MAKKAH: Too young or too old? It doesn’t matter at what age you perform the haj, if Allah has invited you as the “dhuyufurrahman” (guest of Allah) to the Holy Land, who are we to oppose this?
Tabung Haji (TH) religious expert Datuk Wan Mohamad Abdul Aziz said the responsibility to perform haj was not limited to adults or the elderly.
He said instead of feeling upset with young pilgrims for taking away the opportunity from older candidates, one should rejoice and be happy.
“We will not lose anything for being happy for the young pilgrims who will perform the fifth pillar of Islam.
“We can get more out of the young dhuyufurrahman because their doa (supplication) is easily mustajab (granted).
“We should ask them to pray for us instead of feeling slighted or stressful over them performing the haj,” said Wan Mohamad, who is also the former Malaysian Islamic Development Department director-general.
He said looking at pilgrims from other countries, the young seemed to have outnumbered the old, because they might have financial systems and schemes in their countries to encourage them to save to perform the haj.
“A similar (financial schemes) trend can be seen in Malaysia, too.
“TH’s analysis shows that the percentage of older pilgrims is dropping,” he said.
On the sacrifice made by TH officials and others to serve the guests of Allah at the Holy Land, Wan Mohamad believes they would get great rewards.
“They will not only gain merits (pahala) for carrying out their duties but will also get merits for serving the dhuyufurrahman.
“We should not forget those back home who have provided various services to the pilgrims, from making flight arrangements’ registration to financial matters,” he said.
Wan Mohamad believes great rewards await those who are tasked with looking after the pilgrims if they execute their duties with sincerity, following the sunnah (in accordance with the way of the Prophet).
“If all the three things have been met, Insyaallah (God’s willing) it’s not impossible for Allah to give greater rewards to the officials than the pilgrims themselves.”
Based on what I have seen since July 4, when I first arrived in Madinah, no one should question the level of commitment of the 600-strong TH team for this year’s haj.
Having flu, fever or cough has not stopped TH officials from rendering their services to Malaysian pilgrims. It shows a high level of commitment.
Their sacrifice, including leaving behind their families for more than one month and working to the end of the haj period, is huge. For all officials, Allah knows it all, take comfort in that.