Bani Saud’s Callous And Irresponsible Behaviour – (Part III)

Developing Just Leadership

Zafar Bangash

Dhu al-Hijjah 15, 1447 2026-06-01

News & Analysis

by Zafar Bangash

No pilgrim has ever returned from Hajj without developing serious respiratory problems. It is the direct result of the toxic fumes the buses belch out as they take pilgrims from one place to another. Lack of cleanliness in Mina is also a contributory factor.

In recent years, the Saudis have introduced high speed trains between Makkah and Madinah as well as between Makkah, Mina and Arafat. These have helped ease the pollution problem somewhat but not entirely.

On the morning of the second day, our bus came to take us to Mina. Our airconditioned tents were comfortable and located close to where the Big Shaitan pillar was. Our compound was cordoned off by a huge plastic cloth to keep others from wandering in.

While understandable since North American pilgrims pay higher premiums, unfortunately there were thousands of pilgrims sleeping outside on the side of the streets. On several occasions, I wanted to take food for them from the lavish meals served to us but we were forbidden from doing so.

There was a person stationed at the entrance to our tent compound checking people’s IDs when they came in. He also ensured no one took food with them when they went out.

As our bus headed from Mina to Arafat, we saw tens of thousands of hearty souls walking in the best tradition of the early Muslims at the time of the Prophet (ﷺ). It is nearly 10 kms but these Muslims were prepared to retrace the footsteps of the early Muslims.

Our tents in Arafat were also quite comfortable. We discovered that they were located right at the foot of Jabal al-Rahmah in Arafat. While we could not go to Masjid al-Nimra for Zuhr and Asr salat (the two salats are combined), we got plenty of time to spend on Mount Arafat and made sincere duas to Allah for forgiveness.

Pilgrims leave Arafat at sunset to go to Muzdalifah to spend the night there. I told our group that we should delay our departure from Arafat as much as possible because the Saudis had brought us there on 8^th of Dhul Hijjah when we are supposed to be in Arafat on the 9^th.

In the Islamic calendar, the new day starts at maghrib. While the Darus Salam reps wanted us to leave as soon as possible after maghrib, because they wanted to find a suitable spot for us to spend the night in Muzdalifah, we deliberately delayed leaving our tents to board the bus.

Allah answered our prayers and strong winds and heavy rain started at maghrib time. It was a good two hours before the rain stopped and we could leave our tents. We prayed to Allah during these two hours, completing the hujjah of being in Arafat on the 9^th of Dhul Hijjah.

Muzdalifah is the most difficult part of Hajj. All pilgrims have to stay under the open sky at night. Strong wind blew sand into our nose and mouth. The washrooms were very inadequate and filthy, to put it mildly, and huge line-ups formed. I felt sorry for the elderly because their needs are more urgent.

We prayed maghrib and isha salats together in Muzdalifah. We also collected small pebbles for the next three days of stoning of the devils.

Female pilgrams are allowed to leave for Mina after midnight but the sisters in our group declined, preferring to stay in Muzdalifah to offer nawafil and to do dhikr and tasbih.

At 6 am the next morning, we boarded our bus and joined the caravan of thousands of other buses heading to Mina. The movement of buses was very slow. At one stage, they came to a complete stop. We only found out later what the reason was.

At the stoning of the Big Shaitan, which is done on the first day, there was a stampede and some 42 female pilgrims, all of them Pakistanis, were crushed to death early in the morning.

In their customary incompetence and callousness, the Saudis blocked the road leading to the location of the Big Shaitan. Our tents were located nearby. Our bus could not move.

By the time we reached our tents, it was 2 pm. So we were on the bus for eight hours when the normal travel time would have been about half hour.

Unknown to me, my wife sitting with ladies at the back of the bus, had become severely dehydrated. She had not eaten since lunch the previous day and had had only a few sips of water in Muzdalifah. One of the sisters from Toronto alerted me to my wif’s condition—the ladies’ tents were in a separate area of our compound in Mina.

This was around 5 pm. I immediately contacted the Darus Salam rep who called an ambulance which took her to the Faisal Hospital in Aziziya. I rode in the ambulance with her.

When she was wheeled into the hospital cubical, a doctor came and told me to leave because men were not allowed in the area where women were being treated.

I politely pointed out to him that she was my wife and I was not a non-mahrum for her. He seemed to calm down and started to administer the saline solution intravenously.

After about an hour or so, my wife recovered but she was kept for observation for another hour. It was not until 10 pm when we left the hospital and headed back to Mina.

Luckily, there was some food available in plastic containers. My wife and I had dinner which had officially ended at 9 pm.

Stoning of the Shaitans (big or small) is always a challenge and not without risk of serious injury. Unfortunately, some pilgrims use large stones to throw at the pillars. Pilgrims close to the pillar usually get hit on the head causing serious injury.

It is also noticeable that the Saudi shurtas (policemen) that eagerly assault pilgrims, including women, inside the Masjid al-Haram are nowhere to be seen at the stoning sites. For good reason: they don’t want to get stoned because some pilgrims get really excited.

While they stone the pillars with great enthusiasm, the shaitan inside them remains undisturbed. Further, they are unable to make the connection between the real shaitans out there in the world.

This is deliberate. They are not allowed to make such a connection because it would lead to grabbing the Bani Saud, tying them to the pillars and stoning them to death.

That day might come one day, perhaps sooner rather than later, insha’Allah.

(Next: The Battle for Hotel Accommodation in Makkah)