Zak and Munir perform the Hajj ritual that symbolises stoning the devil. Zak has done the ritual for Dr Masud too seeing as he wasn’t able to do it himself. Munir thinks the doctor looked a lot better today. They start heading back and Zak says they can stop for their compulsory head shaving on the way. Munir is leaving for Iraq in a couple of hours. Zak can’t believe he is going back to the middle of a war but Munir says that is his country. Zak says he and Dr Masud will stay in Medina for a couple of weeks. It will give the doctor a chance to recover before they fly back to England. Zak adds he has to shave Dr Masud’s head too and doesn’t think the doctor will be looking forward to that!
Dr Masud is on the phone telling Shazia he is fine and to stop fussing. He then discovers she has him on speakerphone and Dr Hassan is there too. Dr Masud correctly guesses Shazia roped him into hearing her father’s voice in order to offer a diagnosis. Dr Masud says Zak is taking good care of him and has enough performed some of the rituals on his behalf. Dr Masud is feeling fine and wants to complete the last stage of his pilgrimage in Mecca himself. Later Shazia suggests they might have ‘that meal’ at Saffron Rays next week but Dr Hassan is going to Egypt for family business. He heads off saying he will leave an update about Dr Masud for the locum.
Dr Masud and Zak say goodbye to Munir. Dr Masud tells Zak he might be old but nothing gets past him. He saw Zak slip some money into Munir’s bag last night and it was a good thing to do. Later Zak and Dr Masud have almost completed Hajj when Zak announces he doesn’t want to leave. He also wishes he had been more into it at the beginning. Dr Masud says it was all part of Zak’s journey. Besides once you’ve been to Mecca you never really leave….
