Part 3 - the Hajj
The tarwiyah days have finally arrived.... 8 Zulhijjah 1437...
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| Big day... going to Arafah |
Rayhar's pilgrims from Ritaj As Safwah hotel was led by Ustaz
Zulkarnian Hamzah.... before the journey to Arafah.... all Rayhar's pilgrims were
gathered and Haji Harun, Ustaz Rosli and Ustaz Zul repeated the whole hajj process again, what to expect,
what to bring etc etc... Haji Harun kept repeating...senyum (or smile in English).... a way telling us that sometime things will not go as planned and we must be ready to face the challenges
Note: Rayhar has a very large team of assistants to provide
assistance in Makkah led by Ayahanda Haji Harun the owner, Ustaz Rosli, the
chief religious officer. The team is fully prepared to ensure pilgrims comfort.
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| In the Arafah camp site |
Since all of us decided to pay slightly extra for the 5 important days,
we were allowed to be separated from Tabung Haji muassasah group.... we got special treatment when we were in Arafah as well as in Mina... apart from better
accommodation, buffet food is served daily and the distance between our
accommodation and jamraat is closer... just about 1.5 km.. and most important
of all, we manage our own transport instead of sharing with the muassasah group…
thus our movement is faster compared to others...
When I first performed my hajj with Batuta Travel in 2006, our movement
began from Makkah to Arafah for wukuf, then from Arafah to Muzdalifah for
mabit, after that to Mina for stone throwing at Jamraat before going back to
Makkah for tawaf and saie thus completing our Hajj... We have to share bus with
muassasah pilgrims… very challenging since at that time the Saudi govt
introduced the 'taradudiyah' system or shuttle bus system … where the bus will
take us from Arafah to Muzdalifah and drop us there and turn around to pick up
other pilgrims in Arafah... we have to wait for another bus to take us from
Muzdalifah to Mina for the next trip... very messy... a lot of pilgrims were worried
about their luggage and for the old and weak… they did not get proper rest…
This time round, we started from Makkah to Arafah for wukuf, then
go to Muzdalifah for mabit and immediately come back back to Makkah to perform
tawaf and saie before going to Mina for stone throwing at the Jamraat... the
difference is once we completed the tawaf and saie as well as cutting our hairs
then we have completed the “rukun haji' which means we have completed the
requirement of performing the hajj … and
no longer has to observe the ihram rules (13
larangan ihram) .... we are free to continue with our normal life… except
that we have to complete the stone throwing at Jamraat in Mina….
A few days before our hajj days bagin, Ustaz Zul reminded us to
bring ropes, small battery operated fan, adult diapers fearing the bus stuck in
the jam... (note: the jam can be very bad and nowhere to stop) ...
All the ladies rushed to Bin Dawoud and pharmacies to buy whatever things they required... 2 days before tarwiyah...adult diapers were sold out in Makkah...
[Note: Medicine and pharmaceutical products are very expensive in Makkah....]
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| Our buddies... in Arafah |
My wife and I were ready both spiritually and physically for this
important event ... this time we only took a small hand carry bags since we
will come back to Makkah in 2 days time... another couple Haji Azmi and his
wife Hajah Mimi decided to tag closely with us... may be because they are
confident in us as we had the experience of performing the hajj before... our
bus left Makkah shortly after asar and we arrived in Arafah without any
incidence...
Note: Actually, this year both army and police were on high alert...
Saudi government really didn't want any issues unlike the previous year where
there was a stampede near the Jamraat …. many pilgrims from Iran died... (in
fact this year due to some misunderstanding between the two governments, there
were no pilgrims from Iran) …. any unauthorised vehicles are not allowed to
enter at these places at all...
The camp in Arafah was actually very nice... we were given mattress
each and the place was not really cramped.... actually, there was nothing much
to do at all in Arafah... in fact what is required is for one just to be in
Arafah for a short time anytime between zohor right to subuh the next day...
short time means the length of a blink of an eye... that how short it can be
.... the reason why pilgrims stay there longer because for the duas.... Prophet
Muhammad says Allah answers the prayers of those who pray in Arafah during
wukuf.... that's the secret...
For those who knows and come prepared, they will not waste any
time chatting or doing anything wasteful… the pilgrims will just raise their
hands and make duas…. I also did not waste any time but just repeat the duas as
many time as possible…
Family members, friends and neighbours who believe about the
secret of wukuf also sent me WA/messages to make duas for them in Arafah…
which I obliged and said all their prayers in Arafah… I pray to Allah to grant
their wishes… InsyaAllah
Shortly after maghrib prayers we moved to Muzdalifah and after
midnight as planned.... we went back to Makkah for our tawaf and saie.... this
is the alternative route compared to others who will go straight to Mina for
the stone throwing at the jamraat during the tashrik days....
We arrived back in Makkah and went straight to hotel for a quick freshen
up and change... then straight back to Masjidil Haram for the tawaf and saie...
we thought there will be lesser people since most would be in Mina... but we
were wrong... the crowd was as large as you can expect... I completed my saie shortly
before the imam start the aidil adha sunat prayers...
My wife decided to perform her tawaf and saie after the stone throwing
as she did not want to rush doing tawaf and saie in the early morning... she has to use the scooter as her back pain was quite bad…
I went back to the hotel room and have a good rest before leaving
to Mina after asar prayers for the stone throwing during the tashrik days....
10, 11, 12 and 13 Zulhijjah... our bus left shortly after asar prayer and we
arrived at our camp site about 1 hour later... we were lucky as the bus managed
to reach right in front of our camp site... but for others who left after us….
have to walk quite a distance to the camp site as the police started to close
the road due to the increasing crowd.... we were very lucky indeed...
Alhamdulilah...
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| Mina |
Our camp site was rather near to the jamraat... only about 1.5km
to the jamraat. Mina is a large place... the place now has been extended up to
Muzdalifah to accommodate the large pilgrims of about 4 million people... the longest
distance to the jamraat can be about 7 km in a single direction.... can very though
for the old, the sick and the weak but they all still walk to the jamraat....
for their obligations....
Mina is a 4-day city in a year... only during the hajj season
pilgrims will spend 4 days there... any other time during the year the place is
empty .... only have large camp site with huge concrete structures without any
inhabitants... during the first 2 days of tashrik the crowd was huge... we have
to follow the schedule properly as planned/allocated time... this is to avoid the
crowd going to the jamraat getting too large and may cause stampede... the army
and the police were very strict during
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| Walking to Jamraat |
this time... the sound of helicopters
circling jamraat and police siren was never ending… we completed the first stone
throw at jamraat Kubra on the 10th of Zulhijjah (11th actually as we did it in
the following night) and followed by the next 3 days for all the 3 jamraats…
Sugra, Wusta and Kubra...
Some of the pilgrims chose to do 'nafar awwal' i.e. only 2 days of
stone throwing at the 3 jamraats instead of 3 days... my wife and I always
chose to do 'nafar thani' i.e. complete the 3 days of stone throwing....
Actually, there is nothing much one can do during the stay in
Mina. There are no other obligatory
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| Rayhar group going to Jamraat |
things to do except stone
throwing.... and you do the stone throwing once a day... the rest of the
day practically do nothing except for obligatory prayers.... for me the extra
time that I got, I spent reciting holy Quran as much as possible avoiding wasteful
chit chatting with other pilgrims....
During the pilgrimage, one can always see human sacrifices if one sees
carefully... next to my bed in the tent in Mina, there was a young man
accompany his father performing the hajj... the father is old as well as blind....
I saw how patience and faithful the son serving his father... during meal time,
he will get the food for his father, put a napkin on his lap and
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| In the camp in Mina |
watch his
father finished the food... after washing the father's hand then only he will
get the food for himself... he will hold the father's hand when the old man
wants to go to the bathroom... and ensure everything is cared for before
sleeping at night…
Walking to the jamraat is actually not an easy task as there
are millions of people ... even though the distance is only 1.5 km from our
tent but walking can be difficult even for the able body... but the young man never
complained pushing his father on the wheelchair to the jamraat... I pray that
Allah accepts his good deeds and reward him in the hereafter...
I had a fulfilling time in Mina... I finished many juzuk of Quran,
performed many sunnah prayers and made many duas for myself, family, neighbours and
friends... it was rather a mixed feeling when we finished our stone throwing on
the 13th day of Zulhijjah... happy that I completed my hajj for the second time
but sad knowing that this may be my last time performing hajj... the quota for
perming hajj is rather small for Malaysia...
We came back to Makkah on 13th Zulhijjah… somehow the
atmosphere was more relax now… everything was calmer… by now every pilgrim can
officially be called a haji or hajjah… as they have completed the rituals… the
pressure is finally off…
I accompanied my wife for her tawaf and saie… and helped her to
cut her hair… thus completing her hajj… her second time as well…
For those who chose the early flight, they started to pack to go
home…and for us who arrived late, we will continue with our ziarah luar around Makkah visiting
places such as Jabal Thur, Jabal Rahmah, Hudaibiyah Mosque and Muzeum….
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| Happy faces going to Tanaim |
Apart from performing umrah and going the Grand Mosque for the
obligatory prayers… things get slower and less crowded by the day except doing
last minute shopping and packing to send the extra baggage by courier…
Ustaz Zul always got a lot of ideas... he planned many things for his team...those who stayed at Ritaj As Safwah... something special... he took us to Aziziah town... for shopping and dinner... at first only a few want to join but as the date gets closer, I think all those who stayed at Ritaj tagged along... he also gets the ladies to prepare some special dishes (rewang) and the most important of all... he arranged for visit and
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| Special treat in Aziziah |
donations for the Malays who live in Makkah.... their lives are not easy as Saudi rules prevented them from getting PR even if you stayed there for generations... thus getting a decent job is difficult for them....
Before one leaves Makkah, it is obligatory to perform tawaf wada’
(good bye)… Ustaz Zul advised that once we have completed the tawaf, one is
only allowed to perform solat sunat tawaf and drink zam-zam water and should
not do any other things such as selfie… just come back to the hotel and wait to
board the bus leaving for Madinah…despite Ustaz Zul’s advice, one pilgrim has
to repeat his tawaf wada’ as he has inadvertently took a selfie after
completing the tawaf…
Finally, I bade farewell to Makkah as the bus start moving to Madinah… I felt
some kind of sadness in my heart as we are leaving Makkah… I do not know when will be my
next visit to Makkah… I pray that I will be invited again soon by Allah to His holy land….
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| Me and Capt Salihin |
