Ibrahim Khudair

Okaz/Saudi Gazette



MAKKAH — A number of Asian pilgrims would not leave Saudi Arabia for their respective homes without buying burial shrouds from Makkah and washing them in Zamzam water. "This is the best gift I can take from the Haj to my relatives and friends back home," one of them said on condition of anonymity.



Many of the pilgrims believed a shroud bought from Makkah and washed in Zamzam water would be the best cloth to cover them when they die especially after they have fulfilled the fifth pillar of Islam. Haji Noureddin Omar, an Asian pilgrim, said he was finally able to perform Haj after saving for the past few decades. "Since a very early age my countrymen think of two things to do when they reach of age: Get married and perform Haj," he said.



Omar said he had completed his Haj rites and was only left with the duty of buying a number of shrouds and washing them in Zamzam water for distribution among relatives and friends.



"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.



Omar expected a warm welcome when he arrives at home. "I will be put in a special car which will drive through the streets of my city. My compatriots will hold spectacular celebrations for returning pilgrims," he said.



According to Sheikh Saleh Al-Hassawi, member of the Ifta (religious edicts) committee in the Grand Mosque, the washing of the shrouds in Zamzam water is not an Islamic act and will not do the pilgrims any good after death. "Neither the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor his companions who performed Haj more than once had done this," he said.