Claim: A viral WhatsApp message claims that Michael Jackson’s unreleased last song was about Hajj and that Saudi Arabia bought the rights from the US.
Fact: Michael Jackson did not record this song, but Pakistani-Canadian singer Irfan Makki. It was uploaded on YouTube in 2012. The other claim that it was bought by Saudi Arabia is also false.
On 26 June 2023, Soch Fact Check received on WhatsApp a song featuring a set of different short clips from Hajj, with a song in the background. The text was accompanied by the following caption:
“Last song of Michael Jackson which was not released by the US but now copyright bought by Saudi Arabia and released about Haj just listen”.
Michael Jackson — known as the “King of Pop” — was an American singer-songwriter and dancer who died in June 2009.
The subtitles that appear in the video are reproduced as follows:
“Miles away, oceans apart
Never in my sight, but always in my heart
The love is always there, it will never die
Only growing stronger, a tear rolls down my eye
I’m thinking of the time
When the day will come
Standing there before You
Accept this Hajj of mine
Standing in Ihram
Making my Tawaf
Drinking blessings from your Well
The challenge of Safa and Marwa rekindles my Iman
O Allah I am waiting for the call
Praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
O Allah I am waiting for the call
Praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
I feel alive and I feel strong
I can feel Islam running through my veins
To see my Muslim brothers
their purpose all the same
Greeting one another, exalting one true Name, Oh
I truly hope one day, everyone will get the chance
To be blessed with the greatest honour
Of being called to your noble house
Standing in Ihram
Making my Tawaf
Drinking blessings from Your well
The challenge of Safa and Marwa rekindles my Iman, Oh
O Allah I am waiting for the call
praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
O Allah I am waiting for the call
praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
Labbayka Allahumma labbayk (Here I am, O Allah, here I am)
Labbayka la sharika laka labbayk (Here I am, You have no partner. Here I am)
Innal hamda wanni’mata laka wal mulk (Surely all praise, grace and dominion is Yours)
La sharika laka labbayk (No partner have You, here I am)
Labbayka Allahumma labbayk (Here I am, O Allah, here I am)
Labbayka la sharika laka labbayk (here I am, You have no partner. Here I am)
Innal hamda wanni’mata laka wal mulk (Surely all praise, grace and dominion is Yours)
La sharika laka labbayk (No partner have You, here I am)
Labbayk, labbayk (Here I am, Here I am)
O Allah I am waiting for the call
praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
O Allah I am waiting for the call
praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
O Allah I am waiting for the call
praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
O Allah I am waiting for the call
praying for the day when I can be near the Ka’ba walls
Labbayka Allahumma labbayk (Here I am, O Allah, here I am)
Labbayka la sharika laka labbayk (Here I am, You have no partner. Here I am)
Innal hamda wanni’mata laka wal mulk (Surely all praise, grace and dominion is Yours)
La sharika laka labbayk (No partner have You, here I am)
Labbayka Allahumma labbayk (Here I am, O Allah, here I am)
Labbayka la sharika laka labbayk (Here I am, You have no partner. Here I am)
Innal hamda wanni’mata laka wal mulk (Surely all praise, grace and dominion is Yours)
La sharika laka labbayk (No partner have You, here I am)
Labbayk, labbayk (here I am, here I am).”
The viral message comes as Muslims from around the world flock to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage, following which Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated on the 10 Zil Hajj, or Dhul Hijjah, of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check searched the lyrics as they appear in the video and found that the song is called “Waiting For The Call” and was sung by Canadian Muslim singer Irfan Makki.
Makki, who is of Pakistani-origin, signed with Awakening Music — a record label based in London — to release the 13-song album titled, ‘I Believe’, which includes “Waiting For The Call.”
“Waiting For The Call” is available on multiple platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, and Amazon.
Awakening Music — which claims to “produce faith inspired and values driven content” — posted the song by Irfan Makki on its verified YouTube channel here on 29 July 2012, as well as a live version from London’s The Apollo Theatre here on 25 September 2014.
The second link was shared by the singer on his Twitter account here.
Awakening Music also posted the song on its verified Dailymotion channel here.
Makki, while responding to a Twitter user, wrote on 26 June 2016, “I wrote n sang Waiting for the call. U need to get with [the] program”.
We also found an archived version from 2016 of Makki’s profile on MTV.
The claim has also been investigated by Dubawa, a Nigeria-based outlet accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), of which Soch Fact Check is also a signatory, in 2021.
The message investigated by Dubawa also includes the assertion that the song was “now being used for Hajj operations”; however, the fact-checking outlet noted that that claim, too, is false.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the video posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. It was also shared as a reel here.
It was also uploaded on Twitter here and here.
Conclusion: Pakistani-Canadian singer Irfan Makki sang the song in question, not Michael Jackson. It was uploaded on YouTube in 2012. The second claim that it was bought by Saudi Arabia is also false.
Background image in cover photo: @michaeljackson
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