MAKING A FIRST UMRAH IN MECCA: AN INSIDE VIEW

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TAGS: KIRF KISL PHUM SA
SUBJECT: MAKING A FIRST UMRAH IN MECCA: AN INSIDE VIEW


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On March 5, 2009, ConGen Jeddah political
officer made a first visit to the Masjid Al-Haram(Grand
Mosque) in Mecca in the company of three American Muslims of
Sudanese origin, two men and one woman, in order to perform
together the Umrah (visit to the holy places). Following is a
first-hand account of the rituals typifying that experience
for a Muslim believer. END SUMMARY.


ENTERING THE MASJID AL-HARAM

2.(U) Umrah visitors to the Masjid Al-Haram(Grand Mosque) in
Mecca have the choice of wearing the "ihram," the traditional
garments worn by pilgrims for Hajj and Umrah or their normal
clothing. The ihram, which consists of two pieces of heavy
white cloth, is optional for Umrah but mandatory for Hajj.
Removing shoes, the Umrah visitors entered the Masjid
Al-Haram through King Abdul Aziz Gate, one of seven main
entry gates to the structure and encountered hundreds of
worshippers sitting and offering individual prayers on the
mosque's rug-covered marble floors. As visitors make their
way toward the Ka'aba, it is common to encounter various
national groups sitting and reading the Quran together. Some
groups are wholly male, others all female, and some mixed
gender. The Ka'aba is located in the open-air portion of the
mosque. The marble floor has a built-in cooling system, cool
to the touch even under the extreme heat of desert sun.

CIRCLING THE KA'ABA


3. (U) Visitors normally begin their Umrah experience by
circling the Ka'aba seven times in a ritual known as "tawaf,"
starting at the corner that houses Al-Hajr Al-Aswad (the
Black Stone) and moving counterclockwise. Muslims believe
that the Black Stone was placed by the Prophet Muhammad;
however, accounts differ of the stone's origin and
significance (from having come to earth as a meteorite to
its having become black from having absorbed human sins).
Performing the tawaf, visitors make their way to the corner
of the Ka'aba at which the Black Stone is fixed, turning
toward the Ka'aba and raising right hands while uttering the
phrases "God is Great(Allahu Akbar)" and "In the Name of God
(Bismillah)" in Arabic. Between the corner that houses the
Black Stone and the Yemeni corner (named for the southerly
direction it faces -- towards Yemen),all worshippers chant a
short Arabic prayer which translates: "Our Lord give us good
in this life and good in the Hereafter and save us from the
punishment of Hell Fire." During the remainder of the tawaf,
worshippers traditionally offer personal supplications or
have a guide lead them in prayer.


4. (U) Despite the relatively small number of
worshippers(400-500) making the tawaf on this occasion, the
crowd was tightly packed around the Ka'aba, as worshippers
tried to inch closer to the structure with each rotation.
Most tried repeatedly to touch or kiss the Black Stone. Some
pushed and shoved to position themselves in a queue in front
of the stone. Upon reaching it, worshippers have a brief
second or two to touch or kiss it before a Saudi guard,
himself suspended from the Ka'aba in a kind of harness,
gently pushes them along. If competing with males to touch
the stone, women are sometimes made
to wait until after the males have completed the ritual.
Those who are unable to get close to the Black Stone because
of the crowd may manage instead to touch the Yemeni corner,
which believers hold was sometimes touched by the Prophet
himself during his tawaf.


5. (U) The group of worshippers circling the Ka'aba were
young and old, male and female; the elderly and disabled were
pushed in wheelchairs. Although the crowd was densely packed
and there was much pushing and shoving, none of the
worshippers seemed to become upset or impatient. After
completing the tawaf around the Ka'aba, worshippers usually
perform two individual raka (full prayer motions),facing
toward the Ka'aba.

JOGGING BETWEEN THE TWO HILLS OF SAFA AND MARWA


6. (U) Finally, visitors complete their Umrah experience with
what is known as a "sa,i," which consists of walking briskly
back and forth seven times between the two hills of Safa and
Marwa, located inside the grand mosque a few feet from the
Ka'aba. According to tradition, worshippers walk up the hill
of Safa, face the Ka'aba and chant "God is Great" and "In the
Name of God" three times in Arabic, retracing the footsteps
of Abraham's servant-wife Hagar, the mother of Ishmael
(father of the Arabs). They then walk briskly and at times
jog down a long, enclosed corridor designed for one-way
traffic towards Marwa uttering personal supplications or

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repeating the prayers shouted loudly by a guide. The corridor
has high ceilings and open areas along the wall. At a point
approximately one quarter of the length of the corridor a
strip of green lights on the wall and ceiling indicates that
worshippers should jog lightly and approximately 100 feet
away a second set of green lights advises worshippers they
may cease jogging. Upon reaching the top of Marwa visitors
once again turn towards the Ka'aba and repeat in Arabic "God
is Great" and "In the Name of God" three times. Next they
enter the one-way corridor towards Safa and repeat the
process. According to custom, believers make seven circuits
back and forth between the two hills.


7. (U) During the sa,i, some worshippers walk throughout
while others jog. Most do a combination of gaits. And,
again, the elderly and disabled are pushed in wheelchairs
between the two hills.

WELL OF ZAM ZAM


8. (U) Visitors who have been to the holy site previously
notice the disappearance of the entrance to the well of Zam
Zam. Until recently, the well, which Muslims believe God
caused to spring forth in response to Hagar,s frantic search
for water for her son Ishmael, was made accessible to
pilgrims by a stairwell located about 50 feet away from the
Ka,aba. Recently the stairwell was closed because it caused
traffic jams during the Hajj as some pilgrims tried to obtain
Zam Zam water (believing in its special properties) while
others tried to complete tawafs around the Ka,aba. In an
effort to solve this problem, Saudi authorities closed access
to the well from the ground floor and have placed Zam Zam
water in labeled coolers with plastic cups all around the
Mosque for worshippers to drink and carry with them. On the
roads in and out of Mecca some of the poorer residents of the
holy city often sell Zam Zam water to visitors.

HAIRCUT


9. (U) As is customary after completing the Umrah rites,
visitors have the option to receive a full haircut or merely
have small snippets of hair removed. On a typical Umrah day
approximately 20-30 haircutters, most of whom appear to be
non-Saudi, stand with scissors at the ready, waiting for
believers to finish the sa,i at the top of Marwa. Visitors
(men or women) wishing only to have snippets cut usually pay
between 10 and 20 SAR ($3-6) to have the barber quickly clip
three or four areas from
around the head. For those desiring a full, close-cropped
haircut, there is a string of barbershops located outside the
Masjid Al-Haram on the street behind Marwa for this purpose.
However, many visitors simply bring a pair of scissors and
cut their own hair.

MIXING OF GENDERS


10. (SBU) In stark contrast to the complete separation of the
sexes in all mosques and in most public settings throughout
Saudi Arabia, in the Masjid Al-Haram, Islam's holiest site,
women are often scattered throughout the mosque, performing
rites alongside male worshipers. Men and women circle the
Ka,aba together, pray individually alongside each other and
walk between the hills of Safa and Marwa together. Some
women wear the ihram, the traditional white pilgrimage
clothing covering body and hair; others wear the abaya
(traditional black Saudi robe) and hijab (full head
covering); still others wear floor length, long sleeve
national dress with a head covering.


11. (SBU) COMMENT: In this account of a March 5 visit to
Mecca's Masjid Al-Haram, poloff shares with readers a glimpse
of the process of Umrah at Islam's holiest site. Although
the crowds that day did not nearly match the level of the
annual Hajj or even a busy Umrah day, Saudi authorities had
in place an efficient system to accommodate large numbers of
ethnically diverse believers. END COMMENT.
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