As millions of Muslim pilgrims gather in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj every year, thousands of volunteers help the pilgrims navigate their journey with ease and comfort.
According to the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah, over 7,000 volunteers work across Makkah and other holy places to facilitate the pilgrims. They are the “unseen anchors” whose efforts, often behind the scenes, ensure that the pilgrims do not face hardships.
“You may not know their names. You may not remember their faces. But
if you have ever performed Haj, you have felt their kindness — a bottle of cold water pressed into your hand, a voice gently guiding you when you felt lost,” the ministry said.
Haj, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is performed each year by millions of Muslims worldwide. Pakistan receives one of the highest Haj quotas from Saudi Arabia.
The statement said that the volunteers sacrifice their own Eid celebrations, sleep and comfort so that they can help out the pilgrims in many ways, narrating the stories of multiple volunteers.
One of the volunteers, Amani Al-Atawi, who was the executive director of the Sharaf Association, was the one who welcomes people at the border town of Halat Ammar.
“Amani and her team are already on their feet — offering cool bottles of water, sweet dates, and clear directions in languages the pilgrims can understand.
It’s simple, but powerful. That first smile. That gentle hand offering help
without being asked. It sets the tone for everything that follows.”
The statement said that Amani sees her work as a “calling” which extends to “a sense of calm, care, and welcome that stays with pilgrims long after they have moved on from the border”.
It further said that she has exchanged Eid festivities for long shifts, without being with her family. “It’s hard … My family asks why I’m not home, but when I see a pilgrim’s
face light up with gratitude, or when they whisper a dua for me, it’s like I’m
carrying their blessings back to my family. That’s worth everything,” she was quoted as saying.
Another volunteer was the 24-year-old Huda Alalawi, who was an emergency medical specialist and paramedic. She was quoted in the statement as saying, “It makes me feel truly present, and that my existence has real value.”
Huda has played a critical role since 2022 to “preserve the lives of pilgrims, alleviate their pain, and provide them with necessary medical care”, the statement said, adding, “She frequently utilises Nusuk cards for swift access to pilgrim information and seamless coordination of urgent needs, actively lending her expertise to
bolster the Red Crescent’s broader medical support efforts across the holy
sites.”
The ministry said that the pilgrims might come across “youthful presence”, such as the 22-year-old Khalid Al-Mansour, who was a psychology student. “Khalid might sit with a young man from Nigeria, visibly overwhelmed by the sheer crowds and the
relentless heat,” the statement said.
He was quoted as saying, “Haj can be intense — spiritually, physically. I tell them it’s okay to feel lost. That’s part of the journey.”
One of the older volunteers was the 56-year-old Bakheet Alghamdi, who has worked as a Haj volunteer for 36 years, according to the ministry. He was a certified first aid trainer who was “often found guiding lost pilgrims, expertly managing
transport, or providing critical medical support when it is needed most”.
The statement said that he once performed CPR to save a pilgrim’s life, while another time, he was responsible for reuniting a wheelchair-bound couple from
Pakistan.
“Most pilgrims may not remember their [volunteers’] names. But they will never forget the kindness — the outstretched hand, the quiet reassurance, the unexpected calm in a moment of need,” the statement said, stressing that their efforts do not “ echo loudly“, but were steady, and full of compassion and care.
Header Image: Muslims perform the Tawaf around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, June 1, 2025. — Reuters
