In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.
It's been two weeks since I left the blessed land of Mecca. It still feels like a magical dream. Eight years since the last Umrah, I was invited again, this time with most of my family excepting my sister and her family. The twelve days were the best so far this year. Apart from everything else, my family managed to strengthen our bond and I pray that this bond will last us this lifetime and beyond.
The tranquility of Masjid Nabawi calmed my soul and the energy of Masjid Al-Haram fed it. Nights and days of prayers and tawaf interspersed with laughter and family meals is just what the doctor ordered. For the 7 nights I was in Masjid Al-Haram, all my illness disappeared, alhamdulillah. Whatever the cause, ultimately it was His will and alhamdulillah it has allowed me to perform my worship.
The 11 days I was in Mecca and Madina, there was only a single prayer where we were not called to pray the funeral prayer. One of the students we met in Madina explained that there is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) that states that whoever dies in Madina will be granted the shafa'a of the Messenger in the Day of Judgement. And a similar story was told by one of the scholars in Mecca about Mecca where on the Day, when the Kaabah is called back to Paradise, it would ask Allah permission to bring along those who died in Mecca. Masha'allah! But more than that, the fact that these people died either after performing umrah or with the intention of performing umrah. They died as guests of Allah. How I wish I can be one of them.
One of the thoughts I had there was that I didn't want to go back to the "real" world. Yet, it is exactly the point of the umrah that we have to go back after being refreshed, in order to share this connection with others. It is reflected in the tawaf - if we look at the physical movement of tawaf. Remember when you twirl something, when you let go, the momentum of the thing will move it tangentially far away. The "momentum" of the tawaf "stores" this energy in us as we are sent forth back into our regular lives. Even as I am recovering from my illness and struggling to regain my voice, I can feel this energy. I hope that this energy will carry me towards the approaching Ramadhan and ultimately back to Allah.
I also hope that Allah will grant me permission to go for Hajj this year too. I long to be back in the blessed land again.
It's been two weeks since I left the blessed land of Mecca. It still feels like a magical dream. Eight years since the last Umrah, I was invited again, this time with most of my family excepting my sister and her family. The twelve days were the best so far this year. Apart from everything else, my family managed to strengthen our bond and I pray that this bond will last us this lifetime and beyond.
The tranquility of Masjid Nabawi calmed my soul and the energy of Masjid Al-Haram fed it. Nights and days of prayers and tawaf interspersed with laughter and family meals is just what the doctor ordered. For the 7 nights I was in Masjid Al-Haram, all my illness disappeared, alhamdulillah. Whatever the cause, ultimately it was His will and alhamdulillah it has allowed me to perform my worship.
The 11 days I was in Mecca and Madina, there was only a single prayer where we were not called to pray the funeral prayer. One of the students we met in Madina explained that there is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) that states that whoever dies in Madina will be granted the shafa'a of the Messenger in the Day of Judgement. And a similar story was told by one of the scholars in Mecca about Mecca where on the Day, when the Kaabah is called back to Paradise, it would ask Allah permission to bring along those who died in Mecca. Masha'allah! But more than that, the fact that these people died either after performing umrah or with the intention of performing umrah. They died as guests of Allah. How I wish I can be one of them.
One of the thoughts I had there was that I didn't want to go back to the "real" world. Yet, it is exactly the point of the umrah that we have to go back after being refreshed, in order to share this connection with others. It is reflected in the tawaf - if we look at the physical movement of tawaf. Remember when you twirl something, when you let go, the momentum of the thing will move it tangentially far away. The "momentum" of the tawaf "stores" this energy in us as we are sent forth back into our regular lives. Even as I am recovering from my illness and struggling to regain my voice, I can feel this energy. I hope that this energy will carry me towards the approaching Ramadhan and ultimately back to Allah.
I also hope that Allah will grant me permission to go for Hajj this year too. I long to be back in the blessed land again.
