My Hajj Story
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A Sea of Humanity | #MyHajjStory
Dr. Altaf Husain reflects on his journey away from the air conditioned tents to experience 'Arafah on the mountain.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuhu. The Hajj experience, so much can be said about it. Let me begin first of all on a personal note in terms of scheduling. You know, whenever I think back, I went in 2017, when I think back at really why did I choose that year, it was an inclination from within. I technically would have gone in 2020 because that's the time when the days of Dhul Hijjah were really in the end of July, beginning of August, sorry, close to the end of July, and it would have been easier to go at that time because of the semester schedule at the university and so forth. But when you get the call, it's a weird, weird thing. When you get the call, subhanAllah, Allah just makes it happen. And so we went in 2017. Of course, I could talk about so many different aspects of what happened during the Hajj, but I really want to talk about Arafah, which happens on the second day of the Hajj. And indeed, we went with a package as most Western countries and others do, that it kind of sanitizes the experience for you because you're with a group, you're not really interacting with the larger masses, but Alhamdulillah, that's how it's done. It's managed well. It's a great experience. But on the day of Arafah, when we left Mina and headed in the morning to get there right before noon or around noon, I realized with another friend of mine that subhanAllah, we really wanted to go to the Mount of Arafah. And this was not going to be possible because the tents that were set up for mostly the Western countries were somewhat far away from Arafah. It was, you know, set up so that we could be comfortable, if you will. And people, you know, were standing there making dua and going about their day,
but it just wasn't going to be the same. And so as I was sitting there, you know, working through the day, well, a funny thing happened. So while we were sitting there, you know, eating something just before the prayer, I had my, you know, fresh ihram and everything is looking really good. And I'm all set for the day and I'm, you know, getting psyched to make dua and all of that. I saw something like flying from the corner of my eye and I couldn't quite figure out what it was. And then I felt like something warm on my back and I thought, oh my God, like what has happened? And sure enough, whoever, somebody was drinking like tea that had like, you know, a cup of tea that had tea leaves and whatever, and they had somehow bumped into someone and it had, you know, slipped out of their hand and had gone flying and landed on the back of my ihram. Now, why do I say that? Well, because when you leave Mina, they tell you just pack barely anything for the day, like a day bag, if you will, just some basic things. Of course, you have your ihram you're already wearing. And then, and so you don't have like an extra ihram, like you don't bring that with you. And here I was, I was like, oh my God, like my day, you know, has been ruined because I'm going to be walking around with this massive stain on my back. And so I couldn't do it. So I went into, you know, a private area there. And of course, with the temperature being so hot, I was able to quickly, you know, wash the ihram and get cleaned up and let it dry and just try to, you know, get back into the groove, if you will. And so when, as the day started moving on, Asr prayer came, I knew that you had to be at Jabal Arafah before Maghrib prayer. You had to be there making dua. And so my buddy and I, we decided, you know, SubhanAllah, we're going to do this. We're going to quietly just, you know, leave the tent and start walking and see how far we can get and, you know, and just make the most of it.
SubhanAllah, that was the most life transforming experience for me. Because as we left and we started walking out away from the gate and the tent and everything else, we realized there was another whole world, a whole world that was out there. Many people from all different races, nationalities, you know, that come to the hajj. And here we were, SubhanAllah, finally seeing most of them up close and personal. You see them in tawaf, but you know, people from everywhere, you're kind of busy, you're just, you know, making your adhkar and you're going through the tawaf and you're making dua. But in this case, we were just walking, trying to get to the Mount of Arafah. And here were the people. Here were the people from all walks of life. Some of them had no shelter. They were just sitting on the side of the street on cardboard, you know, and just making the most of it. It was really hot, of course. We saw the generosity that they were showing to one another. We saw people who were sharing whatever they had of food or drink. You had others, mashallah, coming. We always hear about the generosity of the local people and different, you know, individuals and companies and their trucks were coming through with water bottles and ice cream and popsicles and all kinds of stuff just to make people feel comfortable because it was hot. They're trying to focus on their ibadah, you know, and trying to really make the most of that day, the ninth of Dhul Hijjah. So as we try to make our way towards the Mount of Arafah, subhanAllah, just a sea of humanity unfolds in front of you. And you start to realize that there are people who couldn't have a care in the world. All they cared about was trying to make dua on that day, to seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to remember all the bounties and blessings that He has given to us, you know, and to bring to mind His favors upon us. And subhanAllah, we went and we got very close to the Mount of Arafah. But ultimately, by that time, there were so many people that they had cordoned it off
so we could just get to the base and kind of stand right close to the base. So we made, you know, we got there, we made some space for ourselves, and it was very crowded, of course, started making dua. That's when you realize that subhanAllah, there will come a day when all of us will be gathered, all of humanity will be gathered on that same Mount of Arafah, pretty much raised in the two, you know, in our, the ihram type cloth. And you wouldn't have a care in the world because on that day, you'd be making dua, making dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala literally, to forgive you, to, you know, to make sure that the book was received in your right hand, that everything, you know, all of what had happened in your life would be going through your mind, and you're trying to bring that to, you know, to the forefront. And so as we were there, it was so amazing to watch people just, you know, crying and trying so hard to focus, focus, and make the most of that day. And as we ourselves made dua, and we started thinking about what we had experienced, subhanAllah, I was so glad that we had, you know, been able to pull away from that tent, from the air-conditioned tent, and with all of the amenities. And of course, you know, it's something you pay for, and something is part of the package, so nobody is, you know, knocking the hajj packages. I'm just saying that this is, it was just so much more out there for us. So as we made the dua, and the sun started to set, subhanAllah, we decided we had to walk back and make our way back to the tent before, you know, other people got worried about our not being around. As we started walking back, I realized, subhanAllah, that all of that, all of the ice cream and the water bottles and, you know, the popsicles and the wrappers and everything, you know, it was literally all over the ground.
So people had tried to focus on their ibadah, but completely, completely trashed the area. As we were walking, we were crushing under our feet, and we could hear the sounds of the, you know, the crunching sound of the plastic and the bottles. It was just basically no more pavement. And I realized, is that really, is that really necessary? Is there another way that we go about focusing on ibadah without trashing the environment, right? So one of the takeaways for me, in addition to the making of the dua, you know, and really trying to make the most of the hajj by being among the rest of the hajjaj as much as possible, was also, what can we do, right? We talk about climate change, we talk about the impact of the environment and our imprint and so forth. But there may be, for those of you who haven't yet gone, maybe a different way to do this. That maybe some of us need to give some thought, that the ibadah itself cannot, you know, lead to a destruction or a deterioration of the environment. So brothers and sisters, I know you didn't think I was going to pivot to, you know, environmental, to conservation and the environment, but really, that's where my mind was. And I was so troubled by it, subhanAllah, that as I made my way back, I kept thinking about how else could we do this, so that we could make the most at our personal level, right? Make some small changes in our personal lives to protect the environment, but ultimately do that, ultimately do the ibadah without, you know, sacrificing so much of the environment around us. So as I close now, I want to, you know, really begin, end where I started, which is that it's an amazing blessing to go on the hajj. But remember that despite the package you choose, try your best, try your best to really interact and to come, you know, face to face and to experience the love and the generosity
and of course the dua and the concern of all of the other hujjaj from all over the rest of the world. So brothers and sisters, remember, do that, make the most of your ibadah, but also protect the environment. And indeed, may Allah bless all of you. May Allah reunite all of us on the day under his shade, when there'll be no shade but his shade. Jazakumullah khayran. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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