When I see people leaving for Hajj, it makes me feel Wow has it really been a year already? All the memories from my Hajj in 2008 come flooding back; I remember being at Heathrow airport, changing into my Ihram and making dua to Allah (swt) to accept my worship to him and make my Hajj accepted so that I can come away from it as sinless as a new born baby.

I recall how exciting this journey was and how I could not rest due to excitement from the moment I left my house; I vividly remember being in the plane flying over our mikkat and making my intention, at this point I was just continuously thanking Allah SWT for the opportunity he had given me and for being able to take both my parents in my lifetime. I was continuously thinking of the great task ahead of me- how I was about to go to where our beloved prophet Muhammad PBUH was born and where he PBUH and the Sahaba struggled for Islam, and how I had to be patient with whatever befell me in any test.

When we came out of the airport there was an additional 10 hour wait… and I assure you no Deluxe 5-Star hajj package or Western passport can fast track you through! Waiting is part and parcel of Hajj and it requires pure sabar (patience); what gave me patience was realizing that this is a part of my journey to Allah’s house, and that with hardship Allah only increases the reward.

I think when we talk about patience and complain about the way others behave, we should remember some facts. One must realise that approximately 3 million people if not more are congregating in the same place at the same time, the largest human gathering on Earth… so it is inevitable that there will be a lot of pushing, waiting and thus grumpy people! They like you are tired from the long walks and the endless delays in the heat – so my advice is to show empathy and forgive each other– if at any point you feel you might lose your cool just remind yourself why you are there in the first place.

For those of you who have been doing their Hajj shopping at our stores, I’m sure our sales staff would have told the brothers how important Vaseline is but separate to this drink plenty of Zam Zam, and when you need an energy boost there are some fantastic Ice cream booths around the Harem area that make fresh biscuit cones. Additionally, make effort to meet and greet people I met Muslims from all over the world people that where carrying their children consistently as they where disabled and others that had lost their children in tragic ways – I met Muslims that were doing Hajj for their parents and Muslims doing hajj in wheelchairs – All this makes you feel grateful for what Allah has given to us… Subhanallah, it’s so easy to forget.

Make sure you enter tawaf at the point of the greenlight, don’t move against the flow and especially don’t kill yourself trying to kiss the Hajr e Aswad, and Brothers, don’t make excuses not to do the Halak (shave your head at the end ) so you can keep your cool hair style! I am amazed that even men going bald feel reluctant to do this, but it is a important Sunnah and an amazing experience to end the Hajj with – just make sure they use a fresh blade.

One amazing High which is unbeatable is when you look around you and see 3 million Muslims in the largest congregation in the world at one time praying to Allah and that’s when you realise the strength of 1 Ummah.

One disappointment I can inform you of is the presence of Starbucks and McDonalds in the Zam Zam towers or KFC directly opposite the Harram. Let me be clear about my contention: why could the Muslims not do this themselves, at least the revenue would benefit Muslims. Also, I must admit I was disappointed by the Islamic gifts and clothing that was available, but having said that I was really impressed with their range of precious Tasbee’s!

If you are on your way to Hajj this year then have a safe journey and may Allah accept your Hajj Mabrur; and if you’ve not been, please don’t delay, make your efforts and then leave it in Allah SWT’s hands as He sees all and hears all!

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 10:18 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.