More Haj Pilgrims Leave For Holy Land
By Husin Ismail

Bandar Seri Begawan - More than a thousand people thronged the departure hall of the Brunei International Airport yesterday morning to bid a tearful farewell to a total of 205 Bruneians leaving for the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

They constituted the second batch of the six groups of Brunei's pilgrims this year. The moving scene is expected to be replayed later this evening when the third batch of the pilgrims will take their turn to leave for the Holy City of Mecca.

Nor Atikah of the Darussalam Holding said in a telephone interview that a total of 426 men and 481 women pilgrims have registered to fly through their company. "This year is one with the highest number of pilgrims travelling on our packages. We have an average of 1000 customers per haj season," she said. "We have a number of teenagers on the haj pilgrimage with their parents, obviously because this happens to be the holiday season too."

A doa selamat was recited at 2.15 pm to bless the journey of the second batch of pilgrims, followed by the call to prayers or "Adzan" that was sounded shortly before the BI 4175 flight of the Royal Brunei Airlines took off.

A number of medical personnel were on board of the flight, part of the some 70 government officials and medical workers assigned to be on duty throughout the one-month-long proceeding. The third batch of the pilgrims was scheduled to fly at 10.50pm on board of RBA flight number BI 4177.

Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, is the largest gathering of its kind in the world. Each year over two million Muslims from around the world gather in Mecca. The haj takes place between the eighth and thirteenth day of the last month of the Islamic calendar; this haj season will take place between December 29, 2006 and January 3, 2007.

Once a year, Muslims of every ethnic group, colour, social status, and culture gather together in Mecca and stand before the Kaabah praising Allah together. It is a ritual that is designed to promote the bonds of Islamic brotherhood and sisterhood by showing that everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah.

The male pilgrims wear two pieces of seamless white clothes called Ihram. Mecca is a place that is holy to all Muslims and where nonMuslim are not allowed to enter.

For Muslims, the haj is the fifth and final pillar of Islam. It occurs in the month of Dzul Hijjah which is the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It is the journey that every sane adult Muslim must undertake at least once in their lives if they can afford it and are physically able.

Relatives and friends usually bid the pilgrims farewell with the prayers that their pilgrimage is mabrur - meaning that Allah accepts their devotion and the act of worship which will be both emotionally and physically challenging. During the first ten days of the Dzul-Hijjah - which is the last month in the Islamic lunar calendar - the pilgrims undertake strenuous acts of worship such as the thawaf and the stoning in the jamarat .

The Muslims who are not able to take the pilgrimage this year are encourage to respect the time at home by, among other things, fasting.

This haj season is taking place in a cool climate and the pilgrims from around the world have been advised to be ready to face the elements especially when they would have to be in open air. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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