The land of peace

by Merna Ketana (Egypt)

I didn't expect to find Saudi Arabia

It was probably forty degrees or more when I first set foot in that city, the city of Mecca. To be honest, at first, it didn't seem as special or as peaceful as most people claimed, on the contrary, the streets were crowded and people were shouting everywhere. It was hard to focus on one thing at a time or to listen to your own thoughts. I felt like I couldn't breathe. All surroundings seemed to take shades of yellow and looked somehow pale or maybe that's just how my memory's serving this city's unbearable heat. The hotel was calmer than most of the city. Due to this city's weather, every building had to be conditioned which made it easier to relax. I come from a muslim family as most Egyptians and the reason I was in Saudi Arabia was to perform Umrah. Every grown up muslim is required to perform Umrah as long as they're capable of it. The rules of Umrah were easy to understand, first, one makes the intention of performing the umrah, that is the state of the ihram. The intention has to be pure and has to come from one' s heart. After that, one repeats the sentence "labbayk allahumma labbayk" which means "I am at your service Allah". This is how one starts the rituals of Umrah. Since I'm a woman, there's no special clothing that I'm required to wear. As for men they have to wear the ihram clothing. The main objective of ihram clothing is to avoid attracting attention and to lose all earthly ego. Second, Tawaf, which is circling the Ka'bah seven times in an anticlockwise direction. Third, Sai, which means rapidly walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah. This is a re-enactment of Hajar's (the wife of Abraham) frantic search for water for her baby, Ishmael. Last, halq or taksir which is a partial shortening of the hair for women and a complete shave of the head for men. This is to signify the submission of will to Allah. These rituals complete the Umrah. I gathered my thoughts and put my clothes on, I was ready to go through this experience. At first, I admit I didn't expect to feel any different. However, as I entered Al majid Al haram, I was shocked at the feel of present peace. My eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful black figure but what caught my attention even more was the move of the devoted crowd. They walked in harmony together, people of different color, of different race and culture, of different shapes and looks, they walked in perfect sync. They all shared the same belief and yearning for this divine help. Some had tears in their eyes, some held their loved ones to heart and some just stood in pure astonishment like me. I thought to myself that it's only logical, with this great group of people, sharing their hearts out, praying only for good, to feel this slight breeze of peace. I read once that you attract the things you think about and energy you express. It seemed fairly true that the peace felt in that place, was the spirit of all their true wishes. Joining the crowds, brutality started to show. Some walkers paced at a higher speed than others, crashing into each other without a care. I felt like wandering the ground of the yin yang circle. The intertwining halfs of the good spirit rising around and the cruelty that accompanied man's own nature lined the clean white tiles of this mosque with incomprehensible feelings. It felt oddly comforting. After finishing the rest of the rituals, I spent the road back to the hotel silent. My mind was recalling everything I went through and everything my eyes saw. I came to realise that it wasn't about Islam itself, it was about people's belief. They wouldn't mind being bad to each other but as long as they believed there was some eye watching them, some upper being was willing to help them if they showed good deeds, they were going to serve in perfect devotion. It was rather an unpredictable and unique experience.