My Hajj Reading List: Preparing for Mecca

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/world/middleeast/my-hajj-reading-list-preparing-for-mecca.html

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Starting Saturday, about two million Muslims will participate in the hajj, an annual pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia. I’ll be participating for the first time, and to prepare, I assembled an eclectic reading list including Islamic history, firsthand accounts of the hajj and spiritual meditations.

I am rereading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” which culminates with one of the most meaningful passages I have ever encountered on the pilgrimage.

Also, I revisited “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway, for his sharp prose and as a reminder that a journey can always be an adventure.

I bought “Getting the Best Out of Al-Hajj” by Abu Muneer Ismail Davids, a droll manual that includes invaluable advice, including where to camp at the plains of Mina, why you should bring an inflatable mattress, and what direction to walk to avoid being crushed by the crowds of pilgrims. I have already flagged many pages with Post-it note reminders.

Also on the list:

• “Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam,” edited by Venetia Porter, to help me understand the spiritual importance of the hajj.

• “The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam’s Holiest Shrine,” by Yaroslav Trofimov, about the great rupture almost 40 years ago between Saudi Arabia and Iran that played out at the hajj.

• Finally, “Sea Without Shore: A Manual of the Sufi Path” by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, to immerse myself in some spirituality before I head to Mecca.