In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful the most Kind...
Dear Companion,
The journey of Umrah does not begin in Makkah or Madinah, nor in the plane or the airport, but in the heart of the individual, as our beloved Rasul (pbuh) narrated to us 'The reward of deeds depend upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended’[1]. Therefore it is important to realise that we are fortunate and must be grateful to Allah (swt) as He has called us to His house, thus weeks even months prior to ones departure, one must plan and undertake the necessary preparation in order to achieve maximum benefit from visiting the sacred lands. The reason why I am highlighting this to such a degree is because I have seen some preform Umrah countless times and expect change to magically occur, without changing themselves. This transformation of a better individual can only occur with persistent work on oneself before, during and after the Umrah. There are no shortcuts unfortunately. My personal experience testifies to this, I remember thinking at times 'how is it possible I am lacking concentration in these blessed lands' only to realise it was because of the sins I committed which acted as a barrier and my attempts at purification were inconsistent and last minute. Hence this reiterates my first point that the journey begins before it physically begins in the sense that, we must try and attempt our utmost best to purify ourselves internally and externally before we enter the sacred lands and before we meet our Prophet (pbuh). Whether that be seeking as much knowledge about the Umrah itself or re-reading the Seerah, attending gatherings etc, the days leading up to the actual journey itself are vital for any individual who wants to attain true spirituality from the experience. My own journey opened up many lifelong lessons although time forbids me to discuss all of them, however I shall narrate the most valuable and memorable ones.
“O' you who have Faith! seek you help from Allah through patience and prayer, verily Allah is with the patient ones”[2]. If I had to define one of my worst flaws or weakest points upon my journey, it would be that of being patient. One of the most difficult characteristics to adopt personally, I realised many of my concerns fell into this one very broad term known as patience. As many of you may or may not know be aware, I'm very impulsive at times and act on emotion without giving a second thought about the consequences. I remember one particular incident after Fajr, I was on my last unit of tawaaf waiting behind to kiss the black stone, 'Ḥajar alAswad' only a metre or so away before two individuals begin literally fighting their way through the crowd. An elderly man was pushed to the ground and as the two individuals pushed forwards the crowd moved even closer restricting any forms of movement. I was elbowed in the face and my foot started bleeding. I was about to blow into a wild frenzy when a sudden sense of remorse overtook me as I saw the elderly man fall, I began shouting and helped the man out of the crowd. Even though I could not understand a word he was saying his smile said it all. Throughout the week I was then able to kiss the stone without much interruption or struggle all due to the mercy of Allah (swt). Another similar incident took place in Madinah, after sending my salutations to our beloved Prophet (pbuh) I went back after salat ul Ishraq to see if I could pray on the green carpet 'Riyadh Ul Jannah' whereas before numerous attempts failed me in getting a place I was amazed to see that it was practically empty as the cleaners were at work in restoring the area. I waited for a couple minutes and alas cannot emphasise in words what I felt.
My advice to you, dear readers, is not to despair and have and trust in Him and Him alone. Being patient is of course hard, in fact it is one of the hardest things, whether it be with family, the death of a loved one or a particular illness, but verily Allah (swt) is with those who are patient. I remain extremely thankful to Allah (swt) for giving me such a blessed company of brothers. From start to finish of our individual journeys we encountered many obstacles yet it was only the reflection of the other brothers that made me truly appreciate what it means to be patient.
To be continued Insh Allah...
Yours Sincerely,
Adnan, 1/11th of a Pilgrim
