The reason why this is a rite of pilgrimage is because prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham – Peace Be Upon Him PBUH) wife Hajar was desperately searching for water for her dying child. Sa’i or seeking in English represents this. It was only until miraculously this immense spring of water appeared, now called the ZamZam well. ZamZam which literally means stop stop, because it was so overwhelming Hajar exclaimed to prophet Ibrahim “zam zam” / “stop stop”. What’s miraculous about this well is that it’s considered to be an inexhaustible well that is still in use today to provide this holy water to pilgrims.
I wasn’t able to see the well unfortunately but what’s beautiful about the story is that although we don’t know the source of this well or water, whatever you may believe about it, it captivates billions of people across this planet in the beauty and realisation that we come from one source. People travel across continents to drink this water, as the sacredness of it is so powerful.
By the way I would highly recommend a video on Youtube with Dave Chappelle and David Letterman where Dave Chappelle gives this story so much more beautifully than I feel I ever can. I think more so, that whole interview with Letterman in My Next Guest Needs No Introduction is fabulous, which I have watched on multiple occasions.
Going from the Tawaf to the Sa’i you follow the exit and this leads to a set of escalators – there’s no way you can get lost, just follow the crowds. You will enter into the al-Mas’aa which is the area between the two mountains as I described a little earlier. This is the marble floor.
The first leg – if I can call it that – is from entering on the Mount Safa side and travelling to Mount Marwa. This counts as one circuit. The Sa’i involves travelling back and forth between the two mountains seven times. Safa and Morwa are regarded as signs of/from God and so at each end, a small supplication is said.
Before I started I performed Wudu again by using the taps and dispensing the water that my guide had collected in some plastic cups into the bins. As the taps are constantly in use, it’s not recommended that you hold up the use of it. Just collect the water using the cups and either drink or use the bins as required.
My guide informed me that he will wait at the exit on Mount Marwa which he pointed out to me as we walked over to the side. It doesn’t take long to walk between the two mountains, probably a few minutes if you rush. I chose not to rush out of safety and cautiousness because of my sugar levels as well as not triggering anything.
Leave a Reply