TRANSFORMED ... The battleground where the Bukit Uhud war took place is now teeming with traders

A journey of devotion FINALLY I had reached the top of the hill, dead-tired but truly delighted. The climb which was more than 100 steps, was worth every drop of sweat and suffering under the scorching sun. For, not only would I get to burn some fat, I'd get to make my wish too, I thought. Visiting Jabal Rahmah in Arafah, was part of my Ziarah (visiting) trip in Mecca and Medina and I had just scaled this hill whwre the lovelorn and the lonely could make a wish for a partner. I was ready for mine. But first I had to wait for this man who is practically glued to the tall, thick four-sided pencil-like structure in front of me to move aside. Hands amd legs outstretched, with one side of his cheek plastered to hte wall, it look as if this 40-something, was all set to be a permanent fixture to the structure. "Hullo, enough already..." my heart sang out good-naturedly. after a few minutes of squinting and slowly but surely, simmering. But of course I could'nt get angry. "Patien, patience." I told myself. After all I was still within the holy city of Mecca. Obviosly, the man was reciting a prayer making his wish. He didn't understand us but from the sign language he gave, toothy smile and all, it was clear that this man looking for his 'Aishwarya Rai'. Well, when you are right there and still single like yours truly, you can understand why I was a wee bit excited, albeit, not nearly as enthusiastic as my Muslim brother (but with just as much hope and fervour ... maybe even more!). The stone structure had been erected on this hill to indicate where Nabi Adam whom God banished to earth, found Hawa, his partner, who was also sent down after eating the forbidden fruit. Separated on earth - Nabi Adam in Sri Lanka and Hawa in Jeddah - the two spent 40 years looking for each other until they met up again here. Besides this place the Lambaian Kaabah package I had gone for, took me to many other inter esting stops. A few minutes ride by bus tis from Arafab and we passed Mina, a place full of pristine white tents, where the jemaah haji would make a stop for a night before contintling with the rest of their pilgrimage. Later, we came to another three singular upright stone columns. in three different sizes, not too far apart from each other. The stone structures - Jamratul Ula (thinnest), Jamratul Wusta and Jamratul Akabah (thickest) - signify the devil, the biggest being the last one. During the Haj, one of the compulsory rituals is to aim and throw seven pebbles towards these stones as a sign of hatred against Satan. We also had the opportunity to see the Hira cave from a distance. where Prophet Mohammad got his first sign - a verse - from the Almighty, through malaikat (angel) Jibrail which, initially, left him shivering and afraid. We however did'nt climb the hill - 5 km from Mecca and which have taken us several hours to reach - to view the exact spot where the Prophet first got his wahyu (revelation). Hudaibiah, which is now known as Shumaisi, was another stopover. Here, we gaze at the ruins of the building which saw the peaceful accord between the Prophet and the Quraish clan. Another ruin we came across was the fort of cruel Quraisy leader who had a wife who devoured their enemies hearts. Also in Mecca is the Thur cave. This was the cave in which Prophet Mohammad hid from his enemies when he was migrating from Mecca to Medina. For a week, the Prophet stayed here. And the enemies would have found him had it not been for the unbroken spiders' web at the entrance which gave the impression that the cave lived in. It is said that the whereabouts of the Prophet was told to the enemies by a woman who, legend has it, was turn into stone. In Medina, apart from the Prophet's Mosque we visited several others including Masjid Quba, which is the first mosque the Prophet built when he arrived in Medina from Mecca. We also stopped by Masjid Qiblaatain which is where Prophet Mohammad, in the midst of performing his Zuhur prayer, made an about turn from facing BaittulMaqdis (Jerussalem) to the Kaabah after receiving a sign from God. Jabal Uhud (Uhud Hill) is where a fierce battle between Prophet Mohammad and the Quraish forces took place. Here, one of the Prophet's generals mutinied and fled with 300 of his men, leaving the Prophet with 700 soldiers to battle 3,000. To make matters worse, the Prophet instructions went unheeded by a troop of soldiers who were guarding a strategig point on the Uhud Hill The battle happened on the grounds below and the instructions were clear: to stay put and hold the fort no matter how bad the situation looked from above. But members from his arrow-troop went against his orders and came running down to take away possessions belonging to the dead soldiers. As they did so. the enemies rushed up and got the upper hand. In this battle, many of prophet's para sahabat (closest friends) were killed, including his uncle Sayyidina Hamzah. The Prophet escaped with a broken tooth and was brought atop of another hill nearby. The soldiers retreated, thjinking that they had succeeded in killing the Prophet. Apart from this site, our group also managed to visit to the Kiswah (Kaabah covering) workshop in Ubaibiah to see how it is made. Not many packages offer this stop. Under the care of KBS Travel and Tours' executive director Mazlan Nasiron and Malaysia Airlines' representative Nasir Musif, we had a delightful 10 days seven nights stay. To say the least, Lembaian Kaabah is a well-coordinated package.P>KSB Travel and Tours and MAS Golden Holidays are two of the five companies involved in the Lembaian Kaabah Umrah and Ziarah package. The others include Elmona, Asari Murni and Utas Travel. Extracted from:- Life&Times - New Straits Times Date:- Tuesday, December 19, 2000 Writer: - Hisham Harun Previous page | HOME | Intro Page