麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rania Hafez, senior lecturer at the University of Greenwich.

Today鈥檚 the start of a new week and a new month. Muslims have just seen the last days of the last month of the lunar year. Many will be returning after completing hajj, the pilgrimage to Makka. During Hajj millions of Muslims from all over the world congregate in the holy city of Makka, in modern day Saudi Arabia. It鈥檚 an amazing gathering, as people from across the globe, all dressed in pilgrim鈥檚 simple white, stand together, equal before God, moving as one.

A pilgrimage is a journey, and journeying is all about movement. The pilgrim travels to a sacred place, and in doing so moves spiritually to a new state of being. As a million Muslim pilgrims move as one, circling the Kaaba, the Abrahamic shrine in Makka, they mirror the perpetual movement of our universe. It鈥檚 a congregational devotion that always brings you back to the point you started from, renewed. As the American author Ursula le Guin wrote: 鈥淭o be whole is to be part; true voyage is return.鈥�

A voyage of pilgrimage is often arduous, physically and mentally. We journey towards a special place seeking salvation and renewal, and in doing so we make a mark, sometimes tangible, of our endeavours. I鈥檓 always moved by the stone steps in Rochester cathedral, worn down by centuries of Christian pilgrims climbing them on their hands and knees, in devotion and humility.

In recent times, we鈥檝e also witnessed the movement of many people, driven by conflict and poverty to undertake gruelling even dangerous journeys, in order to reach a safe haven. Pilgrimage is not always a spiritual quest.

As we move through today may it bring both constancy and renewal, and may we be a sanctuary for others.

Amen.