By Abdullah Al-Dhibyani

Okaz / Saudi Gazette

MINA — Haj Noor, a 98-year-old pilgrim from Pakistan, said though he is only two years shy from completing a century of living, he never lost hope of coming to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj, the dream of his lifetime.

He said his only son worked diligently for 45 years to be able to save the Haj costs and enable him to realize his dream.

Noor said he was married when he was only 20 but his son was born when he was nearing 60. "The years and life troubles have pained me but I never lost hope of doing Haj one day," he said.

He said when his son grew up and came to know about his dream, he promised to bring him and his mother to Haj no matter how much it might cost.

"My son has fulfilled his promise. He worked hard all these years to save money that would enable me to come for Haj," he said appreciating his son's noble gesture and thanking him for keeping his promise.

Amid hot tears, Noor said he lost his wife about five years ago. He was sorry that she had died before realizing her dream of coming to Haj. "If I lived for some more years and Allah gave me money, I would do the Haj for her," he said.

He said he kept praying for her during the entire Haj days and made solemn dua to Almighty Allah to accept his supplications for her.

Noor said despite his age, he never felt tired or faced any difficulties in performing Haj thanks to the superb facilities provided by the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

He said he was very impressed by the progress achieved by the Kingdom and had no idea that Makkah and the holy sites would be so developed.

"The only thing that bothers me is that I have come to the Haj without my wife though we shared this dream together for so many years," he said.