In Focus | Man with a Mission
Bin Thaneya to reach Makkah by Sunday evening
Emirati trekker will have to walk last stretch to Makkah discarding all regular clothing and paraphernalia
- By Malavika Kamaraju, Associate Editor
- Published: 17:44 January 28, 2012
Dubai: He had hoped to reach Makkah sometime this morning. But it wasn't to be.
Though Emirati trekker Jalal Bin Thaneya practically walked day and night during the last 24 hours, he could not cover the distance as he had hoped. He now hopes to reach Makkah by late Sunday evening.
Given that I set out to Makkah with the intention of truly giving in to the divine experience when I am there, it will not serve my purpose if I race against myself. Let it be that it will take me some more time.
He is about a 100 kms outside of Makkah as of this morning and the achievable average is about 50 kms a day, he says. Though he made up for lost time by his Herculean push over the last 24 hours, it still has not been enough.
Over the weekend, he says, he took stock of all the factors - distance, weather, the many areas he needs to traverse and their unique challenges, the limits of how much you can push yourself - and realised that he would require more time. He did not fight that realisation. There is no sense, he feels, overdoing it to a point that when he eventually arrives in Makkah, he is so fatigued in mind and body that he cannot remain alert to God.
One of the stark lessons of this trip so far for him has been that "everything is bigger than you". There are so many things that take precedence over your single-mindedness, he says. From people, rules, issues to nature and circumstance, the variables sometimes can easily outweigh the constants. "It's not that I say, 'I am walking so everything must align itself to my purpose. It doesn't happen that way."
He buoys his occasionally flagging spirits by assuring himself that he is doing everything he can to keep going. "Half of the success is in trying," he says. "Given that I set out to Makkah with the intention of truly giving in to the divine experience when I am there, it will not serve my purpose if I race against myself. Let it be that it will take me some more time."
Man with a mission
- Jalal Bin Thaneya is a 25-year-old Emirati based in Dubai
- He graduated from Middlesex University in Dubai in 2010
- This is his fourth endeavour to raise funds for children with special needs, following a walk across all seven emirates, climbing the stairs of 100 Dubai skyscrapers in 2008, including the Emirates Towers and World Trade Centre, and crossing the Rub Al Khali in a fortnight.
- Corporate organisations and individuals wishing to donate for the Dubai Centre for Special Needs can contribute directly to the Centre.
How you can donate
Jalal Bin Thaneya's purpose of undertaking this walk is to raise awareness of the Dubai Centre for Special Needs' activities and efforts. Every individual who reads his story, Bin Thaneya hopes, will come forward to do his or her bit for children with special needs.
On his part, Bin Thaneya is sporting the Centre's logo on his jacket as he walks. He has also provided the link to the Centre's website on his own. He also tweets about the Centre's activities and goals.
For readers who are following Bin Thaneya's journey and wish to support his cause, log on to Dubai Centre for Special Needs (DCSN) website, http://www.dcsneeds.ae/index.htm to know more about what it does.
You can also call up the centre for more information on how you can volunteer or donate.
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