Saie. Why we do it

1. Part of the umrah and haj rituals is to circle back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah 7 times.

2. This is to reenact Hajar frantic search for water for the crying baby Prophet Ishmael. Story goes that she left him in the valley between the 2 hills whilst running back and forth up and down those 2 hills in search of water.

3. Why do we reenact it ? To me it symbolises that act that we should never give up even though we have failed repeatedly. Strangely
enough, was browsing Napoleon Hill's critically acclaimed book "Think and Grow Rich" and this was the first and main principle and theme of the book. Never give up and you will succeed.

4. Of course it means a whole lot more than just that. It symbolises one's faith to Allah. The love and sacrifices of a mother to her child. If you could see the pic of the hill of Safa and Marwah we are talking about Hajar a female with her limited female strength frantically running up and down those 2 SOLID HARD ROCK hills. This is no sand dunes we are talking about here. It is also no easy slope. It is steep and it is razor sharp. Imagine doing that thousand of years ago with perhaps a leather slippers and no gloves. Even today with proper boots and gloves I wouldn't want to do it. A fall would from Safa and Marwah would mean deep cuts from the jagged rocks. Like I said, this is no bukit from tanah merah or sand. All of ut is made of cold jagged rocks. Also imagine Hajar doing this in the midday heat of the Arabian desert.

5. The Saie we perform today is a far cry from what Hajar did. Now we have long air conditioned corridors between the two hills with smooth tile surfaces along the way. Sometimes I think this luxury will make us forget te reason why we are reenacting this sacrifice in the first place. Oh well.. Hopefully that won't be the case.

6. This forms my personal opinion on the matter. All views are welcomed.