Leaving for Hajj

We had registered for Hajj in September 2007 and waited a few months before we got a final confirmation along with our Hajj visas in early December 2007. I had a very strong feeling that Allāh would invite us for Hajj this year. I had been praying a lot for that during my umrah trip just a few months before in July 2007 and knew that du‘as made with certainty would have a positive outcome.

For my preparation, I had read many books on Hajj and took some online courses as well from Sunnipath Academy and Sacred Learning. Even though it is very important to know the fiqh of Hajj, it is nonetheless a journey of your heart. Bringing along an alive heart for Hajj is the most important part. Sometimes I would think that maybe I am not ready for Hajj but ignored these thoughts as I believe that Shaytān will do everything possible to distract one from Allah’s closeness. It was an overwhelming feeling that I would be going for Hajj as this is the ultimate wish of every Muslim and I had wished to perform Hajj with my husband. And here we were – going for Hajj just a year after we got married. My heart felt very heavy – not saddened but just heavy in a way that it hadn’t been before. However, I did get sad because I could not meet my parents and family just before leaving as they live in another country but when thinking of where I was going the sadness of not seeing them somehow just disappeared.We left our home late night on 11th December and left for Oslo Gardemoen Airport. Before leaving, I prayed 2 raka‘a for the travel (safr) and felt the overwhelming joy and gratefulness in my heart that I had just prayed these raka‘a for the journey of Hajj! The joy of going to Kaaba and see it again and gratefulness for my prayers to be answered. Al-hamdu lillāh what a feeling that was! I could feel my heartbeat getting faster and the tears that I was holding back were falling in the darkness of the night. I was happy to know that this darkness would soon be changed with the light of Kā’ba.At the airport we were met by a large number of men in white ihram while the ladies were all dressed in modest clothing – all ready to visit the House of Allah and perform ‘umrah at first and then Hajj.The flight was only delayed a little and because I didn’t sleep all night before the flight, I fell asleep right away and slept during most of the flight. This made the journey pass by quicker.Our flight was direct from Oslo to Jeddah and we arrived at Jeddah Hajj terminal Tuesday 11^th December around 4 O’clock in the afternoon – local time. Landing in Jeddah I could sense that I was at some special place. I was close to Haram al-Makka and yet I had to wait. It took 12 hours from landing till we got into busses that would drive us to Makka. Most of the time, I spent in resting and just relaxing. I knew I was going to have little rest on this journey and having been really tired before leaving these 12 hours felt like luxury where I could relax and gather my energy for the upcoming special events. Makka Finally around four in the morning on 12^th December, we drove off to Makka. I could just feel the immense joy in my heart. Alhamdulillah, I was going to see Kā’ba just after five months. I felt so blessed. I had been on Deen Intensive’s Rihla trip in July 2007 and had the most wonderful time of my life with teachers who were the best examples of love to the prophet (pbuh) and showing humility and etiquette in the holy cities. The participants of Rihla, youngsters from all over the world, also were one group of special people. I really missed their company during this trip! We all recited the talbiyya some loud, some in their hearts: “Labbayk Allāhumma labbayk, Labbayka lā sharīka Laka labbayk, Inna l-hamda wa n-ni’mata Laka wa l-mulk, lā sharīka lak” (I respond to Your call O Allāh, I respond to Your call, and I am obedient to Your orders, You have no partner, I respond to Your call. All the praises and blessings are for You, All the sovereignty is for You, And You have no partners with you) We were all exited to soon to be in the House of The Merciful Lord. It was His call and our response. SubhānAllāh, He had invited us. We were responding to the very special invitation on our way to His house. Every moment was special. Every moment was a blessing.My heart was crying of gratitude at the same time as my heart was in a trance doing tawaf around His majestic throne. Every time I looked at the boards showing distance to Makka, I felt a new joy. We were getting closer. Nothing in the world could be compared with this feeling. Yes, indeed this was an invitation from Him and only He made everything easier for us to travel.By the time we reached our hotel and got into our room I felt the tiredness taking over. I wanted to look at Kaaba with open eyes and do my ibadah in a proper state. It wouldn’t be proper adab (manner) to go there in the state of half-sleepness so we went to sleep for some hours and freshened up. After some rest we got ready for the first part of our stay: ‘Umrah!My husband and I walked to masjid al-Haram and prayed ‘Asr in congregation. Having been there for ‘umrah some times before, I was quiet surprised and overwhelmed by the rush. There were so many people in the mosque. Masha’Allah, Muslims, from all over the world, had come to answer His call. It was beautiful. We had prayed ‘Asr on the first floor since there was no space left at the ground floor. I wanted to look at Kā’ba first time from the ground floor and also to perform tawaf there. Going to start tawaf turned out to be more challenging than I had expected. It took us long time before we got there and could start performing our tawāf. The first view at Kaaba filled my heart with immense gratitude. I was standing in front of Kaaba again. Al-hamdu lillah. After some rounds of tawāf we decided to go upstairs and perform the rest of the ‘umrah there. It was very crowded on the ground floor and both my husband and I were getting disturbed in our ‘ibadah due to people pushing and some people started to occupy the space at the ground floor for prayer time.We therefore performed the rest of the rounds of tawāf upstairs and also performed Sa’ī at the first floor. Al-hamdu lillah we finished this first umrah of our trip safe and easily.

Minā

We stayed in the holy city for 5 days before leaving for Mina on the 8^th Dhu l-Hijja. Although my husband and I wanted to walk to Mina, we were advised not to do it by our group leader so we decided to listen to his advice since he – māsha’Alläh – had been for Hajj 16 times and his experience did count!We arrived in Mina just before dhuhr time and spent some time in allocating ourselves in the tents. We stayed in Mina for one day and prayed the five prayers over there. This day was spent in reciting talbiyya as we were now again in the state of ihrām. This time it was different when reciting talbiyya. We were not just responding His call to visit His house only. We were actually responding His call to perform the sacred pilgrimage: al-hajj. What a blessing that was! He had invited us among millions of Muslims who are not all able to perform Hajj – some due to health, others due to financial issues. And there we were responding to His call. This was the ultimate blessing upon us. I asked to go for Hajj and He invited me the very same year. That feeling is beyond description!

‘Arafat

The next day of 9^th Dhu l-Hijja we all went to Arafat by busses. It was a crazy situation when everybody wanted to get into the bus as soon as it arrived. My only wish was to arrive before midday, so I could follow the Sunna of our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and start my supplications. Al-hamdu lillah, despite the rush, we did get there before midday and got the chance to pray in the manner of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) Sunna. The day of ‘Arafat was a lot warmer than the other hajj days, which made it difficult to sit in the sun. I spent most of my time reading supplications and asking Allāh for everything my heart desired. Making du‘a with certainty on this day really makes you feel that Allāh is listening to your prayers.This day I reflected a lot on how our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) had performed Hajj and that he actually had been to ‘Arafat and held a beautiful speech covering all major aspects of human life. I remembered some of the speech and thought about the teachings of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him); praying that we as Muslim umma can follow these teachings better and become better representatives of Islām.When the time of salāt al-maghrib was nearing our group leader (who actually is an imām of a Norwegian mosque) made du‘a for everybody. It was a really touching du‘a that made everyone cry. While saying amīn with certainty on all his du‘as, I felt that these moments were the most special ones during the Day of ‘Arafat. Tears were flowing from the sinful eyes, the stony hearts were melting in remembrance of the Allāh and lips were begging for the forgiveness and mercy of the Most Merciful. The atmosphere was not to be mistaken. His invitation was being responded to with immensely certain and humble prayers.

Muzdallifa

After spending the day in ‘Arafat, pilgrims go to Muzdalifa to spend the night there. When we finally arrived there it was about 10 O’clock in the evening and a lot of the pilgrims had already arrived. It was an amazing view. The whole place was full of pilgrims showing the utmost humility. It is the night where the sand is your bed and the skies, stars and the moon are your covering.This was the most beautiful night I have ever experienced. There was such immense peace and tranquillity in the air. Some were doing dhikr and others sleeping and resting. This was a night more blessed than the night of Qadr (destiny). One could sense that this night was not like other nights. I wish this night never ended but eventually I had to sleep only to be awakened an hour later. It was one hour before fajr and our group was supposed to leave for Minā, put our things there and then walk back to Muzdallifa as our tent was just some few hundred metres from Muzdalifa boundary. We decided to walk due to the traffic rush which we wanted to avoid. We arrived at the boundary between Minā and Muzdallifa some time before sunset so we decided to stay in one of the empty tents in Muzdalifa and made supplications there till sunset.

Jamarāt

We walked to our tent in Minā from Muzdalifa and rested. I had only slept one hour the past night so I slept some while before we got up and went for stoning of the Devil. We had decided not to go for tawāf on 10^th Dhu l-Hijja as masjid al-Haram would be packed this day.For us, 10^th Dhul Hijja therefore only consisted of stoning, waiting for the slaughter to be done and cut our hair.We waited to walk to Jamarāt till the rush would decrease and went there after dhuhr. It was a refreshing walk. On the way to Jamarāt I reflected a lot upon this act of stoning the Devil and how we should practise this in our lives back home. That the Devil isn’t just an external disturbing factor, but that we are also very much controlled by our ego that distracts us from our real purpose of life and that we should also make it our goal to work on it continiously.This walk was also the walk towards ending the talbiyya. The past 2 days we had recited talbiyya and been responding to His call, proclaiming His Oneness and praising Him while saying talbiyya. But after the first stoning of the Devil talbiyya would end. This very special dhikr was on its way to end which I knew that I would miss a lot!When we arrived at Jamarat, I was surprised to see the well organized structure and that it was not overcrowded. We had our collected stones in small bags and took out the needed stones way before we arrived at the spot where the stoning would find place. After we finished stoning, we waited a while for the remaining persons in our small group. Once we left Jamarāt building, we saw an area where food was being sold. We had not eaten proper food since we had left Makka because we didn’t want to take any risk as the food provided in Minā was transported from Makka and could get cold on its way. Eating cold meat in such hot weather wasn’t a good idea. A lot of people from our group ate biryani etc that had been transported from Makka and ended up getting ill. So when we saw this fast food chain our hungry stomachs got joyous and we had a wonderful meal from Al-Baik.My husband made a remark that “this is where the labbayk ends al-baik begins” which was quiet funny as Al-Baik was just outside the spot where one ends saying labayk.

Slaughter, Tawaf and Sa’ī

Al-hamdu lillah, we had performed many of the rituals of Hajj easily and were nearing the end of the state of ihrām. After Jamarāt and the meal from Al-Baik, we walked back to our tent in Mina. It was strange not to read talbiyya on this trip.On our way to Jamarat, everybody was doing dhikr or reading talbiyya. After the stoning on the way back it seemed like the crowd was suddenly very quiet.After Jamarat the animals are slaughtered in the name of the Merciful Lord and then one cuts hair and enter out of ihrām.Upon our arrival at the tent in Minā our group leader told us that the animals had been slaughtered at the slaughter house and we could now cut our hair and exit ihrām. Men were shaving off their heads, as for this is the Sunna of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) – while women were cutting minimum an inch of their hair. Unfortunately some of the men were shaving in open air areas and it was not any good idea to pass by if it got windy!On the morning of 11^th Dhu l-Hijja, we left for Makka right after the fajr prayer. We walked on the direction to Jamarāt to find a bus to Makka which happened to be quiet a challenge. In the end we actually did find a bus that could drive us to the sacred city so that we could go to the hotel at first; take a shower and wear clean clothes before entering masjid al-Haram.We reached the mosque around dhuhr and proceeded to the ground floor to perform our Tawāf-e-Zyara proceeded by Sa’ī. Later we decided to go upstairs due to the inconvenience created by the rush. The mosque was packed with people and I was imagining how it must have been the day before when more people had been here.We finished our tawāf and performed Sa’ī also on first floor. We were now done with all the rituals of Hajj in which we had to be in the state of ihrām and we were now fully out of Ihram after this Tawāf and Sa’ī.We then walked back to our hotel and had a meal before we left for Jamarāt with our group leader. The journey to Jamarāt would usually be 10 minutes in bus, but it took a lot longer due to the number of people heading the same way. We decided to get off the bus and walked the rest of the way to Jamarat. Today we had to stone the Devil at three spots. These three spots are where the Devil tried to stop Prophet Abraham (peace of Allāh be upon him) in his sacrifice. After we had stoned at the three spots, we walked back to our tents in Minā.Next day on Friday 12^th Dhu l-Hijja, we had to walk the same way to Jamarāt and stone the three Devils. Many people were leaving for Makka this day but as it is the Sunna of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and his noble companions to stay in Minā till 13^th Dhul Hijja, we had intended to stay in Minā in the very same manner and then return for Makka afterwards. We stoned the three Devils on both 12^th and 13^th Dhu l-Hijja and left for Makka at ‘Asr time on Saturday 13^th Dhu l-Hijja. Now we had performed all the Hajj rituals and done our best to follow the Sunna of the Beloved of Allāh (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him)I felt relieved that everything – Al-hamdu lillah – was made so easy for us and that we now had finished one of the obligatory acts of worship. I felt blessed that I had been given this chance in a young age and in the circumstances I had wished for. Al-hamdulillah, The Lord of the worlds is indeed the Most Merciful.

Back in Makka

After Hajj we had five days in Makka. This gave us a chance to perform an extra ‘umrah and several tawāf for those who had asked to be remembered in our prayers and worship. Every time I entered masjid al-Haram, I got exited to see Kā’ba and every time I looked at it, it made me feel blessed to be there. It made me feel grateful that I was not just standing in front of Ka’ba but also that Allah had blessed me with good health so that I could walk to the mosque myself and look at Kā’ba with my eyes. The beauty of Kā’ba made me think that if the symbolic house of Allāh is so beautiful and full of light, then imagine the beauty of Allah’s Nūr. Imagine the beauty of the Beloved of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). SubhānAllāh wa bi hamdihī, that beauty must be beyond description and imagination!If the Kā’ba carries such peace and tranquillity then imagine the sakīna in nearness of Allāh. If the Kā’ba, which is a building with so much glory upon it and such an awe, then imagine the majesty of Allah.
It was all so overwhelming! The time when I was praying all alone in Hatīm, I really felt that Allāh is listening to whatever I am asking for. Usually the area of Hatīm is full of people and I had almost given up the thought to enter Hatīm and pray there. But I met an urdu speaking cleaner after my farewell tawaf who told me how to enter Hatim and later he told me they would be emptying the place to clean Hatīm for the fajr prayers. Al-hamdu lillah that was just an amazing experience to be welcomed in Hatīm – which is part of Kā’ba – and to be able to pray there without being pushed and then standing alone in the area and feeling the majesty and mercy of Allāh.This was my last night in masjid-al-Haram and while I was leaving the blessed place with prayers of coming back soon, my heart was filled with gratefulness for His hospitality as I was just a guest at His house among millions of others.

Madina

Despite that I was sad to leave Makka, I was really happy to be visiting Madina. The journey took around 6 hours and we were welcomed by hospitable people of Madina while entering the boundary of the city. A man came into our bus and told us that they were welcoming us just like the Ansar welcomed the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) upon his arrival. What an honour to be welcomed to Medina like this! The peace and tranquillity could be felt even at the boundary of the city, but the closer we got to the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) the more intense did the feeling get. A family with small children in our bus were reciting nasheeds – praises in the honour of the Prophet (pbuh) while others were sending salutations to him. After resting for some time and freshening up, I went to the mosque at tahajjud time. While walking to the mosque, I saw the green dome as it was on the way from our hotel. It was like I had never left. It was like I had stayed there the past five months since my last visit. I felt like that this green dome never left my eye sight and smiled at myself. I then walked to the gate called Bāb al-Baqi. This is the gate where men come out after having said their salaams to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him). Luckily it wasn’t crowded at that time and I got a glimpse of the golden fence that covers the resting place of khayru l-khalqillāh; the Best of creations (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him). After sending my salāms, I walked to the mosque and entered this peaceful place of all places. The atmosphere inside the mosque is beyond description. The tranquillity that you find there is not to be find anywhere else. There is a softness and calmness there that you only feel at the best place of the Universe as the scholar’s states. Being there is one of the biggest blessings one feels from Allāh. Also it makes one reflect upon how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) lived in Madina and how his blessed companions benefited from his closeness. When his resting place is so peaceful and full of tranquillity, how must it then be to be near him during his lifetime! I went to the Rawda on Friday 19^th Dhu l-Hijja after the Friday prayers to pay my salaams to the leader of the Universe, the Sultan of Madina. It was Friday and I was happy that he will be receiving my salaams himself. It was very crowded and noisy and as I walked to the Rawda, I felt that the feeling of tranquillity got stronger and stronger – despite the noises. I went in with the Pakistani group and once I finished my two nafl (voluntary) prayers and finished my du‘a, I realized that the Pakistanis had left and another group had come. The guards didn’t recognize me as Pakistani and thus allowed me to stay longer. This almost happened every time I visited the Rawda, al-hamdu lillah, that I get chance to stay longer to send peace blessings upon the Messenger of Allāh, and also make du‘ā at the piece of the Sacred Garden. Somehow the very strict guards were so soft-spoken and nice to me allowing me to stay there longer. Al-hamdu lillah. It was very special that I got to pray on the front row on each visit without pushing or being pushed. On my last night in Madina I left the hotel at the usual time for ziyārat at the Rawda. To my great shock I found out that the way to the mosque was all blocked due to a gathering that the Iranian pilgrims were having in front of Jannat al-Baqī. I had to walk around the whole building but didn’t have much time before the gate for entering the Rawda area would be closed. Somehow I did manage to enter it and was endlessly grateful to be there as this would my last chance to visit Rawda during that trip. The experience was absolutely special and I wish that we all can go there again and again and greet the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) by ourselves, insha’Allāh.
The mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) is now open 24 hours which gave me a unique chance to stay in the mosque at night and read shamā’il al-tirmidhī, send salutations and do dhikrullah. Al-hamdu lillah, the peace and tranqulity one finds there during night time is even stronger than what you can feel during daytime. May our hearts feel that closeness to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him)

Coming back

We left Madina on Friday 26^th Dhull Hijja. My heart felt extremely sad upon leaving the closeness of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) even though I kept telling myself that I – insha’Allāh – will return and that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) can receive my salaams even from Norway or every part of the world. And how shall he not? When the Best of creations can split the moon with a gesture, why shouldn’t he hear my call? However it was really very difficult to leave from the best of all best places in the Universe. We flew from Madina airport to Cyprus and stayed there for around one hour while the crew was being changed. Then we flew to Oslo and arrived at Oslo Gardemoen at 3 in the morning. The arrival hall was packed with relatives and friends of the newly arrived pilgrims. The guests of Allah were received warmly by those who were left behind waiting for all of us to return. Being back from the holy cities is not easy. One wants to go back immediately knowing that everyday life is waiting. One can only pray for and keep working on getting the closeness of Allah and His beloved (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and pray to be invited again. I pray that Allah accepts the efforts of all pilgrims and that He accepts our Hajj. I pray that our hearts feel the change after this journey of the heart and that we become better human beings representing the peaceful message of Allah. I pray that we all get such strong taqwa that all our deeds and actions are according to the message of Islam. I pray that our hearts are opened by the enlightenment of Quran and that we are able to follow the Sunna of Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) at all times. I pray that the love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) grow in our hearts and that we draw closer to Allah and His beloved (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him). I pray that we all get invited to the holy cities again and again and feel the mercy and closeness of Allah at each step in our life. Amen! Allahhumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammadin wa ‘ala ali sayyidina Muhammadin kama salayta ‘ala sayyidina Ibrahima wa ‘ala ali sayyidina Ibrahima innaka hamidun majid. Allahhumma barik ‘ala sayyidina Muhammadin wa ‘ala ali sayyidina Muhammadin kama barakta ‘ala sayyidina Ibrahima wa ‘ala ali sayyidina Ibrahima innaka hamidun majid