Mina

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Mina

1. Talk to others about their Mina experience before you leave for The Holy Land. It is better to be forewarned and prepared for the conditions that you may encounter.

2. "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Keep this principle in mind when you leave for Mina from Arafat. Staying in a tent that is next to the toilets, sleeping in a part of the tent which is besides the area where foul smelling garbage is piled up, half of the toilets without water supply in your tent area (happened to my group), pilgrims from countries with low civic consciousness messing up the toilets, overcrowded tents - these are some of the conditions that you may have to put up with during your 3-day stay in Mina. Some survival tips are listed below:

a. plan your diet so that you don't have to go to the toilet frequently;

b. avoid idle talk which consists mostly of a tirade against the authorities for various shortcomings;

c. immerse yourself in various types of worship - reading The Qur'an, zikr, and duah. While these are not only the right things to do in Hajj, they will also help to keep your mind from being distracted by the shortcomings there;

d. you'll be able to spot individuals in your tent who are knowledgeable about Islam. Get close to them and seek clarifications about matters that are not clear to you. In the long run, you'll remember these meetings more than the difficulties your encountered in Mina.

e. remember to bring along a little pail. In the event of water supply failure to the toilets, you can use the pail to fetch water from other sources. (We relied on water from a fire hydrant hose).

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Thank you.

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Crowd control at Jamarat bridge

Several measures have been taken to ensure better crowd management at the Jamarat bridge.

These include sending pilgrims in groups at the huge two-tier bridge, imposing limits on the number of pilgrims heading towards that area, and deploying special forces to disperse people in case of a stampede.

The success of these measures depend on the full cooperation of the pilgrims.

Please leave the area immediately after completing the stoning of the pillars.

Don't let Satan convert the "spiritual high" of Arafat into an "emotional high" at Jamarat.

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Feb 1, 2004: 251 pilgrims died in a stampede that lasted 27 minutes during the Stoning rite.

The Saudi government has announced a 20-year development plan to make The Holy Land more pilgrim-friendly.

The issue of pilgrim education must figure prominently in any policy measure to make The Holy Land more pilgrim friendly. This is not being given the attention it deserves in many countries.

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