Ali Shahalom

No, still feeling like I'm in Arafat.

Even now when I meet someone who's performed Hajj, we immediately connect and trade stories.

We laugh about the stress of trying to navigate Nusuk.

I'm telling you, Muslims compete over who waited on Nusuk the longest like it's the trauma Olympics.

And that Telegram group, I still haven't left it, you know.

Don't get me wrong, I've therefore turned the notifications off, but I like to lurk and scroll in there every now and then.

I'm basically a retired pilgrim checking in on the new recruits, watching the chaos from a safe distance and liking any comment that says, take a spare pair of sandals.

Having that group on my phone reminds me of a version of myself who said yes to an invitation from Allah and watched the impossible fall into place.

Hajj taught me that patience has a pulse, hardship has reward, and Allah is the greatest.

If you're thinking about going Hajj, I say do it sooner than later.

And when you do go, bruv, take two banana bags.

Hajj and Sikh was written and performed by Ali Shalom and produced by Victoria Lloyd.

It was a Mighty Bunny production for BBC Radio 4.