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Performing
Hajj Early in Life |
By
Mateen Khaja
As-salamu`alaykum.
 I
went for Hajj last year; I was 18 years old, al-hamdu lillah. Anyhow,
here is an email I sent someone regarding my experience of Hajj,
really jumpy though but I thought you might enjoy it, in sha’
Allah.
Hajj
is something that cannot be expressed in words over the email, not
even remotely. the entire experience, the people you see, the
things you do, the sense of feeling you have when you see 2.5 - 3
million other Muslims from Nigeria, Somalia, India, Canada, Europe,
Malaysia and other parts of the world, the entire atmosphere of
Saudi Arabia.
The
Ka`bah-ma sha’ Allah, there is too much that happens when
you go there that is unbelievable. When you visit Madinah and see
the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Mosque, his
grave, along with `Umar and Abu Bakr, I mean subhan Allah,
the feeling, the smell of the air, the color of the sky, are vivid
in my mind, but there are things that can only be kept as memories
and not expressed as words.
Wow,
I could just keep going: for example the Tawaf around the Ka`bah or
the stoning of the devil, all the traveling in the heat, the
physical challenge of the entire Hajj and the entire mental
preparation you have to have prior to it. As I write this I can
still remember the smell of the Ka`bah at night, and the feeling of
the floor on the soles of my feet, the people's faces, the design
of the mosque, the taste of Zamzam water. Hajj is something that
cannot be explained, but something that has to be experienced! In-sha’
Allah one day you will be able to go and then you will
appreciate so much more in life.
I
found being in Makkah physically challenging, as was the entire
Hajj. There was another sister who came with our group, she was
young and her health got very bad. I think anyone who comes from a
so-called first world nation experiences many difficulties.
Since
not everyone on Hajj is educated, you have to be patient. It’s
good because you read books on patience and the benefits of it, but
there are not too many times when you need it here in Canada! When
you are at Hajj you have to be patient many times over, that is
when your knowledge is challenged. Actually, it is not only the
sisters who are weak, even me! On the day of `Arafat, it is sunnah
to stand in the heat and make du`aa’ from Zhuhr to Maghrib,
well anyhow, you do not have to, but I did try. Well boy oh boy!
Did you know that not only do brown people blush, but they sun burn
also! My entire head began to peel after that, the whole of my body
that was exposed to the sun was entirely red, and soon afterwards
peeled; I was in extreme pain.
Added
to all that pain was when I got lost at Mina. You look at every
horizon and all you see are white tents, they all look the same,
and every sign is in Arabic, so you do not know where to go.
Actually,
at that moment, after walking for hours, tired, in pain, little
water left, I began to cry! However, a little while later, I
realized this was a test for me. By Allah, within a few minutes I
recognized one of the areas and found my tent! Subhan Allah,
that is something I can never forget. It is so vivid in my mind
right now. Jazaka Allahu khayran for letting me write all
this. I’m probably jumping around right now, but hey, you asked!
I
don’t know if you heard about the stampede that happened at this
Hajj, well me and my dad got there about an hour and a half later,
and al-hamdu lillah, it was cleared, I really wasn’t too
happy when my dad came, because I felt the added responsibility of
making sure that he was alright.
Actually
I forced my parents to come, the Indo-Pak mentality is to go for
Hajj when you're 70-80 years old, but after last `Eid I made
intention of going, with or without my parents, so, after hours of
discussion, they decided to come along! Anyhow, where was I?
Madinah I think. Subhan Allah, the mosque is just
beautiful-everything about it! The atmosphere is totally different.
When you enter the city its quiet, not at all busy, and the
merchants are much nicer. My parents went shopping there a lot;
they say that there are many nice shops.
I
think Hajj is something that has to be done when you are young,
maybe not as young as I am, I would have liked to be more prepared,
but then again I guess no one is really ever prepared.
Mateen
Khaja
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