My Hajj Story
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Raindrops and White Tile | #MyHajjStory
Sarah Sultan looks back on her transformative experience making du'a in front of the Ka'bah.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Bismillah, salatu wassalamu ala rasulullah, wa ala amihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Amma ba'd, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. This is Sara Sultan here to share a story from my hajj experience on these blessed days of Dhul Hijjah. Inshallah. So I went to hajj about 14 years ago. It's kind of strange to realize that it's been that long. But yeah, it's been almost 14 years since I went to hajj. And there are a lot of different situations that actually stand out very clearly in my mind in that experience. But there's one in particular that I wanted to share with you all today. And so there was a time that I was in Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. And this particular time, it was right after Fajr Salah. And one of the reasons why it stands out to me so much is it was the closest that I had ever been able to get to the Ka'bah other than during tawaf, like when I was actually going around the Ka'bah. This was the closest that I had been able to pray in front of the Ka'bah. And so it was a very meaningful experience for me to be able to pray and see the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala right in front of me. And if you haven't been to hajj yet, the experience of seeing the Ka'bah for the first time, people describe it in different ways. But for me, it was like you feel chills when you first see it. It's something that you've built up to for such a long time. But the actual experience of being there and seeing it is really different than seeing it in pictures.
And so in this moment, I was sitting, we had just prayed fajr, and I was sitting on my own. I had gone with my father. And so he was praying with the men and I was praying with the women. And so I was sitting on my own. And as I was making da'at, so sitting directly in front of the Ka'bah and making da'at, it's like a dream come true. And then in that moment, it started to drizzle. There were very light, like misty raindrops that started to come down and then they progressively got a little bit stronger, but it wasn't a downpour. And if you've ever been to Masjid al-Haram, the tiles on the floor are very, very bright white. They're so bright that if you're walking when the sun is full on, you almost have to close your eyes because of the reflection of the light and how bright and blinding it is. SubhanAllah. And so in this moment, it wasn't blinding, it was just bright, but seeing the raindrops fall on the white tile, they were bouncing off and shining. It was almost like you were surrounded by just light and sparkles and things. It was a very magical experience in the moment. And I just remember seeing that and just being fully in that moment, being fully engaged in knowing that I was sitting in front of the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, knowing that I was surrounded by the blessing and mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in being there and in being surrounded by the rain that he was sending down, which is not a very normal experience most of the time in Saudi Arabia. It's pretty dry.
And knowing that this was another opportunity for da'at to be accepted because it was raining. But just one of the things that really stands out for me in this experience is that I don't remember any da'at that I made in that moment. I have no idea what I said. I have no idea what I requested of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And because I don't know that, I actually have no idea whether those came to fruition in this life. I don't know if it happened because I can't remember what the da'at was. And so the lesson that I gained from that is that even though I don't, you know, a lot of times when we are making da'at, it's a very transactional experience. The experience of making da'at only matters if we see the result of it, if we get what we ask for. Otherwise, it feels, for a lot of us, it feels very meaningless. It feels empty. But in this moment, it wasn't about what the da'at was. It wasn't about whether I would see the end result of that da'at in this life. It was about the experience in that moment of sitting there, talking to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and connecting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it was such a powerful moment that it stayed with me for 14 years. And so it's something for us to remember that da'at is not just about getting it accepted. It's not just about seeing whether exactly what you ask for comes in exactly the way that you want it to come. Making da'at is about connecting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, talking to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, building a relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through that communication. And when we can really feel it, when we can really be present in that moment while we are talking to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
it can be a very profound and moving experience, and one that you can carry for years. Whether you're sitting in front of the Ka'bah, whether you're seeing these beautiful raindrops reflecting off of beautiful white tile, or whether you're just in your home, in your car, wherever it is, it doesn't matter. It's just about connecting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in that moment, and truly knowing that He hears what you're saying and that He's listening. And that is what I took from that experience. Jazakumullah khayran. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
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