HAJJ CHRONICLES; “WE LEAVE FOR HAJJ”

BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRRAHEEM



Alhumdulillah my dear hubby (“little friend” for the blog) and I successfully performed the fard ibaadah of Hajj and returned safely after a 24 day journey on December 4th, 2010… numerous factors contributed in the delay for me to finally update my blog with my wonderful Hajj stories… but those delays have seemed fruitful, as I have been able to recollect all the details and re-live them in my mind… hopefully, inshAllah, this recollection will make my account more vivid and accurate!


And yes, the best part of the delay should be that my city is finally experiencing a very romantic (in the context of “romantic poetry”) winter, which makes everything all the more beautiful alhumdulillah… I have my cup of home made chai-latte to accompany me while I work on sketching my joyful pilgrimage…






My episodes of weeping continued all through the journey. The hugeness of the pilgrimage had impacted me in the few days before my departure. Shivers went up my spine in anticipation. My heart experienced disbelief at the aspect of making the journey so early in my life alhumdulillah, and my soul urged to get there quickly. Mixed emotions made my farewells extremely emotional. I had a tough time collecting myself.


I got expensive clothes done… planning to wear them for post- Hajj celebration…


I got the prettiest white jilbaab prepared for the event of my life...


I packed my late mother-in-law’s “ihram” with myself for hajj… I wanted her to be with me during the journey…


I bought a bunch of colored rubber bangles with the money my granny had given me to buy something special for myself before the pilgrimage…


I kept my kids’ pictures in my wallet… that quite completed my preps for the holiest mission of my life… we said our fajar salaah at home, and secured the locks on our lightweight luggage…


My sister called just in time to wish us well for the most wonderful journey of our lives… she sat imagining me in the chill of Canada; we said tearful yet happy good byes to each other…


I embraced every member of my house, all of Little Friend’s brothers’ wives and their children with a sincere and grateful heart…


Little Friend and I were not just man and wife now; we were “zauja” and “mehrim”…






Our kids sat between us as we traveled to the airport by airport cab… Little Friend’s sister accompanied us, her words full of blessings for our journey… my other elder siblings greeted me at the airport… their eyes brimming with love and happiness for us… the most special embraces of my life were exchanged between me and my sibs… Yahya wept… cried into Little Friend’s ihram… Little Friend tried unsuccessfully to control his tears… fighting our emotions, we bade farewell to Yahya and Mini who was safely huddled in my sister’s arms...






The beauty of this pilgrimage lay in its simplicity… our entire Selves had themselves become prayers… we wept and we prayed, we wept and we prayed… and Allah swt heard us… heard us every step of the way! On reaching the check in counters at the airport, we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves joining a very short queue… the surprise lightened our moods, and the joy of already being heard helped us overcome our grief of parting from our children…


It was lovely meeting up with fellow hajjis… all dressed in white ihram waiting to board the airplane… the airport bustled with religious activity… al hajjis studied literature in preparation for the journey ahead… some recited tasbeehat… some performed salaah… we joined those performing salaah and prayed for a safe and successful hajj…


Allah swt made things very easy for us… very soon we were boarding the plane… the plane took off making my blood rush; sending a burst of emotions; relieving me of all fears, sorrows and grievances; delighting me at the aspect of finally becoming a hajji!



















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