Zahid turns off his cochlear implants to find silence around the Kaaba.
1. The Documentary Podcast follows Deaf Umrah, a BBC World Service episode about deaf Muslims performing Umrah in Mecca and Medina through British Sign Language.
2. Zainab Boston presents the film with Zahid, Riaz, and Jani, whose different hearing experiences shape the trip, while interpreters and actors make their BSL conversations audible.
3. The episode asks what Umrah means when prayer, ritual, and Quran access depend on sign language, interpreters, and visual guidance.
4. Jani says she was born deaf in Bangladesh, uses one hearing aid, and can panic when new people do not understand her speech.
5. Riaz says he was born in Pakistan, lost his hearing at age three, and spent years at mosque without understanding what was happening around him.
6. Zahid says he was born deaf, uses a cochlear implant, and lacked resources at a hearing Islamic school.
7. The programme explains that Umrah is voluntary, unlike Hajj, and that the group travels from the UK with Al-Ishara, a deaf Muslim charity based in East London.
8. Jani recalls going on her first Umrah at 13 and feeling that it was a wasted trip because she did not know the rituals or even what the Kaaba and Medina were.
9. Riaz says he first began learning Islam through a friend at college in Glasgow and later realised some of his earlier practices went against Islam.
10. The trip is framed as a chance for the pilgrims to reconnect with Allah, with family, and with other deaf Muslims from London and Scotland.
11. Jani says she wants to refresh her spiritual self because she has spent eight years as a full-time mum and has felt herself becoming disconnected from Allah.
12. Luqman says he had no knowledge of deaf awareness before marrying Jani, and he describes the trip as a way to give their children understanding of what Umrah means.
13. Zahid says the chance to be with his “Muslim deaf brothers and sisters” is something he has wanted for three years.
14. Riaz says he wants to fix family tensions, stay connected, and support his mum and dad.
15. The first sight of the Kaaba moves Jani to tears, and she says her heart “attach[ed] itself” to it.
16. Tawaf becomes physically difficult when Jani’s children get tired and overwhelmed, and she says they cry, “I want to go home,” while she struggles to keep going.
17. Zahid describes the crowd around the Kaaba as too noisy, then turns off his cochlear implants and finds silence that helps him pray.
18. The episode’s tone is intimate and observational, with personal testimony, narrated journey scenes, and voiced BSL dialogue across the pilgrimage.
19. Deaf Muslims, interpreters, and anyone interested in accessible worship.
20. Listeners wanting fast analysis without personal pilgrimage stories.
