January 29, 2004

Syed Aziz Agha who went for Haj last year recounts his experience

At the first sight of the Khana-i-Kaaba I wondered: why is Allah’s house so simple? Slowly the answer came pouring back. Look, “I am the creator of heaven and earth and the entire universe is at my beck and call. Had I wanted, this house of mine would have glittered with diamonds and rubies. It would have had all the pomp and show that no other house could match. But look here, I have kept my house simple.” Like Allah says, the Kaaba, the house of the Almighty gives us dars and hidayat, that is, guidance and direction to those of us, who contemplate, think and seek.

Lesson number one that I got from the house of the Lord was that if Allah the Almighty wants His house so plain and simple, just confined to a few stones, then why in the world do we build palaces and luxurious dwellings for ourselves? The message is clear: keep it simple. It’s the simplicity of Allah’s house that bewilders the Hajis most.

During Haj, God watches from above, the worship of His House with the intermingling of a multitude of Muslims, of all colours, races and various cultures.

Last year I visited the holy city of Makkah for the first time. Some people had frightened the daylights out of me as to the rigours ahead, and advised me to keep the Haj trip confined to a maximum of two weeks. Thank heavens, my wife and I decided otherwise. Ours was a trip of over 40 days.

Going on Haj is all about a state of mind; it is total submission to the will of God. It’s a farz where Allah says that the moment you have the means, then without delay make one visit to My House. This is why we thought we should make the most of it. When it all ended, we concluded that even 40 days was not enough.

On our arrival at Makkah, we first performed Umrah as all Hajis do. As Haj approached, Muslims from all over the world started to congregate in Makkah. The crowd got bigger and bigger into unimaginable proportions. It was a colourful congregation of people, around 3.5 million in number.

Men and women, some young, others very old, even some small children were all in ahram, performing Tawaf-e-Kaaba, reciting various prayers and praises of Allah. All were closely snuggled and clung to each other as if their lives depended on it.

At the time of Haj, most of the touring Hajis (non locals) are in a holy frenzy. From the shoppers and traders who pull down their shutters five times a day, irrespective of which business they run, down to the Hajis who converge at Makkah — all are walking in one direction only — towards the Holy Kaaba. At the call of azaan, everything else stops and everyone joins the prayers.

When the big day finally arrived we headed for Maidan-e-Arafat. They say, that this is the location where we shall all be collected in front of Allah, on the day when we shall have to answer for all our deeds.

Haj is all about being at a particular place at a given time. If a Haji does not get to Arafat on schedule, his Haj becomes null and void. Once there, we prayed to our hearts content, as on the day of Arafat, Allah forgives your sins if you pray sincerely. Most of us did not sleep at all and spent the night in prayer.

It is incredible how such a colossal crowd is transported from Makkah to Arafat, Muzdalfah and Mina in a matter of hours. At Mina we stoned the three satans, which was quite an achievement.

We then headed back for Makkah, which again was a big task. Once inside the Haram, it was Zam Zam time. The Hajis are forever thirsty for Aab-i-Zam Zam. Inside the precinct of the Kaaba there is no dearth of this holy water, and people drink to their hearts content. Many Hajis wash their face, hair and body while some perform ablution with the pure and clean Zam Zam water.

Some male and nearly every female Haji, carries an identification of some kind for easy traceability. From caps, wrist bands, badges, to colourful headscarfs, beautiful flowers, ribbons and even exotic printed colourful clothing, they sport it all.

Some men carry along flags or other markers, not to forget the Haj identification card that all Hajis have to carry with them at all times. But one distinct feature of the Kaaba is that the women do not cover their faces in the presence of na mehram men, as Allah orders them to be that way.

The scene of Tawaf is quite amazing for a first time Haji. For 24 hours, one can see people going around Allah’s house, some in ahram and others in different clothing (most have the ahram on only for Umrah and Haj and at other times are in their normal dress while doing Tawaf).

Some are aided by walking sticks, others are on wheel chairs and some of the handicapped are on palkis. Most of them are reciting verses from the Holy Quran or saying a small prayer with tearful eyes. It’s a sight to behold. Also while performing the saaee at Safah and Marwah, the Hajis are busy walking up and down, reciting prayers.

In the beginning, when we performed the Tawaf, it seemed that we would never be able to get near the Kaaba itself. But once we made up our minds, it was as if an opening was made in the crowd, and we got to touch Allah’s house several times. The Holy Kaaba is like a magnet that draws you towards it.

At the Haram we saw hundreds of swallow like birds, chirping away, as if singing praises of Allah. At twilight these birds are a wonderful sight. There is no discrimination of any kind at all. Everyone, rich or poor, white, black or brown are all equal before God.

From trying to kiss the Hajr-e-Aswad and Rukn Yamani to rubbing their tasbih, cap, cloth or handkerchief on the Kaaba, the people are in a kind of trance, totally over awed with the surroundings and are sometimes unstoppable. The queue to get to the Black Stone is usually very long and it can take many hours for one to get a chance to kiss the Hajr-i-Aswad. I was able to, but my wife could not as much as see the Black Stone.

Remember that during Haj, we are Allah’s guests and we receive divine guidance. A Haji cannot complain, it’s the way Allah wants him or her to be. Distress or comfort, the choice is not the pilgrims’, but Allah’s. A Haji can only try and plan things but what is in store, only the Almighty knows.

Having performed Haj many things came to my knowledge; I found out that Maqam-i-Jibrael is right under the golden door of Khana-e-Kaaba. Right above Allah’s house is Baitul Mamoor in the seventh Heaven. Likewise above Zam Zam is the Hauz-i-Kausar, where the boundaries of Haram were marked by Hazrat Adam A.S., and Hazrat Jibrael A.S.

The four corners of the Kaaba are called Rukn Iraqi, Rukn Shami, Rukn Yamani and Hajr-i-Aswad respectively. The Tawaf starts from a marked line in front of Hajr-i-Aswad. The awaited saviour Imam Mehdi A.S., will lead the prayers at Khana-e-Kaaba and Hazrat Isa A.S., Hazrat Idrees A.S., Hazrat Khizer A.S., Hazrat Ilyas A.S., along with the Ashab-i-Kahf will say their prayers behind the Imam.

Being inside Hateem is like being inside the Kaaba itself, and legend has it that many childless couples have been blessed with children, once they have prayed inside the Hateem. The Zam Zarn water shall not dry out, it will remain operational until the day of resurrection.

We did witness some oddities in the Kaaba. Some people were performing Tawaf under the shade of an umbrella, others wore masks covering their mouths, lest they catch infection. The Saudi security staff sometimes stopped people from kissing the Kaaba, the Golden Gate, Rukn Yamani or at times, even the Hajr-i-Aswad, which in turn caused some unpleasantness for the Hajis.

We saw some Pakistani Hajis during Tawaf, merrily using mobile phones with their melodious ringers turned on, as they transacted business deals with their offices and friends back home. (Remember that Tawaf-e-Kaaba is ibadat.) While stoning the three Satans we saw a number of slippers and shoes being thrown. Have we forgotten that all these actions that we indulge in are arkan and a part of Haj? Quite a few Hajis seem to be there for reasons best known only to them.

It will not be wrong to point out here what Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “the best form of worship is not to make a show of it. Concealment of ibadat is best for you.” Why in the world do people like to write Haji or Al-Haj (two time Haji) before their names, after they return from the Holy visit to Allah’s house? Isn’t all this a display of ibadat, I wondered? After all, Haj is sacred and it’s only between you and God.

Total submission to the will of Allah is what Haj is all about. From wearing two white sheets of cloth without any undergarments, not being able to look into a mirror to comb your hair, to stand beside the rich and the poor, to bear discomfort with tolerance and patience, and to stand up to the rigours of Haj itself is the true spirit of Haj.

As Haj approaches closer this year, it brings back good and fond memories of our visit last year, along with 128 other pilgrims of Karvan-e-Amir Hamza.

The farewell words of our Haj Karawan group leader still ring in my ears. His parting words to the Lord were: “Allah, as of today, I shall not put my heart to worldly things, and will devote my future life only to achieve a better deal for the hereafter.” He made every single one of us repeat these words after him; words which we are not likely to forget.

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