The Hajj (or pilgrimage) in Mecca is an arduous (and expensive) journey all Muslims aspire to undertake one day. However, hundreds died this year due to the violent heat and KPRC 2 digital producer Ahmed Humble's mother, was one of the fortunate survivors.
KPRC 2 digital producer Ahmed Humble’s mother was one of the many Muslim s in Mecca this year to perform Hajj , but hundreds died due to extreme heat exhaustion., and all Muslim s are required to make it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so. It is a moving spiritual experience for pilgrims who believe it absolves sins and brings them closer to God. It also only happens yearly and the time to perform the Hajj varies because Islam follows a lunar calendar.
“I cannot move my knees or legs behind. It can go forward, but I can’t put them back,” my mom explained. “And the swelling gets worse and worse. Sometimes I feel like it’s going to burst.” I’m the youngest of my siblings so it was fair to say I was being the most dramatic because in researching the story, I read that historically,, a “visit” to the Islamic holy site that’s a lesser pilgrimage, with my oldest brother, Meraj, in February 2024. So curiously and concerning everything previously discussed, I couldn’t understand why she still decided to go.
“She was not only my sister; she was a friend and a very good friend. And when I was young, I gave her a lot of trouble,” my mother explained. “So I would not say that I was very good. I would give her a tough time.” “Young girls would come around me and even the aged ladies will come, ‘Auntie, do you need help? Do you want me to give you a hand?’ I would say ‘No, no, no, I don’t want to pull your hand or anything, I’ll try myself,’” my mother said. “So I would struggle myself, but the young girls would come with their friends or sisters and say, ‘Now we are two, you can’t say anything to us,’ and they would help me out and it was so nice of them that they don’t know me and most of the people were like that.
During this year’s Hajj period, daily high temperatures ranged between 46 degrees Celsius and 49 degrees Celsius in Mecca and sacred sites in and around the city, according to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology.
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