Heartwarming viral pictures, videos show spirit of Hajj in Mecca

As the Hajj season came to an end this week, people continued to share pictures and videos on social media of pilgrims and security staff performing simple acts of kindness.

Users praised Hajj goers and guards for taking time out of their pilgrimage and workday to help one another.

A picture of a security guard carrying an elderly pilgrim circulated on Twitter, with thousands of users commending the young Saudi man for his kindness. Majid Ali al-Hakami told Al Arabiya that he saw the man sitting on a stool on the day of Arafat and asked him if he was injured.

“I was worried that he had stepped on something sharp like a piece of glass. His legs were shaking, and he was too tired to walk,” al-Hakim said, who was only able to communicate with the pilgrim using hand gestures due to the language barrier.

The guard carried the elderly man and helped him complete his pilgrimage.

“We [security guards] pledged to do everything we can to help the pilgrims who are here for Hajj from the moment we came to Mecca,” al-Hakim added.

A video that went viral on Twitter showed two Japanese pilgrims collecting discarded water bottles from the ground to help keep the area around Mecca clean.

One user commented on the video saying, “God bless them. Clearing garbage from the streets is an act of charity.”

Another video on social media showed a guard holding an umbrella over a pilgrim holding his hands up in prayer amid heavy rain.

“You [security guards] are our pride,” a Saudi Twitter user replied to the video.

On the final day of Hajj, pilgrims shared videos of lined up security guards waving cheerfully and congratulating them for having completed their pilgrimage. The guards sang a song that is known to have been sung by the people of Medina upon the arrival of Prophet Muhammad and Muslims in Mecca.

Several people replied to the video and thanked the guards for their help.