Mohsin Aziz

It is truly fascinating how the intricacies of one’s cultural heritage subtly shape and color our understanding of the world around us. The perceptions formed subltly without us realising, but they are in ways deeply influential.

Coming from India, my understanding of Hajj was once shaped by a perspective that felt deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of our community, yet far removed from the profound spiritual significance it truly holds in a Muslim’s life. For many in the subcontinent, Hajj is revered as an essential duty, but often one that is postponed until after the children are married and the individual has retired from the hustle of daily life. I, too, subscribed to this belief, and it was this mindset that delayed my own sacred journey. However, in 2018, a transformative moment came when I stumbled upon a collection of Hajj travelogues. These beautifully penned accounts, primarily in Urdu—my mother tongue—served as windows, into a deeper understanding of the pilgrimage. Urdu literature, with its centuries-old tradition of eloquent writers and passionate storytellers, has preserved a treasure trove of Hajj narratives that reflect not just the physical journey but the spiritual awakening it fosters. Through these writings, I came to realize that Hajj is not something to be delayed for some distant time in the future, but a divine calling that should be heeded as soon as one is capable. It is a pilgrimage not just of the body, but of the heart and soul, beckoning every believer to embark upon it when the moment is right.

Around 2018, I started preparing for hajj. By 2020, we were ready to go for hajj. But fate had other plans. Once in a century disease, corona, concided with our hajj plans. The world went through unprecedented circumstances. Our hajj was not to be. By the time things came back to normal, the money saved for hajj was already spent elsewhere. By 2024, we started planning for hajj again. As expatriates living in Oman, we had both options. Either doing hajj from india or Oman. We decided that Oman would be a better option for us. It is worth mentioning that out of six GCC countries, only Oman allows expatriates the option of going on hajj from Oman. Oman has given qouta to expatriates from its qouta. The government of oman announced the dates for filling forms in the first week of November. I was a bit reluctant and planned for hajj in 2026. However, my wife was very keen. We filled out the form on 4 November as the Hajj portal was open for only a week for applications. I filled out the application and forgot about it. Suddenly, on 7 January, we received sms that our names have been selected. It was a dream come true. We had five days’ time to pay 50 per cent of the amount on the government website and choose a company out of ten options. The sms mentioned that if don’t submit the required amount within 5 days, our application will be automatically cancelled. The amount fixed by the Government of Oman for the year 2025 was 2650 Omani Riyals, equalling about 6900 usd per person.

After talking to a few muallims and feedback of previous hajjis I decided on Mr. Jamal Al Balushi. Mr Jamals company Al Jazeera for Hajj and Umrah has been in the business for almost 20 years. He is very ably assisted by Mr. Asif Khan. I paid the amount on 9 Janaury in the system and sent the receipt to Mr. Jamal.

Preparations Start

Once it was confirmed that we were going for hajj, the preparations starred in earnest. We had already heard innumerable hajj stories from family and friends. It is very common for hajis to recount their stories when they come back. These stories make sure that most Muslims besides Kaba gave heard about safa and marwa, tawaf, mataf, maqam e Ibrahim, mina, muzdalifah, arafat, jabal e Rahma, muallim, masjid e nabawi, rowdha, jannatul baqi, zamzam etc. However it it is difficult to understand and remember the sequence of the steps. As I had done Umrah in 2015 and had already visited Madina and Makkah before, I had a better sense of places. The most important aspect for us to decide was what to pack for our journey. Nothing necessary was to be missed, yet the baggage should remain manageable. For this, we watched innumerable hajj videos spending hours and hours. A list was prepared. However, we realised that preparing the list was the easier part. Things on the list were not available at one place, hence weekly visits to the market. Still, we had to buy quite a few things from Madina as well as Makkah. Many things that were planned and bought were actually not required at all. Still, most of the things proved to be very valuable, such as a power bank, neck fan, mist bottle, chewable capsules for hydration, coin towel, fragrance free toothpaste, shampoo, sunscreen, and handwash, etc.

Vaccination

Vaccination is compulsory for Hajj. I registered myself and my wife on the website and chose Ruwi Health Centre. It’s the nearest government clinic to my house. We got appointments for 16 January 2025. On appointed date we went to the health centre and took vaccines. It was a very smooth process. I had to only tell at the rece6that we need Vaccination for Hajj. The person at the counter asked for our residence card numbers. The moment he entered our numbers, the system generated our reports and confirmed that we were going to Hajj. Government departments are well integrated in Oman. Within 20 minutes, we were vaccinated. It was as simple as that. We were given two vaccines. One Abbot single dose and another Pfizer single dose. One was meningococcal, and the other was seasonal influenza.

Orientation Programmes

While we started our personal preparations such as remembering important duas, arranging books of supplications, etc, our company also started helping us by regularly arranging meetings and orientation programmes. A whattsapp group for Hajj 2025 was also created by Jamal bhai.  Jamal bhai kept a meeting in a mosque in Al-Amerat (a neighbourhood of Muscat) where we were briefed about what to expect. Jamal bhai focussed on the spiritual aspect of hajj. He is Omani but speaks very good Urdu and mostly talked in Urdu. For Arabic speaking, he spoke in Arabic in between as well. This meeting was only for the men. The focus of the talk was on sabr and the subjugation of nafs during hajj. It was here that I first met Asif bhai. He is from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Another meeting was arranged a few weeks later for both males and females. It was at a meeting room in a shopping mall in the Al-Seeb area of Muscat. This meeting focused more on the logistics. We were briefed about possible hotels in Madina and Makkah. The pros and cons of various hotels were told to us. Bus arrangements etc were discussed. Usually, hajj companies do not engage busses for the entire hajj season. Busses are engaged on specific days when movement is required. However, Jamal bhai hired 6 luxury busses (with toilets) for the entire journey, starting from receiving us at the Madina Airport until our departure at Jeddah Airport. At that point, I could not truly understand its importance. However I later realised the convenience of busses at disposle 24 hours.

In this meeting, we were told that hotel arrangements are on a quad basis, i.e., 4 persons will stay in one room. However gender segregation shall be maintained. Four females will stay in one room. Similarly, four males will stay in one room. This is a much better arrangement compared to room allotment by many other countries during hajj. For example, the Hajj Committee of India does not follow gendersegregation in hotels either in Madina or rtains or big cloth pieces with them on the hajj journey and use them to partition rooms in the hotel. Mensfolk of the families given the same room stay on one side of the partition while the women on the other side of the partition. Still, it’s very  inconvenient. Personally, I find it very difficult to stay with others. I asked Asif bhai whether it was possible to stay with my wife, i.e., two in the room instead of four. I was told that it was possible provided I agreed to pay the balance amount for two beds as the expenditure has been calculated on a quad basis. Jamal bhai told me that soon he will be going to Madina and Makkah and will inform me about the extra amount to be paid after getting a quotation from the hotels. There was one more couple in our group who asked the similar question. It was one Mr.Kotnis from Chennai who was going to hajj with his wife. A few weeks later, Jamal bhai travelled to Madina to make final arrangements for the hotel. Asif bhai sent me a quotation for Madina Hotel asking for my consent before finalising a separate room for me. The price seemed reasonable, and I agreed and transferred the extra amount to the company. It was agreed with asif bhai that this arrangement is only for Madina so far. Jamal bhai will share details of Makkah Hotel also when he travels to Makkah. If I agree to the price, a separate room will be booked for me. In case I found Makkah Hotel too costly, then we will stay quad in Makkah. A week later, I got the quotation for Makkah Hotel also. It was quite a bit high, but I still agreed to pay extra. This decision proved to be quite good at the end. Me and my wife were able to freely spend our time at hotels in both places. There was nobody else to decide the room temperature and no mismatch of sleeping time or any other issue. All money for Hajj was paid by this time, and only the money for Udhiya was left to be paid. It was to be paid in Makkah once the final cost per person was known. It must be mentioned that half of the amount had already been paid to the Ministry of Hajj. The other half had to be paid to the company employed by the Ministry, which in our case was Al Jazeera. Jamal bhai never once asked anybody in the group to pay money in advance, as was his right. I myself settled my account just two three weeks before our departure day from Muscat.

Final Orientation Session

Two weeks before our departure, a final orientation course was done at Intercity Hotel Muscat. Itinerary was explained in detail. There was a coffee break, after which officials from the Ministry of Health briefed us about various precautions to be taken and how to keep ourselves safe. When question was asked about which medicines to carry we were told that besides our regular medication there is no need to carry any additional medicines as the Government of Oman maintains a well equipped clinic with five star facilities. It is no coincidence that Oman Hajj mission was given the award for providing the best medical facilities to its hujjaj by the Saudi government for the year 2025. Lastly, there was a religious scholar who explained various steps of the hajj. There was a question answer session for any fiqh related doubt. At the end of the programme, Jamal bhai distributed one large suitcase, one string bag for keeping shoes, one small bag for keeping pebbles from Muzdalifa for men. For women besides the same set of gifts, there were additional gifts such as two ladies’ purses and one cap. This was hadiya from our Muallim.

Trip to India

Everything looked settled and smooth, and we were ready for our Hajj journey. The only pending issue was to take children to India. Flights were already booked for Lucknow for 22 May. The return flight was for 25 May. The plan was to rest for two days, i.e., 26 and 27 May in Muscat, and fly to Madina on 28 May.

However, everything changed on 7 May 2025. Suddenly, war broke out between India and Pakistan. Airspace was closed, flight routes were diverted, and many airports in north India were closed for commercial flights. Almost 24 airports were either totally or partially closed due to airspace closure in India (Roy, Rajesh, 2025). By May 9, the closure was extended till 15 May (Rao, Derpthi 2025). Flights from Muscat were getting cancelled. Luckily, so far, Lucknow was not on the list of closed airports, but every day, the number of closed airports was increasing. Suddenly, everything looked tipsy torvy. Days were spent in checking the news multiple times, hoping that things were back to normal. It looked like we would not be able to go to Hajj. We started searching for flights to India and back to Oman via countries to the south of India. There was a frantic search for flights to India via Columbo (Sri Lanka), Bangkok (Thailand), or even Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). By May 11, the number of airports closed in India reached 32. Things were getting worse, and we were getting tense. We decided to wait for a few more days and then take a decision regarding which flight to book for India travel.

May 12 brought cheers as there was news that the government of India had decided to open all the airports that were closed due to hostilities. It brought much needed relief. Came May 22, and we travelled to India with our children. My in-laws live in Lucknow. The plan was to leave kids with them. My sister in law and her husband live in aligarh, but they came to Lucknow. My brother in law also lives with my in-laws in Lucknow. He is a businessman. My sister in law has two children of similar age to my son, Osman. Osman was 4 and a half years old. Brother in law has three sons. One of them is similar in the age bracket of my son. The idea was that it would be easy for Osman to adjust without us with these three kids around. We were naturally concerned as to how he would respond to our absence for almost 25 days. The only comfort was that he is attached to his sister. Zainab, my daughter, was in class 12. With her around, we were a bit relaxed.

On 22 May, I got a message from Jamal bhai that the Saudi Embassy needs no objection certificate from employer to issues Hajj visa. There were only five days left for our flight, and we were still not issued visas. The visa issuing process was to start now. One problem was solved, and another one was staring at us. May 22 was Thursday. Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays in Oman. My return flight was on the 25th. It was a mini emergency. I called my colleague Dr. Saheem from India and requested him to contact the HR department and check if no objection can be issued the same day, that too, without my presence. Saheem bhai managed to get the certificates for both me and my wife. The HR was kind enough to issue the certificate without my presence. My other colleague Mohammad Sohrab gave the certificate to Jamal bhai the same day. It was a big relief.

Still, I had booked my return flight for early morning so that when we leave for the airport, Osman is sleeping. On 25 May, we returned back to Muscat. It was mission accomplished.

Back in Muscat on 25 May, we found that visa was still not issued. I was a bit relaxed, but our whattsapp group was full of messages regarding visa. People were getting worried. Visa did not come on the 26th either. It was only on 27 early morning that we got good news that visa had been issued. The next day was our flight. However, it was still not issued for Asif bhai, a few other muallims, and some Hujjaj. A total of 16 visas were still pending.

In the meanwhile, my Hajj leave was also approved by my university. Muslim employees in Oman are entitled to one Hajj leave during their job tenure. Hajj leave used to be 14 days, but I was pleasantly surprised to see 20 days of approved leave.

Zameer bhai is our neighbour in Muscat. He is from Bangalore and works in an engineering firm. His family has always been a great support and strength. When he heard about our plan for Hajj, he postponed his India trip so that they could help my children in case they could not go to India. Only when my children were safely in India did his family plan their trip to India. It is indeed a blessing to have such neighbours.

Here, I must also acknowledge the support and information that I got from my senior roommate and former head of the department, Dr. Imran Hameed. Imran Sir, before doing a PhD. in management, was a practising doctor. He always gave valuable advice regarding Hajj preparations. Now, he is spending his retired life in Australia with his son and daughter. May Allah always keep him healthy and happy. My dear friend Dr. Atif Irshad had done hajj lo g back. His insights were very valuable.

Flight to Madina

Finally, the day came. My flight was at 3.45 p.m. by Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV5113) from MuscatInternationalAirport. We were asked to reach the airport 4 hours before flight time, i.e., by 12 noon. Muslim bhai came from university to pick us up. By 12.30 p.m. we were at the airport for the most important journey of our life. My friends from the university were at the airport to see us off. Umar Ali Khan, Mohammad Sohrab, Dr. Khan Saifullah, Dr. Riyadh Khan, Dr. Mohammad Saheem. When I entered the airport, I saw all the pilgrims of my group. It was such a good feeling. Asif bhai was there distributing Hajj cards and bag tags. I had to do nothing. These friends stood in line for the boarding pass. Only when they reached the counter that i was called. JazakAllah Khair for their efforts. At Muscat International Airport, their is an open entrance until boarding pass counters. Besides passport,  the only thing required at the airline counter was the Hajj card given by the Ministry of Hajj, Oman. Besides, the phograph it had a QR Code, which had our details, including vaccination certificates. It was to be kept with us throughout Hajj Journey. There was another card to be issued by the Saudi Government once we reached Saudi Arabia, the Nusuk Card. Once in Saudi Arabia, we were told to keep both the cards with us until we boarded the return flight.

When I saw Asif bhai and other Muallims at the airport ready with their luggage, I assumed that they already had their visa. It was when we landed at Madina Airport and boarded our buses that we were told by Jamal bhai that the visa of those 16 was still not issued. Asif bhai was still in Muscat. I was surprised and asked Asif bhai over whattsapp. He told me that when they realised that the visa may not be issued before our scheduled departure from Muscat, all the Muallims without visa discussed that it would be a cause of concern for those Hajjis who were assigned under them. All such Muallims, including Asif bhai, took a decision that they would go to the airport fully prepared so as nobody gets the idea that they won’t be travelling with them. Because they came to the airport with their check-in luggage as well as cabin bags and were seen putting luggage tags and  smiling, talking and guiding Hajjis that nobody even thought that they are not travelling with us. The idea was to keep us motivated, and hopefully, visa would be issued in a day or two, and they would join us. It was very thoughtful of Asif bhai and others. The Saudi Embassy in Muscat had told them that their documents are complete and it’s only some system glitch due to which their applications are not getting processed. Embassy staff issued them they were working with authorities, and a visa would be issued in due time.

Finally the time came and at 2 p.m. I bid farewell to my friends and went inside the airport. We prayed asr in a prayer room inside the airport. Our flight was not a regular flight but chartered by our company for the Hajj journey. The plane left Muscat at the right time. The most important journey of our life had started.

Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik,

Labbaika la sharika laka Labbaik,

Innal hamda wan nemata.

Lake wal Mulk,

La sharika lak.

(To be continued in part 3).

References:

Rao, Deepthi (2025, May 9) Closure of 24 airports extended till May 15 amid rising tensions with Pakistan. Available at:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/airports-closure-india-extended-pak-tensions-drone-missiles-airspace-2722389-2025-05-09

Roy, Rajesh (2025, May 8). India suspends flight operations and closes 24 airports as Pakistan resumes flights nationwide. Associated Press. Available at:https://apnews.com/article/india-airport-closures-flights-pakistan-tensions-2352695c69cb131eae5d3ab4f337b990.

Tripathy, Neha (2025, May 12). 32 Airports shut during India-Pakistan conflict, Open. Check full list. Available at:https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/32-airports-shut-during-india-pak-conflict-to-open-soon-check-full-list-101747024845026.html