Lahore: Among the millions of Muslims who performed Hajj this year, there are two young people who traveled thousands of kilometers on foot from their respective countries to reach Hijaz-Maqods and achieved the great happiness of Hajj.
One of these lucky youths Usman Arshad belongs to Pakistan while the other youth Shahabuddin Chittoor belongs to India. Usman Arshad has completed a walking journey of 5400 km in five and a half months, while Shahabuddin has completed the longest journey of 8,640 km in one year. Thanks to Allah Almighty for this success.
Usman Arshad, a resident of Okara, started his journey from Okara on October 1, 2022 and reached Saudi Arabia on April 13, 2023. Wearing a small bag, umbrella and trekking shoes, the 25-year-old student started his journey in Punjab. What happened to his hometown Okara?
Usman Arshad that he had collected about 6 thousand 800 dollars to meet his expenses, I remember when I left my house on October 1, 2022 in extreme heat and then my entire journey in extreme heat and extreme cold. Continued, verily Allah is with those who persevere.
According to Usman Arshaf, he had gone to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan passing through Iran, Iraq and Kuwait, but despite his efforts, he could not get a visa to Iraq, due to which he had to change the route of his journey. He faced many challenges during his journey.
Their Iraqi visas were rejected, bad weather, and difficulty sleeping, but they managed to reach their destination.
Despite the blisters on his feet and the fatigue of the long walking journey, when Usman Arshad reached the holy land, he did not have a Hajj visa but an Umrah visa, after which Usman Arshad got a Hajj visa through the efforts of the Pakistan Hajj Mission.
Talk about another young man, Shahabuddin Chittoor. Dr. Shahabuddin from Tobharat state of Kerala completed this walking journey in 370 days.
This journey of Shahabuddin started from his Malappuram district, passed through India, Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait and ended in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Shahab Chittoor started his journey on June 2, 2022 and reached Makkah on June 21, 2023.
Shahabuddin reached Amritsar in September last year, he had to travel from Pakistan on foot from Wagah to Taftan, but Pakistan did not give him a transit visa. Shahabuddin stayed in a school in Amritsar for several months. Pakistan gave them a two-day transit visa, they crossed the Wagah border on February 7, 2023, after staying one night in Lahore, they reached Lahore Airport on February 8. He reached Pakistan from India and then traveled through Iran, Iraq and Kuwait and reached Hijazmaqds on June 21, 2023.
According to Shahabuddin, he grew up hearing stories of people traveling from Kerala to the holy land of Mecca on foot, so it was a dream for him to make this long and holy journey on foot. His wife and other family members also contributed a lot for this difficult and long journey. He said that the most difficult task was obtaining visas for trekking. It will always be a pity that he could not travel to Pakistan during his great journey.
It should be noted that the two youths will return to their respective countries by air.
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