| 20 Nov 2009 |
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Lebanese pilgrims head for Mecca with luggage, wishes, prayers
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20 November 2009
BEIRUT/ SIDON: Departure lounges at the Rafik Hariri International AirportRafik Hariri International Airport
are bustling with activity as hundreds of pilgrims begin their journey to the holy city of Mecca. The pilgrims are all hoping to fulfill their religious duty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia before the coming of Eid al-Adha on November 27.
are bustling with activity as hundreds of pilgrims begin their journey to the holy city of Mecca. The pilgrims are all hoping to fulfill their religious duty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia before the coming of Eid al-Adha on November 27. The airport administration was well prepared for this year’s voyages and worked on guaranteeing safe and easy journeys for passengers.
Airport security, the Lebanese Armed Forces, Internal Security Forces, General Security, the customs department, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation and the airport administration all vowed to work around the clock to secure the pilgrims’ safety.
The country’s national carrier, Middle East AirlinesMiddle East Airlines has also offered the travelers additional daily flights to the kingdom and has organized journeys from and to various religious sites.
has also offered the travelers additional daily flights to the kingdom and has organized journeys from and to various religious sites. Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, is a religious duty that every Muslim needs to fulfill at least once in a lifetime. It consists of several ceremonies, meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Eager to see Islam’s most holy city, the travelers came from all over Lebanon, carrying not only their luggage but also their families’ prayers and wishes.
Hundreds of Sidon locals and residents of Palestinian refugee camps gathered in Sidon’s martyr square on Tuesday in preparation for the pilgrimage trip.
The crowd of believers, most dressed in white, met in the square where buses were ready to transport them to the airport.
However, goodbyes were not easy to utter and the buses were late to leave, while families and friends showered the travelers with demands for prayers.
“Prayers from the holy city of Mecca are sacred and God, who is always listening, always answers them,” said Abu Mohammad after asking his wife to pray for their family once she gets to Mecca.
Requests for prayers varied: some were personal, wishing health and prosperity for loved ones, others were more political.
“Pray to God that He may help [Prime Minister] Saad Hariri to succeed in the government,” cried Mahmoud Fodda to his mother.
“Don’t forget to pray for Palestine and for us,” asked Palestinian Mahmoud al-Saedi of his father.
Some of the wishes were even more global and reached Palestine, Iraq and Muslims fighting oppression all across the world. Believers even joked that Muslims on their way to Mecca usually became “post officers” or “mediators for God.”
© Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
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