Martabak Seller Sells Home To Fulfil Haj Dream With Wife

From Nurliyana Farhah Ruslan

MAKKAH,  June 10 (Bernama) -- For Yahya Che An, the journey to perform the Haj was paved with both sacrifice and unwavering faith. To fulfil the fifth pillar of Islam, he made the difficult decision to sell one of his two homes so that he and his wife could travel to Makkah together.

At 71, the murtabak seller from Batang Kali, Selangor, said he sold the house to his son for RM100,000 - money he used to realise a dream he had shared with his wife, Nor Aini Abdullah, 66, for the past 25 years.

“I feared that Allah would question why I didn’t perform Haj, even though I had the means. We won’t have a lawyer to defend us then, which is why I was willing to let go of the house.

“I told my wife, we don’t have much left in this world - only our deeds matter now. It was hard to part with something we worked so hard for, but once we arrived here, I felt nothing but deep gratitude. We’ve finally completed the fifth pillar of Islam,” he said.

Yahya shared his story at the Abraj Al-Janadriyah Hotel in Makkah after returning from Mina, where he and his wife had completed nafar thani (departing Mina after the stoning ritual). Despite dealing with knee pain, fatigue, and the physical strain of age, he was thankful to have completed the journey.

“The most challenging part was in Mina. We had to queue for a long time to use the toilet, and for the stoning ritual, I asked my nephew for help as we were advised not to go alone due to the intense heat, which reached 42°C.” he recalled.

Yahya said he had long harboured the desire to perform Haj but had postponed it for years to focus on raising his six children.

“Alhamdulillah, all of them have done well - some are working and others are pursuing further studies up to PhD level. They’ve all grown into good, responsible people,” he said proudly.

Before venturing into the murtabak business, Yahya worked as a lorry driver. After retiring, he used his pension funds to start a small business, selling murtabak from his Perodua Kancil in Batang Kali back in 2009.

“But now, my strength isn’t what it used to be,” he said.

As of yesterday, Malaysian pilgrims who opted for nafar thani have begun returning to their accommodation in Makkah after completing the stoning ritual at Mina on the 13th of Zulhijjah.

Once back, they will perform the final tawaf (circumambulating the Kaaba seven times) and sa’i (walking between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times) to complete their pilgrimage before returning home.

-- BERNAMA