Traveling to the house,
The greatest journey,
Illuminating visages,
Brotherhood and unity,

Covered in their garments,
A sense of purity,
Moving smoothly along,
In close proximity.

Bodies assembled to worship,
Moving about peacefully,
Moving in sync,
Full of activity

The House of Allah,
And amazing beauty!
An honor to be there,
Oh, what a sight to see!

A physical challenge,
A strange burst of energy,
Traveling in order,
In constant uniformity,

The voice of a child,
Reciting so beautifully,
With the Qur’an in his hands,
Looking so seriously,

The recitation of Al-Sodais,
Heard so very clearly,
Echoing through Makkah,
Reverberating through the city,

In Holy Zamzam water,
Bathing jubilantly,
Cleansing their very souls,
Letting their sins go free.

Praising Allah,
Praising constantly,
Here I am, Oh Lord,
Praising communally.

Poet/Author: Iman Mashaal

Popularity: 50%

If there was one moment that stood out from Hajj, it was the night I spent freezing in the valley of Muzdalifa. We obviously weren’t prepared, but my family and I didn’t know what to expect. We were told to only bring a few blankets. Our bus reached Muzdalifa and I looked out the window to see hundreds of people lying on the bare floor. It took our bus several minutes to weave through the valley and reach our campsite, and once we got off, I was shocked. This is where we would be spending the night? All I saw was dirt with some grass on it!

My family started walking through the sleeping pilgrims to reach the bottom of a large hill. We laid our blankets and I pulled a rock closer to me as a pillow. I looked around for miles and all I could see were pilgrims. Some had sleeping bags, normal blankets, and pillows (which I envied), but others only had themselves and huddled together. I knew sleeping under the stars was going to take on a whole different meaning. There was absolutely nothing between me and the sky.

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Popularity: 100%