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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Off We Go to Mecca |
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| Halima |
| 02/06/03 at 05:53:10 |
| A Midwestern Muslim Hesham A. Hassaballa Off We Go to Mecca Wednesday, January 29, 2003 We arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at 11:30 p.m. and went through customs quickly--two hours. Once outside in the airport, we waited...and waited...It took us 12 hours to get a bus to Mecca. It was very tiring, but it is all part of the Hajj experience. Once we reached the hotel, we dropped our luggage and went immediately to the Great Mosque. Walking toward the main mosque area was so exciting. When I saw the Ka'abah, I was taken by its beauty and its surreal otherworldliness. We were in God's world now. My wife cried; so did I. Immediately, we entered into the river of people making tawwat, or circumambulating the Ka'abah. The concept of personal space completely vanished. While trying not to push other pilgrims, I walked around counterclockwise, constantly praying to God. As I walked, I heard the prayers of all the other pilgrims in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Malay. After circumambulating seven times, we then prayed behind the Station of Abraham: The place where Abraham stood for long periods, making sure that the Ka'bah that he and Ishmael built was perfect. Seeing his footsteps embossed in brass was unbelievable. We then prayed the sunset prayer. Then we proceeded to walk between the two mountains, called Safa and Marwa. This ritual is called the Sa'y. We reenacted an ancient drama--Hagar's frantic search for water--by running between those mountains seven times. Here, too, pilgrims from all over the world are walking and praying. In all these rituals, there are no specific prayers that are to be uttered. Each pilgrim has his or her own relationship with God and each comes to God's House and prays on his or her own terms. This is part of the beauty of the Hajj. Once finished with running, the lesser Hajj culminates in cutting or shaving one's head for men, and cutting a small piece of hair for women. I shaved my hair off...ouch... February 3, 2003 After completing the Lesser Hajj, or Umrah, we are now free to wear regular clothes. We became "tourists." We spent the rest of the time in Mecca shopping and worshipping. There is basically nothing else to do in Mecca besides worship God, and that is the point. God brought us here to get a taste of what the real purpose of life is. In the Qur'an, God told us that the reason he created us is for his worship. Here in Mecca, we are cut off from the rat race of life: no work, no bills, no traffic during rush hour. Just praying and remembering God. It was strange at first; I was not used to spending all day praying to God. But it became fun. I hope and pray that my experience of worship in Mecca will have changed me for the better. The Great Mosque is truly the most beautiful place on earth. When I am there, I am in an entirely different world. What I love the most is looking at the Ka'bah and watching the circumambulation. From above (the Mosque has three floors), it looks like a river, constantly flowing, ever changing in composition. Each second, there are pilgrims entering and leaving. The sound of the constant prayers emanating from the mouths of the countless pilgrims, circling round and round, actually sounds like water flowing. I can sit for hours watching the circumambulation. After seeing the Ka'bah, I begin to miss it. I constantly yearn to see it again. I never had this feeling before coming to Mecca. It's an amazing city: it's streets, shops, and bazaars are practically indistinguishable from any other old Middle Eastern city. Every day, more and more pilgrims arrive from all over the world. I have seen so many pilgrims from Turkey, and they were the nicest pilgrims I have ever met. Even though they can't speak English, they still make the effort to greet me and everyone else. I have also seen and met pilgrims from China, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. Nowhere else have I experienced such diversity. Now, it is off to Medina to keep my appointment with the Prophet. My focus in Mecca was God, and my focus in Medina will be his Prophet. I can't wait. Source: Beliefnet |
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