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Going for Hajj using unconventional means

by Luqmaan Rawat

Johannesburg – Going for Hajj is what every Muslim yearns for but there are those who make their Hajj even more special because of how they got to the blessed lands. They chose to bypass the cost of a plane ticket by travelling using means other than the conventional ones.

Over the past few years there have been those who have travelled to the blessed lands by walking, riding a bicycle or some other unconventional means. Each of them had this powerful desire to go for Hajj despite the costs of travel.

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Walking towards goodness

Shihab Chottur, 30, is one of those people who has decided to walk his way from India to Makkah. A journey that will see him travelling 8,460 kilometres on foot in 280 days if he wishes to reach Makkah in time for Hajj 2023. His intended path will see him travel across several countries including India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and finally Saudi Arabia. Chottur will have to walk an average of 30 kilometres per day to reach Makkah in 280 days.

Pushing a cart and going for Hajj

Adam Muhammed made headlines last year when he decided to set off on a journey from the United Kingdom to Makkah. All he has is a three-wheeled cart that weighs around 300 kilograms which he uses as his shelter, to cook food and store his belongings. So far Muhammed has travelled through the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and has made it as far as Turkey. His aim is to reach Makkah before the start of the Hajj season this year.

His cart is one that he made himself with help from a local welding company. It has the necessary electrical components to provide him with warmth and a place to cook his food.

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From Cape Town to Makkah on bicycles

Back in 2010 two South Africans committed themselves to cycling almost 11,000 kilometres for Hajj. A nine-month journey for Natheem Cairncross,28 and Imtiyaz Haron,25 were met with many challenges, but they rode their way through them all. They were determined to make it for Hajj that year. After a gruelling journey and having to fly to Turkey due to not getting visas to enter Ethiopia and Sudan, the pair reached Makkah in time to perform Hajj.

There are easier ways to go for Hajj. By plane, car, bus and even by sea. However, these stories show that even when one may not have the money to travel, if a person’s heart yearns to go for Hajj there is always a way to do it.

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