Feeling spiritually left out because others live near the Haram - please help me understand
Assalamualaikum. I’m writing because I’m genuinely struggling and it’s hurting my iman. I don’t want sugar-coated answers - I want honesty and clarity. I live in India and I’m poor. Hajj or Umrah are things I can’t easily afford. I can’t move to a Muslim country. I can’t regularly learn directly from scholars. I might never reach Makkah or Madinah in my lifetime. For people like me it’s extremely hard. When I look at people in the Gulf and other nearby countries, they live only a few hours from the Haram. They’re wealthy, they do Hajj and Umrah repeatedly, they have easy access to scholars, Islamic universities, Arabic, Muslim communities, and the two holy cities. There’s a hadith that says: “Whoever performs Hajj and does not commit sin or immoral speech will return like a newborn baby.” (Sahih Bukhari 1521) That hadith is what started my crisis. People who live near Makkah and Madinah can renew themselves many times. They seem to have a spiritual advantage just from where they were born and the wealth they inherited. For us in India, Hajj costs more than a year’s salary. We face visa rules, travel risks, long distance, and poverty. We have to struggle just to get one chance. So my question is direct: why do some Muslims have this spiritual privilege and others don’t? Why is forgiveness and renewal so easily available for them while we struggle our whole lives? I know many will say, “Allah looks at sincerity, not money.” I’m not asking about sincerity. I’m asking about access, proximity, privilege - about people using worldly means to gain spiritual benefits that we can’t reach. These thoughts make me feel like an outsider in Islam. It seems Islam favors those born in certain places - they get dunya and deen advantages, and we get neither. It’s pushed me away. I don’t pray like I used to, I don’t feel the same connection, and these thoughts keep gnawing at my iman. I want to be a sincere Muslim and return to Allah, but this question keeps coming back and I can’t escape it. If anyone else has faced the same feelings, or can help me understand this issue honestly, please guide me. I’m tired of assumptions and soft comforts. I want real explanations. JazakAllah khair.