BREATHTAKING ... A view of Masjid Nabawi in Medina taken from the hotel room.
| Medina enlightening. IT happened some three weeks ago. "Hisham, I've got just the trip for you. There's this Umrah assignment and...".From there the editor's cheery voice drifted into a blur. For a very long minute, I had Farrah Fawcett's smile pasted on my face. Then: "Thank you. I don't know what to say..." And truly, I didn't. It seemed my editor was more sure of her decision than I. "I turned and saw you coming from that end of the corridor... it's fated!" she said. "Aaaaa... Thank youuu!" was all I could manage - in a pitch I never realised I could scale - as I desperately tried to conjure emotions to go with the words. Like a zombie, I walked to my desk, sat down and read the Press release:"Lembaian Kaabah by KSB Travel and Tours, MAS Golden Holidays, Elmona, Asari Murni and Utas Travel." This consortium of five was promoting its new Umrah package. Apart from being invited to write about the ziarah trips (historical site visits), together with journalists from TV3, RTM and Majalah Al-Islam, I would be among thousands of tetamu Allah (Allah's Guest) performing the Umrah. I was told that the group of companies -which recently came together to offer better service to the jemaah - shared over 100 years of experience in the business. But for me, that wasn't much help. It wasn't about who was taking me there but the question of, "Was I ready?" "You're never really prepared for it, you said a friend who has been. But the experience, insyallah (God willing) will be something you'll never for'get," she said, trying to reassure me. I've heard heartwarming stories from the Holy Land. But of course the tales that tend to stick in your mind are the "juicier" ones - all of which carry the same message - retribution is swift in Mecca and Medina. "She shooed off the, beggar and not much later lost all her money..."; "She boasted that it would be easy to get around, then she just lost her way; "He,found himself in the middle of the desert one morning, a djinn must have carried him there because..."; "...she fell in a coma upon arriving"; "His whole body bloated up... there was nothing the doctors could do". So which would it be for this thoroughly unprepared soul? Buried in work the next few days, I still couldn't shake off this, strange, unsettled feelIng. "Could it be worry from the 10-day stockpile of work I had to finish within the next three days?" I wondered. I had never felt this harassed before... not when I had to go on assignments to Florence, Paris, New York, London... So what was it? After thinking long and hard, I realised that the stress was due to the fact that I wanted to do my best for HIM - whom I have always confided in whatever the problem, whom I have often thanked and bersyukur for everything, whom I have grown to love more and more these past few years (and God willing this faith will stay) and whom I am afraid to cross. But how could one perform the Umrah when one didn't even know some of the simpler doa (prayer), what more the longer ones in Arabic? "Don't Worry" said Haji Ahmad Abdul Majid, the NST imam. "The Umrah and Haj are all about performing, more than reciting," he said, elaborating, a little on the very short niat (prayer in my heart), the circumambulation around the Kaabah seven times, the Saie or walking and running between Bukit Safar and Marwah, and the shaving off of hair, or at least three strands, at the very end. "As for the prayers, you could recite them in any language," said Ahmad. "God knows. And it's also better if you knew what you weie reciting. This is God's calling and you should go," he ended, repeating what many others had already told me.
At the Malaysia Airways office, I had more reassurance from Nasir Musif, the company's media relations person, who said he was just as worried and unprepared the first time around. KSB Travel's managing director, Mazlan Nasim, said there would be a mutawif (guide) to help us all along the way. (The Umrah takes about three hours to perform and you can do it as many times as you want). Suddenly, the burden was lifted. The day came and a few hours before departing for Medina, I prayed for forgiveness, Sembahyang Taubat, accepting this invitation with a lot of tears and humility, as a sign from Allah, the Almighty. The flight took eight hours. Still unprepared, I was thankful that the reference books I had obtained from Abmad, Nasir, my mum and aunt were thin. I started reading in the plane and finished them soon enough. On arrival at Medina from Jeddah, which took two hours by bus, almost immediately, we went into the most beautiful mosque I had ever seen - Masjid Nabawi. This was the first mosque the Prophet built when he did the hijrah (migrated) from Mecca to Medina. It took my breath away. Still in awe, I found myself looking for Raudah, one of the places where your prayers are most mustajab (effective). Raudah, I had read, was between four pillars. It is a small space - the original site of the mosque when it was built centuries ago. I walked and walked in this huge mosque and soon it was time for prayer. In panic, I scrambled for a place and just managed to squeeze into a space, feeling the glares from one or two who had to make way for me. It was quite an experience. In most mosques in Malaysia, the imam would need to ask all to tighten the saf or line. Here, there was no need. The crowd was really tight ... even more so when you were in front. After the compulsory Zuhur, I went to seek Raudah and found it. I waited a long time before I got to do optional prayers in it. Following this, I prayed for God to allow me into Raudah as many times as I could. And everytime, Alhamdullillah, (Praise be to Allah) I got to, if only for the optional prayers. It was almost impossible to get a space during the fardhu (compulsory) prayers as the Raudah, which could accommodate about 25 people at most, was almost always full no matter how early you came. We were in Medina for four days and between our visits and interviews, we didn't often get to go early into this spectacu-ar mosque. Thus it was even more difficult to get to Raudah. Still it did'nt stop me from hoping and pray hard to get to do fardzu Magrib in Raudah, which is said to be directly under one of the seven gardens of heaven. When you are there half an hour before the Azan (the calling), you are comsidered late, especially when you're eyelng a place, at Raudah. I was late again. Still, I dared to hope. But on inching my way there, I saw what I had expected - a tight space. Suddenly, a stranger waved to me from inside. I couldn't believe it. There was hardly any space and he was calling me into the Raudah. Or was it me? I looked around and looked at him and again he indicated that it was me he was calling. I quickly went under the roof of this little space surrounded by four milky white pillars, with three others in the middle. It was a really tight squeeze but I managed to pray there and felt as if God had answered my prayers. And I knew God did. Just as HE had heard our prayers earlier. A few hours prior to this, just after Subuh , two women journalists told me that they had tried so many times to get to Raudah but couldn't and they were feeling desperate as we were leaving that day. They too had prayed so hard for just one chance in the Raudah. One actually cried. As I was walking out of Masjid Nabawi, I went back in and asked God: "God, there are these two friends, Noraini and Faridah who would really, really want to pray at Raudah. Please God, help them." And I left. That evening, we met and they related how they had their chance in Raudah. I told them about the little prayer I put in too. And we all cried. Allahuakbar (God is great).
Extracted from:- Life&Times - New Straits Times HOME | Next page |
