Comments on: Synced: Hajj 2011

By: seef

seef — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:23:48 +0000

Thank you Imam Webb for this vivid description of Hajj. I was blessed to also make the Hajj with my wife this year, and the discomfort factor stands out. I am still processing everything i witnessed and experienced, and trying to ‘synthesize’ it all into something seems to be an ongoing process. I experienced Hajj over a few days, but the impact on my mind continues to echo, and probably will for years. The Muslims from all over the world (except South America, I didn’t notice anyone from there), the generosity of the Saudis in constructing all of the facilities was something to behold. The veritable miracles I experienced, for example, I prayed for Allah to bless my rizk, and the next day, when I counted my Saudi Riyals, I had exactly 786. If this hadn’t happened to me, I would be very skeptical that this actually happened, but it did. There were a couple of other times that my prayers to Allah were answered in the most amazing way, and then there were the food miracles. No matter what I asked for – banana bread, banana splits, pancakes, okra, falafel – it was miraculously available in a day or two. The hardships I endured, chief among them the complaining about the hardships from the people around me, added a degree of difficulty to the whole experience. But the miracles, and the wonderful encounters with wonderful people, are things that I am grateful for, things that I hold close, things that speak to me in a language that can only come from Allah. It is the memory of these encounters that sustain me in my post-Hajj high. I am not planning on going back, because I discovered that being close to the Kaaba, although a monumental blessing, is not the same as being close to Allah, so what I pray for now is to be among the Qariboon, those who are close to Allah.
The Imam’s story is a perfect example of what Hajj represents to each pilgrim: the hardships that we, as believers, must individually struggle through to achieve the ultimate reward. Allah declares in the Quran, “Man achieves nothing but what he strives for.” Hajj forces us to strives, and rewards us each, individually. It is a living breathing metaphor for life itself. I have to disagree with the Imam that it is an escape. Maybe I misunderstood the Imam’s intention, but I don’t feel there is any escape from what Allah intends for us, but there is infinite mercy and protection for us all. In spite of receiving His blessings, we continue to err and to fail, and then we are further blessed by His gift of allowing us to remember Him and to Worship Him and to ask Him directly for His forgiveness, and to thank Him for all these blessings.
Hajj was a struggle for everyone, and afterwards, sitting outside the Holy Mosque, my wife and I started to play a game to stave off the bitterness we started feeling towards all the masses who relentlessly shoved us: punch buggy smiley guy. We would scan the crowds to find people who were smiling, and because everyone was like us – tired, stressed, living out of a suitcase, hot, thirsty, struggling with bathroom issues, and feeling bad about feeling bad THIS far from the Kaaba, most people were not smiling. But it was never more than a few seconds before we saw another smiley guy.
May Allah accept out Hajjes, and make it easy for those who intend to go to make the journey.

By: Felicity

Felicity — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:30:25 +0000

In reply to normah. Totally agree with you guys. Allaah yubaarik feeka ya shaykh.

By: Dreamlife

Dreamlife — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:00:13 +0000

JazakAllah for sharing. I too have realised the selfishness of wanting that seclusion – and how much of life is more about interaction with others – and trying to achieve good that way, rather than holing up and being alone.

That said, time alone – with Allah – is essential. But the best hours for that are the middle of the night, when everyone’s asleep. I would guess the wisdom in the Prophetic sunnah of tahajjud / qiyam-ul layl is that those are the times where the busy-ness of life subside, and we can focus more clearly beyond this world – on our relationship with Allah.

May ALlah take all those who haven’t been for Hajj to His sacred House (and for them – remember that – regardless of how ‘possible’ it seems for you to go soon – it all starts with sincere intention, then dua, then your own sincere efforts and sabr…so set yourself up for success in this way).

And for those who have been, may Allah accept it from us, preserve the reward of it for us until Qiyammah (i.e. not let us lose that reward via sins in this world), enable us to maintain our Hajj and live it till we die; and take us back to those blessed lands many times more.

By: Adam Menhat

Adam Menhat — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:30:22 +0000

I love the show and episodes in Reflections, Tv Al Hijrah. Thank you Imam Suhaib.

By: normah

normah — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:00:37 +0000

In reply to Omar A.. i totally agree with you. now i see the human side of syeikh suhaibb. may Allah bless all these scholars.

By: Sharifah Normah

Sharifah Normah — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:32:19 +0000

Alhamdulillah, I too, was humbled by the special invitation to Hajj, this year. I felt that I have learnt more about myself,people and Allah’s greatness and went through an experience beyond words….
My du’a each day is to be invited again, Insyaallah.

By: Ms Ishak

Ms Ishak — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:32:04 +0000

SubhanAllah what you described is so true. Hajj is the great equalizer…the strength required to dig deep within oneself and apply patience and fortitude is just unfathomable. But once you go over that threshold and ‘get’ the lesson… Its is really an opportunity for growth and a beautiful thing. Syukur alhamdulillah I managed to complete my Hajj..despite being hospitalised and struck with a cough which is still with me, I had the most amazing journey and really understand that there is beauty in striving and humility.

By: A Wife

A Wife — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:30:23 +0000

THESE COMMENTS MEANT A LOT TO ME: “My attempt at seclusion was just a manifestation of my selfishness. Hajj taught me that to truly give, to truly attain bliss, I must turn that spiritual energy inward and outward, trying my best to let what few good qualities I had crack the darkness of my soul and shine. It was not about me, it was about us. What I discovered was that instead of instructing us to flee from this world, faith encourages its engagement; to reflect God’s grace to others. Because that is one of the greatest signs of His benevolence..” – the reason why it meant so much to me is that some religious people insist that they need to get away from it all, and go away for a few days every month or so to ‘revive’ their imaan! Leaving their families behind. What about the parents & wives & kids? They are at home trudging through life too! So it seems very selfish that some men would want to go away from it all… Apologies for the rant. Something that strikes a cord with me personally. JazakAllah brother Web for being straigtforward & honest. May Allah make things easy for you…

By: Yaqub

Yaqub — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:02:02 +0000

As’salaamolaikum. Honesty with articulation in regards to sharing your experience with one of the pillars of a Muslim’s faith..thank you for sharing your thoughts Imam Webb.

For those of us who haven’t yet had the chance to partake in Hajj (myself included)…may Allah SWT grant us the opportunity to do so iA.

By: Zoheb

Zoheb — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:46:58 +0000

Jazakallah khayr for this timely reminder Imam Will!