Former WSU football players take time off from NFL for pilgrimage to Mecca
Nov 30, 2012, 10:44 AM | Updated: 11:15 am
After returning from Mecca, Husain, 27 and Hamza, 29, feeling renewed in their faith, are still deciding what to do with their experience. (Image courtesy Hamza & Husain Abdullah Facebook fan page)
(Image courtesy Hamza & Husain Abdullah Facebook fan page)
For two former Washington State University football players-turned NFL successes, the long frustrating wait came in the traffic leaving a stadium.
“I’ve been at stadium let-outs, you know when you sit in traffic, and you’re mad. ‘Aw, man. I have to wait an hour to get out of the parking lot, I have to wait an hour.'”
These two brothers would soon learn that wait was nothing compared to waits along their pilgrimage. The two professional football players and devout Muslims, took a year off in the prime of their careers to journey to Mecca.
Husain and Hamza Abdullah told Rock Center they both felt something missing – at the same time. They were working out for their respective upcoming football seasons, but for Husain something didn’t feel right. So he called up his brother, Hamza, and discovered he was feeling the same way.
They decided to take the year off of their multi-million-dollar careers. During Ramadan they traveled to 30 mosques around the country in 30 days, stopping at food kitchens and holding teaching sessions with youth groups along the way.
Then they got to Mecca. The brothers joined in with millions of people at the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. They gave up their 5-star hotels, typical for NFL travel, to sleep on the floor, often waiting on a bus for up to 12 hours to get there.
They’ve returned from their journey, and Husain, 27 and Hamza, 29, say they feel renewed in their faith, and they want to share their experience.
Hazma felt himself asking these question. “What do you do with it? Do you use it just to pat yourself on the back and say ‘Hey, I made Hajj at 29. I went to Mecca, I’m so cool.’ No. It’s not that. Let’s see if we can help someone else go. If we can spread this message of true Islam: What it is, and what it isn’t.”
The two didn’t lose that much weight or muscle when they were on the trip, and have intentions of returning to the NFL if possible. Husain was last with the Vikings, and head coach Leslie Frazier told Rock Center he’d love to have him back. “A lot of things have to fall in place. But the door is not closed.”
