As Saudi witness, the biggest Hajj this year, performed by millions of pilgrims from different corners of the world; Ibrahim Richmond, a former Christian priest from South Africa who recently converted to Islam as a result of a series of dreams and inspired thousands of his followers to do the same, recently made his first Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
“I believe and will follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad. Millions of my people in South Africa will follow in these feet and see the light,” he said in a video posted on Twitter earlier this week by the Saudi government communication center.
read more: Millions of Muslims commence Major Hajj pilgrimage: 1444 AH
The mountain of light is located here. I am the first member of my family to set foot on this soil, which has been blessed, he declared.
Ibrahim served as a priest for 15 years and served as the congregation’s leader in a South African church that had about 100,000 members.
He claimed that after having a recurring dream in which a voice instructed him to tell his men to wear white coats, his life changed. Later, he understood that the voice was referring to the Taqiya, a white cap that many Muslims don for prayer.
As the order was related to Muslims and irrelevant to him as a Christian, he initially paid little attention and dismissed it as “just a dream.” “It continued to appear, and the last time the voice turned hostile. “Now tell your men,” was said.”
Ibrahim took the name Richmond three months after converting to Islam. Thousands of Christians from his church followed suit and converted to Islam.
In a popular online video that went viral in March, Ibrahim and tens of thousands of his followers could be seen reciting the Shahadah (swearing-in ceremony).
“They concurred with what I was saying. What Shahadah would mean was being said by one of a thousand voices. As my Muslim brothers arrived, we were ecstatic. Ibrahim sobbed, “I said I’ve been waiting for you, I’ve been waiting for you, I had a dream you’d come here.
In his words, Allah had blessed and eased his Hajj pilgrimage. I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to have been given the opportunity. ”.
Haramain arrived in Mecca and carried out the first Hajj rituals, as seen in a video posted on Monday by Haramain’s Twitter account.
The annual religious gathering was reportedly attended by more than two million people from more than 160 countries, according to Saudi authorities, making it the “biggest” Hajj pilgrimage in years.
This occurs as Saudi authorities decided to end the requirement that women be accompanied by male guardians in 2021.
Since there is no longer an upper age limit, thousands of senior citizens will be among those enduring Saudi Arabia’s oppressive heat, which is expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius this year.
Muslims who have financial independence are obligated to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetimes as it is one of the five pillars of Islam.
