Muslims'
hearts are deeply attached to Almighty Allah's Sacred Mosque. It
is the very first image that a Muslim visualizes in the "eye
of mind" when the word Hajj is uttered. This mosque is not an
ordinary one; it is the first house (i.e. mosque) to be set for
humanity, hence the name Al-Bayt Al-`Ateeq (the Ancient House). In
this very belonging of Allah does lie the overwhelming feelings
that all Muslims have toward this Sacred House. The hearts of true
Muslims are in fact thirsty for Allah's love and deeply yearn for
seeing Him in the hereafter. To Muslims, Hajj to Allah's House is
the best means for quenching this thirst for divine love and for
feeling close to Almighty Allah.
Visiting
Allah's House is almost a dream for every true Muslim in this
world. Since the Islamic identity had begun awakening in me, I had
and still have this dream in my heart, and so does my husband.
That was a joint dream since our engagement, and we sought to make
it come true after marriage.
We
agreed to save money for this purpose. We sought to make this
visit as soon as possible. So, we did not wait until we can afford
the costs of a journey by plane, for this costs a fortune in our
country, Egypt. Once we were able to save a few thousands
sufficient for a journey by bus for `Umrah, we took every step to
make our dream come true.
At
last, we could do it. And, al-hamdu lillah, it was in the month of
Ramadan and also during the last 10 days of the month. What a
blessing from Almighty Allah that we could do this journey to His
House in this blessed month and in this special time of the last
10 days of Ramadan!
My
husband had an additional dream, too — to have his parents with
him in this blessed journey. Although his father had a broken leg
then, which made him reluctant to go, my husband did his best to
persuade him to go with us in this long-awaited journey.
The
journey was extremely exhausting as it was by bus and I had to
take my first child who was then eight months, with me. Let alone
that we accompanied my old parents-in-law. My husband had to take
care of his father, who had to move on a wheelchair to do the
rituals of `Umrah.
Furthermore,
we had to stay for five days in Egypt's port Nwiba` awaiting the
ship that took us to Jordan, wherefrom we moved to Saudi Arabia.
In
spite of all these difficulties, when we reached Makkah and then
visited Madinah, I myself could not believe it. The thoughts came
to my mind: "Oh my God! Am I really here? Am I walking on the
very spots that were trod many times by Allah's Messenger and by
the Messenger's Companions? Am I worthy of treading these very
spots? I am in Allah's House and going round it too! Oh, Allah!
This dream was once thought unreachable."
The
thought that flickered in my mind along the journey was that I am
feeling very close to Almighty Allah and He is looking at me,
among other people. I had a mixture of feelings: blessed to be in
these sacred places and shamed for not being able to dedicate
every microsecond of this journey to Almighty Allah. Occasionally,
I had to save some time for my little child, let alone the
inexpressible feeling of exhaustion because of the lack of sleep.
This
thought of being in Allah's most sacred place never parted with me
in the journey, and I wished I could have spent more time there
and talked to Allah more and more in these very special and sacred
places.
The
journey has quenched only little of the endless yearning that I
have for Almighty Allah, and I dare to say that all Muslims who
were there for `Umrah feel the same.
All
of us, whether those blessed with visiting Allah's House or those
who have not had the chance to visit it yet, have that special
dream of going there to visit Makkah and Madinah and enjoy that
sweet feeling of being close to Almighty Allah.
Read
Also:
Mansa
Musa, King of Mali: The Hajj That Changed the Course of History
A
South African Pilgrim Remembers
I
Was in Awe at the Scale of the Place
The
Pilgrimage To Makkah
I
Remember My First Hajj
Chanting
Labbaik... What a Pleasure!
Performing
Hajj Early in Life
Hajj
& Rebirth of My Soul
