Pilgrimage is not just a series of religious rituals to be performed in a few days. It is also an annual event where Muslims from different countries gather to exchange their culture, traditions and language as well. Every year, the Ministry of Haj turns the occasion of this large gathering of Muslims from around the world into a workshop to enable Muslim scholars to discuss topics of interest to the entire Ummah and to exchange ideas for the benefit of the world's Muslims. The Muslim World League (MWL) also took a similar step as it hosted several Muslim scholars at its Islamic cultural center. It organized several workshops that discussed new ideas of benefit to the Ummah. Several Saudis who worked during this year's Haj told Saudi Gazette that the occasion offered them a chance to learn some new words from different languages. Ahmed Al-Matrafi, a resident of Makkah who owns a small food shop in Mina, can now speak two languages besides his mother tongue. “Working for more than 12 years among pilgrims speaking different languages enables you to at least learn the most common words during Haj,” Al-Matrafi said. He added that he can communicate with most Asians as he speaks Urdu and English. “I know numbers and a few words in Persian as well,” he added. Meanwhile, pilgrims also found a golden chance to communicate in broken Arabic with security forces and others working in Haj. Ibrahim Japa, from Gambia, studied Arabic in a small village in his country. Standing beside one of the Fatwa offices in Mina, Japa believed that his first Haj enabled him to learn some new Arabic words. “When I hear a new word I try to write it down in English and ask someone to explain its meaning and usage,” Japa said. Sulaiman Cissay, also a Gambian, said he now knows some Arabic words and their meanings. “Tareeq ya Haj” (clear the passage), “kubri” (bridge) “yameen” (right) are some of the Arabic words that Cissay has learnt. Most of these words are used to help pilgrims and to organize their movement in crowded areas.
