The Path

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Umar radiyalaahu anhuma had mentioned, "Whoever wishes to follow the way of another, should follow the ways of those who have passed away. These were the companions of Muhammad sallalaahu alayhi wassalam, who were the best people of this Ummah. Their hearts were most pious, their knowledge was deepest and they were least pretentious. They were people whom Allah Ta'ala had chosen to be companions of His Nabi sallalaahu alayhi wassalam and for the transmission of His Deen. You people should emulate their character and mannerisms. By the Rabb of the Kaabah! The Sahabah radiyalaahu anhum of Rasulullah sallalaahu alayhi wassalam were correctly guided."

Friday 14 January 2011

The Journey of Hajj - Part 8: A Ritual Fitan & A Different Sight


When I first arrived in Makkah a couple of weeks before wukuf at the Plains of Arafah, performing tawaf around the Kabaah at the ground floor square was an uphill task at any time with thousands of people cramming at one place. It was alarming and distressful to watch hundreds of people tried to squeezed in the corner of the Kaabah where Hajarul Aswad or the Black Stone is situated.  No doubt the kissing of Hajarul Aswad is a sunnah and a gesture of love to the Prophet sallalaahu alayhi wassalam.  But how could those people justify the hardship caused by them to others when they forced their way through to the corner?

At this point, I have to reveal a despicable violation by certain few hajj pilgrims, right in front of the house of Allah.  It is not to my enjoyment to bring out into open something that could disgrace other hajj pilgrims, but I consider it something beyond contempt that all of us should avoid when, by the grace of Allah, we are accepted to perform hajj or umrah. A handful Indonesian brothers, without shame, had taken advantage of the hajj season to provide an unsanctioned services of getting women pilgrims to kiss the Hajarul Aswad. It is not as honourable as it sound, in fact the manner in which they provide the so-called services was just simply tastless and nasty. 

First, two men would approach women hujjazs to provide 'assistance' for them to kiss the Hajarul Aswad for a fee. An over-enthusiastic woman who agreed to their proposal would then be forcefully pushed towards the corner of the Kaabah, sandwiched between two men. She would have to hug from behind the man in front of her, whilst the man behind her would tightly hug her. I've seen a couple of women were in terrifying tears while being pushed forward without being able to back-off. Another woman was being pulled out by another couple of pervert men (perhaps after managing to kiss the Black Stone) in a condition that her hijab was pulled off and her hair disheveled. Once I walked near two men who were negotiating the service and I could not help but sternly rebuked the two Indonesian men. What a shameful act to promote!


May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on us all.


I spend a lot of time by simply looking at the Ka'abah. I would sat down leaning forward close against the railing on the top floor of Masjidil Haram watching thousands of hajis circumbulating the Holy Ka'abah. It was mainly due to my laziness, but never lost my hope in getting rewards from Allah Ta'ala. 

Keeping on reading Fadha'il Hajj had helped me a lot. In 45 days of my hajj journey, sometimes laziness overcame me. Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah, the kitaab had kept me going. In one hadith, Hazrat Ibn Abbas radiyalaahu anhu reports that the Messenger of Allah said, "One hundred and twenty mercies descend upon the Ka'abah every day and night; sixty for those performing tawaaf, forty for those performing solaah and twenty for those merely looking at Ka'abah." Merely looking at the Ka'abah is a form of Ibadaah. Hazrat Saeed ibn Musayyib rahmatullah alayhi the well-known Tab'iee use to say that whoever merely looks at the Ka'abah with complete faith, becomes so cleansed of his sins as the day he was born. Subhanallah! How great is the mercy of Allah to this ummah!

In the midst of thousands of pilgrims encircling the Ka'abah, I caught a glimpsed of a towering man walking slowly towards Hajarul Aswad assisted by two men. It was a unique scene. The people made way for the towering man approaching the Hajarul Aswad. Normal men's height only barely reached his waist. I recognised the towering man from a news report I read before. At 7' 8", Haji Alam Channa of Sindh, Pakistan, the tallest man in the world at the time, kissed the Hajarul Aswad with much difficulty.

Labaikallaahhumma labaik!




2 comments:

  1. pada musim haji memang agak sukar nak mengucup hajar aswad tapi kalau sampai buat bisnes melampau la..semoga amal ibadat kita semua sentiasa diterima Allah

    ReplyDelete
  2. norainimy,
    aamin atas doa puan.

    ReplyDelete