they have completed the haj, considered a Muslim's most important duty.
"At the first sight of the Kaaba, I felt so exhilarated that I cried," said Jia Haicheng, 65, from Northwest China's Qinghai Province.
Kaaba is the holy shrine in Mecca towards which all Muslims pray. Pilgrims begin and end their haj by circling the Kaaba seven times.
"I have been praying towards the Kaaba all my life. Now I have seen it with my own eyes and even touched it," said Jia. "No words can describe that feeling."
Yang Zongren, 53, from Northwest China's Gansu Province, said he also cried at the Kaaba, even though this was his third haj since 1994. In 2000, he performed the haj again with his father, who was in his 70s then and has since died. This time, he was accompanied by his wife.
"Haj is a mission assigned to us by Allah," said Yang. "If Allah wills, I will come again."
There are more than 20 million Muslims in China, accounting for about 1.5 percent of the total population, according to the national census in 2000. The earliest record of Chinese Muslims' haj dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In recent years, the number of Chinese haj pilgrims has grown rapidly.
Among the Chinese, haji pilgrims include not only people from the 10 Muslim ethnic groups in China, like Hui and Uygur, but also believers of the Islamic faith from other ethnic groups.
Twenty Tibetan Muslims performed the haj this year, led by Ali, an imam from the Grand Mosque of Lhasa. Though the majority of Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism, around 5,000 Tibetans have converted to Islam, mainly in Lhasa, Shigatse and Chamdo.
"To perform the haj is more effective than studying the texts," said Amannula, 56, who was in Mecca with his wife from Lhasa. "When I saw Muslims from all over the world gathering in Mecca, I realized the greatness of Islam."
Though the haj cost Amannula and his wife about 60,000 yuan ($7,700), he said he felt lucky to have the chance to do this duty.
While Muslims from the Arab world prayed in the Arabic language, prayers in various other languages could also be heard. Many Chinese pilgrims said they prayed in Chinese, Tibetan and Uygur.
"I can say Islam's daily prayers in Arabic, but prayers for the haj were too long for me to remember," said Jia. "But this is not a problem. Allah knows all languages."
Such views were echoed by most of the Chinese Muslims. During the haj, the pilgrims are supposed to say different prayers every time they go around the Kaaba, and at every other ritual.
"In Islam, it is not stipulated that one has to use a certain language to pray," said Zhang Shihai, 44, from Gansu. "Saying my prayers in Chinese helps me express myself better."
Chinese is the mother tongue for the majority of the Muslims in China, especially the Hui people, who accounted for two thirds of the Chinese haj pilgrims this year. As followers of Islam, Chinese Muslims use the traditional Arabic greeting of "as-salaam alaykum" "peace be upon you" with one another.
In China, this greeting is a way for Muslims to identify each other. In Mecca, Chinese Muslims used it to greet other Muslims from different countries and cultural backgrounds.
"Muslims from all over the world feel like brothers and sisters when we say 'as-salaamo alaykum'," said Zhang. "For further communication, we used signs."
Chinese pilgrims performed all the prescribed rituals of the haj, such as walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, staying at the field of Arafat, and the symbolic "Stoning of the Devil". All of the men wore the ihram, which is simply two pieces of seamless white cloth.
"By wearing the ihram, you put aside your secular life for a while, and this is like a cleansing of the mind," said Zhang. "The sight of everybody in the same simple ihram, regardless of possession and social status, is deeply moving."
During the rite at Muzdalifah, all the pilgrims slept outdoors in temperatures hovering around 10 C. Before dawn, they headed for Mina, where the "Stoning of the Devil" ritual took place. "The haj is certainly tiring, but I feel very happy," said Yang.
Improved safety
For the "Stoning the Devil" rite, pilgrims throw small stones on three walls symbolic of evil continuously for three days. Owing to the huge crowds, there have often been stampedes during this ritual in the past.
Fortunately, this year there were no untoward incidents, thanks largely to the Saudi Arabian Government's expansion of the jamarat bridge where this rite takes place. Now that the first phase has been completed, pilgrims can access two levels. Another three levels are to be added and once completed, the bridge will be able to accommodate more than 4 million pilgrims.
"Before I came, both my family and I were worried about possible danger during the 'Stoning of the Devil' rite," said Jia. "Now, I feel safe."
The Prophet Muhammad said that if a pilgrim completed the haj without breaking any of the rules, he or she would be like a new-born baby after returning home.
"Most Hajis become more devoted, but it still depends on the individual," said 26-year-old Haji Ma Chengjun from Qinghai. "It's more important to keep practicing the tenets of Islam even after performing the haj."
In the past, it used to be very difficult for Chinese Muslims to undertake the haj because of the long distances and finances involved. But this is now changing.
"Now that there are more and more Hajis in China, the title is not as unusual as in the past," said Ma. "Haj has become a common religious assignment for Chinese Muslims."
Most of the Chinese pilgrims stay about 35 days in Saudi Arabia for the haj, including a six-day trip to Medina, the second holiest city of Islam where the Prophet Muhammad is buried.
Tomorrow, the first group of Chinese Hajis will leave Saudi Arabia for China. Till January 24, Chinese Hajis will return home on 30 charter flights. Before leaving, they will pay a final visit to Kaaba as required by the haj.
"As the economy develops, the number of Chinese haj pilgrims is very likely to increase in the coming years," said Yang Zhibo, vice-president of the China Islamic Association and director of the Chinese haj group.
(China Daily 01/04/2007 page2)
