Today 9 Zulhijjah 1429 is The Day of Wukuf for those who perform their pilgrimage, the haj. The wukuf starts at Dzohor. About 1.5 to 2 million people, congregate at the plain of Arafat in the heat of the noon desert sun. But for this year, I guess the cool air from north will keep them a bit cooler ( December is winter ) during the day. They stay in tents but many just in the open. The activities ranging from just sitting down idling to reading AlQuran, zikir, doa', munajat etc etc. Mudah-mudahan mereka diberkahi Allah dan mendapat haji yang mabrur. Ameen.
Tonite, starting after Maghrib, they will start yet another tiring journey to Muzdhalifah enroute to Mina. They will not leave Muzdhalifah until after midnite, after collecting some 100 odd pebbles for stoning at the Jamarat. Arafat to Muzdhalifah and to Mina is just about 10 km away but most of them will not reach Mina until close to Suboh. Some only get to their tents in Mina at noon, some in late afternoon and even in the evening.... for that 10 km journey.
Today, some 15 years ago, I was among those people, and I thank Allah for giving me that very opportunity, for His help I was able to perform those tasks briskly at ease. Subhanallah, wal hamdulillah, wala ilaha illallah, wallahuakbar, wala haula wala quwwata illa billahil aliyyil adzim. Those are the zikr that I vividly remember, that I kept repeating during most of my time there. And true, for without Him, La haula wala quwwata illa billah............
No comments:
Post a Comment