Hanan Al -Khalfan
In ancient time, the pilgrim returned from Mecca loaded with spirituality, reverence and tranquility that accompanied him long after performing the rituals. Today, some pilgrims are returning with something else completely: bills, loans, and a list of expenses that start from the moment of reservation, and do not end until the last guest comes out of the reception.
The pilgrimage in our time is similar to a deliberate investment project, which begins with the stage of campaigns that have been displaying Hajj programs as well as showing luxury tourist offers, with classifications by degree: a gold, silver, and platinum bouquet, and rituals with a “five -star” service. The higher the package, the higher the numbers on bank contracts. The poor pilgrim, between his passion for obedience and his fear of social acceptance pressure, finds himself paying the value of a luxury car to obtain his seat on the journey of life.
But the return from the Hajj turned into another project of no less expensive than the same trip. The reception became part of the post -ritual rituals. The manifestations of readiness begin weeks before returning: decorations that fill the street, welcoming phrases attached to every corner, and tents are erected to accommodate the guests who will come to congratulate.
As for the buffets, it is a full chapter of the story, where families are racing to prepare tables that satisfy all tastes, from the Gulf Kabsa to the Japanese sushi. The party is not complete without the gifts and distributions that have become independent art in itself, in which the designers and suppliers are mastered, and mini family meetings revolve around the choice of designs, cans and tapes that “befit the pilgrim’s position.”
Amid this lavish festive scene, some guests turn into unannounced critics, evaluating the details of the ceremony as if they were in a jury of a television competition. You find someone whispering, saying, “The distributions were luxuriously luxurious.” Everyone makes his opinion as if the ceremony was devoted to reviewing the organization, not to celebrate the return of the most pure part of the earth.
The heaviest paradox of all of this is that many who have not yet had the opportunity to perform Hajj, follow these scenes, and they are reviewing their bank accounts with sorrow, because the cost of Hajj itself has exceeded the energy of medium families that can barely provide the necessities of life. The pilgrimage has become an indefinitely postponed dream, not because they are unable to obey, but rather because of their inability to keep up with its costs, starting from the campaigns fees to travel tickets, and ending with the bill to receive the pilgrim himself after the return.
Frankly, the pilgrimage is a great worship that does not need all this social escalation, its great rituals perform there between Arafat and the holy sites, and therefore we need to return to the origin of the story, where congratulations were sincere, the supplication is pure, and a pill that passes with enough coffee for an unforgettable memory industry. As for the culture of the review that infiltrated us under the banner of good reception, it is only a heavy burden that exhausts the pilgrim and his family more than they delight them. Hajj obedience, not a party project. And whoever went there, he returned with the consent of his Lord, and he does not need to evaluate a local party committee.
