Umrah 2011 {Part 4} Being In Love with Masjid al-Haram

In a post I wrote almost a year ago, I told you guys about a question that I have asked myself many times since my Umrah trip in 2009/2010.

If you could be in front of the Ka’abah every single day to ask for God’s forgiveness and blessings, would that be enough to make you happy for the rest of your life? Or would you still want more?

I could never bring myself to say 'Yes' and completely mean it until my recent Umrah pilgrimage last month. I remember sitting inside Masjid al-Haram after performing a prayer in congregation and I said to myself, "If I could, I'd be in this mosque everyday so I could feel this way all the time." Masjid al-Haram has a very special place in my heart. There is no other mosque in the world that can bring together Muslims of different sects, ideologies, cultures, tribes, races and nationalities the way this mosque does. I can see the beauty of Islam shine through Masjid al-Haram like sun rays filling up a dark and empty room. You know, I can go on and on about Masjid al-Haram because I don’t think there is any other mosque in the world that is quite as majestic both in terms of its aesthetics and its significance in Islam. I think this particular mosque has a very special place in my heart because of the level of tranquility it offers me. I can’t explain what it feels like but all I know is this: I will always yearn to go back there just to feel that way again.

[Moments before Fajr (sunrise prayer) on the day we left Mecca. So many people, mashaAllah!]

Don't get me wrong. Masjid an-Nabawi is special in its own way, most definitely. My experience of being in both Masjid an-Nabawi and Masjid al-Haram is like that instance when you're asleep and you know you’re dreaming but you don’t want to wake up because then the dream would end. For me this is especially true in the case of Masjid al-Haram. I’m not saying everything is perfect inside the mosque. Yes, it’s very spic and span due to the constant cleaning that is done throughout the day, and alhamdulillah, there is a never-ending supply of Zam Zam water. However, you will still have to bear with some people’s bizarre behaviours such as fighting over a prayer spot when it is very close to the congregational prayer time (I have to admit, sometimes I am very close to losing my patience when it comes to people who are rude, inconsiderate and pushy). I think people have different experiences when they go to Mecca for Umrah but I personally believe that Mecca is a place where your faith and patience are constantly tested in the strangest of ways. The difference lies in you being aware of it or not.

Fortunately, in the times I’ve been in Masjid al-Haram I have never experienced anything particularly terrible (may God keep it this way, inshaAllah).  There are moments I know I will never forget. For example...

....While performing Tawaf during mid-morning my sister and I felt a cool breeze coming from above us. Strange but pretty amazing because it was hot by then and we were no where near an air conditioner as we were out in the open air.

.... I fell quite sick during this Umrah trip – cough, sore throat, fever, the works. I couldn’t bear going out of the mosque after Zuhur prayer and most times I would stay in the mosque until Maghreb prayer or even Isha prayer without eating lunch or dinner until we got back to the hotel at night. My family would go back to the hotel to catch up on some rest and eat something, at times they’d bring some food for me when they came back to the mosque. I once fell asleep in the mosque due to lack of sleep and a fever and when I woke up I was famished. Minutes later, a lady with niqab came towards me and gave me some biscuits to eat and a cup of water to drink. She didn’t offer them to anyone else. Just me! The drink didn’t taste like Zam Zam water. It tasted like the average mineral water but after drinking it my sore throat went away. Completely.

.... Another time after performing Tawaf in the afternoon, as I finished a little bit earlier than my family I went to pray inside the mosque and waited for them at our agreed spot before proceeding with the Sai’e. While waiting, a little girl around the age of five or six came along and offered me a cup of Zam Zam water to drink. I think she was bored so she decided to make good use of her time by distributing cups of Zam Zam water to the people around her. I thought it was really cute and smart and it made me realise how beautiful a person’s akhlaq (mannerisms) can be when they are raised well. 

[Muslim men and women walking side by side to complete the Sai'e, the second major part of the Umrah pilrimage, which is a re-enactment of a  mother's struggle to find water and keep her child alive. That mother is no other than Hajar, Prophet Ibrahim's (alayhissalam) wife, and the child was of course Prophet Ismail (alayhissalam) . As a result of this, we now have the Zam Zam well that has never ceased to supply us with Zam Zam water until today.]

I tend to contemplate a lot in Masjid al-Haram. Being there was a dream come true for me. I wanted to re-connect with God. I wanted to understand Him and this religion He has given us more than anything else. It was absolutely surreal because it was only last year that I went for Umrah with my Mum and sister. I prayed to return but only silently in heart and I didn’t think God would actually bring me back there so soon. Why me? What have I done for Him to listen to my prayers? No doubt, I am just one person out of the millions that visit Mecca every year but this one person’s life has changed for the better because He fulfilled her prayers. 

Perhaps now you understand with a little bit more clarity as to why I am just so in love with this mosque. After every Umrah pilgrimage I feel like a better person, or rather, I feel like I want to become a better person, inshaAllah. This life that I’m living right now is made of moments that are fleeting past me so quickly sometimes I  can’t even catch up. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is the amount of good deeds I have done and the intentions that I have while I am alive. If the scale weighs more towards the good and I am rewarded with Paradise then what else could I ask for?

A Muslim's life is actually relatively simple. It is to live a life of perseverance, purity and modesty while avoiding the prohibited (as much as we can) according to the guidance of Allah subhana wa taala in the Holy Qur’an and the examples shown by Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wassalam and other inspiring figures in Islam.

I've always liked leaving the best for last. Here's a video I took of an adhan in Masjid al-Haram. I was quite worried someone would come and stop me from recording so I was very cautious but alhamdulillah, that didn't happen. (Sorry for the shakiness. I don't have the skills of a good videographer... yet!)

Asr Adhan in al-Masjid al-Haram, June 2011 from Shahirah Elaiza on Vimeo.