SAUDI GOVT., CAN DO A LOT MORE TO IMPROVE HAJ FACILITIES. Dear Brothers Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu. The following is a suggestion by me to be considered by various concerned Muslim thinkers and intellectuals in trying to improve the facilities for the pilgrims and reducing unnecessary inconveniences, insults, injuries and deaths to the pilgrims. Please come forward with comments, counter suggestions and further deliberations on this important matter. The following are my observation and some possible remedial measures. 1. At Masjidul Nabawi: After every Solat is over, pilgrims both men and women rush out at the same time. There is extremely poor crowd control and the number of policemen at the gates and on the roads around the Masjid is minimal. It is a sad sight that women are caught in the middle of walking men and the ladies find it extremely difficult to cross and walk to their hotels.. 2. Price Control Even in large countries, there are Government Authorities ( in my country, the Department is called the Price Control Department) for controlling the retail prices. In very many countries it is a law that maximum retail prices to be printed indicated on factory package, but in Saudi Arabia, except in Supermarkets and large Department Stores, shops do not indicate the prices. Approximately a million pilgrims, ( who do not speak Arabic, and hence do not know how to bargain/buy ) in very many instances, end up paying higher prices. The Saudi Govt can easily stop this exploitation and overcharging by issuing an order to all business establishments that on every item displayed in the shop, the retail price tag/label is obligatory. This should include jewellery shops, hotels, and other service industries. Hotels should indicate the room rent in every room and at the reception counters. I saw this practice in Jeddah hotels, I do not see why not in the Hotels of Mecca and Medina. The present system seems to deliberately favour the shop-keepers, transport companies, hotels and other service providers to exploit the poor pilgrims and make big and quick profits during the Haj season. This is extremely sad. 3. Language Problem: Notices at Masjids, Mina, Arafah and other public places should give the English, French, Urdu, Persian, Malay and Turkish ( a few other languages) version to enable large percentage of the pilgrims understand the information and inform others. Versatile computers can be installed at various points which can give instant translation from Arabic into other languages and vice-versa. This will help the more educated to guide the less-educated. Large location maps must be printed and distributed. For instance it took me about an hour to find out the office where I should pay the cost of my sacrificial animal. Well it was very close to the Haram Sharif, but how would I find out where it was. The people employed at the airport, Masjids etc should be trained to speak various languages or employ a few thousand expatriates who can speak different languages. Saudi Schools should introduce the teaching of many languages to about 10% of its population. Same way other Muslim countries should introduce Arabic as a second or third optional language in their school curriculum. 4. Sanitation: Wash-Rooms and Toilets: The above facilities are good at Haram Sharif and Masjidul Nabawi. Pilgrims in tens of thousands travel by road from Mecca to Medina and the other way. The bus trip takes from 8 to 12 hours. And on the way, the buses stop for light refreshments, prayers and for the pilgrims to answer the call of nature. Wallahi, Billahi the toilet facilities along that 200 mile stretch of road are horrendous beyond anybody's imagination. How on earth the Saudi Pilgrim Management expect the men and women who are in Ihram to go to the edge of the road to ease themselves without proper water facilities and toilet facilities? And where and how would they wash if their Ihram gets Najiz? The plight of diabetes patients, old folk during such trips is pathetic because they do pass water more often. The Saudi Govt should give top priority in building proper modern toilets along the entire route from Mecca to Medina. They can build huge places of rest and recreation at every 30 miles stop. Considering the income the pilgrims generate to Saudi Arabia, the Govt. can do wonders to improve the situation. The sanitary situation is very much same at Muzdtalifa. The Hajj Management should line up hundreds of mobile water tanks at Muzdtalifa and portable toilets all along the route. These facilities are totally inadequate at present. 5. Several thousand pilgrims pray on the roads and pavements around the Haram Sharif but people do spit, throw food remains and make the place dirty. For better cleanliness every now and then, parts of the roads should be closed for pedestrians and thoroughly washed. This would bring more Barakah from Allah SWT. After all cleanliness is half of Iman. It rained in Medina when I was there and the rain water mixed in sewage made the roads where people pray very dirty. 6. Foot Wears It is very bad that people carry their foot wears right inside the Masjids: naturally quite often the Najis dirt stick to the soles of the foot wears and these tiny particles drop on the prayer carpet. I can understand if the pilgrims keep the foot wears inside a plastic bag before carrying them into the Masjids. But 99% of them carry them in their hands assuming that there is no najis ( certainly a wrong assumption) This can be avoided if everyone who enters the Masjid is given a plastic bag at the entrance to place their foot wears, and then carry the bags inside the Masjids, rather than carrying the bare foot wears in their hands and placing them in front of them on the prayer carpet. 7.Stone-Throwing at Mina: Massive improvements have been done within the last two years. (i) Stoning the Shaitan is, though an important Sunnah, still it is a very symbolic act. At present the circumference of the circle around which the pilgrims stand and throw stones is about 50 mtrs. The pillar can stand where it is. But the present supporting wall around the pillars should be demolished and its circumference enlarged up to 500 mtrs. If the circumference can be enlarged upto 500 mtrs, something like 6000 people can stand around and throw stones towards the pillar. There is no religious law that every stone cast should hit the pillar. My suggestion will prevent stampede( Insha Allah). Saving lives is a much more important Fardu act but allowing the pilgrims to die to perform a Sunnah act due to mismanagement is a big sin. (ii) Modern technology based on automation is another way by which we can solve the stone throwing act. As suggested above, get the surrounding wall enlarged up to a circumference of 500 mtrs. Then, ban the pilgrims from carrying any stones or objects . All the stones are to be factory produced at a standard size. And computer operated piston like pulling devices should be installed on the surrounding walls. And each pilgrim should be given the exact number of discs to be used and these discs are to be used to pull the device once only at each pillar and the computer synchronized device will pelt seven stones in succession. This system will put an end to unnecessary scramble and make stone throwing better organised. 8. Jeddah International Airport: The Hajj terminal at Jeddah is reasonably good. But the Jeddah International Airport is badly managed. There is simply no organization, no system and it is terribly crowded. It was difficult to find even standing room. I landed at the Hajj terminal but departed from the Jeddah International Airport, hence I was able to observe the facilities at both the airports. A very old Turkish lady was lying down socked in her own urine and I went and asked the airport officials whether there was a lady official or a maid who could help, and to my great shock I was told that no nurses, no women security officials were on duty to help the sick old Turkish sister. This is pathetic. The toilet facilities at the Airport were simply dreadful. There were far too many toilet doors that could not even be locked, and the toilet flush dysfunctional. The entire airport is wholly inadequate to handle tens of thousands of returning passengers. Saudi Govt. has the resources to build one like Singapore or Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur International Airport or even bigger than them. Allah SWT gives the rulers of Saudi Arabia huge incomes through the pilgrimage alone, so why the small airport at Jeddah. Even trolleys, for the use of pilgrims, are in short supply at the airport. Some of us paid five Riyals for a trolley though it was against the regulation. 9. TELEPHONE FACILITIES: These require massive improvement. The Govt should install thousands of card telephone booths, and telephone SIM cards must be easily available at denominations such as 10, 20, 30, 50( Riyals). I walked into a Private owned telephone booth to send a fax home ( a short message about 200 characters) and I was charged 10 Riyals- the firm made probably 800% profit on a simple fax message. Firms operating telephone services are charging too much. Even at Jeddah International airport I found only two telephones( using cards)in working condition. Compare this with Singapore Airport where passengers would find literally hundreds of telephone booths. Wallahi, I have no private axe to grind and my suggestions were born out of total sincerity and good intentions. Allahu a’lam. Wassalam. May Allah swt ease the journey of all the pilgrims who are assembling now to perform the Haj ritual within two weeksMay Allah swt accept their Haj and their reasonable supplications and enhance their iman and make them and us live and die as mumins. A'meen.
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