Khoja Communities Globally Enact the Sacred Hajj Journey

This sacred month of Dhu a-Hijjah, the Khoja communities worldwide are leaving no stone unturned to create a one-of-a-kind Hajj experience at their local community centres.

HAJJ – The Holy Pilgrimage

Hajj is one of the most essential pillars of Islam and one of the greatest religious duties. Allah (swt) in the Holy Qur’an says: (Encourage people to perform Hajj) That they may witness advantages for them (Surah Hajj, Chapter 22 verse 28)

Fortunate are those who answer the calling of the Lord and set for Pilgrimage to Mecca; however, this year, in an extraordinary initiative by the Khoja Jamaats, we can all experience this life-changing journey at our local community centres.

• Pilgrimage To Mecca – Exhibition by KSIMC of Birmingham

The Children’s Tabligh Committee and Muhammadi Madrasah of The KSIMC of Birmingham organised a spectacular 2-day exhibition, “Pilgrimage to Mecca”, at Al Abbas Islamic Centre on 24^th and 25^th June 2023. This exhibition provided a full experience of the Hajj, including replicas of the Holy Ka’aba, Safa and Marwa, Arafat, Mina, Jamarat, Masjid Al-Nabawi and Jannatul Baqi. The participants were also provided an Ahram to make the experience more authentic.

This whole Hajj experience was organised with the help of 100 volunteers! These amazing volunteers created everything painstakingly over the course of 5 weeks. While describing the entire process, Br. Mujtaba Virani, Head Master – KSIMC of Birmingham Madrasah, mentioned, “It took 100 volunteers one month to make this happen. We had two teams, one responsible for the construction and the other for providing spiritual elevation through animation. Bringing an understanding of Hajj is our primary objective. However, through the process, the whole community came together during the preparation and the days when the exhibition was open. We can’t thank Allah (swt) for the blessings this project has brought to our community. We also hope this will inspire youth in other communities to plan and execute projects of this scale or even larger ones.”

This initiative has been very successful and highly acclaimed by the community members. The Resident Alim of KSIMC of Birmingham, Shaykh Nuru Mohamed, expressed his thoughts saying, “This is an incredible initiative and one of its kind. For me, this initiative serves as a practical Hajj and Holy city of Madina Ziyarat’s workshop. It creates awareness about Hajj and serves as an inspiration for many who visited. I’m proud of our volunteers and may Allah reward them abundantly.” The former Secretary General of The World Federation, Br. Shan e Abbas Hassam also appreciated the initiative of the Jamaat, “I think this must be one of the most amazing things I’ve seen a Jamaat do…. This is probably the best project Birmingham has ever done…”

• Hajj Workshop for Madrassah Students – Imam Hassan Centre, Australia

On 24^th June 2023, the students of Imam Hasan School (Madressa) got an opportunity to trace the steps of pilgrims of Mecca. The students were asked to dress in white clothes, and they performed the tawaf around a replica of the Holy Ka’aba and Sa’ee of Safa and Marwa. They even got to drink the water of Zam Zam! The workshop concluded with lots of learning and the recitation of Maghribayn prayers.

• Hajj Workshop for Madrassah Students – KSI of Milton Keynes and KSI of Leicester

Several other initiatives have been organised for our young community members by Jamaats worldwide, including the KSI of Milton Keynes and the KSI of Leicester.

It is praiseworthy that the Jamaats are coming up with incredibly engaging initiatives for the younger generations, thus giving them a much-needed push towards the path of understanding and falling in love with the religion.

We pray to Allah (swt) to accept the hard work and efforts of all the organisers, members and volunteers in creating this unique experience and to reward them with all the goodness in abundance, Ameen.