Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH – Hajis from different parts of the world engage in various peculiar activities before leaving Makkah and Madinah after completing their spiritual journey.

Some Asian pilgrims would purchase burial shrouds from Makkah and wash them in Zamzam water to use it for their funeral as well as for their relatives.

"This is the best gift I can take from Saudi Arabia to my relatives and friends back home," said one pilgrim from Indonesia, who requested anonymity.

"My friends asked me to buy shrouds for them from Makkah and wash them in Zamzam water. This will be the most precious gift for them from the holy sites," he said.

A senior Islamic scholar said this custom has nothing to do with Islam. "Neither the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor his companions who performed Haj more than once had done this," he said.

There are Hajis who will bring their shrouds from their countries while others purchase them in Makkah to wash them in Zamzam water and take them back to their home countries. They believe that this would help them receive Allah’s mercy and forgiveness.

Some other pilgrims carry with them stones from Makkah, Arafat, Mina and Baqie to preserve them as precious souvenirs to remember about their once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey.

“Many pilgrims consider Baqie, where many male and female Companions of the Prophet have been buried, as a symbol of sacredness and try to collect some soil from that place,” a media source said.

“There are some pilgrims who carry with them the soil and stones from Jabal Al-Rahma (the mount of mercy) in Arafat where the Prophet stood to deliver his last sermon,” he said.

Some Asian Hajis used to pray at the three pillars in Makkah, thinking that it would help them to have children. Now these pillars have been removed for the expansion project.

Hajis also climb on Jabal Al-Nour near Makkah to pray at Ghar Hira where the Prophet received the first verses from the Qur’an from Angel Jibreel. The Prophet used to stay at this cave for mediation.

Foreign pilgrims also search for the pillar of Um Hani, although it has been demolished during the expansion of mataf, the circumambulation area around the Kaaba. Um Hani pillar represented one of the important stations of the Isra and Mieraj event.

Hajis used to pray at these historical places thinking it would bring them closer to Allah, ignoring the advices of the members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia).

“There is another interesting practice followed by some pilgrims. They pray at the southern part of the Grand Mosque toward the direction of both the Holy Kaaba and Bait Al-Muqaddis,” said the source while talking to Makkah newspaper.