Flashback....trip to makkah
Taken from something i wrote bout 2 yrs ago...Ok...its two thirty in the morning, and i think i'm goin to give this a try...i'm going to try and write a real entry summarizing my trip to Saudi Arabia :)After we got all our baggage and had finally hauled a taxi we were on our way to makkah, which is 1 hour from the airport in Jeddah. While we were driving we were all SO excited and nervous and just...happy :). As we were driving sunset came upon us and thus we had to stop to pray one of the five prayers that we pray daily, and subhan'Allah it was so amazing how everyone on the highway all of a sudden took an exit and entered the masjid (mosque) to pray. Within five minutes the once congested highway was deserted and everyone filled the houses of God to praise and glorify him, amazing, completely amazing. This is the first glimpse that i got of prayer in Saudi....ofcourse i pray here in america, but praying there is SO DIFFERENT. Here five times a day i have to "fit" prayer into my oh so busy schedule, there their days and lives revolve AROUND prayer :) Shows where our priorities are i guess...when we finally arrived in makkah my parents insisted that we drop off our stuff at the hotel before we visit the kabbah. so i hurried n threw my luggage into my room, and me n my mobeesha rushed to the kabbah. Mubeen has been has been to makkah 2 times before this trip, so this was nothing new to her, and I thank God that i was able to make the journey with her so that she could guide me and so we could share this great experience. So we ran into the kabbah n while we were doing so the call to prayer for the last prayer of the day was ringing through the city in the most beautiful voice, and shop owners, citizens, and tourists all dropped what they were doing and started to make their way to the masjid. As i was walking in been made me cover my eyes so that i could see the kabbah all at once, as my eyes were closed i felt this excitement that i don't think i've ever felt before...for as long as i can remember i have bowed my head to worship to God, and everytime i did so i bowed my head facing makkah--facing this house of God...and i didn't do this action alone, but over a billion muslims today, and many from the past have followed this same tradition. As i opened my eyes I prayed, and to my surprise tears did not well up in my eyes, but instead i jus stood there in complete and utter awe. All i could do was stare at the sight in front of me, everything was so quiet, the call to prayer had finished, and there the kabbah stood. Its just completely beyond words...As i stood there staring, being reminded that the prayer would start soon n that we should find a place to pray. So we went up to the second level of the masjid, n prayed near the balcony so we were facing the kabbah directly. As i stood to pray with all of the other muslims that had gathered from different areas of the world in this holy city, in this holy place, my heart felt rejuvinated...this was the message that the Prophet Muhammad had preached about so long ago, and here we were living out this same message so many years later, here we all stood testifying that there is no God, BUT God....though we were all from such different walks of life this one statement bonded us closer then any other blood bond could. Throughout my stay in Makkah and later Madinah, i contemplated about all those that came before me, the Prophets from Adam to Abraham, to Moses, to Jesus, and lastly to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them all), and their great companions that stood with them in times of hardship. These individuals were steadfast in their faith, and all preached one message, be true to God, the one true God. Everything else was secondary--even their families. This amazed me, and i thought about my own society, a society in which kids look up to fictious heroes such as spiderman and batman, while there were such amazing individuals in our past, individuals that have changed the world in their time and in ours, individuals whose message lives on. And the only way to celebrate the lives of these individuals is to practice and preach their message--the message that there is nothing in this world that could compare to the grace and glory of God, and he is the one true God, and only through worshipping him and knowing him can a heart feel at ease. Everything else is secondary......
posted by Iqra Bismi Rabbika @ 11:18 AM
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