Mohd Shahar Yope: Hajj 1437H - A beautiful journey...Part 3

Part 3 - the Hajj

The tarwiyah days have finally arrived.... 8 Zulhijjah 1437...

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.

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....]

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...

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

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

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

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 13^th 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….

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

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….

Me and Capt Salihin

We left Makkah around 10.00 am and arrived in Madinah around 4.00 pm. The distance between Makkah and Madinah is approximately 450 km using the new highway…. Not much incidence except for the bus’s rear tyre puncture as we were approaching Madinah… the bus driver stopped to look at the tyre and decided to move on…albeit slower…