Hajj in the Past

abdulmajeed31

Junior Member
Today, Muslims from all around the world perform the holy pilgrimage of Hajj without any trouble. Modern facilities were not available in the past, but it failed to hurt the pilgrims’ passion, enthusiasm and the urge to please Allah. Just to give you a flavor of how Hajj in the past used to be.

More info at Hajj Past
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
Hajj is easier today than in earlier centuries.

There are positives to then and now. In the past, there were fewer pilgrims and hence it was easier to touch the black stone, do the tawaf around the ka'aba as close to it as possible, see the source of Zam Zam water, spend less money on hotels and shopping and have more time to travel to different places.

On the negative side, there was less government support, travel took longer as it was by camel alone, the heat was overwhelming and everyone brought about three months of supplies and provisions with them including cooking materials.

Today travel from one place to another is much quicker, agencies help with guiding pilgrims all the way throughout the Hajj and every kind of dish is available to eat and partake from in local shops. Conversely, Hajj is now very commercialised and pilgrims are a captive market, the Saudi royal family are among those that reap huge benefits from the pilgrims and about 20% of the national income is from Hujaaj.

Overall, numbers show it all. A record 6 million was reached some years ago while an average of 2 million make the trip annually. It is not unusual for many people to make the pilgrimage more than once and safely. Pakistan contributes over 50, 000, Nigeria over 60, 000 while others also send similar or larger amounts.
 
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