Surabaya, Indonesia A mix of emotions filled 50-year-old Dedik Sudiyar, an Indonesian pilgrim, as he departed Surabaya Airport for Hajj.
Sudiyar, one of the beneficiaries of the Makkah Route initiative, is accompanied on his journey by his daughter.
“My wife passed away just four months ago,” Sudiyar told an SPA reporter, fighting back tears.
“I had hoped she would be here with me, but my faith in Allah is a beautiful consolation.”
Sudiyar received a letter from Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs approving his Hajj application. He then chose his eldest daughter, Putri Olia Sudiyar, to be his companion on this spiritual journey.
“This will forever be etched in our memories,” Sudiyar said.
“We’ve been preparing and fulfilling all the requirements.”
Sudiyar lauded the Makkah Route initiative as a noble project from the “benevolent and giving people of the Kingdom”. He commended Saudi Arabia’s dedication to using its resources – human, material, and technical – to ensure the comfort and well-being o
f pilgrims throughout their Hajj experience.
Putri, Sudiyar’s daughter, expressed her gratitude as well.
“I thank Allah for His decree. Though saddened by my mother’s passing, the joy of performing Hajj with my father is indescribable,” she said.
She also offered prayers asking for mercy and forgiveness for her mother.
The father and daughter thanked those involved in the Makkah Route initiative for their support for Indonesian pilgrims, saying that the initiative is testament to Saudi Arabia’s successful management and organization of Hajj, and that it makes it easy for Muslims from all over the world to perform the pilgrimage.
Source: Saudi Press Agency