The Spiritual Journey: Preparation

last week, a day after the rayhar briefing, i held my first tahlil and doa selamat at my sister's house in kelana jaya. my siblings were so happy that i decided to host the tahlil that they teased me about it. one of my brothers (who's now in Madinah, insyaallah) even joked that we should call Karam Singh Walia to report for TV3 news.

well anyway, Abg Jenal, my brother in-law cum tok imam for our religious gatherings, began the doa selamat by giving tazkirah. his question was pertinent, and very very important for every haj pilgrim.

"why do you want to go for haj?"

a basic question, which can produce a lot of answers. but what is the answer?

we perform haj not only to complete the 5th pillar of Islam, but we perform haj as penitent and humble Muslims, who are willing to sacrifice worldly possessions in order to become pure, as pure as newborn babies.

labaik Allahuma labaik

here i am O Allah, here i am

labbaika la sharika laka baik

here i am, you have no equal, here i am

inna al-hamd wanni'mata laka wal mulk, la sharika lak

verily all praises and blessings are yours, and all the sovereignty, you have no equal. 

and as we go through the rituals of tawaf, sai'e, wuquf in Arafah and stoning the Satan in Mina we must remember that we're reliving the significant scenes of what happened to some of the most significant people in Muslim history. Nabi Adam was the first man to do tawaf, and Nabi Ibrahim was the first man to build the Kaabah. sai'e symbolises Siti Hajar's run from Safa to Marwah in order to find water for Nabi Ismail. the stoning ritual symbolises the actual stoning by Nabi Ibrahim when the Satan tried to dissuade him from sacrificing his beloved son.all these point to the most important thing - to sacrifice what you love in order to be Allah's most devoted worshippers.

for me, going for haj doesn't  mean you have to be pure and contrite only when you're in the Holy Land.  it starts long before.this is a process that takes a lot of determination and patience for a Muslim. it is not easy to be good, and that is why we get extra bonus for being one. there are times when i backslid, but i steered myself right back on course.  

haj, is therefore, a spiritual journey, just like i called it once when i performed umrah in 2008. but back then i didn't have the much deeper understanding like i have now. it is still a spiritual journey for me, but i feel at peace. i long to see Kaabah again, to be able to pray jemaah in Masjidil Haram with all the other 3 million pilgrims from all over the world and to feel the ukhwah. safe. secure.