End of the search for Mr Firdaus: prayers offered at Masjid al-Haram
On Saturday morning (16/5), a chain message landed in the WhatsApp chat group of the Hajj Arrangement Officers (PPIH) for the Mecca Working Area. It contained news that instantly sent a chill: an elderly pilgrim named Muhammad Firdaus Akhlan was reported missing from the hotel where he was staying in Misfalah, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. For officers, reports of a pilgrim going astray or being left behind are routine. From misdirections at the Terminal near the Grand Mosque to confusion locating hotels or boarding sectors, such matters usually can be resolved within hours through tactical coordination among on-site officers. However, news about the 72-year-old pilgrim triggered a different alert. The pilgrim from Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, had left the hotel without any form of identification, including a Nusuk Card, or any means of communication. Previously, PPIH had reminded that the Nusuk Card is the “second life” for pilgrims in the Holy Land. Without the barcode digital card, tracing identity, origin of the group, and the pilgrims’ lodging would become a labyrinth.
Once a daily newspaper passes, there is silence without further news. The repeated messages from different officers continued. The anxiety deepened because usually, whenever a pilgrim is found, the WhatsApp group bursts with reports of success. This time, none. Back home in Indonesia, Firdaus’s family began posting about the disappearance on social media, knocking on every communication door for clarity. That emotional connection suddenly felt so close. I was one of the officers contacted by Firdaus’s daughter, Nurul Fadila. After investigation, Firdaus turned out to be a relative of a neighbour near my home in Bogor Regency.
Saturday turned to Sunday, and searches still hit a wall. I imagined the elderly man alone among millions of people. In the middle of coverage duties at Masjid al-Haram, I tried to bring this anxiety to a discussion space among colleagues at the Hajj Media Centre (MCH). A colleague then contacted the 2026 Hajj Protection Team (Linjam). They moved quickly since the first report. Deka Ulfa, one of the Linjam officers, described how Saturday and Sunday were spent combing narrow alleys, checking surrounding hotels, visiting mosques, and checking hospital manifests in Mecca.
Search even extended to the Jeddah border areas, including the emergency shelters provided by Saudi authorities for those who are apprehended without official permission to perform hajj. “Still not found. Let’s help search,” Deka urged colleagues at MCH via phone. We agreed to descend to the field on Monday morning. In a modest house in Pondok Labu, the family gathered, continuing to pray and hoping for good news. We may not know him personally, but imagining a father of three and a husband who has accompanied his wife since 1976 being out there alone provokes deep empathy. He had not been found, but one thing remained extraordinary: hope. The officers continued to move through the streets of Mecca.
Firdaus had just set foot in the Holy Land. He joined Embarkasi Jakarta-Pondok Gede (JKG) group flight 27 of the Imam Bonjol Hajj Organising Committee, landed in Jeddah and arrived in Mecca on Thursday (14/5), just one day before he was reported missing. On Thursday evening, Firdaus, together with his wife, Nafsiah Nawan (67), performed the obligatory umrah. Nafsiah recalls that Friday morning was the last moment she saw her husband before he stepped out of the hotel. “After he called out to me, I came; he was showering. Then he said he wanted to pray Jumat. I prepared a koko shirt and a black checked sarong,” she told reporters from the Hajj Media Centre with a tremor in her voice.
The sense of unease and worry weighed heavily on Nafsiah. Yet, amid the intensive search that continued, the 63-year-old woman chose to lay her fears on the prayer mat. “This is at the House of Allah, in God’s House, I hope God will guard my husband. I must stay optimistic. Oh God, protect my husband; he is Your guest, surely God will not neglect him,” she said.
On Monday (18/5) morning, the physical search was widened. I and a colleague from MCH, Azizah Hanum, accompanied Deka and Misbah, PPIH officers from the Hajj Affairs Office (KUH), joining a task force led directly by the Head of Linjam for the Mecca Working Area, Tulus Widodo. The starting point was Sector 9 Misfalah. Based on hotel CCTV footage, Firdaus was seen walking to the right as he left the building. We combed the streets, knocked on other hotel doors, and showed Firdaus’s photo on mobile screens to every pilgrim, staff, and attendants we encountered. The search continued to empty buildings around Misfalah, up the barren rocky hills under the scorching heat that (according to weather apps) reached 47 degrees Celsius. The skin felt burned, but the mission could not stop. By noon, there were still no signs of Firdaus. We expanded the search to Kuday Terminal, then to bus stops behind Zamzam Tower near Masjid al-Haram, then inside the mosque itself. The results remained nil. During a brief lunch break, a glimmer of hope appeared when Misbah’s phone rang. A report indicated there was a pilgrim matching the description…