|
Chanting
Labbaik... What a Pleasure! |
By
Mohammed Assadullah
New
York, USA
On
My Way
Ever
since I got married, I had the desire to go for Hajj. A little
before Ramadan 1417 a.h. (1997 c.e.) I thought of taking the
vacation time either for i`tikaf (seclusion in the mosque)
in the last ten days of Ramadan or for Hajj. Considering my
financial position and my financial forecast, it seemed less likely
that I would be able to go for Hajj in 1417, so I opted to take the
vacation for the i`tikaf. All praises to Allah, the i`tikaf
went well. I enjoyed staying at the Danbury masjid. The entire
community supported me. They joined me for some of the nights, they
cooked food for me, and Dr. Shagufta Hasan treated me and brought
me medicine when I had some fever. May Allah reward them all for
their efforts.
As
the Hajj season approached, knowing that I did not have money and
little vacation time left, I prayed to Allah to “make it
happen.” The Most Kind and Generous granted my wishes and I am
forever indebted to Him for it. I wanted to take out a loan from my
retirement account, but the money would not have come to me until
after Hajj. My youngest sister, Mahrukh, offered me a loan until
then. May Allah bless her. I did not have enough vacation time,
since I had already taken out a significant chunk for i`tikaf.
I talked to my boss, Vane Lashua, about taking some more time off.
He was himself on vacation in Florida at that time; he agreed. May
Allah bless him. All things worked out; all praise to the Almighty!
So just a few days before they stopped giving out visas for Hajj, I
sent in a request to the cheapest group that I could find. Hasan
Ali and his friend Abdul Kamil helped me find this group. May Allah
bless them. My visa was probably issued on the very last day of
issuing Hajj visas. I was uncontrollably excited. I kept jumping
and couldn’t wait to go for Hajj.
It
was a pleasure to say the Talbiyyah on the way to Makkah. The
Talbiyyah is: “Here I am at Your service, O Lord, here I am. Here
I am at Your service. You have no partners. Yours alone is all
praise and all bounty, and Yours alone is sovereignty. You have no
partners.” I was embarrassed being the only one on the plane
saying the Talbiyyah. However, Talbiyyah being a special worship
performed in the state of Ihram, it was my privilege to say it.
Some people thought I was too much in a hurry to put on the ihram
in New York. They were planning to take a shower in Cairo and put
on ihram there. Some did not have an ihram and were planning to
purchase one in Cairo. It turned out that there were no shower
facilities and no ihram for sale at the Cairo airport. Many of the
brothers had to put on the ihram at Jeddah, which some scholars
consider is within the miqat. All thanks to Allah, He let me
put on the ihram in New York!
Cairo
was a mess. We never got out of the airport, it was such a mess. A
bus took us from the plane to the main airport building. Outside
the building, it read “…Enter Egypt, if Allah will, in
security.” (Yusuf 12:99) I got yelled at almost as soon as I
entered the building, as I asked the official which room to proceed
to. A lot of the Hajjis were put into two rooms. Officers were
inconsiderate and the people were indifferent. There were two
scholars from Al-Azhar University who were teaching the Hajjis
about Hajj. They gave a long lecture in Arabic while we waited for
our passports. After the lecture they led the Prayers. Instead of
one imam leading the congregation, there were two. First the first
one would say “Allahu Akbar” then the second one would repeat,
and so on. Although this was within the realm of Islam, I felt that
they distinguished themselves from the rest of the believers and
thus performed an un-Islamic act. I also noted that the Egyptian
government had influenced them to shave their beards but leave
their mustaches, something against the tradition of Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him). Later, I saw a woman dressed in a skirt
showing her legs. She had the civil liberty of wearing whatever she
liked but the Muslim scholars apparently did not have the liberty
to wear a beard.
At
Cairo I met a brother who said to me that Hajj is a big lesson in
patience and perseverance or sabr. That was very good advice. I
tried to stick to it as much as I could.
Arrival
in Jeddah
Jeddah
was a bigger mess. We were given a booklet about performing Hajj as
we were shoved into a small room which had welcoming statements in
various languages written on the wall. I did not get the same
welcoming messages from the staff at the airport. Many of the
elderly people were sitting on the floor, some of us were standing.
It was not clear what we were waiting for or where the line should
start for any processing. Inshirah said that he had spent nineteen
hours in that area on a previous Hajj-that was depressing.
Remarkably, it took us only two to three hours before we were
completely done with the processing. One officer to inspect the
visa, the other to take a money order of $245, the other for
customs, the other for yet another purpose. One of the officers did
not like the fact that I had filled out the form in Arabic. He
yelled “English! English!” to me and threw the passport back at
me. When I explained to him that I like Arabic because it is the
language of the Qur’an, he was more congenial.
Once
done with those officers, we were told that there were no more
buses going to Makkah for the night and so we had to sleep on the
floor until the buses started service the next morning. The Hajj
terminal at Jeddah airport looks like a collection of big tents.
There were people from all over the world. They had different
colors, different languages, different cultures, but all believed
in One God. There were flags of different countries. I spotted the
Pakistani flag right away. It appeared that the Indians were more
prominent and organized than the Pakistanis were. They had a
dispensary there and the Indian officials were organizing and
taking care of their citizens and so forth. We found a spot on the
floor to sleep and left for Makkah the next morning.
On
the way to Makkah we stopped at a Hajji Reception Center, where we
were served with cold Zamzam water. That was a very pleasant
surprise. I was very excited when we got to Makkah.
In
Makkah, I saw several Western icons. I saw someone wearing a
T-shirt with Michael Jackson on it and one with Calvin Klein
written on it. I saw about half or more of the houses with dish
antennas. It appeared as if the society there was inclined towards
the West. When I got to the bus stop in Makkah, two brothers
greeted us. One of them, Abdur Rahman, was wearing a turban in a
very traditional eastern style. It was a relief to see some eastern
tradition left. The other brother, Talib, spoke fluent Arabic. They
both spoke fluent English. I was surprised when I found out that
they were both reverted American Muslims. Sometimes an adopted son
is quicker to defend the family because he knows what it is like to
be without a family. These brothers had realized what the Western
icons stood for. They had also realized the truth when they saw it.
There
were signs all over the place directing people to Al-Masjid Al-Haram.
I asked Inshirah if we were going to go to Al-Masjid Al-Haram
directly, in accordance with the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him). He said that we had to. I was
absolutely delighted.
Unfortunately,
the leaders of our group in Makkah took us first to our residence
where we unloaded our belongings. One of the first things that I
noticed when I got to our lodging was that there was no bus service
to and from Al-Haram for the `Asr Prayer. This was not my
understanding when I left from New York. I was told that there
would be bus service for every salah. I also noticed that the
cafeteria was charging money for food, even though I was told that
the food was all paid for. I had swollen feet from the long travel.
Although at the time of writing these words it sounds as if many
things went against us, believe me, I was more excited at that time
than when I left New York. The love for the Ka`bah was strong, all
praise be to the Almighty.
First
View of the Ka`bah
After
unloading our belongings, we soon left for Al-Masjid Al-Haram for
our first Tawaf. It was time for `Asr Prayer when we got there.
After the prayers I told the group that I wanted to make the Tawaf
alone and would come back via the bus service provided by Munafi.
Munafi was a Saudi firm, which was contracted to provide services
to the entire group.
I
was very excited to see all those Muslims swarming the place. I
greeted a number of them with “As-Salamu `alaykum” and then
with “Hajj mabroor” (may your Hajj be accepted). On one such
occasion, an elderly Turkish brother gave me a string of seven
beads to count my Tawaf around the Ka`bah and Sa`i between Safa and
Marwah. Not everyone was receptive, but that did not put a dent in
my enthusiasm to greet the guests of Allah. All praise be to the
King of the Ka`bah, the One Who chose to make His house on the
earth, He gave us a great bounty by making His house near us. I
walked in the masjid feeling like a teenager who was late coming
home. There was some feeling of guilt, there was hope of meeting
and peace, there was the fear of getting caught, there was the love
of Allah and the Ka`bah. The Ka`bah looked beautiful, absolutely
splendid, magnificent. Tears ran down my cheeks as I made my
invocation to Allah. Glory be to Allah, the Lord of the Ka`bah.
At
Al-Masjid Al-Haram, I saw a lot of people sitting and waiting for salah.
Most of the people walked right in front of another brother
praying. This is against the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him). People had put down their
personal belongings, such as a water bottles, slippers, prayer
rugs, next to them and were awaiting salah. When it would be
time for salah, many times there would be gaps in the rows
ahead of them. This was because people would not leave their places
even if there was space in the row in front of them, for the fear
of losing their belongings. It is a pity that people travel such
long distances to the House of Allah, but stop inches away from
where Allah had commanded them to be-next to their brother, filling
the first rows first. I also saw women praying next to men,
something against the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him).
While
making Tawaf around the Ka`bah, I found slippers, plastic bags,
prayer notes, and other objects lying on the floor. It appeared
that the people were so concerned about losing their slippers that
they had carried those with them while making Tawaf. Allah made
them lose those anyway! I noticed that women did a lot of
unnecessary pushing. I suppose they were afraid to get lost and
were carefully following their mahrams. I saw a sister
jumping onto the Muslims making Tawaf to make way for herself. I
saw a brother making Tawaf and shoving people left and right to
make way for himself. At one time during a Tawaf, I was pushed so
much that I landed on top of the brothers sitting. I saw a man
grinning as he was pushing along. It appeared as if he was proud
that he was able to push and shove people around and make way for
himself. All this was happening right in front of the Ka`bah, the
holiest of holy places in the entire world!
After
making my first `Umrah, I wanted to make another one. So I hired a
cab for forty riyals to go to Masjid `A’ishah at Tan`eem, take a
shower, pray two rak`ahs, put on ihram, and be back. By the
time I got back, the taxi driver informed me that I had taken too
much time and that I owed him fifty riyals.
After
the second `Umrah, I was too tired, so I decided to sleep a little
in the masjid. The cleaning crew promptly got me up. After Fajr, I
waited for the Munafi bus for fifteen minutes before and fifteen
minutes after the six o’clock pick-up time, but I did not find
the bus. So I went back to Al-Haram. I found out that there was a
public bus, which left for the Masjid `A’ishah fairly regularly
and charged four riyals round trip. I got onto one of those and at
the masjid put my ihram on for the third `Umrah. On the way back to
Al-Masjid Al-Haram, the entire bus was chanting the Talbiyyah.
When
I got off, I found Bilal. I remembered Bilal from the JFK airport.
He was a tall Caucasian member of our group, who wore a turban. He
told me that he was lost. We stuck together for some time before we
got separated due to the crowd. We went together to make phone
calls home. When I called my sister Umbrine, she was surprised to
hear from me. She asked me, “How did you find out, Assad?” I
was confused by her question. She told me that my sister
Mahrukh’s artereo-venous malformation in her brain had bled and
that she was in the emergency room. Then I talked to my mother and
she asked me the same question, “How did you find out, Assad?”
This time I said, “Allah told me,” since He was the One Who put
it in my heart to call home.
I
tried to call Mahrukh at the Emergency Room but they would not let
me talk to her. I left a message for her to keep her faith strong
and that I would be praying for her. This time when I entered Al-Masjid
Al-Haram, I had a lot of different emotions. She was on my mind all
the time I made the `Umrah. By the time I got done with the third `Umrah,
I was limping. I went to a nearby Zamzam dispenser and started to
serve Zamzam water to the guests of Allah. I loved doing it; I
absolutely loved doing it. With all the distress, agony, and pain,
this was a very pleasurable time for me.
While
I made these `Umrahs, a few Pakistani brothers approached me and
asked me for money. They said that they had been robbed. I did not
believe them. On one such occasion, a man and his sister came to me
and asked me for help. This time I gave them a long lecture. I told
them that many thousands of years ago when this place was a desert
with no inhabitants, a woman and her infant son were left next to
where the Ka`bah now stands. She put her faith in Allah. Of course
Allah took care of her and the infant with great honor. He gave
them Zamzam and made the running of the woman between Safa and
Marwa a ritual for men and women until the end of time. I asked
this man to put his trust in Allah and ask Allah instead of asking
humans. He asked my leave by saying that he had taken too much of
my time. I wonder if it was he who had taken my time or was it that
he had spent too much time on me with no hope of money coming from
me.
By
the time I got back to my residence, it was about ten at night.
There was a meeting of all the people of the building on the roof.
By this time I was limping noticeably. I went there to ask the
administration publicly to keep their promises. I had a particular
verse of the Qur’an picked out. When the brothers in the
administration talked, I felt that they were trying their best and
I chose not to complain to them in public.
When
I was finally shown my bed, my roommate, Mr. G. A. Khan, suggested
that I should see a doctor for my foot. Dr. Tamkeen Ahmed had his
bed right next door. When I showed the foot to him, he thought that
I had a fractured bone. He suggested going to the hospital the next
day. I asked one of the organizers, Talib, to take me to the
hospital. He generously agreed to take me to the hospital the next
morning. After looking at the x-rays, the Pakistani doctor at the
hospital said that I must not use my foot. He believed it to be
tendonitis. He advised me to keep up my plans for Hajj. He gave me
some pills. A Muslim Filipino nurse wrapped my foot with a bandage.
All this went on at no charge to me, as the Saudi government paid
all.
I
did not want to spoil my Hajj, so I did not make any more `Umrahs.
I went to Al-Masjid Al-Haram several times after that and met
people from all over the world. I mostly communicated with them in
broken Arabic and gestures-more gestures than words. Throughout my
stay I met people from Bangladesh, Bosnia, China, France, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, Syria, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States,
Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. I met many others whose nationality I did
not ask about. One brother from Iran was curious about life in the
US. He perhaps did not believe me that I could take the Qur’an to
America without upsetting the American authorities. At the very
least, he was very surprised. A brother from Bosnia with his left
arm missing was one of the happiest persons I have ever met. He
spoke Arabic more fluently than I could speak English. When I asked
him where he learned Arabic, he told me that he learned at his
school. He told me his nation is working on getting organized. A
brother from the United Kingdom told me that the Muslims in the UK
have formed factions. A brother from Turkey told me that during the
time of the Turks, the buildings around the Ka`bah were lower than
the Ka`bah in respect of it. Pakistani brothers were having a
discussion about jihad, whether jihad should be done with oneself
or with the enemies. It was like a worldwide conference. There were
plenty of representatives from all walks of life, from all corners
of the world.
One
night I was waiting in the Munafi office to fax a letter to Mahrukh,
when a Saudi Airlines employee walked in. He started to talk to the
manager named Mansoor. I didn’t understand the conversation very
well. It seemed as though this person was a sales representative of
Saudi Airlines. At one point Mansoor said that Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him) forbade certain kinds of trades.
Then he listed those kinds. The sales representative agreed with
Mansoor. Later, they shared a meal together. I was impressed that
the sales representative changed his ideas and agreed with Mansoor
after hearing the hadith.
On
another occasion, I noticed that when two people would get into a
deadlocked argument, one of them would break the deadlock by
saying, “Send prayers on the Messenger (of Allah).” Then they
would both send prayers on the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him). This would calm the other down and there
would be more chance for a mutual agreement. These dealings were
different than in the West.
The
“Super Bowl”
The
night before 8 Dhul-Hijjah, my roommate Abid, an African-American
chaplain at Riker’s Island [Prison], said that it was only
play-offs until now and the next day was the “Super Bowl.” We
were all excited and “pumped-up” for the “Super Bowl.” The
next day was the Day of Tarwiyah, marking the beginning of the
several days of Hajj rituals. We were supposed to be in Mina before
Zhuhr. We got to Mina without any problem at around ten o’clock.
I expected a big traffic jam and having to travel on top of the
buses. There was none of that. We got onto an air-conditioned bus,
and less than half an hour later we got to our tents in Mina. We
simply had to pick one of the tents there and stay there for the
day. Our group found several available tents. The tent that I was
staying in, luckily, had an evaporative cooler. We hooked it up and
it worked! This was much more comfortable than I had imagined. The
cooler of the neighbors in front of us did not work. I tried to
help them, and in doing so I messed it up and the fuse went off.
Now no one in the neighborhood had any electricity! Oops! One of
the brothers in our tent told me that I should not have messed with
the system. Now they, as well as us, did not have any cooling.
Later
we got into this discussion of wealth distribution, riba
(interest), and zakah. I took it upon myself to explain the
relationship between zakah and riba to these newly reverted
Muslims. While we were discussing this, two of the residents of our
neighboring tent started to make Talbiyyah alternately. When this
conversation did not go anywhere, Mikal, Abdul Wahhab, and I went
searching for food. We went to the street right outside our tents.
We saw a strange environment. It looked more like a fair or a flea
market rather than a religious congregation. We did not find anyone
making Talbiyyah. I thought it had just slipped the people’s
minds and if they would hear us making Talbiyyah they would
certainly join us. I was wrong. The three of us made Talbiyyah. Few
people joined us, and that for a brief time. Talbiyyah is supposed
to fire up people and they should join in. It was as if we were
making Talbiyyah next to stones. In fact it was worse; they looked
at us as if we had gone crazy or astray.
We
did not find anyone selling food. We did find a Pakistani brother
cooking food. We asked him to sell us some. He refused, saying that
the food was being prepared for a particular group. Abdul Wahhab
wanted to ask for food without money. I resisted, as I did not want
to beg. He said that he was curious to know what the man would say.
So I asked the man who was cooking to give us some food for free.
He refused again, so we left the place.
Fire
in Mina
On
the way back to the tent we found someone selling food and
purchased it for 8 riyals per person. We also noticed a lot of
smoke at a far distance. There was a chopper trying to put out the
fire with buckets of water. We wondered if the fire was in Mina.
Someone said it was in the mountains. I was afraid that people
might be caught in this fire and wondered if I could help, but
there didn’t seem to be a way to do so since it was far away.
When we came back to our tents, our companions also wanted food. We
gave that food to them and Abdul Wahhab and I went out to get some
more. This time we ran into another brother from Bangladesh selling
food. He wanted to sell a lunch for 10 riyals. I bargained him down
to 8. I proposed that I would buy five lunches if he would sell it
for 7 riyals each. Apparently he agreed. When I gave him 40 riyals,
and asked for a five back, he was puzzled. Apparently it was not
his understanding that he was selling it for 7 riyals. But he still
agreed generously to sell for 7 riyals each. On the way there and
back, Abdul Wahhab and I chanted the Talbiyyah. Again it was a
lonely feeling. On the way back we saw the fire getting closer. We
asked a few people about it. They said that they could see the
flames earlier but not any more, so it must be getting under
control.
When
we got back we surveyed the area for fire exits and planned a fire
exit strategy. We advised other brothers to do the same. I advised
my companions that there was no reason to worry about the fire,
since it was too far from us. Just to make sure, Mikal and I left
to check on the fire once again. That time I suggested evacuating
the tents. That was a good time to leave without panic. I felt that
if it turned out to be a false warning, there was no harm in it. We
opened the fire exit and started to leave. After telling the
companions in my tent, I started to tell the brothers in other
tents. Some of the brothers started to leave, some of the brothers
wanted to check the fire first, and some of the brothers wanted to
wait for a police officer to come and tell them. When people are
warned of a greater fire-the fire of Hell-some people believe the
messenger, some want to check the fire, and some ask for an angel
to come down and tell them that there is a fire.
Well,
soon enough I heard that the police were asking people to leave. So
I started to tell the people that the police were now asking them
to leave. Some were still puzzled! During this evacuation time, I
met a few people I had known before. They were concerned about me
but hastened to leave, just as people will care about themselves on
Judgment Day and not their loved ones.
I
saw a woman of about fifty years’ age sitting alone in a tent. I
called her several times at the top of my lungs, but to no avail.
Finally I went around to get to her. She was very nervous and
crying. She was complaining that someone had left her there and it
appeared that she was waiting for him. It was just like the
Judgment Day-when those who claim to love each other will care
about themselves more-when people who acted wrongly and those who
did not act in time of need will be the fuel for the Hellfire. This
woman could have gotten burned if she had stayed in her place. It
was not her fault that the fire was raging, but it would have been
her fault if she had not saved herself.
The
fire exit led to a street, but it was a rather large step. I helped
people get off from the fire exit. Some women did not want my help,
since I was not related to them. Sometimes they realized that there
was no choice but to get my help, so then they would change their
minds. One such elderly lady was more concerned about touching me
and she took the trouble of making sure that there was a piece of
cloth between her hand and mine. It surprised me that she would
rather do that than save herself from fire or clear the fire exit
so that other brothers and sisters could also exit safely.
Sometimes we lose sight of a bigger danger for the sake of petty
issues.
Someone
told me that people had to jump from a nearby building in order to
save themselves from the fire, even though it broke their legs. I
am surprised that they do not do the same and go for jihad to save
themselves from a bigger Fire. There are plenty of Muslims in the
world being oppressed and plenty of Muslims in peace. Why do the
ones in peace not go for jihad to help their oppressed brothers and
sisters? Have they forgotten Hellfire?
The
wind had certainly picked up. I did not want to leave Mina.
Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us to
stay in Mina starting from before Zhuhr until after sunrise the
next day. I was determined to stay in Mina for as long as I could.
I went all the way next to the mountain and reached a place where
the mountains cupped. At that time, I realized that I would get
trapped if I stayed in Mina. The winds were heading directly to the
cupping of the mountains. Beyond the mountains it was not Mina and
to right it was not Mina. I chose to leave Mina and go to the
right.
On
my way out of Mina, I met many people waiting for the fire. I
recited to them the portion of the verse [O
ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those
charged with authority among you ...]
(An-Nisa’ 4: 59) and told them that the police, who have
authority over them, had asked everyone to leave, so they should
leave, too. Some were thankful and started to leave, some stayed
where they were, waiting for the fire. It reminded me of the times
when people are reminded from the verses of the Qur’an and they
pay little attention to the verses, waiting for the Fire.
On
my way to the mountain on the right, I met an elderly Chinese
couple. The man said that he could not go any farther because his
heart was not feeling good. They were carrying way too many loads
for their age. All this did not stop them from throwing away their
worldly belongings and saving themselves from the fire. There was a
highway between the tents and the mountain that I was on. The fire
reached all the way to the end of the highway. It consumed tents
until there were no more to consume. It reached the cupping of the
mountains and made the Hajjis run for their lives to the other side
of the mountain. It burned the tents and trees on the mountain at
that end. The smoke was thick and there was a lot of it. It went
over our heads, covering the sun. The sun had less light than the
moon. The sky was covered with dark thick smoke. I could look
directly at the sun without any problem. There were gas cylinders
exploding into pillars of fire, much smaller than the pillars of
Fire in Hellfire.
[In
the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Woe to
every slanderer and backbiter. Who has gathered wealth and counted
it. He thinks that his wealth will make him last forever! Nay,
Verily, he will be thrown into the crushing Fire. And what will
make you know what the crushing Fire is? The fire of Allah,
kindled. Which leaps up over the hearts. Verily, it shall be closed
in on them. In pillars stretched forth.]
(Al-Humazah 104:1-9)
I
could feel the heat of the fire across the highway and it was hot.
The Fire of Hellfire is going to be seventy times hotter than the
fire of this world.
When
the fire had finished consuming Mina, it suddenly stopped raging.
There was no wind to speak of. It seemed as if the sole purpose of
the fire was to consume all the worldly goods in Mina and drive us
out. When the fire had consumed all the tents and it was satisfied,
one brother started to chant the Talbiyyah. You would think that
after such a clear warning from Allah, people would pay heed-but
few joined him in the Talbiyyah.
I
was terribly sad. I was totally devastated and depressed. I felt as
though Allah had kicked us out of holy Mina. Instead of feeling
like a guest of Allah at Hajj, I felt like an intruder in His
space. I felt as if my entire Hajj was ruined. We were supposed to
be in Mina at that time but we were out of it. We could see Mina,
and it was very close to us, but we could not be in it. I
considered not following up with the rest of the Hajj rituals.
After all, I was unable to perform the very first ritual of being
in Mina from before Zhuhr until sunrise the next day.
I
cried and cried and asked Allah if we were that bad as to deserve
to be kicked out of Mina with fear of fire. The answer to that
question, as I learned in the days to come, was a resounding
“Yes!” This realization was even more depressing.
People
were keen to go back to their burned tents, but it was too
dangerous to go at that time. The police kept them away from going
there too early. When we did go back, we saw the tents, the fans,
the evaporative coolers, the food, the baggage, everything burned,
except what Allah had protected. I did see one brother’s luggage
almost completely intact. He had put his trust in Allah. [Allah!
There is no god but He: and on Allah, therefore, let the believers
put their trust]
(At-Taghabun 64:13). The evaporative coolers that did not work
earlier were still useless now. The food that I had bargained long
and hard for was burned up. It was good that the Bangladeshi
brother sold it to me cheap. All of his food most likely burned,
too. Allah blessed his generosity in two ways-he got some money by
selling food before it burned up, and good deeds were written for
him for his generosity. His material belongings were gone but his
deeds remained-just as we will leave everything in this world, only
our deeds will accompany us to the hereafter. The Pakistani brother
who refused to sell or give us food had all of his food burned up,
too-watermelon, cheese, rice-everything was now inedible. His
material belongings were all burned up, too; his deeds were
written, too.
I
wanted to call my mother and let her know that I was all right. On
the way to the pay phones, I ran into my high school friend Anees.
We both went to make phone calls together. On the way, we wanted to
drink some soda. The soda, which was one riyal before the fire, was
now four riyals. Is the price increase all that the fire gave to
people?
At
the phone booth, a couple of brothers were asking the person making
the phone call to hurry up. I asked them to let the man make his
phone call in peace. They were a little upset at me for it. When it
was my turn, it turned out that my AT&T card did not work from
there. So I had to use Anees’s Saudi pre-paid card. There were a
couple of other people who did not have calling cards and we all
used Anees’s card to make international calls, telling our
families that we were all right. Those two brothers and a police
officer got very upset at me for taking a long time. At that time,
I lost my temper. I yelled at them in English and at the end I said
“Wait” in Arabic. The officer promptly left for another pay
phone. The other two brothers calmed down too. I don’t believe
they understood my English. I believe they understood my yelling. I
know I was wrong in yelling, but sometimes wrong things happen when
I am angry.
When
we were boys in school, Anees and I used to get a dozen bananas for
three rupees near Adamjee, my high school, and split them for
lunch. We got some bananas from a store and split them in
remembrance of old times. We then went to our respective burned
tent locations.
A
couple of elderly brothers from Pakistan came to us and wanted help
getting back to the Pakistani camp. I did not know where the
Pakistani camp was, but I volunteered to take them there. The
Pakistani camp was right where the fire started, on the other side
of Mina. Since I did not know where the Pakistani camp was at that
time and neither did most of the people I asked, I ended up getting
a tour of Mina. I went through camps from all over the world. I was
surprised that no one was making Talbiyyah even after the fire.
People looked fairly calm, perhaps untroubled, and going about
their business as if nothing had happened earlier that day. There
was no grief for the ones who had died in the fire. Many of them
were out on the street having fun with toys, gadgets, or other
products for sale. I did not see people reflecting upon the fire,
nor did I see them making invocations or remembering Allah. I did
find a group of brothers making `Isha’ Prayer.
Almost
all of the tents up to where the fire started were burned down. I
did not see any dead bodies. That made me feel a little better.
When I got to the Pakistani camp, I met a Pakistani brother who had
seen about a dozen dead bodies. That made me think that probably 50
to 100 people had died. It turned out that about 350 people died in
that fire.
There
was garbage, litter, and filthy water all over the place. I felt as
if I had come into a filthy ghetto. It did not look like a holy
place. If someone came to my property, even on my invitation, and
treated my property like these people were treating Mina, I would
certainly kick them out of my property-with fire if necessary! I
had thought that our neighborhood in Mina was filthy, but it was
the cleanest in Mina. Our neighborhood had people from the US,
Europe, and Australia. Muslims from those countries had learned
some hygiene from the non-Muslims. But Muslims today did not learn
it from their Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him),
who taught it centuries before the West learned it from the
Muslims.
There
was a careless and arrogant attitude towards littering. A brother
who was originally from Pakistan but was living in the UK was
pealing an orange and throwing the peel on the ground. I offered
him a bag to throw the garbage in. He said, “They will come here
tomorrow to pick up the garbage” and continued to toss the peel
on the ground. I believe he would never do that in the UK.
Altogether, there was more than 47,000 tons of garbage picked up by
the officials. I believe that 99 percent of the garbage was tossed
outside the garbage containers.
Most
of the people spent the night out in the streets. There were no
tents, no evaporative coolers, and no fans. Now that the tents were
all burned, in some of the places where there were tents, I saw
burned bathtubs too. Did we gather in Mina to relax in the bathtubs
or to remember Allah, our grave, our resurrection, our judgment,
and our final abode?
Abdur
Rahman and I spent the night where our tent used to be. He had come
to Saudi Arabia to teach English and had accepted Islam there. We
were both very sad about the entire affair. He was more optimistic
than I. He saw people wearing white sheets walking on black ashes
and considered them coming out of ashes. http://www.mecjv.com/Hajj/burnt.jpg
I
was too depressed to support his theory. I felt that all of us,
including myself, had done something terribly wrong for which we
were all deprived the privilege of staying in Mina for the Day of
Tarwiyah. Later, the brother who had told me that we would have
been better off if I had not messed with our neighbors’
evaporative cooler, agreed with me. He said that everyone had done
something to get themselves kicked out of Mina. He said that he had
been “nasty” when he said something about the evaporative
coolers. Blessed are those who see their mistakes and attempt to
correct them.
[O
ye who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose
fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern
(and) severe, who flinch not (from executing) the Commands they
receive from Allah, but do (precisely) what they are commanded. O
ye Unbelievers! Make no excuses this Day! Ye are being but requited
for all that ye did! O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere
repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your
ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, - the Day
that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those
who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and
by their right hands, while they say, “Our Lord! Perfect our
Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou has power over all
things”]
(At-Tahrim 66:6-8).
The
Day of `Arafat
The
next day we went to `Arafat. Again, there was no problem getting
there. There were no traffic jams and no one was riding on the
roofs of the buses. This is the place where the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him) prayed Zhuhr and `Asr together so
that he could concentrate for the rest of the day on making
invocations to Allah for his followers-for us! He stood on the
Mountain of Mercy from after his Prayers until Maghrib, praying for
us! This is the place where he gave his memorable last Hajj sermon.
This is the place that reminds us of the Day of Resurrection. Men
were dressed in two sheets of cloth. On the Day of Resurrection we
will be lucky to have even that. Everyone for himself or herself,
just like the Day of Resurrection. This is the place where I
started to form my opinion on why we were kicked out of Mina.
I
went to Masjid Namirah for the Zhuhr and `Asr Prayers at `Arafat.
Prophet Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) originally built
this masjid. As I got closer to it, it seemed that everyone was
going to the masjid. When I got to the stairs, people started to
push and some of us had no choice but to follow the crowd. I saw
people sitting in the walkways waiting for Prayers to start. Did
they not learn that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) had taught us to not sit in walkways so as not to block them?
People had umbrellas propped up; the corners of the umbrellas were
at eye level and a danger to the eyes of fellow brothers and
sisters. Did Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) not
teach us to be considerate of others? Finally, one brother let me
sit on his mat. It was right next to a bunch of cold water
fountains. There were a lot of people making wudu’ at that place.
The water dripped all over the place and formed a small stream. Did
the Prophet Muhammad (may I be sacrificed for him) not teach us
that cleanliness and purity is half the faith? One woman came to
these water fountains and got a bottle full of water. Then she
proceeded to urinate in front of all the people and washed herself
with that water. She then tossed the bottle on the ground. Later
on, someone picked it up. Did the Prophet Muhammad (may my parents
be sacrificed for him) not spend a lot of time teaching us about
modesty and hygiene? What have we done to all of his teachings?
Have we become like the people of Ignorance? Or have we got worse?
Would the world have lost anything if we had burned in the fire?
I
will remember the time I waited for the Prayer that day for the
rest of my life, Allah willing. My sweat had made my garments all
wet and translucent. The sweat penetrated into the pouch that I was
carrying and made my prayer notes and the Qur’an wet. The marks
on the Qur’an should help me remember that day. I got sunburn for
the first time in my life. I must remember that day, so must my
body. On the Day of Resurrection, the sun will be a lot closer and
hotter. In the Hellfire, when one layer of skin gets burned,
another will be grown to take its place. I must fear the harshness
of the Day of Resurrection and the torment of the Hellfire. May
Allah please protect us all from that. Ameen.
I
had not slept well the night before and I was very tired, so I
decided to go to my tent and sleep a little after the Prayers. But
Allah had great mercy on me that he led me to the Mountain of
Mercy. I took short walks on the street around the Mountain of
Mercy to keep myself from dozing.
It
was at this place 1407 years ago that the Prophet Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him) said:
O
people, lend me an attentive ear, for I don’t know whether after
this year I shall ever be among you again. Therefore, listen to
what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to
those who could not be present here today.
O
people, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as
sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a
sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful
owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you
will indeed meet your Lord and that He will indeed reckon your
deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take interest, therefore all
interest obligations shall from now on be waived. Your capital,
however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer
inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and
that all interest due to `Abbas ibn `Abdul Muttalib [the uncle of
the Prophet] shall from now on be waived.
Every
right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth
waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from
the murder of Rabi`ah ibn Al-Harith.
O
men, the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar to
make permissible that which Allah forbade and to forbid that which
Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in
number. Four of them are holy, three of these are successive and
one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Sha`ban.
Beware
of Satan for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope
that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so
beware of following him in small things.
O
people, it is true that you have certain rights regarding your
women, but they also have rights over you. If they abide by your
right then they also have the right to be fed and clothed in
kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they
are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that
they do not make friends with anyone whom you do not approve and
never commit adultery.
O
people, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, offer your five
daily Prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your
wealth in zakah, perform Hajj if you can afford to.
All
mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a
non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab;
also a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black
have any superiority over a white, except by piety and good
action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother of another Muslim and
that Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be
legitimate to a Muslim that belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it
was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustices
to yourselves.
Remember,
one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So
beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am
gone.
O
people, no prophet or messenger will come after me and no new
faith will be born. Reason well therefore, O people, and
understand my words that I convey to you. I am leaving behind me
two things, the Qur’an and my example (the Sunnah), and if you
follow these you will never go astray.
All
those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those
to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better
than those who listen to them directly. Be my witness O Allah,
that I have conveyed Your message to Your people. (Reported by
Muslim)
At
`Arafat, I saw garbage and litter all over the place. It seemed
that I had come to a garbage dump instead of a holy place. This was
fasad or mischief. Did Allah not tell us Himself that He does not
love those who create fasad? [But
seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home
of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou
good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek no (occasions for)
mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief]
(Al-Qasas 28:77).
I
saw rows of beggars all over the place. Many of them had mutilated
limbs or other parts of their bodies. Many of them were children. I
remember a boy of perhaps seven years who had only stubs left
instead of his legs. Some children were fake crying to get
attention and money. Some of the beggars were wearing ihram just
like myself-apparently they were there to perform Hajj, too. I was
at the Mountain of Mercy and asking for the mercy of Allah, the
Most Merciful. I felt that I should be merciful to these beggars so
that Allah would be merciful to me although I did not believe that
the beggars were genuinely in need of money. I told myself that
giving them money would be getting tricked and it was un-Islamic to
get tricked. So I did not give them anything. Did the great Prophet
of Islam, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) not teach us
not to cheat? Did he not tell us to take our provision when we go
for Hajj? There were many other distractions at the Mountain of
Mercy including camels. You could take a Polaroid picture of
yourself with a camel.
I
made invocations to Allah at the Mountain of Mercy until before
Maghrib. My soloist activities were earning me the reputation of a
lost person. So, I left a little before Maghrib to be with the
group. As it turned out, the bus did not leave until after it was
dark. I did manage to sleep a little sitting on the ground while
waiting for the bus.
A
little into the night, we reached Muzdalifah and offered our
Maghrib and `Isha’ Prayers and spent the night there on the
ground under the open sky. Next morning we had to go to Mina again.
We found an empty bus going in that direction and tried to get on.
The driver of the bus, who was also wearing ihram, became almost
violent. He was greatly upset that we got onto his bus. People
hadn’t learned much from the fire!
In
Mina I was surprised to see that most of the tents were back up!
They must have worked day and night to achieve this huge task in
less than 48 hours. This time we found a different tent. No one
complained about the evaporative coolers this time.
Stoning
Al-Jamarat
That
day we were supposed to stone Jamrat Al-`Aqabah in remembrance of
the Prophet Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) stoning the
devil. I volunteered to take care of an elderly Bangladeshi
brother, Muhammad Ali, who spoke Urdu. He and I went to Jamarat
together. He was excited to go there and so was I. I wanted to
stone, albeit symbolically, my avowed nemesis. Muhammad Ali treated
me to grapes on the way there. It was a long walk. When we finally
got there, I saw more devil around the stone markers than in the
stone markers. People were shoving each other like I had never seen
before. Two brothers brought a group of women to stone. When they
had finished stoning, one of them led the women and the other
followed the women. Then the entire herd ran mercilessly into the
crowd. This time even my yelling in English did not work. The
stones people were throwing were falling on their fellow brothers
and sisters. I had a tough time performing the ritual of stoning at
Jamarat. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was an
excellent example of patience and consideration. Did he not teach
us that too? [Surely
Allah enjoins the doing of justice and doing of good (to others)
and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil
and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful.]
(An-Nahl 16:90)
As
in Mina and `Arafat, there was garbage at Jamarat as well. The same
beggars that were at `Arafat were there, too. I saw a woman begging
and breast-feeding her child so that her breast was openly exposed.
I suppose that was yet another way to get attention and
subsequently money. What happened to the discouragement of begging
and observance of the rules satr (or covering) as taught to
us by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)?
Back
to Makkah for Tawaf
From
Jamarat, we proceeded to Makkah to make Tawaf of the Ka`bah. On the
way, Muhammad Ali told me that he had been robbed of his money
while making Tawaf. I had a hard time believing him. In the holy
month, in the holy city, in the holy masjid, performing a holy
ritual, in front of the holy House of Allah, the Ka`bah, someone
had robbed him by slicing open the belt pouch. He was not lying.
When I tried to buy him some cold water, he insisted that he would
pay for it. He told me that he had borrowed some money from his
companions. Muhammad Ali had to go back to the UK the next day.
Somehow, we decided to part right outside Al-Masjid Al-Haram.
As
I proceeded to the masjid, I saw an old Pakistani brother of about
seventy years of age slip and fall due to the water on the floor.
He was in deep pain. He kept saying that he had lost his leg. I did
not believe him. I thought that he would be all right soon. As it
turned out, he did have his leg broken close to his hip. His wife
had burned her feet during the fire. His son was very nervous. The
old man kept blaming his fate and apologizing to his son for
ruining the son’s Hajj. At the hospital, I found out that there
were many such cases and the orthopedic ward was overflowing.
I
could not make Tawaf that day so I went back to Mina after getting
rid of my hair. I did not find Muhammad Ali at the camp.
Jamarat
Again
The
next day it was Jamarat again. I dreaded it. Luckily, I went to the
upper level and went around the Jamarat and stoned from the rear.
It turned out to be a breeze this time. Later that day I was able
to make Tawaf and Sa`i. That day I saw the authorities using
bulldozers to pick up garbage from around Jamarat.
The
last day, I had this apparently smart idea that I would go right
after Zhuhr to stone Jamarat and then I would be done for the day.
That was a real bad decision because everyone else was also in a
hurry to leave Mina and a great crowd had gathered. I went to the
upper level with brother Tamkeen. The police were trying to control
the crowd and so we had to wait. I didn’t mind the waiting. It
was the environment that was repulsive. We were all pressed against
each other. Some brothers were objecting that I was getting too
close to their women. I told them to bring the women at `Asr time
if they were so concerned. They were stuck and could not go out.
Several brothers had umbrellas, which protected from the sun but
created a suffocating environment. That was the only time
throughout my trip that I was afraid of getting run over. When we
were allowed to proceed, we all ran like a herd of donkeys. One
Pathan brother from Pakistan was shoving people left, right, and
center.
When
I confronted him, his excuse was that it was “no dance,”
implying that there was no need to be sophisticated, with complete
disregard for other brothers and sisters.
On
the way back, brother Tamkeen and I bought some water. When I
returned the bottle to the storekeeper so that he would put it in
the garbage, he threw it out the door! Lucky for me that I caught
it in mid-air. I then asked him to throw it in the garbage. He took
the bottle and threw it again right out the door onto the street. I
wasn’t lucky enough to catch the bottle this time. I suppose they
wanted to live in garbage. But that is not the teaching of my
beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He
liked cleanliness and preached it to his followers.
With
all praise for Allah, the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds, the
Hajj rituals ended. I saw deception, corruption, selfishness,
lewdness, ignorance, filth, robbery, broken promises, indulgence,
name calling, back biting, yelling, pushing, arrogance, and more
during these few days. I did get the answer to my question, if we
were really that bad to deserve fire in the holy Mina. We deserved
it. We deserved it well.
Broken
Promises
After
Hajj, our group leader told us that we would leave for Madinah on a
certain evening. So, I went to make my farewell Tawaf that day.
When I got back, it was announced that we are not leaving that
night after all. That made me get up to talk after everyone had
spoken. I told the management that they should keep their promises
as the Qur’an reminds us: [O
you who believe, fulfill (your) obligations]
(Al-Ma’idah 5:1). I reminded them of their broken promises of
paid food, reliable bus service for all salahs, and going to
Madinah that evening. Many of the brothers later came to me and
told me that they felt the same way as I did and they were glad
that I had spoken out.
A
major contingency at the Munafi residential area left soon after
Hajj. As soon as this contingency left, the cafeteria downstairs
closed. There was no manager on the property, and the director
disappeared as well. Two days later at the complex, I met this lady
from France who was eighty or more years old. She told me that she
hadn’t had anything to eat for two days! The cafeteria was closed
and the management had forgotten all about her. The nearest
restaurant was about three-fourths of a mile away, out of walking
distance for an old lady.
Eventually
we left for Madinah by bus. On the way there, the authorities had
put up signs by the roadside saying “All praise be to Allah,”
“Glory be to Allah,” and similar messages. This made me
remember Allah and His Messenger in my free time, instead of
thinking up silly things. My gratitude to the authorities who put
up the signs.
There
were two signs written in the bus: “It is forbidden to give money
to the driver” and “No Smoking.” The bus driver insisted on
getting a tip from me, despite my refusals several times. I told
him to read the sign. He did not get a tip from me. One of the
passengers came next to the driver while he was driving the bus and
started to smoke and talk to him. Bilal, who was sitting next to
me, brought the “No Smoking” sign to the passenger’s
attention. He mumbled something and then referred him to the
driver. The driver was himself smoking and he said, “One
minute.” I suppose we were supposed to hold our breaths while
they smoked.
Madinah
was like a healing ointment on cuts and bruises. The people there
were a lot more peaceful and accommodating. Abdul Wahhab, Bilal,
Abdul Hakeem, and I stayed in a small hotel room for three nights.
The hotel was at a walking distance to the masjid of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It was very beautiful
to just walk to Al-Masjid An-Nabawi for salah. Al-Masjid Al-Haram
and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi breathed people. Before salah,
people would come to the masjid like water in a whirlpool, like
light in a black hole, or like air molecules in our noses. Everyone
had his or her face turned towards the masjid. After salah,
people would similarly leave the masjids like air molecules from
our noses.
Abdul
Hakeem, a young African-American brother who had reverted to Islam
only seven months before coming to Hajj, told me that when he found
out that Muslims are supposed to go for Hajj, he said, “I’ll
go.” For him it was just fulfilling his obligation. He said that
some of the “born Muslims” had then started to discourage him!
They were very surprised at Abdul Hakeem’s decision. They said
that one has to make invocations at `Arafat in Arabic and asked him
how he was going to do that. I believe that they were merely
jealous that they hadn’t fulfilled their obligation of Hajj and
that this young brother was availing the first opportunity of Hajj
on becoming Muslim. May Allah bless Abdul Hakeem and may Allah
guide us all to the Straight Path. Ameen.
Right
after the first Zhuhr Prayer I prayed at Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, my
old-time neighbor and friend Shahzad Razi found me. I was very glad
to see him-and what a beautiful place to meet. We hung around
together for the next three days.
Right
after the last salah Shahzad and I prayed at Al-Masjid An-Nabawi,
we ran into a very small library right inside the masjid. It has
old manuscripts of the Qur’an. Some manuscripts were written on
date-palm leaves, others were written on paper. Since the paper was
much thicker at that time than what is available these days, I saw
a manuscript of a single surah in one bound volume. None of the
other brothers that I went with had seen the library. It is not
very well marked and so you may have to ask for it if you want to
see it.
Return
We
left for Jeddah three days later. For Maghrib Prayer on the way
back we stopped at a wayside masjid. Bilal gave the Adhan and
Inshirah led the Prayer for a group of travelers from different
parts of the world-one a Caucasian- American reverted Muslim and
the other an African-American reverted Muslim. After my experiences
in the preceding few days, I felt that the reverted Muslims
deserved the leadership of the Ummah, just as in that Maghrib
Prayer. I did not see a single reverted Muslim who had his or her
faith shaken by all the injustices of the “born Muslims.” They
really believed in Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be
upon him), unlike those who merely claimed to follow Allah and His
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As
expected, we spent another night at the Jeddah airport. Inshirah
and his wife had some trouble getting a seat, while their daughter
got a seat. It was a problem for them since this would have
separated the family. The Egypt Air official told them that they
should try an hour after the start of check-in. Inshirah said that
he trusted Allah and that Allah would take care of him. By the
grace of Allah, they got first class seats instead. Sometimes what
we think is an upset is actually a setup of Allah.
There
was a quick stopover at Cairo and we were soon off to JFK airport.
As I got to my seat in the airplane, I saw a young Egyptian woman
dressed in a skimpy tight T-shirt and tight pants, sitting close to
me. She started to ask for attention from men nearby and she got
plenty of it. Apparently she did not know where the volume and
channel controls were and it took one man to show her that.
Apparently she did not know how to put the seat belt on and it took
another man to almost put the belt on for her. Apparently she did
not know how to use the pillow. It took the first man to fold the
pillow and put it behind her neck. One of these two men was
carrying Qur’an in his left hand and helping her put her belt on
with the right hand.
I
was appalled at this hypocrisy. I got their attention and recited
in Arabic [Say
to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And
Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the
believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments
except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw
their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except
to their husbands, their fathers, their husband’s fathers, their
sons, their husband’s sons, their brothers, or their brother’s
sons, or their sister’s sons, or their women, or the slaves whom
their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs,
or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that
they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to
their hidden ornaments; And O ye Believers! turn ye all together
towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss]
(An-Nur 24:30-31).
One
of the men calmed down a bit, the woman started to mumble in
Arabic, and the other man, who still had a finger stuck in the
Qur’an that he was holding in his left hand, started to argue
with me. He knew the verses very well-he even corrected my Arabic
recitation. He said that he had performed Hajj before I did and
that I should be quiet after giving my advice. Later I found this
man and the woman talking in the back of the plane. It did not
appear that the Qur’an had made any impact below their ears or
their throats into their hearts, even though it was in their
language. Later I found out that this woman was “Miss Egypt.”
There was a world of difference between these “born Muslims”
and the “reverted Muslims” who gave Adhan and led the Prayer at
a wayside masjid between Madinah and Jeddah. They were certainly
not equal.
When
I arrived at JFK a remarkable thing happened. The people who had
behaved like a herd suddenly became civilized! They all lined up
neatly in front of the US Immigration officers. Compared to the one
at Jeddah, it was a much more pleasant experience. At Jeddah, it
was Hajjis behind walls against immigration officials. At JFK, it
was mostly foreigners in peace and in a neat line. At Jeddah the
officials were yelling at the Hajjis to be patient, at JFK the
officials were directing people to the next available immigration
officer. At Jeddah, I was wearing ihram, an obvious indication that
I was a Muslim going for Hajj in a Muslim country. At JFK, I was
wearing shalwar qameez, an obvious indication that I was a
foreigner coming into a non-Muslim country. At Jeddah, I was yelled
at “English. English.” At JFK, I was greeted first, before I
greeted, with “Good Morning.” At Jeddah it took from two to
three hours to get through all the processing, at JFK it took
thirty to forty-five minutes. It seemed that Muslims were following
the West in all sorts of ways, including its icons of Michael
Jackson and Calvin Klein, but not in organization, courtesy,
greeting first, hard work, and consideration.
At
JFK, my family brought many gifts when they came to pick me up.
Among them was my sister Mahrukh. By the Grace of the Most Kind
One, she appeared as if nothing had happened to her although she
had had a brain hemorrhage and had spent several nights in the
hospital. All Praise be to Allah, the Lord and Cherisher of the
worlds, the gift of Allah is the best gift of all.
Final
Comments
Everyone
who goes for Hajj has a certain amount of commitment to Islam.
Everyone spends time and money to go for Hajj. If the people that I
met at Hajj were the best that the Muslim world has to offer, then
the enemies of Islam have nothing to fear. It is no wonder that
Muslims are treated like cheap dirt the world over. It is no wonder
that the Muslim blood is the cheapest blood to shed all over the
world. It is no wonder that little is left of the Muslim honor.
Today in this Ummah, there is no Muhammad ibn Qasim, the
17-year-old general who delivered Muslim prisoners when an Indian
prince invaded their ship. There is no Salah Ad-din Ayyubi, who
said that he would not smile until he had delivered Jerusalem.
There is no Muhammad Fateh, the 18-year-old general who pushed
ships on land around the Bosphorus to conquer Constantinople
(Istanbul) because of a prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him).
It
is also no wonder that there is little progress in the Ummah
towards the advancement of various sciences. Today in this Ummah,
there is no Abu Ali Al-Husayn ibn `Abdullah ibn Sina, the great
physicist and physician whose books were used as medical textbooks
all over the world up until the mid-seventeenth century; there is
no Al-Khawrizmi, the inventor of Algebra; no Al-Hasan ibn Al-Haytham,
the great scientist in optics; no Al-Battani, a reverted Muslim and
the pioneer of his time in astronomy and trigonometry who invented
sine, cosine, tangent, and cotangent. We do not have the discipline
or the patience to wonder about the signs of Allah. It is no wonder
that there are few like Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, and `Ali. We do
not have the passion and the selflessness to serve the creation of
Allah. Today the politicians and leaders merely fight for power and
wealth, and then they oppress people. We have become a dead Ummah.
An Ummah of mere talk, if that at all. “Inna lillahi wa inna
ilayhi rajioon”-Verily we belong to Allah, and to Him is our
return.
All
my life I had dreamed about the revival of Muslims. I had hoped
that my nation would wake up to the call of the Qur’an, given
fourteen hundred years ago. I had prayed to Allah to help us and
give us the will power and the strength. But Allah revealed
fourteen hundred years ago: [Verily
Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change
their own condition; and when Allah intends punishment to a people,
there is no averting it, and besides Him they have no protector]
(Ar-Ra`d 13:11). We have forgotten the message. It seemed only a
few people I met at Hajj had any desire to change themselves. The
number of these very few people was so small that it doesn’t
appear to me that the Ummah will have any appreciable revival in my
lifetime. This was the most depressing and thought-provoking
realization during my entire Hajj.
The
overall picture of Hajj that I received was quite gloomy. The state
of the Ummah is pathetic. My message to you, gentle reader, is to
start educating people where the population is already Muslim. Tell
them about organization, hygiene, trust, piety, humbleness,
selflessness, modesty, consideration, compassion, truthfulness,
honesty, and other Islamic treasures that our beloved and honored
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us so
diligently and practiced in his life.
Tell
them to stop following Satan and falling into the popular sins of
today. Today, you may find many who do not adhere to the very
basics of Islam, for instance salah. The most difficult salahs
for a hypocrite are Fajr and `Isha’. Tell them that Allah forbids
dealing with interest and that whatever is forbidden by Allah does
not have the blessings of Allah in it. Also remind them to pay
zakah and that what Allah has ordained has great blessings in it.
Tell them to cover themselves up as Allah has ordained us in His
Book. If we do not, we will be spending time in sin. Today, it is
considered admissible for men to wear shorts and for women to
uncover their hair, but this was not the practice of our beloved
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Tell them to consider
others as worthy creations of Allah and other Muslims as their
brothers and sisters and to be considerate to all of them, whether
Muslim or not.
Tell
them to stop backbiting and slandering each other. Today it is a
very popular sin. Listen and obey the Qur’an: [The
believers are nothing else than brothers, so make reconciliation
between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.
O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may
be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women
scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the
former; nor defame one another, nor insult one another by
(offensive) nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one’s brother
after having faith; and whoever does not repent then such are
indeed the wrongdoers. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions,
indeed some suspicions are sins; and spy not, neither backbite one
another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead
brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting); and fear Allah;
verily Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. O
mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you
into nations and tribes, that you may know one another; verily, the
most honorable of you with Allah is the one who is pious.]
(Al-Hujurat 49:10-13)
To
those who do not know the blessing of Islam, we must take the word
to them. I found the newly reverted Muslims most energetic and
enthusiastic about Islam. This is because they come to Islam after
understanding it. I believe that they will take the lead of the
Ummah, Allah willing. If we are unable or unwilling to lead the
Ummah, the least we can do is bring the message of Islam to the
ones who are able to lead the Ummah. By doing so, we share in the
reward of their leadership and hard work, without diminishing their
reward. This is the most important realization I had during my trip
to Hajj-to spread the message to those who are able and are going
to lead the Ummah.
If
we do not educate our brothers and sisters and do not spread the
word of Allah, we will fall short of fulfilling our obligation to
The All-Powerful. Of course, The Most Generous has prepared
beautiful gardens for those who fulfill their obligations and
burning fire for those who do not. Remember, we must start from
ourselves, our families, our relatives, and our neighbors. We must
change our ways for the better, so that we may receive the Mercy of
The Most Merciful.
[Let
there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is
good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong: They
are the ones to attain felicity]
(Aal `Imran 3:104). In order for me to enjoin what is right and
forbid what is wrong, I must judge the actions around me. If I see
the need for something right to be done, I must command it; and if
I see something wrong being done, I must forbid it. But before I
can do that, I must first judge the action, if it is right or
wrong. The above narration of my experiences of Hajj is in the same
spirit. I do not judge the people, for that is reserved for Allah
alone; I only see the actions. May Allah please, with His Great
Mercy and Generosity, accept the Hajj of all the believers and
grant them all a high place in the highest Paradise. May Allah
please forgive my forgetfulness and mistakes and those of all the
Muslims. Ameen.
Narrated
Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“The believer is the believer’s mirror, and the believer is the
believer’s brother who guards him against loss and protects him
when he is absent” (Abu Dawud). We must all tell each other what
is good and bad in the other so that we may continue to do the good
and stop doing the bad, so that we may grow in our own faith.
Practical
Advice for Hajj
In
the end, I’ll mention some of the lessons I learned regarding the
logistics of performing Hajj. The average age of the Hajjis was
probably more than 55 years. It was difficult to make Hajj for many
of the elderly people. One should plan to make Hajj as soon as one
can, preferably before forty years of age. Once one can afford to
make Hajj, Hajj becomes an obligation to Allah. One may be held
responsible if one was able to make Hajj for a short period of time
in one’s lifetime but did not avail of it at that time. Later on,
one may never be able to afford Hajj again. Offering Hajj at an
early age ensures that one will be in good physical condition and
in a spiritual state to mend one’s ways easily and earlier.
It
is probably easier and better to make Tawaf by yourself and not
with someone else. This lets you concentrate on your worship and
not worry about following someone or making sure that someone is
following you. My recommendation to the women would be to decide on
a meeting place and time. A gate would be a good place, since all
the gates are numbered and named. The best place to make Tawaf is,
of course, as close to the Ka`bah as possible if you can do so
without hurting others or yourself. I found it better to make the
Tawaf on the roof. There are fewer people there, especially after
Fajr and also when the sun is hot. This way you make bigger circles
and under the hot sun, but you do not run the risk of
injuring-physically or emotionally-another Muslim brother or sister
or yourself.
By
deciding on a meeting place, the women will be more in a position
to make an effort to pray with women and not with men. Men and
women should pray separately as taught by our beloved Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Women
have a leave to go to Jamarat at nighttime. They may want to
utilize it. There are a lot of people at Jamarat during the
daytime, and it may be difficult for the women and children. Men
may want to perform the stoning in the daytime for themselves and
then accompany their women at nighttime.
Out
of all the salahs that I prayed in Al-Masjid Al-Haram and Al-Masjid
An-Nabawi, there was only one that was not followed by a funeral
Prayer. You may wish to learn the Janazah Prayer. Narrated Abu
Hurayrah: Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
said: “(A believer) who accompanies the funeral procession of a
Muslim out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s reward
and remains with it till the funeral Prayer is offered and the
burial ceremonies are over, he will return with a reward of two
qirats. Each qirat is like the size of (Mount) Uhud. He who offers
the funeral Prayer only and returns before the burial will return
with the reward of one qirat only.” (Al-Bukhari)
Under
the new system, everyone is given a wristband. The name of the
office that is responsible for the individual is written on that
band. If one simply shows the band to any official, he or she will
arrange for the person to reach his or her place. This system is
followed through in Makkah, Mina, `Arafat, and other places. I met
a few people who were lost and the information on the band was
incorrect. You may want to make sure when you get the band that the
information on your band matches that of your companions. There are
information offices in Mina and `Arafat as well, and people should
feel free to get directions from there.
Medical
care is free for all Hajjis. I came across people who were sick or
wounded yet they did not go to the medical clinics. There are
clinics in Mina and `Arafat, and people should feel free to utilize
these facilities.
I
had some difficulty cashing my traveler’s checks. The lady who
sold me the checks in the US told me to keep the receipt separate
from the checks. The officer at Al-Rajhi Bank in Makkah said that
they would cash it if it were accompanied by the receipt and my
passport. Of course, the Saudi officials had already taken my
passport into “custody”. In this situation I called American
Express. They said that I could cash them in Al-Khobar or
Riyadh-both closer to the east coast of the kingdom, while I was
closer to the west coast. I found out that one could get cash from
ATMs from a particular bank. I believe the name is Arab National
Bank. Their ATMs are connected to the same network that most of the
American banks are connected to.
Many
vendors there sell a leather belt that has many pockets to protect
valuables. It is a fact that people pick pockets of Muslims making
Tawaf. These pickpockets are well aware of the construction of
those belts. I saw a Turk brother crying out loud in front of the
Ka`bah and asking for money because he had been robbed. His belt
had been cut open from the back while he was making Tawaf. I do not
know if he was a victim or a con-artist. In any event, my
recommendation is not to use such belts but to find different belts
or pouches, perhaps from your hometown.
In
Egypt, all of our passports were taken to get stamped. I did not
get my passport with the rest of the passports of my companions. It
was lying in a pile of passports of similar color. Rizwan Shah, an
old-time Adamjee friend of mine who had gone for Hajj before I did,
had advised me to put a bright colored sticker on the spine of the
passport so that it would be easily identifiable. It was a great
help-I was able to recognize my passport right away.
You
may want to take a flight that goes directly to Jeddah. You may
also want to make sure that your lodgings in Makkah and Madinah are
at a walking distance from Al-Haramayn. It may cost you more to do
so, but it may be a better solution than waiting for a bus each
time you want to pray there.
Food
is not a problem at all. One can get a good meal for less than ten
riyals, about three dollars. There is enormous variety of food
there-Arab, Pakistani, Indian, Indonesian, American (McDonald’s,
KFC, Dairy Queen), and many other types of restaurants are
abundant. However, I suggest that you eat less at the restaurants
and eat fruits and drink Zamzam water so that there is less chance
of stomach problems, and, consequently, you may concentrate on your
worship.
Take
more money than you estimate that you will need-say, $300 more per
person. It is always better to lend than to borrow, and you may
never know when you might run into a need for money. Divide your
money into smaller amounts and keep them separate. Don’t put all
the eggs in one basket.
There
is a huge barbershop opposite to Jamarat. The Saudi government runs
it. One may also find men around ready to shave your head by the
street. It is illegal for them to do so. Also, it is not hygienic
to do so. If the shaving blade is not sterilized before shaving
each head, the blood may get exchanged via the shaving blade. You
may end up with a serious disease if you are not careful. You may
want to take your own razor or a charged electric shaver. In any
event, it is much better to have your head shaved at the
government-run barbershop than by the men on the street.
The
Saudi government has put in a lot of effort to make Hajj a smooth
process. There are ample restrooms and wudu’ facilities
all over Al-Haramayn, Mina, `Arafat, Muzdalifah, and waysides on
the highways. There are ample buses for transportation. There is a
large contingency of police. Some of them were very helpful. One of
them took me to my camp from one side of Mina to the other when I
asked for directions. All the Hajjis are supplied with Zamzam water
every day at their residence, although the Munafi management did
not give any to us. The medical facilities are free of charge to
the Hajjis, paid by the Saudi government. At the Mountain of Mercy,
there are poles that spray out cool mist so that it does not get
too hot for the Hajjis.
There
are some areas where there is room for improvement. For instance,
for stoning Jamarat, the administration could set times for
different camps so that the place does not become over-crowded.
They could mark some rows close to the Ka`bah on each floor to be
reserved for making Tawaf. The tents in Mina could be made from
flame retardant material (a suggestion given by Mikal).
Most
of all, Hajj is a time for sabr (patience). It was difficult
for me to not fight, to not even argue while I was at Hajj. But
this is exactly what is required of us. I suggest practicing not
fighting nor arguing long before it is time for Hajj.
May
Allah take you, my gentle reader, to a Hajj that is accepted by
Allah, rinses you of your sins, is a source of spiritual growth for
you, is a reason to get you a high and blessed place in the highest
heaven, and a generous blessing of the Most Generous One. Ameen.
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