ARAFAH: The journey on bus to this vast, open desert land was exceedingly smooth, much to my pleasant astonishment.
Alhamdulillah, Praise be to Allah. The Holy Land is really full of surprises.
Fears derived from stories of choked roads and highways as millions move towards Arafah a day before the revered Wukuf Day yesterday turned out to be unfounded for us.
It was obvious that the meticulous planning by the Saudi authorities and Rabin Haji played out well, with its precise scheduling of buses ferrying pilgrims to this vast, open desert land.
As one would have imagined, white tents line up the valley of Arafah as far as the eye can see.
Green trees break the monotony of white and grey, providing much needed shade.
There is all-round relief that temperatures had not shot to the projected high of 51°C. It hit a high of 42°C on Saturday, and projections had mercifully predicted that it will only go up to 43°C this week.
At night, the lights from the tents are tell-tale signs that many stayed up the night to read the Quran, recite prayers and indulge in all manner of ibadah to greet the Day of Arafah or Wukuf Day yesterday.
It goes by many names, and the Day of Repentance is my choice of the most apt title.
It precedes Eidul Adha. Muslims believe that it was in Arafah that Prophet Muhammad gave one of his last famous sermons in the final year of his life.
Wukuf started at Zohor yesterday and ended at dawn today. A pilgrim had to be present during this period and failure to fulfil this requirement would invalidate his haj.