My Hajj (part 2 – The Journey there)

I’ve tried a fair bit to put into words my experience on the Hajj… but no matter what I say I can’t quite get the words right!

Anyway, I’ll start with the actual journey…

One thing to explain first is that to go on the Hajj, you need to go as part of a group. There are many agents out there who organise groups and assist you throughout the journey to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible and to ensure you complete the rites as best as you can and provide advice and guidance. To this extent they are more than just tour operators and are more religious guides.

The group I went with was Dome Tours and would like to thank them for making my journey smooth and pleasant.

Everyone I’ve known always says that Hajj is difficult, but to be honest, while it was physically demanding I would say that it was not the least bit difficult. Allah removed all obstacles from my path and provided me with assistance at every stage - everyone I know did their utmost to help my journey go as smoothly as possible.

Anyway, to the journey….

The group organised a coach to take us from Regents Park mosque to Luton airport at 4am. A good friend of mine (Najam) dropped me off.

Now picture the scene… young asian guy…. standing outside one of Europes largest mosques at 4 am…. in the British capital…. all alone….with a large suitcase and rucksack…. What happens next!!! Well I get stopped and searched by the police… now I’m not complaining, they were pleasant and friendly and I had no problems. Its just in hindsight its pleasantly amusing!

At the Luton airport we had no issues and we went through without a problem. We were then given a choice of putting on out Ihram (specific clothing to be worn while completing the hajj and umrah). I decided to put mine on at this point as I didn’t want to struggle on the plane. The Ihram (for men) consists of two pieces of white cloth, one wrapped around the waist covering the lower part of the body and the other over the shoulders – and absolutely nothing else. Once in Ihram certain restrictions apply (i.e not allowed to apply perfume, not allowed to propose) – the reason for these restrictions is that the Hajj is a journey for Allah and certain worldy things become forbidden.

Once on the plane I started talking to the other “Hajji’s” (people who are doing the Hajj). I made a fair few friends with EVERYONE being polite and more than helpful. Sharing and giving advice and gifts. The reason for this is that people were trying to earn as much reward as possible from Allah and everyone’s god consciousness had been raised.

Arriving at Jeddah International Airport, I was prepared for a long wait…. We had been warned that it can take upto 14 hours to get through the airport… (Around 3-4 million people going through the airport in a short period of time).. but we were out in less than one!!!1.

Once through I expected a long wait for coaches (again told it could take a fair few hours to get the coaches again, these arrived in less than 2.

Then began the journey from Jeddah to Makkah. This took around two hours. During the journey we were all say a prayer repetitively (saying O’Allah we are coming)… we had to have a number of stops on the way to hand our passports in……

Eventually we reached the holy city…..

I’ll say more about what happened next soon… so stay tuned!!!!!!!!

My Hajj (part 1 - History)

I promised to tell you guys all about the Hajj (pilgrimage) to makkah.

The Hajj brings together Muslims of all races and tongues for one of life's most moving spiritual experiences. For 14 centuries, countless millions of Muslims, men and women from all over the world, have made the pilgrimage to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam.

Before I start telling you about my experience, I thought I’d give some background for all the non-muslims.

The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is an obligation for muslims who have the financial means and physical ability to perform this once in their lifetime (providing certain conditions are met (i.e. its only an obligation on those who are mature/sane etc).

The Hajj involves travelling to Makkah in Saudi Arabia and completing a number of actions. The Hajj is about submitting completely to the will of Allah and removing yourself from worldly affairs during this time.

The pilgrimage is made to the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah, where the Ka-bah is situated.

Abraham (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) was ordered by Allah to leave his wife (Hagar) and son (Ishmeal) in this valley. When Hagar and Ishmaels provision ran out, Hagar she ran (seven times) between the mountains of Safa and Marwah looking for aid. When she returned to where she had left Ishmael, she saw water gushing from near his feet. This well had been dug by the angel Gabriel on Allah’s command.

When Abraham returned he was ordered to build a place of worship for Allah at this place, and this is the Ka-bah.

Abraham was also ordered to sacrifice his son Ishmael. While on his way to do this Satan tried to convince Abraham to disobey Allah and not sacrifice Ishmael. Abraham stoned Satan three times. When Abraham was about to sacrifice Ishmael, Allah was merciful and replaced Ishmael with a goat.

When Abraham built the Ka-bah he prayed to Allah to glorify this place. Now fourteen hundred years later millions of people congregate there to worship Allah.

Pilgrimages were made to Makkah since the time of Abraham, but at some point idol worship and pagan rituals were introduced. Eventually Allah sent down his messenger Muhammed (peace and blessing be upon him), who reclaimed the Ka-bah and restored the Hajj to its correct path.

I'm back.............

I have returned........ I have completed the journey of a lifetime... the hajj (islamic pilgrimmage) to Makkah....

I have returned with a bald head, a beard and a sun tan so some of you may not recognise me......

There's so much to write so I'll do this at the weekend when I can put more time to it.........

Hajj preparationa and forgiveness

Insha-allah (good willing) I will be going on hajj (Islamic pilgrimmage to the holy city of Makkah) tommorow, I have the following message for everyone who knows me and to whom I owe any apologies.

I would like to ask your forgiveness for anything I may have said or done to you. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me for anything I may have done. This is the rule of His Divine Court that forgiveness is not granted to the oppressor until and unless the oppressed forgives him. Allah Almighty has empowered us regarding "Huqooq-ul'Ibaad", violation of which, will not be absolved until we forgive the violator and the aggrieved pardons us, in case we have violated the other's rights. Please forgive me if I have ever hurt your grace, faith or heart, backbited about you, or hurt you in any way or violated your rights.

Please find it in your heart to forgive me.

Hajj

I have some excellent news.... Insha-allah (god willing) I will be going on Hajj at the end of next week...

Hajj is the islamic pilgrimage to Makkah and Medina (in Saudi Arabia) and is an obligation for muslims who are able to go and can afford to.

There will be around 4 million people there.. so it might be a little busy....

If anyone wants to know more about Islam or Hajj just drop a mail.

London explosions

I would like to express my sadness at the awful incidents today in London, my thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been injured or who have lost a loved one.

Forced Marriages

I came across this article in both newspapers and on the web...

Saudi Arabia bans forced marriages

In the article it has the grand mufti saying "forced marriage was against Islamic law and those responsible for it should be jailed"

Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who heads the Council of Senior Ulema (Scholars) said: "Forcing a woman to marry someone she does not want and preventing her from wedding that whom she chooses... is not permissible" under Islamic law.

He also goes on to say "fathers who coerce daughters into in marriage should be jailed and not released "until they change their minds".

I am against forced marriages (which are very different to arranged marriages) and this ruling shows that it is clearly against Islam... and those families who still carry on this are actually committing grave sins! Forced marriages are not just marked by violence, kidnapping and imprisonment... but also mental and emotional torture!

I abhor forced marriages and those who force people into them should (in my mind) be severely punished!

Anyone who also uses forced marriage as an example of Islam being backward is clearly wrong as Islamic scriptures clearly state that all men and women have a right in deciding who they marry.

Many women in Eastern cultures have to bear unjust hardships but much of this is down to the cultures and has absolutely nothing to do with the religion! As this article shows when people become more Islamically aware then women's situations will improve.

One point to consider is that whenever forced marriages comes up as a topic showing Islam in a negative light, its plastered all over the media...

I was quite surprised (well not really) that this news which shows that Islam is against forced marriages was buried in small articles and not given any prominence!!!!

Could it be because the media are only interested in showing Islam as a backward religion?

Yvonne Ridley, Islam and the Taleban

Well this is only the second of my posts on Islam... hopefully there will be more to come

These days Islam and Muslims get a great deal of bad press... so its quite nice and refreshing to read articles which show Islam positively.

The following is an article about Journalist Yvonne Ridley who was captured in Afghanistan, on being released she came home and decided to look into Islam and The Holy Quran. She subsequently "reverted" to Islam.

She was a reporter for the Sunday Express and this is her story three years on:

She is now a presenter on the Islam Channel.

Follow the links to find out more:

1. Aljazeerah Al-Jazeerah
2. BBC BBC News

Sisters

I saw a programme on BBC on Tuesday, it was about Palestinians locked up in Isreali jails. It hurt to see so many of my muslim brothers locked up under Isreali authority. But what was really painful was to see my muslim sisters who were locked up (I'm not in anyway insinuatin that they were mis-treated in jail - they seemed to be treated as well as in any jail).

This hurt like hell. I know that many of these would have been involved in what the Isreali authorities see as "crimes and atrocities". But these are my sisters many were wearing hijabs and appeared to be practising. The thought that went through my mind is that many of these have already lived through an oppressive regime which those of us in the West can't even begin to imagine. At the best of times the lacked freedom and were treated as outcasts in their own country with the rest of the world looking on. To see my muslim sisters in pain hurts. To see them locked in Isreali jails in this way was awful!

Most of these women are unlikely to see any freedom unless tha political landscape was to change in the Middle East (Isreali jail terms are set on the basis of life for a life, so those considered to be involved in taking a life will be in jail for their natural lives). All these sisters will be daughters. Many will be mothers, sisters and wives.

They are locked up for resisiting the occupation of their homes. Many will have seen those their friends and loved ones killed, locked, tortured or made to suffer. These are our muslim bretheren, our sisters who are locked up for fighting for freedom, both their own and their people's.

Please don't get me wrong I don't condon violence and killing, I am just appaled that we live in a world where this happens. I hate to see anyone killed be they muslim or non-muslim.

I do have Jewish friends and have met a lot of nice Jewish people and I'm sure they feel the same way when they see Isrealis hurt and I would hate to see my friends hurt. I guess both sides need to stop seeing each other as demons...but after years of conflict with the hatred inbuilt I guess that's easier said then done.

I have no answer to this problem all I can say is that I have had a few sleepless nights while thinking about this. It hurts. I hope others feel this way on both sides. The death and destruction needs to stop...