You “need a lifetime to prepare” for a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity(千载难逢的机会)”, says Zahir Junid, a 57-year-old from Selangor, a state in western Malaysia. He has been saving money for decades. Recently he has been getting physically fitter, by running and playing pickleball, and keeping mentally sharp by attending talks at mosques. So when, a few months ago, he at last secured a spot(获得一个名额) on the hajj, he knew nothing would stop him from undertaking(承担、从事) the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Not even a war.
“你‘需要一生来准备’一次‘千载难逢的机会’，”57岁的马来西亚西部雪兰莪州人扎希尔·朱尼德说道。他已经存了几十年的钱。最近，他通过跑步和打匹克球增强体质，并通过在清真寺听讲座保持思维敏锐。所以，几个月前当他终于获得一个朝觐名额时，他知道没有任何事能阻止他踏上前往麦加的伊斯兰朝圣之旅——即使是战争也不行。
In recent months Iran has fired missiles and drones towards countries in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia. Travel to the region has been disrupted. It has also become more expensive, as jet-fuel prices have soared. Yet around 1.7m pilgrims are nonetheless expected to take part in this year’s hajj, of which the majority will travel from Asia. On May 25th they begin five days of rituals that have changed little for centuries. These include the tawaf—walking seven times anti-clockwise(逆时针方向地) around the Kaaba, a building at the centre of Mecca’s Grand Mosque—and the sa’i, walking or running seven times between two hills.
近几个月来，伊朗向包括沙特在内的海湾国家发射了导弹和无人机。前往该地区的旅行受到干扰。由于航空燃油价格飙升，旅行也变得更加昂贵。尽管如此，预计仍有约170万朝圣者参加今年的朝觐，其中大多数来自亚洲。5月25日，他们将开始为期五天的仪式，这些仪式几个世纪以来几乎没有改变。包括绕行天房（tawaf）——逆时针绕行麦加大清真寺中心的卡巴天房七圈——以及赛尔（sa’i），在两座小山之间行走或奔跑七次。
Demand for the hajj remains high because it is one of the five “pillars” of Islam. The Koran instructs all Muslims to complete it once if they are financially and physically able. Some countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, always easily use up an annual quota(配额、限额) of visas that Saudi Arabia grants them. Around 5.7m Indonesians are on a waiting-list(等候名单), but the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country gets only 220,000 places. Some wait 40 years to be selected. If they are still alive when their turn comes, they are unlikely to decline it.
对朝觐的需求仍然很高，因为它是伊斯兰教五大“支柱”之一。《古兰经》指示所有穆斯林，如果经济上和身体上能够做到，就应完成一次朝觐。一些国家，如马来西亚和印度尼西亚，总能轻松用完沙特每年分配给它们的签证配额。大约570万印度尼西亚人在等待名单上，但这个世界穆斯林人口最多的国家只有22万个名额。有些人要等40年才能被选中。如果轮到他们时他们还活着，他们不太可能拒绝。