The soaring 45 degrees scorching rays hit us straight, with Ihram, with the niyah of Labbaik-Allahumma-Bi'Umrah reciting -Labbayk Allahumma Labbayak, Labbayk la sharika laka Labbayk, Innal hamda wanni'mata laka walmulk La sharika lak (Here I am O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Indeed all the Praise, Grace and Sovereignity belong to You. You have no partner)
We headed out towards the Grand Mosque- Masjid Al-Haram, As we walked towards the huge gates of the Masjid and entered them and were getting closer and closer my heart beat started increasing, The overwhelming experience, the overbearing effect of sighting the Kaabah from a distance, every glance I couldn't miss out, I couldn't wait to see the full glance of it, Slowly we moved and there we were! AllahuAkbar! Allah... Lord of the Heavens! I was standing there! I was standing there! I was standing there! Allah...
All my life I was bowing down in Sujood in the direction of Qibla, and now I am here, Couldn't take my eyes of as we started off the Tawaaf, Bismillahi AllahuAkbar, the big the small, the rich the poor, the dark the white, the tall the short, the fat the thin, the youth the old, the kids the toddlers, everyone there, Allah's slaves from the east and west, north and south together praying before Allah - The Lord of the Worlds, The Heavens and The Earth. One thing flooded my mind with huge waves... Allah, You got me here Allah, Allah all my life, I have seen Kaabah in Pictures and Videos, Someone would say about their experience i would sit and listen so attentively and with a silent thinking "Will I ever go there?" Everytime the Chief Imaam Sheykh Abdur Rahman Sudais (Am a very great admirer of his Qur'an recitation) led the prayer, I would glance the whole Salath with such admiration and question myself "Will I ever go there and pray?" and Yes! I was here!
Going around and around, you see no one but "Him". You are a "nothing who feels His existence" and simultaneously an "existence who feels nothing". As you circumambulate, you are like a particle in this circular movement which is an orbit, a motion, a Tawaf. Nevertheless, all of this is symbolic of Allah. Your position is that of "submission". Reciting Du'as, Dhikr and Seeking Forgiveness our 7 Qirats were completed, Not even one Qirat would I take my eyes of the Kaabah, I literally lifted my head above and questioned, Mum used to always say "Allah's Arsh (throne) is above Kaabah, I raised my head and smiled down, Mum your little daughter is here, Allah... Allahu Alhamdulilah...
With divine happiness, overbearing emotions, inexpressible words, we came behind the Mukhaam-e-Ibrahim and offered the two rakaths, The moment I started reciting Surat Fateha - Ihdinas-siratul mustaqeem, tears started flowing... my first sujood, as my forehead touched the ground... I started weeping like a small kid, Allah am such tiny slave of You, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Rahman you got me here! What can I ask for more! Forgive me! Forgive the one who got me here! Forgive my parents! Forgive my spouse! Forgive us all, I couldn't ask for more other than Forgiveness, The scorching sun smiled down as the sweat drops and tears were flowing, I only got to see all these when i completed my supplication.
We headed straight towards the huge Air-Conditioned halls that led to As-safaa and Marwaa, on the way we made a halt for a few minutes to get refreshed with the Holy zamzam, Alhamdulilah the water is truely a miracle when it goes down your throat. The Sayii and the recitation of Dua that Hagar made when she was in search of water for her son Ismael, the symobolic representation of the reliance on Allah by Hagar is an example for humanity. Allah, the greatest love and creator of the Alamin, ordered her to leave her home with her nursing child. She was told to go to the fearful valley of Mecca where no plant not even thistles, will grow. Out of love for Allah, she Understood and accepted this order. It seems strange - a lonely woman with her lonely child cast into the depth of this valley among such ugly and inactive volcanoes. Without water? Without shelter? Without anyone? But why? All of this because Allah wanted absolute reliance upon Him! Everything comes over like a flashback when you are there, and you tend to recite the Dua and supplicate when you move up and down seven times, Alhamdulilah!
Everything is just a miracle in itself, you feel blessed with the greatest feeling that you are doing everything for the sake of Allah swt, you are so close to Allah swt, that feeling in itself is happiness that Allah swt has chosen you to be near Him, May Allah make this visit destined on His pious, truly believing slaves. We truly end up in loving the Almighty more and more, SubhanaAllah! And same is the feeling no matter how many times you do Umrah or Salath in Allah's Holy place. Alhamdulilah!
I thank Allah swt for blessing me with the greatest opportunity and I pray hard that Allah swt bless the one who took me here, May Allah swt grant my treasured loving husband the highest ranks in Jannah, May Allah swt forgive his sins, grant him abundant happiness, health, knowledge and wealth, May Allah swt grant him loads of success and barakah in this duniya and aakirah, Aameen Summa Aameen Birehmatika Ya'arhamar-rahimeen.
JazakaAllahu Khayrahn Khatterahn...
