For Malaysian Muslim couple Alzam Saim and his wife, hajj this year came just in time and a blessing after what they had gone through in the past two years.
Saim, 49, and his wife Siti Masayu Laton, 46, from Shah Alam, Selangor, had endured tough times as their home got struck by the massive flood last year, and their hajj plan was also disrupted two years ago.
“Praise to Allah, this is like a gift to us after we were affected by the floods in Shah Alam last December,” Saim told New Straits Times.
“I got the calling for year 2020 and appealed so that my wife can join together, but it was difficult to go through, and then the Covid-19 pandemic happened which dampened our plans.
They are both grateful they were finally chosen for hajj this year.
“I got the calling for year 2020 and appealed so that my wife can join together, but it was difficult to go through, and then the Covid-19 pandemic happened which dampened our plans.
They are both grateful they were finally chosen for hajj this year.
Noor Asimah Tamar, 62, from Melaka, is another Malaysian Muslim who had been waiting for three years since 2018 to perform hajj.
Receiving the offer in 2018, she had to cancel it due to her health condition. She missed another opportunity in 2020 when Saudi government suspended hajj due to Covid-19 pandemic.
“This year when I was given the offer a week before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, I was very happy and nervous at the same time to be going alone,” she said.
Hajj is an important event in the Islamic calendar as millions of Muslims gather every year in Saudi Arabia city of Makkah to perform the life-time journey.
Malaysia’s haj quota this year is 14,306 pilgrims – 45 per cent of the previous annual quota of 31,600 before the pandemic struck.