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Hajj Sequel 5: A Cup of Tea That Was Never Drunk
By Anonymous
Posted July 16, 2004
Sequel 1: Just A Dream or A Call For Hajj? Sequel 2: Preparations - Logistical, Physical, and Spiritual Sequel 3: Bangle Between Fingers Sequel 4: The Old Man and the Ka'ba |
At Mina, we stayed at a camp exclusively setup for the hajjis who came from the US. There were ten to twelve large tents setup in that camp holding several hundred hajjis. It had two entrances from the opposites sides, each with guards on 24-hour duty. From one end to the other, there was a passageway over a hundred yards long. The tents were setup on both sides of this passageway facing one another. The tent where I stayed was almost at one of the ends of this passageway. The facilities for wudu, shower, and toilet were at the other end. Thus, I had to tread this way from one end to the other many times a day.
I was once returning from the wudu area. Right next to that area, was a table setup for tea and coffee. I fixed a cup of hot tea for myself. Normally, I do not drink tea or coffee. But like many other hajjis, I developed some respiratory discomforts during Hajj and found tea to be helpful in providing temporary relief for the throat. After picking up the cup of tea, I resumed my steps towards my tent. I am one of those who cannot walk and drink at the same time. Thus, I carried my hot cut of tea without making a sip into it, hoping to enjoy it once back in my tent.
At that particular time of the day, this long passageway was nearly empty. As I passed about a third of the passageway, I notice from a far that around the middle of the passageway, an elderly man came out of his tent, stood next to a large trash can, and started vomiting in full throat. I continued walking towards him, passed him by, and then stopped at a little distance from him and turned around to watch him. With his back towards me, he was unaware of my presence. I have seen fewer people vomit as much and for as long as he did. He just kept on going and going. He continued for so long that during that time a couple of individuals hurriedly passed him by one after the other, trying to get away from this uncomfortable sight.
With a hot cup of tea in my hand, I began to wonder what I should do. During uncontrollable vomiting, the convulsion of the lower abdomen is one of the most uncomfortable physical experiences that one can have. I have had good experience of that during my childhood and I still remember that feeling. The only thing that can bring some relief for the sick at that time is for someone to stand behind him, grab his abdomen, and put a constant and heavy pressure on his naval area, as if to prevent the stomach from moving and convulsing.
With his vomiting continuing, I started wondering if I should go and hold him. As I was debating this in my mind, he stopped vomiting. He wiped out his mouth, close the lid of the trash can, and entered his tent.
He was gone, and so was my interest on the tea.
Discarding the tea, I followed him and entered his tent. His bed was right next to the tent door. There I found him lying on his back, his face pale and eyes in the sockets, with a companion sitting next to him. I sat by them and found out that he had been sick since the previous evening. He had not been seen by any doctor yet and was not being treated with any medication. A few minutes later, I stood up and left, telling them that I would be right back.
My British doctor in the US had prescribed for me a series of medications just in case I needed any. In his wisdom, one of the drugs he prescribed was some rectal suppositories to stop vomiting. When stomach cannot take anything but throws it out immediately, pills are almost useless. Suppositories are perfect for this, and I had just that right medicine for him. It was a very good, prescription-only medication. I opened my arsenal of medicines, and grabbed a good number of these suppositories. I then went to a fellow hajji who was a doctor and requested him to come with me. A very kind gentleman, he immediately complied. Together with him, I went back to the tent of the sick person. He checked his conditions and approved the medication that I had for him. He gave him instructions on how to use them and gave other advices. After spending some time with them, we left.
I followed with the sick person a couple of times. When I visited him the next day for the last time, he had almost fully recovered.
When prescribing me all these medications, my doctor had said to me,
“If you do not need these medications, then perhaps you will be able to assist your fellow hajjis with them.”Alhamdulillah, that I did not have to use that medicine, but I was happy that it was put to good use for a great fellow hajji. One with a caring heart never looses the opportunity to come to the assistance of anyone in need. This quality is seen in other creatures, but never to the extent it has been given to us. This is part of being human – we live in societies for none other than mutual benefit and protection. Hajj is not simply a set of rituals, disconnected from all human concerns and welfare, to be performed by shuttling into Makkah and then out and be done with it. There is a greater objective than that. At Hajj, one gets a first hand experience of the larger humanity comprising people of all colors, race, age, and gender. As he (or she) prays, moves, eats, and sleeps with them, he should feel himself to be an integral part of his fellow believers, and them to be an integral part of himself. This is a value – the concern for the humanity at large - he is to bring back with him and nurture throughout his life. To emerge, at the end of the Hajj, as a better person and a better believer is what the objective of Hajj is. There are plenty of opportunities during Hajj to avail and train oneself towards that objective. All that is needed is an open heart. >>> Upcoming: Hajj Sequel 6: Good Intention, Right Actions, and Patience |