Assalamualaikum errbody,
I thought I’d start this post off just like most of my other posts by saying.. “Wow, It’s been a long while since I wrote here but…” and then proceed on to give some lame excuse as to why I haven’t kept up with updating my blog etc. However, this time around, you can’t take it out on me or blame me for I have a valid reasoning for the lack of action on this blog. The reason being: Hajj (pilgrimage)
This year, I was more than just fortunate to have the oppurtunity of going for Hajj with my husband. We’d been planning and running around doing errands related to this wondrous journey ever since we married in August. It was the event we’d both been dreaming of and waiting for. We couldn’t wait to land in Jeddah and trek our way towards the holy city of Makkah led by our natural inclination to go back to our Lord and lay our eyes on the great Kabah.
There a lot of things we saw and experienced that left Shakir and I in awe and amazement and just plain wonderment (is that even a word?) Now I could go on and on and explain every little minute detail of the trip and all the mini tales we had through out the trip but alas, that wouldn’t be beneficial. Instead, I’ll just try to write out what I got out of this trip, how I felt throughout and what my favourite moments were.
My most favourite times in Makkah would have to be that quiet time we’d have right after performing our midnight umrah and before our fajr prayers. At this time, Shakir and I would simply sit infront of the Kabah and just watch the thousands upon thousands of worshippers circling the Kabah all for solely the sake of Allah (swt). We often felt overwhelmed with the gratitude towards Allah and just how He chose us to be amongst those people.
Another good memory would be whilst doing Sa’ee (Safa – Marwa) or Tawaf (circling the Kabah) and hearing people from practically every nation chant and recite praises of Allah in Arabic, each with the hints of their mother-tongue accent. It was truly a beautiful experience. (The Malay groups were by far the cutest — aww).
For the last week of our trip, we were at Madina. That city has got to be the most peaceful and the most beautiful city. It was calm, yet there were still thousands of people around us. Madina was huge for those shopoholics as well (there were stores EVERYWHERE). (Un)fortunately, Shakir and I didn’t make too many purchases and just kept it easy. We didn’t want to struggle at the airport and trust me, packing light was the best thing we did.
Hajj was intense, I won’t lie. At times it felt like it was much more than I could handle. Maybe I wasn’t as mentally prepared for it as I had though initally. Thankfully, Shakir was with me through it all and proved himself time and time again and how he is capable of taking care of me and us in even the most difficult of situations.
Finally, I just want to cut this short and suggest to all those people reading this — go for hajj while. It is the best darned experience you’ll ever have. You know how people always make excuses and reasonings as to why they won’t go for hajj.. ie. I have school, I’m not ready etc. etc. Push all of those aside and force yourself to get ready for it because once you’re there, you’ll be so grateful. You’ll be overwhelmed that Allah has honoured YOU by bringing you to His home. In addition, going for Hajj at an early age is the most ideal situation since it’s quite physically demanding and after seeing those elderly (mother-father-type) people performing the difficult rituals, my heart just cried out for them. You see people in wheelchairs, with diasbilities, with serious illnesses, young children performing Hajj — and then there we were,Shakir and I, all well and good, doing Hajj with the least amount of burdens on us. All we had to worry about was taking care of ourselves and for one another — no stress.
Dear readers, don’t delay your Hajj. I can’t seem to stress this enough. It’s even better going when you’re a newly wed since you really learn a lot and build a strong relationship with that person and not to mention starting off in the right foot.
Here’s a video of the Call to Prayer in Medina we took.
May Allah (God) keep us motivated and yearning to come closer to Him and allow us all to perform our pilgrimage. May Allah accept our Hajj and our prayers and grant us the janna.
