Days in Mina and the example of patience
We were waiting for our bus for about 2 hours. Today we would be leaving from Medina to Mina to begin our rituals of Hajj. There we would stay 3 nights. Having heard about so many challenges of staying in Mina from pilgrims of previous years, I was mentally prepared to sacrifice all the luxury we were having in Makkah and Medina. I heard bathroom is the most common area of concern, so I had been eating as much in moderation as possible to avoid any kind of food borne illness.
Finally at around 5 pm we were announced to get into the buses. We were not sure of how long it would take us, and also at that point I gave up my natural sense of timing. However, none of us expected the journey to be of almost 24 hours. Mina, the part of Hajj that I thought would be the least looked forward event, happened to be the most craved for place during our long and exhausting bus ride. I couldn’t wait to reach Mina and have some space to lie down.
We arrived in Mina next day around evening. Sun had set by then. Walking behind the groups through narrow passages between tents, we got into our designated area which was the USA camp. Within the camp, we found our tents guided by our female volunteers. To me, the place looked much more welcoming than I thought it would be. Big tent, full of sofa beds for each person, about 40 women accomodation (separate tents for male and female). We were advised to take minilmum luggage with us for Mina and after seeing the inside of the tent I realized why we were told so. There were hanging ropes to tie bags over our heads as hardly any space could be found around the sofa beds. Either we would use our bags as pillows or hang it up there. However, the facility we got was a luxury compared to any other tents for the rest of the world. Tents were air-conditioned and only few walk away from Jamarat.
The issue that I feared the most, bathrooms, seems to be better than I heard about. The numbers were sufficient for our tents and also cleaner than I expected. However, it is the timing that we had to be aware of before using them. I always chose times when usually the crowd was less so I had least trouble. Mina is a place where patience is needed most. I might not be a victim, but I saw incidents that led to quarrels, exchange of ill words, suspicion, and tears coming out of frustration around me.
Yet, I found somebody with the example of patience. I will introduce her shortly.
During our stay in Mina, we met so many other sisters from different parts of the world. We were about 40 in one tent. On my right, there was Amma (my mother in law) and on my left there was sister Rabia. An Indian lady probably in her mid 50s. I met her at Mina. She was in a different package but with the same travel agency. Their route was set to visit Jerusalem as well, so she could visit Masjid al Aksa. Allah gave her the gift of visiting the 3 sacred mosques at one journey.
As a ritual of Hajj, we would not be able to get out of our Ihram state until our sacrifice was made and the stones were thrown. Fahim would be throwing the stones on behalf of me and Amma as it was risky for female and older people on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah. Based on other pilgrim’s experiences in past years, I thought it would take Fahim the whole day to complete those rituals and so I was prepared to lengthen my Ihram state. Ihram started on 8th of Dhul Hijjah and it’s not easy to avoid combing hair by mistake. After we returned from Arafat, we were waiting inside the Mina. Fortunately Fahim could finish all the stoning before even we reached Mina from Arafat. He was in different bus on our way back. So we came to know about the completion of rituals and both Amma and I got out of our Ihram by cutting small portion of our hairs. Allah made it very easy on us.
The next day while we were relaxing inside Mina after lunch, I heard that sister Rabia was still in Ihram. I asked her with surprise why she would be in Ihram for so long? She said her husband wanted to slaughter the animal himself and he couldn’t do that yet. So she is waiting for him to do so and then only she could come out of Ihram. Then she said something in such a way that I will never forget –
‘And that’s ok. I am in no rush.’
The words are simple and it is hard to comprehend the depth of it unless someone knows how it feels to be in an Ihram state for 3-4 days in Mina. I was moved by her patience and simplicity. She was one of the simplest person I ever met.
We were waiting for our bus for about 2 hours. Today we would be leaving from Medina to Mina to begin our rituals of Hajj. There we would stay 3 nights. Having heard about so many challenges of staying in Mina from pilgrims of previous years, I was mentally prepared to sacrifice all the luxury we were having in Makkah and Medina. I heard bathroom is the most common area of concern, so I had been eating as much in moderation as possible to avoid any kind of food borne illness.
Finally at around 5 pm we were announced to get into the buses. We were not sure of how long it would take us, and also at that point I gave up my natural sense of timing. However, none of us expected the journey to be of almost 24 hours. Mina, the part of Hajj that I thought would be the least looked forward event, happened to be the most craved for place during our long and exhausting bus ride. I couldn’t wait to reach Mina and have some space to lie down.
We arrived in Mina next day around evening. Sun had set by then. Walking behind the groups through narrow passages between tents, we got into our designated area which was the USA camp. Within the camp, we found our tents guided by our female volunteers. To me, the place looked much more welcoming than I thought it would be. Big tent, full of sofa beds for each person, about 40 women accomodation (separate tents for male and female). We were advised to take minilmum luggage with us for Mina and after seeing the inside of the tent I realized why we were told so. There were hanging ropes to tie bags over our heads as hardly any space could be found around the sofa beds. Either we would use our bags as pillows or hang it up there. However, the facility we got was a luxury compared to any other tents for the rest of the world. Tents were air-conditioned and only few walk away from Jamarat.
The issue that I feared the most, bathrooms, seems to be better than I heard about. The numbers were sufficient for our tents and also cleaner than I expected. However, it is the timing that we had to be aware of before using them. I always chose times when usually the crowd was less so I had least trouble. Mina is a place where patience is needed most. I might not be a victim, but I saw incidents that led to quarrels, exchange of ill words, suspicion, and tears coming out of frustration around me.
Yet, I found somebody with the example of patience. I will introduce her shortly.
During our stay in Mina, we met so many other sisters from different parts of the world. We were about 40 in one tent. On my right, there was Amma (my mother in law) and on my left there was sister Rabia. An Indian lady probably in her mid 50s. I met her at Mina. She was in a different package but with the same travel agency. Their route was set to visit Jerusalem as well, so she could visit Masjid al Aksa. Allah gave her the gift of visiting the 3 sacred mosques at one journey.
As a ritual of Hajj, we would not be able to get out of our Ihram state until our sacrifice was made and the stones were thrown. Fahim would be throwing the stones on behalf of me and Amma as it was risky for female and older people on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah. Based on other pilgrim’s experiences in past years, I thought it would take Fahim the whole day to complete those rituals and so I was prepared to lengthen my Ihram state. Ihram started on 8th of Dhul Hijjah and it’s not easy to avoid combing hair by mistake. After we returned from Arafat, we were waiting inside the Mina. Fortunately Fahim could finish all the stoning before even we reached Mina from Arafat. He was in different bus on our way back. So we came to know about the completion of rituals and both Amma and I got out of our Ihram by cutting small portion of our hairs. Allah made it very easy on us.
The next day while we were relaxing inside Mina after lunch, I heard that sister Rabia was still in Ihram. I asked her with surprise why she would be in Ihram for so long? She said her husband wanted to slaughter the animal himself and he couldn’t do that yet. So she is waiting for him to do so and then only she could come out of Ihram. Then she said something in such a way that I will never forget –
‘And that’s ok. I am in no rush.’
The words are simple and it is hard to comprehend the depth of it unless someone knows how it feels to be in an Ihram state for 3-4 days in Mina. I was moved by her patience and simplicity. She was one of the simplest person I ever met.
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