Our Hajj

Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah, for His Magnificent Grace that my mother, brother, and I were blessed with the opportunity to be His guests as pilgrims for the last Hajj season.

(Note:

• some postings are in English for the benefits of some of my non-Malay friends
  
• my more spontaneous ones would be Malay + English)
  

In short, it's HUMBLING.

• Praying with Ka'abah in our view is simply magnificent. We don't look down. Instead, we look to the front, right at our Qiblah
• The Imams' recitals of the Quran are all beautiful, masyaAllah. I wish I knew Arabic
• Hajj is physically challenging, but spiritually uplifting
• Hajj reminds us of the history of Ibrahim and his family and the lesson learned
• There were about 2 million people at the same places, going to the same places, at the same specific times = logistic nightmare?
• Being with the immensely huge crowd reminds us of the Day of Judgement in many ways we can imagine
• The two Holy Masjids are huge, we are awed by the grandeur of the structure and the constant overflowing of congregation.. and very well-maintained
• The pure and blessed Zam zam water is simply delicious. It is available and easily accessible, complete with the disposable cups, anywhere in both masjids
• It is heart-breaking to leave the Ka'abah, the Masjidil Haram, and the Holy City of Makkah the Blessed
• Being in the Holy City of Madinah the Radiant, the Prophet's City and home, is surreal
• It's awesome to revisit the history of The Hijrah, the Battle of Uhud, the Hudaybiyah Treaty, etc etc
• Being in Makkah and Madinah focusing on ibadah, away from work or other concerns, is simply wonderful
• Pilgrims get warm welcome - true to the Arab hospitality, complete with goodies upon arrivals (Jeddah/Makkah/Madinah), during journeys, and finally upon leaving the country
• Tabung Haji does a very good job at taking care of the pilgrims even way before the journey starts
• We took Saudi Arabian Airline flights both ways. The flights themself were smooth and very good, but I understand completely why MAS has won The Best Cabin Crew many many times
  

May Allah accept our Hajj, and may it become a catalyst of positive changes in us. Amin!

Time's permitting, I'll post my lenghty Hajj journal later, insyaAllah, for people who would like to know the details of the trip. Meanwhile, here's some tips from me.

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