today is the last day of dhul hijja, the last month of the Islamic calendar, and what really singles out this month from the other 11 is her first ten days, and especially the day of Arafah, ninth of this month. It is on this day that the 5-day Hajj celebration or pilgrimage starts, the festival where more than 3 million faithful slaves of God gathers around Mecca answering to the call of Lord Almighty.
history of hajj is rooted three thousand years deep, dating back to the time of prophet Abraham (upon him be peace). history has it that the first inhabitants of the place which is now known as Mecca were Ishmael, the son of Abraham and his mother Hager (upon them be peace).
Abraham, being true to his covenant and sincere in his faith upon Allah, left his one and only child and his mother in a deserted place; a place with the barren earth as floor covered only by the vast open sky. they had neither food nor drink to sustain them and all three of them knew well enough that the only way these two 'exiled' would survive is if God Himself intervened.
God in turn, being Pleased with His sincere slave and friend's reliance on Him turned this 'expatriation' into an example for mankind, an example to be followed til the end of times. and it is this example of these three faithful servant of God Almighty which has been emulated in the ritual of pilgrimage, a annual ritual that has been sincerely followed since then without fail.
did any of those three, or first generation of Meccans ever imagine that this barren land of sand and desert, a land of exile would turn out to be centre of the world in years to come?
...
and i? a thousand careful consideartions of 'what ifs' and 'if nots' precede before taking even the simplest of decision, decision that dont even risk the loss of a single hair.
history of hajj is rooted three thousand years deep, dating back to the time of prophet Abraham (upon him be peace). history has it that the first inhabitants of the place which is now known as Mecca were Ishmael, the son of Abraham and his mother Hager (upon them be peace).
Abraham, being true to his covenant and sincere in his faith upon Allah, left his one and only child and his mother in a deserted place; a place with the barren earth as floor covered only by the vast open sky. they had neither food nor drink to sustain them and all three of them knew well enough that the only way these two 'exiled' would survive is if God Himself intervened.
God in turn, being Pleased with His sincere slave and friend's reliance on Him turned this 'expatriation' into an example for mankind, an example to be followed til the end of times. and it is this example of these three faithful servant of God Almighty which has been emulated in the ritual of pilgrimage, a annual ritual that has been sincerely followed since then without fail.
did any of those three, or first generation of Meccans ever imagine that this barren land of sand and desert, a land of exile would turn out to be centre of the world in years to come?
...
and i? a thousand careful consideartions of 'what ifs' and 'if nots' precede before taking even the simplest of decision, decision that dont even risk the loss of a single hair.
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