Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 301
20 April 1908 301 20 April 1908 (Before Zuhr Prayer) Respect for the Khanah Ka‘bah should not Diminish in your Hearts Sheikh Fazal Karim, who had the honour of performing Hajj [the Pilgrimage] this year, was in Darul-Amaan [Qadian] for a few days. He met the Promised Messiah as before Zuhr Prayer and narrated, in full, the details of the excruciating hardships that the pilgrims had to endure that year. He said that soon after exiting the British territory and enter- ing Turkish territory, they encountered such hardships that it can be said with certainty that they are likely to end up stopping the Hajj altogether, at least for Indian residents. He mentioned the unbearable restrictions of quarantine in the Turkish territory, the extreme greed and avarice of the doctors and officials there, their total disregard for thousands of lives for their personal benefit, and destruction of food and clothing in the disinfection by steam procedures or the theft of their money. Indian pilgrims found it difficult to get something even by paying three times more than what the Egyptian pilgrims would pay. Though the Sultan had provided wells every two miles, workers and administrators there would not give even a glass of water without charging for it. Despite the provision of guards and police post by the Sultan, there was total lawlessness to the extent that one could not stay alive even if he deviated a few yards from the main road. The harsh treatment directed particularly towards Indians, physical beating for minor issues, having no recourse nor redress, use of derogatory words