Dear friends lend me your years/ I, the humble servant, have written verses about Mecca and Medina/ I am, stating simple facts/ So as to excite the pious/ About three-and-a-half months from Kedah/ My ship sails across the seas/ If the wind blows from behind/ I will reach Jeddah, the peaceful bay This is an excerpt from a 19th century poetic account by an anonymous Malaysian pilgrim about the Haj. It shows what pilgrims throughout the ages have put in writing about their feelings and thoughts on their experiences of the ‘journey of a lifetime'. The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) in Kuala Lumpur has put together an exhibition called “En Route to Mecca: Pilgrim's Voices Throughout the Centuries” which is to run until Jan. 23. “The objective of holding the exhibition is to provide insight about the Haj to Muslims and all those who visit the exhibition. They can know about the journey before they proceed on the pilgrimage,” Zulkifli Ishak, project manager of the exhibition told Saudi Gazette at the IAMM in Kuala Lumpur. “It is in the context not only of Malaysian pilgrims, but the whole world.” He added that many foreigners have visited, and appreciated the exhibition as well. The IAMM is a popular tourist attraction in itself. It is located at Jalan Lembah Perdana in Kuala Lumpur in the neighborhood of the National Mosque and Islamic Center, and is within walking distance of attractions such as the National Museum, National Planetarium, Orchid Garden, and Butterfly and Bird Park. “It is first time the museum has organized such a significant display about the Haj,” Ishak said, and added that an exhibition called “On Road to Madinah” was held about four years ago. “It was about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his migration, the spider's web, and all those historic facts. It was a more interactive exhibition though. The present one is quite intense and more educational compared to that one.” Ishak added that one idea is also to showcase the hardships of the journey. “We want to mentally prepare the pilgrims and educate them in an interesting way about what is involved. We have also included artefacts in the expo. A team has put together a bilingual book about the exhibition both in English and Malay, which is available to buy,” he explained. A raffle was simultaneously held at the exhibition. Visitors to the gallery are given a printed questionnaire, which they have to answer, provide a slogan, and deposit in a box. The winner will receive two Umra tickets with a full package. Ishak added that a roadshow of the exhibition is also in the pipeline if support is forthcoming from any educational institution. Major General Dato Jamil Khir bin Haji Baharom is a minister in the incumbent Prime Minister's office (PMO), and he toured the exhibit as well. “Reflections of this journey are not only apparent in pilgrims' thoughts and actions but also visible in the works of art on display,” he said, while speaking to Saudi Gazette. “The Haj journey does not end at Makkah. It continues until the pilgrims return to their different homelands. Being the guest of Allah in His Sacred House is the aspiration of every Muslim. It is a route full of sincerity, determination and continuous commitment, as well as beauty, all of which one can find depicted in the exhibition.” “Nothing embodies the universal nature of Islam better than Haj. Pilgrims converge from every corner of the earth, and these days they are accompanied by unprecedented media coverage from around the world. The gathering of some three million worshippers is an astounding, as well as an exclusive occasion. Haj is Islam in microcosm - an assembly in which rank and riches are of less concern than a sense of community. All of this is apparent in the news reports and other types of information that are filtered back. The aspect that receives less coverage is how the pilgrims reach their goal. Although it is often referred to as the ‘journey of a lifetime,' there is remarkably little attention given to the pilgrims' means of travel,” remarked Syed Mohamad Al-Bukhary, IAMM director, in his welcome address. He added that the exhibition “focuses on the sense of anticipation and adventure that the faithful have always encountered on their way to fulfilling this Pillar of Islam. In an age of comparatively painless jet travel, the hardships have been reduced; almost forgotten, also gone is the time when a pilgrimage journey took years rather than days. The objective and rituals have remained the same for over fourteen hundred years, but the means of achieving these have changed beyond recognition.” According to Al-Bukhary, a museum can offer more than beautiful objects to look at. “It can also tell a story, and there are few better stories than those of the men and women through the ages who have completed the Haj,” he stated. “This exhibition and the accompanying publications take visitors and readers back in time.” He added that regardless of where they came from or what their position might have been, Hajis and Hajjahs, made the journey knowing it might be their last. In addition to being a religious duty, the Haj has always been the culmination of a Muslim's life. To be in Allah's House, a location towards which more than a billion faithful pray five times a day, is worth making many sacrifices for. It was once undertaken only by the intrepid, but even these days - when demand outstrips the supply of places available - the Haj has lost none of its allure. The IAMM is a non-profit organization “dedicated to being the custodian, preserver, and educator of Islamic art,” according to Al-Bukhary. The permanent galleries in IAMM include architecture, Qur'an and manuscripts, India, China. __
