attachment hereto... :-)
Asalaaamu alikum wa rag matullah hi wa barakatu...
Peace and Blessings upon us all ...
I trust all is well and that everybody had a great day of EID.
THE EID of SACRIFICE has just whizzed by and the hujaaj are slowly
making their way back form the holy lands …
LABIAK ALLAH HUMAAM LABAIK...
The anthem of all anthems... the hujaaj invokes the anthem with
passion second to none in order to connect with their LORD.
whilst we at home... we TAKBEER
Allah hu akbar... allah hu akbar ... Allah hu akbar...
for the same reason as the hujaaj ... to get closer to Allah swt.
[NOVEMBER 17TH 2010 @ +- 07H15]
And it was that particular Wednesday morning ... whilst waiting for
the EID salaah to commence that my mind began to wonder... and with
the TAKBEER Echoeing in the background ... i had a thought…
My profession allows me the unenviable task of being privvy to some
dark secrets which some people usually keep to themselves... not that
I represent sinister people but some people make mistakes. In fact all
of us are prone to the odd indiscretion…. the consequences which they/
we have to carry with them/ us for the rest of their/ our earthly
lives… not because they want to… rather because society is the way it
is … and thus they wouldn't necessary like others to know about.
I saw one of my clients EID morning, one with a dark secret… He made a
quiet entrance into the masjid and if the ray of sun hadn't kissed
between the eys then I may not have even noticed his arrival… On the
outside he comes across as a quiet unsurpassed man… to the naked
eye... he was normal as normal could be but underneath lurks a great
secret. He was dressed in his favourite casual khaki's and with his
shirt neatly ironed... he entered... found a place close to the
front... and read his two sunnah salaahs .
Allah hu akbar!!!
I thought ... yor!!... for all that he has done no one in the world...
except me [AND ALLAH swt] ... knows the dark secrets which lay beyond
the fragile exterior of this aged gentleman... yet there he stood...
upstanding community man... he could pass for a gentleman... a
humanitarian of some sort... and then in a split second as if the
takbeer had penetrated my skin and began reverberating within my
veins... i realised... that i cannot look at that man with bedevilled
eyes... AGSTAGFIRULLAH!!!
Who the hell was I to do so... i may be a lawyer but i ain't got no
right to judge... [Funny ney?]
ALLahu akbar!!!
For all i know those two rakaah of sunnah could have been done with
such humility and sincerity that Allah swt... could have accepted his
Taubah
[Repentance] ... and Forgiven him in spite of his dark secrets...
[FLASHBACK, NOVEMBER 15TH 2010, +- 04H45]
Earlier that week I was reading quraan and came across a footnoted
hadith found in Bukhuri collection vol 4 ... about the prostitute who
took off her shoe and out of sincerity fed the thirsty dog water...
And Allah swt forgave her/ entered her into jannah...
Allah hu Akbar!!!
it just goes to show that Allah swt's MERCY knows no bounds... it is
not reserved for whites... blacks … arabs or non arabs... it is
certainly for all of mankind who believe in the concept of Tauheed (
oneness of GOD) and who ascribe no partners to THE ALMIGHTY GOD...
LAA ILLah ha illal lah...
[ present day, 11h00 26:11:10]
And that brings me to my next point… what is the purpose of this EID…
what is the purpose of HAJJ. I ask this because as much as the day is
about celebrating… and performing rituals… have we ever pondered about
the why we do what we do.
Normally the day is spent like this… We get up. Go to masjid. Perform
EId salaah. Slaughter the animals./ visit the graveyards. Greet
people. Have lunch with family. Greet more people. Have cake and tea.
Greet some more people. Have supper. Visit more people. SLEEP.
Yes the paragraph above may seem like an oversimplified generalised
version of EID… and for that I seek forgiveness if I offended anyone…
In my humble opinion the essence of the journey of HAJJ:
1. is about Connecting to Allah swt [GOD] or re- connecting ... and
developing our belief in the concept of TUAHEED: so when we recite
those verse which say ALLAH MOST HIGH and Most Merciful Most
Compassionate…. Then we have to understand what is meant by it… think…
ponder …
2. Improving yourself ...your personality ... behaviour ... becoming
better people... brothers... Children... neighbours... spouses...
family:
This past EID I spent my time in the company of my wifes family … the
so call extended in laws … and I really enjoyed my time their… it was
the first EID after the DEATH of their grand father [ may Allah swt
give him a HIGH PLACE in Jannah] … but for me not knowing the
grandfather … I cannot really comprehend what they were feeling… and
even though I am not one for big functions … I must say looking back I
gained a better understanding of the whole connecting with people
aspect of HAJJ/ EID…
And the realisation dawned upon me… those who were not able to go on
hajj in any particular year … have an opportunity each day to
experience a closeness to ALLAH swt… by simply improving yourself… do
good wherever you can and however you can… every moment is an
opportunity 'to go on HAJJ '
And with very exchange of words and smiles and greetings… I felt that
I gained a closeness to the extended in laws … I connected with them…
and by interacting with them… I gained closeness to Allah swt… and by
being kind and respectful to them … I was doing a good deed and
performing another form of worship to Allah swt …
The point is that the so called rituals of EID/ HAJJ … must not become
mere rituals … it has to be elevated to a higher platform… and if we
can do that then we one step closer to improving ourselves… and
drawing closer to Allah swt…
ALLAH HU AKBAR …
[وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ
الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِى
لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ ]
(186. And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad concerning Me, then
answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My knowledge). I respond to
the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any
mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so
that they may be led aright. [ tafsir ibn kathir]
THE EID OF SACRIFICE … is about conscientising us… and giving us the
opportunity to refocus our attentions on the PURPOSE OF LIFE…
Worshipping the ALMIGHTY.
And what do I know… and Allah swt knows BEST.
Think. Ponder. Reflect.
Ps: If I have offended anyone/ made a mistake… please forgive me and
if you benefited from this email… then know that Allah swt… is Most
knowledgeable, All wise.
PS2: Mubarak to Abdul Qayum and Dilshaad… the baby should be a month old by now.
PS3: How do crazy people go through the forest? ---- They take the psycho path
Xbox: Where do you find a no legged dog?---- Right where you left him.
WII: FACT: The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
PEACE. LOVE. HAJJ MABROOK!!!!
