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Toronto
Star
RELIGION, Friday, April 27, 1996
Brampton man 'lives' for the Haj from year to year
When Malcolm X
was asked what impressed him most about the pilgrimage to Mecca,
he replied, "The brotherhood: people of all races, colors,
from all over the world coming together as one. . . ."
And it's that
brotherhood that draws Inayat (Jim) Daya, 48, of Brampton, back
to Mecca every year.
"When I see
millions of Muslims pray together, to one call of prayer, row
upon row of people dressed alike in plain white garb so that
prince and pauper can stand unrecognized side by side - it is an
experience that engulfs and rejuvenates my soul like nothing in
my life has ever done.
"I live for
this feeling from year to year."
Daya has been on
the pilgrimage, called the Haj, 13 times since his first trip in
1983.
Then, the
decision was instant and emotional, he recalls.
He was watching a
TV program on the Haj. As he saw the Ka'aba - the house of God
the prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, is believed to have built in
Saudi Arabia - he felt "a compelling desire to go
there."
"I've never
experienced such a strong pull. Haj had not been a driving force
in my life before this time."
He says he faced
some resistance from his boss, when he asked for three weeks
paid vacation time.
"This was a
time when non- Muslims were not really aware of the importance
of the Haj in a Muslim's life. When I told him, 'I'm ready to
resign,' he had no choice but to let me go."
That fact that
Daya has made the journey every year since is remarkable. As one
of the five pillars of Islam, the Haj is obligatory only once in
a lifetime for those Muslims who have no other compelling
financial and spiritual responsibilities.
Pilgrims also
must be able to afford to make the trip, both financially and
physically. From Toronto, the cost is about $3,000, including
air fare and accommodation, often in private homes. And it's a
tremendous undertaking; Daya confesses that in 1983, he had no
idea where to begin preparing.
"I knew it's
an elaborate process. People gave me books, videos and advice,
but all I wanted to do was go and touch the Ka'aba - naiively I
thought that will
be my Haj."
What Daya did not
comprehend was that Haj is completed through a series of precise
actions performed at precise times. The rituals involve walking
seven times around the Ka'aba, pacing back and forth 14 times
(each round is about a kilometre) between the hills of Safa and
Marwa, drinking water from the well of Zam Zam and spending time
in the plains of Arafat and Mina.
The process takes
nine days, and finally, on the 10th day, the festival of the
sacrifice, called Eid al Adha, is celebrated - by Muslims the
world over not only at the Haj in Mecca - by sacrificing a goat.
In Toronto, the meat is given to food banks.
This pilgrimage
to Mecca dates back to the time of Ibrahim. Muslims believe that
God asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his dearest possession and that
Ibrahim agreed to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael). At the
time of the sacrifice, God substituted a goat.
Water from well
gives him strength
Safa and Marwa,
alongside the Ka'aba, are where Hajara (Hagar), mother of Ismail,
asked God for water for her infant son. A well sprang up, and
water has gushed from it continuously for the past 1,400 years.
It is called Zam Zam, and the water is supposed to purify and
cleanse the soul as well as heal all ailments.
Daya feels that
the water from Zam Zam gives him the spiritual and physical
strength to complete his mission, which is to assist people in
the Haj.
"Haj tests
the physical, mental and emotional endurance of a person, but I
find it easy because I have been so many times."
It is performed
in the first 10 days of Zilhij, which is the last month of
Islamic lunar calendar (10 days shorter than the Gregorian
calendar.)
This year, Eid al
Adha is tomorrow, and the number of pilgrims is estimated at 2.5
million.
And Daya has
escorted 55 people, aged 3 months to 77 years, from the Toronto
area among the 250 in his group from North America, Africa,
Australia and Asia. He helps them with all arrangements from
visas to vaccinations.
In 1983, he
himself was aided by a Toronto group about to set up a Haj
Assistance Committee; this was its planning trip.
"We landed
at Jeddah airport and I saw masses of people in total
confusion," he recalls. "I was young then and eager to
help. So, I made myself useful by helping the old, infirm and
the very lost as though I had been doing this all my life. For
some strange reason, it all came easily.
"(It was)
the first time I heard the prayer that is recited throughout the
Haj and I felt myself trembling - it touched me to the depths of
my soul.
"In the
evening, we left for Mecca, where I saw the Ka'aba for the first
time and I knew this was my calling. It was no longer enough to
just touch the House of God and leave. I wanted to stay
there
forever.
"Throughout
the Haj, our guide (included in the package) told us to ask God
for favors and assured us that in the House of God, no wish goes
unfulfilled.
"I was so
overwhelmed, I could only pray 'Allah, please bring me back
again, same time - same place.' "
Now, Daya, who
has taken special training to handle wheelchairs for disabled
pilgrims, starts planning each trip six months in advance and
spends his three-week annual vacation helping others at the Haj
- free. He vowed do so after his first visit, when he became a
member of the Haj Assistance Committee.
Helping people is
not new to Daya, a British Airways sales agent. In his spare
time, he privately arranges charity for the needy, distributing
food to the hungry and collecting medicines for the sick in
war-torn areas.
In 1988, he
started a religious Sunday school in Brampton, where he
volunteered as principal until last year.
How long will he
continue to dedicate a major part of his life to assisting
pilgrims for Haj?
"As long as
Allah wills me to do so, by bringing me back to Mecca. The look
of awe on a pilgrim's face the first time they behold the Ka'aba,
the tears that flow spontaneously from their eyes when they pray
under the stars at night, the satisfaction and pleasure on a
pilgrim's face as they complete their duty to God - this gives
me a spiritual lift and wills me to return every year."
Mecca and the Haj
have been the focus of charge and countercharge between Saudi
Arabia's Sunni Muslim rulers and the Shiite Muslim leaders of
Iran. Each blames the other for the riots there in 1987, in
which more than 400 people, mainly Iranian pilgrims, were
killed. In 1989, two explosions, described as "a criminal
act," wounded some of the pilgrims as they were leaving the
shrine.
"Copyright
© 1996 Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
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