07/06/2026
I came back recalibrated.
Not because Hajj was easy. It wasn’t. 50 degree heat, sick for days, running on no sleep. But I was very privileged that it was very smooth. And there’s something about standing in that place- stripped of everything- that resets you completely.
At Arafat I was at my lowest physically. And then suddenly, I wasn’t. The recovery felt instant. Like someone was listening.
I shaved my head for the first time in my life. Spent years obsessing over that hair every single morning. Stood there completely bald, in two pieces of white cloth, indistinguishable from 1.8 million other people- and felt more like myself than I have in years.
We spend so much energy on the things that make us look like someone. Hajj reminds you of who you actually are.
Do your best. Leave the rest to Al-Wakeel.
Hajj Mubarak to everyone who made it this year. May Allah accept it from all of us. 🤲