7 men to cycle their way to Haj

Hyderabad: They look old and frail but have an iron-like determination to cycle their way to Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj.

A group of seven poor Muslim auto rickshaw drivers from this southern Indian city on Monday set out on an arduous over-two-year-long journey, which will take them through six countries including the trouble-torn parts of Afghanistan and Iraq before they reach their destination in late 2008.

They hope to perform Haj during the Haj season in early 2009 after travelling through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Kuwait.

Led by Mohammed Haneef, 60, the group, aged between 41 and 68 years, left on a day which is considered auspicious and comes only once during a century. The day signifies the figure 786 - the seventh day of the eighth month of the sixth year of the new millennium.

This unique date combination will repeat itself only after 100 years.

Some Muslims consider 786 as auspicious as it is a numerical value of the Islamic invocation Bismillahi'r Rahmani'r Rahim or 'in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,' which every Muslim is commanded to recite before doing any work.

The group knows how difficult the journey ahead will be, and is carrying kafan (cloth for burial) with them.

"We don't know whether we will be able to reach our destination or not. Even if we die on our way we will consider ourselves lucky because we are going to perform a key obligation as ordered by the Almighty Allah," said Haneef.

Haj or the pilgrimage of the holy cities of Makkah and Madina is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is a must for every Muslim, who can afford the travel, to perform Haj.

More than 1,30,000 Indian Muslims performed Haj in January this year.

Dozens of pilgrims die during pilgrimage due to old age, disease and other causes and Muslims consider themselves fortunate to get a burial in the holy cities.

Additional Commissioner of Police A K Khan flagged off the group at Haj House, where a large number of relatives and well-wishers had gathered to see them off.

Haneef said since all of them come from poor families, many rich Muslims had come forward to help them in fulfilling their ambition.

"Some of us are friends while others have joined us after coming to know about our determination to pedal our way to Saudi Arabia," said Haneef.

"We will have the pleasure of undertaking strenuous journey and even if we die on our way we will consider ourselves fortunate," said Sheikh Burhan, the oldest among the group.

"If any of us die, others will bury him and continue the journey till we reach our destination," he added.

They are carrying the minimum necessary luggage and plan to travel for 50 km every day and stay in mosques. Though they have no visa for Pakistan or any other country, they hope to get the permission after reaching Delhi. They are also hopeful that they would get all the necessary support from Muslims on their way to Saudi Arabia.

A similar group of cyclists from Mumbai will join them in Delhi and they together plan to undertake the journey.

They have no idea about the distance they would have to cover to reach their destination but are carrying Qibla numa or an equipment which will guide them in the western direction.

Muslims offer namaz or prayers five times a day facing in the direction of Makkah, located to India's west.