MAKKAH – The lifetime journey of hajj can be a challenge to many Muslims worldwide. For Native American Corey Gallivan and his family, a hajj journey from Hawaii is one of the longest routes to the holy city of Makkah.

“In the true sense of the word pilgrims, we are really pilgrims,” said Gallivan, with a laugh, Arab News reported on Wednesday, August 30.

“Many hundreds of years ago, the pilgrims would travel by land and by boat over months. Then it was not uncommon to travel for long periods.”

To perform hajj this year, Gallivan, his Indonesian-born wife Andhini and their two daughters aged 13 and 15, took over 26 hours of flight time on their journey, with several hours wait and drive time in between.

Andhini, who is a home-schooling mother, said she had spent many months “making herself at ease” for the Hajj trip, physically and spiritually.

“I believe in mind over matter,” she said.

“I’ve been waiting for this for many years. I cried when I received the invite. And what’s even better, I can bring my kids with me,” Gallivan said.

“Hajj is not a vacation, it’s a spiritual event, and it’s an invite to rid oneself of material goods and be one with God,”

“My daughters have never done anything like this but I went last year, and I became confident that they could come with us,” he added.

Muslims from around the world pour into Makkah every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Hajj consists of several rituals, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.