Kashmiri Man’s 45-Year Wait for Hajj Ends With One Call From a Stranger

by Dabirah Hassan SRINAGAR — Each year, as pilgrims gathered at Srinagar’s Hajj House with suitcases and prayers, Abdul Rehman Kumar stood off to the side. He carried no luggage, held no ticket. For 45 years, he came not to leave, but to watch others go. At 74, Rehman lives alone in a modest corner of the city. He has no stable income or family to rely on. What he’s carried instead is a dream that never let go. “Every year I came just to watch,” he said. “That was enough to bring me peace. I’ve been waiting for this call all my life.” The call finally came today. After a short video of Rehman quietly standing outside the Hajj House went viral on social media, local journalists visited him. During their visit, they handed him a phone. On the line was a doctor from Kupwara. The caller was someone Rehman had never met, but he offered to sponsor his Hajj and medical expenses. The doctor later explained that his brother, Ab Majeed Khan, had shared the video with him. “He asked if I could find out more,” he said. “I contacted the media professionals who had recorded the interview and asked for verification. Once the mosque committees confirmed his story, I didn’t think twice. I knew I had to help him reach the Kaaba.”

Overwhelmed, Rehman expressed gratitude to the doctor and to everyone who came forward. “May Allah fulfill the dream of Hajj for everyone who wishes for it,” he said, tears running down his face. “Today, I no longer feel alone.” For decades, Rehman had returned to the same gates, not to depart but to send his prayers along with the pilgrims. Often, he stood apart from the crowd, afraid his presence might “taint their purity.” “I’m not worthy,” he would say when asked why he never applied. The truth was simpler: he could never afford it. Years ago, he saw the Kaaba in a dream. That image, of the black-draped cube at the heart of Islam’s holiest site, became his spiritual anchor. He held onto it through hard winters, lost jobs, and advancing age. “I always told myself, if not in this life, then the next.”

But it will be this life after all. His story has struck a nerve beyond Srinagar. Online, strangers shared his video, many saying it reminded them of relatives who died without fulfilling their wish to perform Hajj. Others said it renewed their faith in kindness, in patience, and in the unexpected. “It’s not just about money,” one commenter wrote. “It’s about being seen.” Rehman has never been on a plane. He doesn’t yet know what to pack or how to prepare. He’s still waiting to hear more from the donor. But the wait that truly mattered, the 45 years of watching others leave, is finally over. When asked how he feels, he smiled faintly. “I’ve already left in my heart,” he said. “The rest will follow.”