Seventeen-year-old Yousef Saleh Ba-Isa is a student from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He filed this account from Mecca for CNN.com on Sunday, March 4.

Saudi teen amazed at how people differ in their devotions to Allah

MECCA, Saudi Arabia -- I am a 17-year-old, living in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on the Kingdom's East Coast. I am an 11th grader at Dhahran Ahliyyah School. All my friends were very happy that I would be performing Hajj. They all asked me to pray for them in Mecca and at Arafat.

I am performing Hajj with my father, aunt and cousins. When my father was a teen-ager, he made Hajj with “his” father. They walked all the way from the Grand Mosque in Mecca to the plain of Arafat and back. My journey will be much easier. Because my cousins are from Mecca, I am staying at their home every night. So I am not sleeping out in a tent like most of the pilgrims.

I left my home Saturday morning at 9 a.m., caught a flight, and by 1 p.m. I was in Jeddah on the Kingdom’s West Coast. After visiting my grandmother we moved on by SUV to Mecca. Three hours later I was drinking tea with my cousins. The crowds in Mecca were already diminishing when we arrived, because the pilgrims were moving to Mina where they would stay overnight before moving toward Arafat in the morning.

We waited until after midnight to go make Tawaf at the Grand Mosque. The circumambulation of the Kaaba was very easy because the Grand Mosque was about half empty. By 3 a.m. we had finished, but I wanted to kiss the Black Stone. My father wasn’t too happy about this because the area is very crowded, but he gave me one hour to accomplish my goal.

I took half a turn around the Kaaba, so I could approach the Black Stone easily. There were many people pushing and shoving. I am tall and strong so I just gently moved forward without pushing. I was a little bit afraid mostly because some of the people around me were weeping. They were crying because they thought that they wouldn’t get to touch the Stone. I held the crowd back so that two of the weaker pilgrims could slip in before me and then my turn came. The space was very small and I quickly kissed the stone and wiped it and then fell back so my place could be taken by another Muslim. Kissing the Black Stone is a Sunnah of Hajj and an act of obedience to Allah.

And speaking about Allah, I was surprised to see the number of people who could not understand Arabic in general except for the word Allah. These pilgrims who came from other lands would have guides with them and thy would recite the prayers after their guides, line by line. They didn’t know exactly what they were reciting but they believed that their prayers for forgiveness and blessings would be accepted nevertheless.

After finishing the rituals at the Grand Mosque I returned to my cousin's home and slept for about six hours. Then it was time to move to Arafat. The police did an excellent job of keeping traffic flowing smoothly and there were no major slowdowns.

We arrived in time for the prayer, and recited the combined Dhur and Asr prayers. I have been amazed at how people differ in their devotions to Allah. Some pilgrims are very quiet and sit or stand practically motionless while reciting the Koran. But I have also seen some astonishing outbursts. When we were at the Grand Mosque, I saw a man fall to the ground weeping and begging for Allah to forgive his sins. Here at Arafat, I have seen many people crying and making supplications to Allah for blessings and forgiveness. I pray that all their prayers will be answered.

Today it is very beautiful here at Arafat. The sky is overcast and there have been a few small rain showers. It is crowded but there is still some space available. The pilgrims are better behaved here than they were at the Grand Mosque. There is no pushing or shoving and everyone is being very gentle. I am troubled by the amount of litter and I hate it when I see pilgrims smoking cigarettes. Somehow smoking doesn't seem to have anything to do with obedience to Allah and that is what Hajj is supposed to be all about.

I want people to know that Hajj is truly a matter of faith. Yes, it has its hardships and inconveniences, but praying together as a community before Allah is very moving. I have actually felt that I am standing in front of Allah and feeling His strength. Being involved in such an experience results in a deep peace of mind that I have never felt before in my life. Some people unfortunately have very bad ideas about Arabs and Muslims. I wish they would watch us as we move together in prayer, begging for forgiveness and asking for blessings from Allah. Islam is a religion of peace.