Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

MINA — A renowned Indian scholar thanked the Saudi authorities for the very successful Haj operation. Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, general secretary of the All India Muslim Scholars Association, told Saudi Gazette that the high tech facilities and massive development projects at the Holy Sites have made performance of Haj much easier and comfortable.



He recalled that until up to recent years, pilgrims as well as Muslims across the world were especially in prayers for an incident-free Haj. “With the implementation of the state-of-the art multi-level Jamarat complex and expansion of Mas’a (running area between Safa and Marwah), there were no incidents of stampede or any deaths caused by accidents involving crowds. This shows the Saudi government’s utmost keenness and vigil to ensure maximum safety and comfort for the pilgrims,” he said.



Kanthapuram, who performed his first Haj in 1968, shared with Saudi Gazette the experience of his father and himself during Haj. “My father Ahmed Haji used to narrate to us about his arduous Haj pilgrimage and risky trip between Makkah and Madinah. “He rode on a camel along with another pilgrim and the rider. It took several days to reach Madinah from Makkah and vice versa, and there were dangers of exposure to hot sun, biting winter, thirst and hunger, and even plunder by local nomads,” he recalled.



Going down memory lane, Kanthapuram said that his first Haj was very tough and hard. “We got stuck in desert on the Makkah-Madinah highway for hours due to engine failure of an old-fashioned bus. But things smoothed out and we were able to perform Haj despite these hardships.”