Since I made this declaration and I am repeating, at every chance,
these words of talbiyah. The great thing about them is that they
emphasize the Oneness of Allah and that the purpose of this journey
is to glorify Him and to respond to Him humbly, with devotion and
total dedication. These words mean. "I respond to you, my Lord. I
respond to you, for there is no deity save you. All praise, all
bounty and all kingdom belong to you. There is no God except
You. "How true and how inspiring !
We landed safely and went through the formalities. We have taken this
coach which is heading to the city the visiting of which is the dream
of every, Muslim. I cannot describe my feelings as we approach the
city. How can one describe the imminent realization of a hope that he
has been cherishing for years on end: If the object of his hopes is
something of this world, he would be most thrilled, happy and excited
at its approach. I have been hoping for something much greater and I
am now on the verge of bringing my hopes into the real world.
It is only a relatively short ride and we are in Makkah. The open,
fast motorway has led us into the city with its very busy, congested
roads. I could not have expected otherwise with the great influx of
pilgrims. This delays our visit to the Kaaba, and the prayer which I
have prepared to say on my first view of it, but we cannot complain.
We have to be patient and accept what comes our way. I have asked
scholars and other pilgrims but it seems that what has been
recommended by former scholars cannot be followed nowadays. They
suggest that one should do the tawaf of arrival even before looking
for a place to stay. Each group of pilgrims would be divided with
some staying with the luggage while the others do their tawaf. When
they have finished, they switch over. Nowadays, with the great influx
of pilgrims and with thousands coming every day, that would create
great problems and would in convenience the city authorities, its
population and other pilgrims. We have, then, to find our
accommodation first. Having spoken to our host, the Mutawwif, or
Mu'allim, as he is apparently called by pilgrims from other
countries, we can now proceed on our first visit to the Kaaba, the
first house of worship ever raised for mankind.
On our way to the Grand Mosque, some of our group wanted to make sure
that our entry would be from the door known as "salam." This is the
door through which the Prophet entered the Grand Mosque, or the
Haram, when he came form Madinah. I have explained to them that the
Prophet took the most direct route to the Haram, and that happened to
be through this particular door which came later to be known by this
name, Salam, or greeting. We need not go round the Grand Mosque and
delay our arrival. As we were approaching, we repeated the phrases of
talbiyah. They sounded far more beautiful than the most entertaining
music.
A feeling of apprehension was becoming stronger and stronger in my
heart as we drew nearer. When we went thorough the door, my heart
moved faster with expectation. The Mosque was full, although there
was still a long time before prayer was due. This was no wonder,
because people would like to stay in the Haram as long as possible.
As we walked through the recent, most beautiful and grand extension,
we could not see the Kaaba. We moved on and there it was. I stopped,
overwhelmed by a feeling of awe. I am now at the Kaaba, the place to
which I have turned every time I stood up for prayer. This is the
building erected by two noble prophets, Abraham and Ishmael, to be a
focal point for human worship and for total dedication to Allah
alone. I have learned that one's first prayer as one looks at the
Kaaba for the first time will undoubtedly be answered. My lips moved
with the prayer I have prepared for this moment: "My Lord, admit me
to heaven and spare me the difficulty of having to account for what I
have done." I followed that with long supplication for all the good
things I could remember. Although my parents were with me, standing
next to me, I prayed for them. It is they who have planted the love
of Islam, and the desire to be a good Muslim in me. It is they who
have taught me to be always conscious of Allah and to seek His
pleasure. For this alone, if not for everything else they have done
for me, they deserve to be mentioned in my prayer now, at this time,
when I know that my prayers are answered.
Here I am, inside the Haram, or the Grand Mosque, for the first time
in my life, looking at the Kaaba, the first House ever built for
mankind as a focal point for their worship.
Here I am, making that prayer which is certain to be answered, as we
are told by the Prophet, the last of all messengers, Muhammad (peace
be on him). I feel that Allah has bestowed limitless grace on me, for
having enabled me to come here, to stand in the Haram and pray Him
before I start my pilgrimage duties.
I never experienced any real difficulty in putting my thoughts in
words, but I find it impossible to give any adequate description of
my feelings now. Indeed, human language is not adequately equipped to
communicate something which is well beyond the ordinary realm of
human experience. What I feel is unique, profound, sublime. Here is
little, humble me, admitted into the place where Allah's mercy
descends on His servants. I look up at my parents and my wife. Like
me, all three of them are overwhelmed by this experience. It shows in
their faces, and it shows in their tears. Without a word, we move on.
My father repeats praising Allah. I know that he is simply expressing
his thanks and gratitude to Allah for making it possible for him to
come here and offer the duties of Umrah and pilgrimage.
What we have to do now is our first tawaf. All pilgrims have to do
this tawaf. For those like us, who are starting with Umrah, having
opted for the tamattu' method of ihraam, this tawaf counts as the one
of Umrah.
To those who have chosen the ifraad method, which means that they are
doing the pilgrimage only, and may be doing the Umrah later, this is
their tawaf of arrival. It is a greeting they offer to the Kaaba.
We look at the great number of people doing the tawaf. It is great
number of people doing the tawaf. If is a great sight, something the
like of which we have never seen before. It is our first visit, and
we have to make sure of our starting point. That is not difficult to
achieve.
This semi-circular area is the one known as Hajr Ismaeel. Tawaf
begins, then, at the other side, starting with the corner of the
black stone, which is the one closer to Maqam Ibraheem, taking into
view the direction of tawaf, which is anti-clockwise. We approach
that place with difficulty, and sure enough we find adequate signs
pointing to it.
There is the distinctive light on the corner of the mosque, exactly
opposite the black stone. There are also so many people trying to
reach the black stone to kiss it. Unfortunately, they overcrowd the
place and prevent one another from kissing it. Some of them seem to
push others which is terrible. They are supposed to be on worship
duty, and yet they hurt one another. Kissing the black stone is
merely a Sunnah, but hurting another Muslim is forbidden. We have
learned that when the place is overcrowded, a signal with one's hand
from a distant spot is equally adequate. We are about one yard before
we come parallel with the black stone and we make our declaration to
do the tawaf. As we move, another marking on the floor indicates the
exact spot for beginning every turn round the Kaaba.
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