MAKKAH - Lonnie Abdullah stood before the Kaabah for the first time and wept. Three years earlier, she had been turned down three times for the same journey.
Lonnie, 41, had almost given up on the idea of performing Umrah after trying three times to secure a place through a sponsorship programme.
Each attempt involved several interviews, but none resulted in the journey she had hoped for.
So when the call from Ikhlas.com finally came, she was not immediately convinced.
It was her birthday and the news seemed too good to be true.
After three unsuccessful attempts, she wondered whether someone was trying to scam her.
“The call came just a day after my birthday. At first, I thought it was a scam. I couldn’t believe it was real,” she said.
It was real.
A couple of months later, Lonnie found herself travelling to Saudi Arabia as one of 11 asnaf pilgrims sponsored to perform Umrah through Ikhlas’ CSR initiative.
And when she finally stood in front of the Kaabah, the reality of the journey sank in.
“When I first saw the Kaabah, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was overwhelmed with emotion,” she said, expressing her appreciation for the sponsorship, a journey she may not otherwise have been able to make on her own.
A revert of twenty years, the experience was different this time round.
“In Makkah, we felt closer to Allah. I was so happy. When I entered Raudhah (in Madinah) I could not stop crying. I managed to pray and make doa in the first saf, so close to the mimbar. I could not stop crying.
“When I performed the sujud, I felt so calm. The feeling was out of this world,” she said.
For the less fortunate, the financial cost of Umrah can mean years of saving or postponing the pilgrimage indefinitely. A sponsorship can remove that barrier and turn something that once seemed out of reach into reality.
‘When Allah calls, you go’
For Kelantan pilgrim Fauzi Mansor, the opportunity also carried a strong sense of gratitude.
The 56-year-old travelled with his wife Mesitah Awang Kechik and described the experience as a mixture of happiness and sadness, but said he was particularly thankful to have been able to make the journey together with her.
“Above all, I am very grateful. I was given the opportunity to come here with my wife,” he said.
He believes opportunities to perform Umrah should not be taken for granted, as no one knows when another chance will come.
“You can turn down many invitations in life, but when Allah calls you here, you cannot turn it down. When you receive that calling, you should go because we do not know when we will have another opportunity.
“It is a blessing that everyone wants, but not everyone gets to experience,” he said when met during the departure day.
Lonnie and Fauzi are among 11 asnaf (tithe-eligible) and reverts who went under the Umrah 1000 Asnaf initiative by Ikhlas.com on Aug 15. The initiative began in May 2025 and has sponsored hundreds of eligible pilgrims in stages.
Under the initiative, the company worked with state Islamic religious councils to identify the less fortunate who are eligible and fulfil their hopes of performing Umrah.
The pilgrims’ experiences also highlight another aspect of corporate social responsibility - the ability to give people access to experiences that might otherwise remain beyond their financial means.
That view was echoed by Noor Irman Abdul Wahab, 44, a fellow pilgrim on the trip who was travelling under Ikhlas.com for the third time, paying his own way.
He said despite going for a super-economy package, he remained satisfied with the company’s service and pricing across all three trips.
“Of course, if you want something more comfortable, a hotel closer to Masjidil Haram, Ikhlas offers a higher-value package - but that comes down to one’s own budget,” he said.
But what stood out to him most on this trip was watching the CSR scheme up close. Irman singled out the effort to sponsor 1,000 asnaf pilgrims, calling it an opportunity - even a miracle - for those who could never otherwise afford to make the journey.