Umra and the Ugly Virus H1N1 - Swine Flu

Umra and the Ugly Virus H1N1

Swine Flu

By MOHAMMED SADULLAH KHAN

For over a year my family had been pestering me for taking them to Makkah for Umra. But due to various circumstances I had been unable to take them for Umra. Finally a decision was taken in late April to visit Makkah and perform Umra (or Lesser Pilgrimage) in the last week of July.

Since early June the Swine flu hype was escalating and it actually started spreading throughout the world with each and every case being reported and monitored by the World Health Organisation. This caused a flutter and nightmare in me. The swine flu had already reached Saudi Arabia. I was more concerned about the impact it may have at the holy places. With fear in heart and faith in God, I did not want to disappoint the members of my family. I went to the local transporter for booking the seats and hotel for Umra, the rates were comparatively cheap. On enquiring about the swine flu and restrictions, I was informed that there is no problem so far. Money was paid to the transporter and the seats were booked.

On the day we were supposed to leave, it was reported in the newspapers that a woman who had gone to perform Umra, died of swine flu. The news made me jittery. Some of my colleagues requested me to carry masks. I explained to them that the virus can enter our body from any source even by handling a door knob, touching the office desk or trolley at a super market. Finally I told them that Allah is Kareem.

Later on I contacted my brother, who is a medical practitioner, about my visit to Makkah for Umra and the case of the Egyptian woman. He encouraged me to proceed without worry as we have come to an advanced stage of travel and explained about the types of flu and their precautions. With initial confidence, I was hoping for the last minute rescue by imagining that the government will cancel all the buses to Makkah or advise the pilgrims not to travel to Makkah, but nothing of the sort happened. When we saw the bus, it was bustling with pilgrims. Two Indian families, two Sudani families, two Pakistani families and rest of them were bachelors. Among bachelors almost 80 per cent were Pakistanis, the rest were Bangladeshis and Indians.

As the bus started moving ahead my fear galloped as I was mindful of any kind of sneeze or cough. But fortunately in the entire journey no one sneezed or coughed. Finally we reached Makkah. Still my mind was acting like a surveillance camera, installed at the airports, scanning for persons with red eyes, temperature, cough or sneezing. Fortunately this time I did not see anyone coughing or sneezing nor suffering from fever. The moment we stood in front of Ka’aba, we were overjoyed, filled with excitement, felt fully blessed and forgot about everything related to the journey.

It was a real breathtaking experience after a long time. The feeling was liberating and pulsating. For two days we were engrossed in prayers with attendance to minimum daily needs. During our visit to Ka’aba, it was being washed and the door was open; we had a rare opportunity to have a glimpse of inside the Ka’aba. Our successful mission was over.

I used to get flu after coming from Umra. Unlike in the past, this time I did not have any symptoms of flu. After our return, we read the reports of havoc caused by the virus. Day after day the virus was becoming more virulent. The spread of swine flu really got out of control. The WHO had decided not to count the number of affected persons. Restrictions were being imposed by certain scholars and countries in respect of Haj and Umra. The swine flu pandemic was going ahead unabated with more infections and deaths being reported on daily basis.

[The writer is a Freelance writer based in Saudi Arabia and can be contacted at mosakhan40@gmail.com.]