A Cup of Shai

Thousands of Muslims from all over the world have flocked to Saudi Arabia to perform one of the pillars of Islam; the  Hajj . It is the major pilgrimage in which different rituals are performed over 5 days in the Islamic month  Dhul   Hijjah .        Some of the main rituals include; circling God's House, the  Ka'bah   (the black cube above) seven times, walking between the Mountains  Safah   and  Marwah , and also s leeping beneath the stars. Whilst all these rituals have historical importance, it was something else which moved me when I performed some of these rites in the minor pilgrimage:  Umrah .    The first thing which struck me on the  Umrah  is that all the pilgrims were required to dress uniform.  The females were dressed in loose fitted dresses or robes and all the males were dressed in two pieces of white material; one forming a toga, and the second being a loincloth. I found it humbling how someone's material identity was comp...