The New Way of Travelling to Saudi Arabia
Hajj season this year is bright and bustling with over 2 million pilgrims travelling to the holy lands of Makkah and Medinah. We all know at least one person who has packed their bags this year and flown off to Saudi Arabia. But I bet we don't know any pilgrims who cycled their way there?
24 year old Bulat Nassib Abdulla, a Russian Muslim started his journey off a little differently compared to most people. Instead of booking a Saudi Airlines flight, Bulat rode his bicycle all the way from Russia. He set off on the first day of Ramadan, June 6 to make it just in time.
Overall, his long tiring bicycle ride took 3 months and he cycled for a staggering 6,600 km!
This is when he reached Makkah:
As you can see, he was greeted with a positive response, as the people of Makkah stood amazed at his story. They pestered him with questions, and he lists the countries he passed through to get to Makkah.
'Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan,' he says, also explaining that he was not granted permission to pass through Jordan, and had to therefore take a taxi from Jordan to Medina.
Balut is not the only one to have taken on such a rewarding journey. His story is shared with many, who have travelled for pilgrimage similarly.
In 2016, Chinese Muslim Muhammad cycled 7,800 km from his home Xinjiang in north west China. And this journey apparently took 4 months to complete.
This is Muhammad, with members of the Taif cycling club, who all welcomed him eagerly, in praise of his astounding journey, according to Sabq, a Saudi news site. Then,together they all completed their journey to Makkah.
Taking it all the way back to October 2012, 47 year old Senad Hadkiz, Bosnian Muslim not cycled his way there, but in fact walked to Makkah. His on foot journey took 5,605 km. He journeyed through Syria, and of course was naturally faced with problems from the army, and also mentioned he had to negotiate with rebels at checkpoints.
It seems like he had a lot to say, and according to the BBC, he claimed, 'I walked across seven countries, two deserts, without money.'
He also commented, 'If I didn't believe that God was with me, that he was protecting me and guiding me, I wouldn't have even reached Bulgaria, let alone Mecca.' His faith inspired words and story touched many, and his trust and complete dependence on God is moving.
And that's not all. As I was researching these inspirational bicycle journey's, I came across a video from TRT on Youtube, showing a group of Muslim brothers from London also taking the plunge and cycyling across 8 countries last year in 2017.
The video below by TRT explains their motive of raising money for Muslim charity Human Aid, for the people of Syria.
24 year old Bulat Nassib Abdulla, a Russian Muslim started his journey off a little differently compared to most people. Instead of booking a Saudi Airlines flight, Bulat rode his bicycle all the way from Russia. He set off on the first day of Ramadan, June 6 to make it just in time.
Overall, his long tiring bicycle ride took 3 months and he cycled for a staggering 6,600 km!
This is when he reached Makkah:
As you can see, he was greeted with a positive response, as the people of Makkah stood amazed at his story. They pestered him with questions, and he lists the countries he passed through to get to Makkah.
'Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan,' he says, also explaining that he was not granted permission to pass through Jordan, and had to therefore take a taxi from Jordan to Medina.
Balut is not the only one to have taken on such a rewarding journey. His story is shared with many, who have travelled for pilgrimage similarly.
In 2016, Chinese Muslim Muhammad cycled 7,800 km from his home Xinjiang in north west China. And this journey apparently took 4 months to complete.
This is Muhammad, with members of the Taif cycling club, who all welcomed him eagerly, in praise of his astounding journey, according to Sabq, a Saudi news site. Then,together they all completed their journey to Makkah.
Taking it all the way back to October 2012, 47 year old Senad Hadkiz, Bosnian Muslim not cycled his way there, but in fact walked to Makkah. His on foot journey took 5,605 km. He journeyed through Syria, and of course was naturally faced with problems from the army, and also mentioned he had to negotiate with rebels at checkpoints.
It seems like he had a lot to say, and according to the BBC, he claimed, 'I walked across seven countries, two deserts, without money.'
He also commented, 'If I didn't believe that God was with me, that he was protecting me and guiding me, I wouldn't have even reached Bulgaria, let alone Mecca.' His faith inspired words and story touched many, and his trust and complete dependence on God is moving.
And that's not all. As I was researching these inspirational bicycle journey's, I came across a video from TRT on Youtube, showing a group of Muslim brothers from London also taking the plunge and cycyling across 8 countries last year in 2017.
The video below by TRT explains their motive of raising money for Muslim charity Human Aid, for the people of Syria.
There are countless more stories just like these, plastered all over social media, and it seems flying over to perform Hajj, is becoming overrated. Walking and cycling seem to be a much more popular way of travelling, and this new way of travelling is thanks to brave Muslims like Balut and Senad. It's almost as if we're taking it back 1400 years ago, when people had no choice but to walk on foot to Makkah. May Allah reward these pilgrims for their efforts, and accept everyone's Hajj.
Click the link below to read an article by reporter Aisha Gani on more stories like these:
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