Our Story

Me: Omar, now that you’ve graduated from college and are working now, what do you want to do?

Omar: I think it’s time we perform Hajj, bro. But let’s do it a little differently.

Me: What do you have in mind?

My brother, Omar, and I often look back at the conversation we had in the summer of 2013 and smile, shaking our heads in disbelief. Our daydreams led us to conversations that went on late into the night, which led to sketching cross-country maps from various parts of the earth, which then somehow led to the formation of a team whose sole intention and goal is to perform the sacred ritual of Hajj in a very unique way…

The Adventure of a Lifetime

Al-Rihlah is a project that was inspired by the stories of people in the past traveling to the holy city of Mecca to perform the sacred ritual of Hajj. We are a group of young American Muslims who wish to perform Hajj by riding our bicycles from Rome, Italy to Mecca.

Due to the modern forms of transportation and luxuries we enjoy today, we feel that a big part of the Hajj experience is missing. We hope to revive the traditions of the past by embarking on this physically challenging and spiritually rejuvenating voyage. Plus, young people are always looking for an adventure!

The Plan

Meet the Team

Click on the images below to learn more about the team behind Al-Rihla:

Our Goals

We hope to accomplish two things by embarking on this journey:

What We Need

Muslims in the past would leave their towns with resources provided from their community to help them make their journey to Mecca, turning the ritual of Hajj into a truly communal event that brought honor and pride to a people. The supporters would earn the sincere prayers of the person performing Hajj and the knowledge that they had empowered their Muslim brothers and sisters to achieve a life goal.

We are currently at a critical stage in our project where we need to raise some capital for the start up costs of this ambitious endeavor. We are looking to raise $15,000 to purchase six bicycles, gear, and traveling equipment. As young professionals we will also be saving up funds on our own to pay for our regular Hajj expenses as a number Islamic scholars have informed us that it is in fact permissible to seek funds.

We have partnered with LaunchGood, the premiere crowd funding platform for Muslims, and have kicked off our 30-day campaign for the month of February. Insha’Allah, there are many incentives to contributing to our project which are outlined on the LaunchGood profile. One of them being us taking your Dua request to Mecca!

Below is a breakdown of our projected costs.

Rewarding Your Support!

Along with our regular duas as we bike to Mecca, we will provide a free Al-Rihlah t-shirt to supporters, and depending on the level of support we provide certain benefits that are outlined below. Read the perk descriptions on the right for more info!

Other Ways You Can Help

• Use the social media sharing tools under our video to spread the word!
•  Stay up to date on our journey by liking us on Facebook and following on Twitter.
• Join our emailing list and visit our website at  www.alrihlah.org.
• Tweet, message, or email us your words of encouragement and support. It’s going to be a tough ride!

Thank You to Our Sponsors

• If interested in supporting in this way contact us here.