My Hajj Story
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A Passing Face | #MyHajjStory
Sh. Mohammad Abu Taleb looks back on one of his final moments at the Ka'bah during Hajj when he saw an elderly woman that stood out to him, and the lessons he learned about investing in and cherishing our time.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Alhamdulillah. Wasalatu wasalamu ala rasulullah. Has anyone that you've met ever had such a powerful and commanding presence, such respect that they affected you although you only crossed paths for a few moments? I'm your brother Muhammad Abu Talib and I want to share with you one such person who affected me profoundly. In my hajj story, though we only shared a few moments, though I don't even know this person's name, they stayed with me for the rest of their lives. Alhamdulillah, by Allah's blessing, I was on hajj more than 15 years ago now. And it was near the end of the journey and I started to feel the promise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala coming true. In the ayah in surah al-Baqarah where Allah says, Wa idh ja'alna al-bayta mathabatan linnasi wa amna. And behold, when We made the Sacred House a place of return and sanctuary for people and security. Of course we all believe that, we all know that, but the lived experience of it is something beyond words. There are so many reasons in al-hajj why, if it was by worldly measures, it might be a more difficult experience that you wouldn't want to go back to. It's hot, it's the desert, it's crowded, crowds beyond your wildest imagination. It's tough, you're not in your normal clothes, you're away from your family, and on and on and on. And yet the one that has gone knows this feeling. The moment you're on that departure away, or even before, you're already asking, when can I go back? That beautiful feeling, all of us in our hajj group were feeling it, and we're sharing it with our guide and shaykh that was with us, saying that we honestly don't want to go back. Just that feeling,
we don't want to let go. And the shaykh was challenging us. He said, the ones that you have come imitating, the prophets before you, were intent on going back and taking that spirit of hajj across the entire world. I, as a young man, was struggling to live this meaning, struggling against myself and trying to live up to that reality. And the plane was just a couple hours away. I knew it was time to depart al-Masjid al-Haram, to go up to the bus stop and to prepare, lest we would miss the plane. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I would look at the Kaaba, and the Kaaba has such an awesome presence. Although it is so architecturally simple, it is beyond words. That place, that symbol, what it stands for, and the unity of the Muslims standing in ranks and rows, bowing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I would look at the Kaaba, and then turn away, and start walking towards the gate, and then I couldn't, and I would turn around, duck, find a corner or a crevice by a pillar, and look again, and just take in the sight. To hear the soft din of the Muslims all around me. You could hear, not make out the words, but hear the recitation of the Qur'an, the people in tawaf, the dhikr, the dua, people pouring out their hearts to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You felt part of this incredible whole, and yet uniquely special. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala heard your voice among all of these voices. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala selected you for this special place, despite my many shortcomings, despite all of what we bring, that Allah blesses us to be in that place. And again, as I would take a few steps, and then turn around and take another glimpse, trying to satisfy my eyes and my heart from the beauty of the place, gradually the field of view started to become
obstructed. There were pillars, and now I could see the ceiling, and the Ka'bah was still there in its grandeur, but I was the one that was receding, that was leaving. That reality was dawning upon me as the Ka'bah appeared smaller in my field of view. It was me that was moving. And finally, when I turned around, now the gate taking me in the direction of the hotel and the bus stop was directly in front of me, and the Ka'bah was behind me. And even in all the crowds, this person that I share with you today, that I pray what comes from my heart enters yours, stood out despite the crowds. She was an elderly woman, up in age, and one of the reasons she stood out was because she had a very pronounced walk. She had a very pronounced limp when she moved laboriously, when she would bend over to favor one leg, her shoulders would tilt almost to 45 degrees as she heavily favored that leg. And then she would lift her whole body, her whole side, to move that leg one step and come back to her shoulders flat and then do it all over again. Now there were plentiful wheelchairs around that are provided as a service for the Hujjaj. Certainly there were canes, perhaps some people had brought walkers, but you could almost tell that she was intent on this special journey to walk on the strength of her own two feet. We never exchange words. I don't think she even noticed me, and I don't know her name, and she probably doesn't know how much she affected me in that moment, and I pray today that she affects you as well. I caught just a passing glimpse of her face for just a few seconds, but immediately several
things came to me. Number one, she had never been to Al-Masjid Al-Haram before. Number two, it was clear that she had been praying, planning, saving, struggling for years upon years to have this opportunity. And third, it was clear that she had no expectation of ever coming back. So much so that I was not far from her, but it's as if she didn't see me. She was so intent on her objective, going to Al-Kaaba, that I think I had to get out of her way. I think she may have accidentally run into me because of that love, that fervor, that desire to go to that objective, to be at the Kaaba. My brothers and sisters, particularly in the West, particularly our Hajj groups, particularly at times, those of us that have been tested with relative ease compared to our brothers and sisters across the world tested with so much hardship. Feelings of entitlement can creep up on our hearts. We can always feel like there will be another chance, that we'll make it up later, that it doesn't need to be our best effort now. But the longer we live, the more we go through the life of this world, the more evident it is that there are many hardships and difficulties that come in the ups and downs of life. And the only guaranteed thing is this moment. What is come, what is to come is not for sure, but this moment is ours to invest, or may Allah forbid, to lose and waste. And that woman, especially in my young years, she taught me a lot. Because I recognized that this was not to be taken for granted. Don't plan for the next chance, don't plan for tomorrow, but start to invest today. And SubhanAllah,
though I was relatively young, it is instructive that I have never been blessed to go back on al-Hajj. That remains the one journey that I was able to make, though I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the tawfiq to return inshaAllah. My brothers and sisters, I know this Hajj season is tough on all of us. And I'm especially thinking of you that had intended and planned to go on al-Hajj. I know many of you, this may have been the first time, and that excitement and that anticipation, and it is natural that we shed tears, that we are saddened that we are not able to come from across the world as the Ummah of Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam to al-Hajj this year. I know that many of you perhaps were returning after many years had saved up, had intended, and yet it was the Qadr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in His Divine Will to teach us this lesson. That perhaps there is no greater lesson than this COVID-19 pandemic. When all of us alive today, none of us remember an interruption to al-Hajj. Although it's happened in the past from disease, from war and conflict, at times that many people in the world were prevented from going on Hajj from time to time, none of us remember this. And if we took it for granted before today, we really appreciate this blessing. I want to remind you of the hadith of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who says that the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam said, take advantage of five before five. Your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you get busy, and your life before your death. And I entreat and encourage myself and each and every one of you that this Dhul-Hijjah, this season, these sacred days, don't give in and say, inshaAllah next year. Don't say that I have nothing to do until Allah gives
me the tawfiq to go on Hajj. But rather devote yourself, invest yourself, and when you're feeling weak or uninspired, remember that woman, that she was intent, this is my only chance and I'm not going to let it go to waste. So let Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala see from each of us this season and beyond. Worship, prayer, sacrifice, good deeds, company with our friends and family, caring for others, empathy, sadaqa, giving, uthiyya, and all that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves to see from us. Let us and especially the young amongst us reach into the future and wrestle your dreams back to the present where they belong. Don't put off your goals, but rather know that this is your moment. Invest it, take advantage of it, and remember our silent teacher who taught me more in a few moments of silence that I have heard in speeches on end about the importance of investing and cherishing that moment. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, even in this heartbroken Hajj season, as our eyes shed tears, as our hearts break, I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to allow us to make the most of these precious and blessed days. I ask Allah to increase us in worship and taqwa and piety. I ask Allah as He gathered us in this beautiful space of spirituality and remembrance and learning. I ask Allah and He is the grantor of all gifts to gather us also in Arafah insha'Allah and in accepted Hajj in years to come. Allahumma ameen ameen wa salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
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