Reflections from Hajj

  “Have you performed Ḥajj? Have you ever visited the House of Allāh?” It was October 1998. I was sitting in my local masjid when an elderly Tunisian man dressed in a long brown thawb with a North African hat approached me and began conversing with me. He had a long, well-groomed beard which was greyer than his years and a beautiful fragrance of very sweet musk emanated from his clothes. He introduced himself as Hātim and after inquiring about myself, he asked me the above questions. I replied that I had never been on Ḥajj or even Umrah.  I…