LONDON: A British pilgrim has said she feels “very blessed” to be among the one million people who perform Hajj this year.
Sara Rana, a management consultant and chartered surveyor, is performing Hajj for the first time and said she feels “special and honored” to be a part of the annual gathering.
This year’s Hajj will be the first post-pandemic pilgrimage for foreign pilgrims, and one million will do it this year as people around the world begin to travel again.
About 2.5 million people performed Hajj in 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and around 1,000 and 60,000 from within the Kingdom performed it in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The chartered surveyor said that he started thinking about performing Hajj during the pandemic when he started reading more of the Quran and learned about the life of the Prophet Muhammad.
Rana told Arab News that she has done “a lot of emotional processing” and is now focusing on preparing herself physically for the journey ahead, which begins with her flight to the Kingdom on Friday.
“45 degrees is not going to be easy. It’s going to be massive. If it goes more than 30 degrees, my hands and feet start to swell,” Rana said.
She said that although she ran the London Marathon last year, running in the heat “is going to be a very different experience. That’s why I’m not taking it lightly. I’m thinking about it.”
Rana said that his friends and family have been giving him Hajj tips and that he is “pretty well prepared.”
“I’m buying clothes. I found that the stuff that was more expensive was more uncomfortable. So I am going to take my practical stuff,” Rana said.
Muslims believe that the prayers of pilgrims are certainly accepted during the Hajj, especially on the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Rana said that she believes that God knows her needs and will give what is best for her. She will be praying for her children, for the rest of her life to be well and for financial independence.
She said that performing Hajj represents a new beginning for her and will close her from any traumatic experiences in the past.
“As I turn 50 this year, I think it’s closer to a lot of things and it’s really about a fresh start, whatever that new beginning is. It’s very meaningful.”