Tag Archives: reflection

Reflections on Haj

The conditions for an accepted towbah are, remorse, making amends and a sincere intention not to commit the sin again. Back-biting or similar offenses are best amended by making dua for the person, doing/giving sadaqa in their name or the like. Going up to a person and telling them you have been talking or talked behind their back will only make things worse. For those of you leaving to haj soon, I include part of a letter I wrote to someone concerning her trip to haj. May it be helpful and please do remember us in your dua. Two thoughts stay with me from my first haj. One was the shock with which I discovered that I remained very much a mortal there. I was under some impression that as soon as I saw the Kaba it would be pretty much a spiritual experience and nothing less. I found out to my chagrin and great annoyance that one still had to heed such human needs as sleep and looking for a bathroom. I remember once having walked for so many hours (I was afraid of the driving there and declined riding taxis!) that as soon as I prayed Asr in a mosque on our way home, I fell into a deep sleep in sujood. The women there thought I had passed out. So, that was a disappointment that your body still existed and had needs.

Dhul-Hijjah Preparation: amanas and towbah

Our second step in getting ready for Dhul Hijjah is returning all amanas to their owners. In fact it is a good idea to have a place close to the front door where you place all borrowed items that need to be returned, so they do not get mixed up with your things and you forget they were borrowed. Keeping items from their owners through negligence or forgetfulness is a serious matter. Take three days to go through your house for any book, clothing or appliance that is not yours. Rack your brain and go through your papers for any money you owe anyone, or that was given to you to give away as sadaqa that is still sitting around. Sadaqa money that has not been dispensed with on time will bring darkness and heaviness into the home.

On Dirty Clothes and the Volume of Sin

Umrah’s Life Lessons #2: On Dirty Clothes and the Volume of Sin No one packs a suitcase like my daughter Ruqaiyah. Ever since she was a child she’s had a knack for folding that renders the item of clothing, towel or sheet to its original store-bought pristine shape. On our previous Umrah she went with us, and when we saw her neat little sandwich-bag packages, each holding a complete set of underwear (undershirt, underpants and long pants), we all wanted her to pack our bags for us. This trip, my husband took a small bag, Fatimah and I shared a medium-sized bag, and we each had a carry-on as well. Inside, thanks to Ruqaiyah, our bags were fit for display!

The Chained Chair…The Blessing of Having a Guide

I would like to share a series of reflections that were written last year after I went on Umrah with my husband and ten year old daughter. Our accommodations were at a good distance from the Haram, we had no one with us to help and the crowds were greater than ever before, a grand seven million! I am not saying I wouldn’t do it again in an eye blink, I am not saying we did not benefit and enjoy our stay. Just that things were more difficult than I expected, and that each situation was laden with myriad pointers. Lesson One: The Chained Chair…..The Blessing of Having a Guide Our last day in Mecca was physically grueling. We were up almost all night, then fajr jama’a, then over an hour’s search for an empty space to pray Eid, then another two hours to get to the Kaba and tawaf of farewell, and then the long walk back to the hotel. After some quick last minute packing, the two hour trip to Jedda is something I am looking forward to. I can’t wait to get into a cool spacious GMC car to catch up on some sleep.

As the Hujjaj return…

This is the time to think about and plan for Haj. Now as you welcome the people coming back from Haj in your community, decide that you want to go next year and start planning. I knew a young girl who read that haj is both a physical and financial act of worship and started saving for it from her first job at age seventeen.She performed haj nine years later using her own money. I saw people in Mecca who were wrinkled and bent over; they looked like they planned and yearned for this trip since they were very young. If you start feeling the pull, the tug, the need to answer Ibrahim’s call and your duty to Allah, you must start seriously working toward practicing this pillar of Islam now, for who knows how long it will take before it comes to be.

Eid ul-Adha

Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem Allahumma salli ala sayidina Muhammad All praise be to Allah we have much to thank him for. Unlike occasions where happiness stems from passing material matters, the joy we feel in Eid comes from accomplishment. As an Ummah we feel the accomplishment of the Muslims in haj and our hearts and thoughts are with them; and as individuals we were using these special ten days to get closer to Allah in many different ways and we especially put an effort in the day of Arafa to fast and do tasbeeh and dua and then the Eid comes and we feel the happiness of having tried to please Allah. Added to that come all the other joy causers from nice clothes, to good food to the meeting of friends and relatives to the togetherness of Eid.