Makkah Stories - Part 2: Solat Jumaat

If back home I never bothered about Friday prayers, in Makkah it was something I looked forward to. In fact, one would be able to sense that holy day - Friday was nearing as crowd grew in the Holy Mosque. Mom said that folks from the areas near Makkah would throng the valley to take part in the Friday prayers.

Everyday we cut across the SATCO bus terminal to get to the Haram ....macam lalu Puduraya pun ada jugak :)

That morning after our Subuh prayers, I mentioned to Mom that we should try do tawaf sunat at Baitullah. Words of encouragement from Mom got Farah so “fired” at doing her ibadah. Mom shared with us some tories of her first Haj way back in 1975. She was 35 then. She said during that Haj time, she and my late father, did more than 50 times of tawaf sunat!!! Apparently, arwah Abah had even written a journal about each one of their tawaf. Wooo….that got both Farah and I, gasping for air and a hard knock on my head at how determined were my parents at doing their ibadah. If only I could have a fraction of that determination they had….ummppp.

Our tawaf was calm and very peaceful. I managed to inch my way into Hijir Ismail and did a couple of solats there. Farah was luckier than me as she somehow got a spot right under the pancuran emas. Occasionally, as I glanced at her, I saw her doing her solats and doas. Alhamdullillah….

Never mess with the local police

When going to "ibadah significant" areas in the mosque, time is essence and one has to be really fast when performing an ibadah. Spending too long in one place may just end you up being shooed away by the guards. I must say that we Malaysians are such a disciplined lot. We abide to all the rules and regulations. The moment the guards asked us to leave, we’d go nicely, sans any disobedience. Other jemaahs may not give the same cooperation to the guards as we Malaysians do. You'd see them cling on to the cover cloth of the Kaabah, as they weep endlessly. Memang bukan senang to get the opportunity to be at this holy place, but I believe one should always be considerate of others.

So that Friday afternoon as we sat at our solat place, when other lady jemaahs came asking if they could squeeze in between, we couldn't possibly say no. In the end, when we did our Friday solat, the space that we had earlier secured became so small, barely allowing us to sujud. But that’s how things are in the Holy Mosque. Mutual understanding has it that we share with our fellow brothers and sisters.

Although the Imam’s khutbah was in Arabic, one could sense that he asked to preserve unity in Islam, and staying away from evil - amar makruf nahi mungkar. In his prayers after wards, he prayed for the well being of mankind, and asking for the sufferings in Palestine, Afghanistan and else where to stop. Syahdu, sungguh syahdu….

Leaving the mosque after that gave me that feeling as if it was Haj time, just by looking at the movement of the massive crowd. Lunch was obviously on most of everyone’s minds as they headed to the eateries near by. For us, lunch that day was briyani. Yummmmssss…what a treat!!

Acara ke Bin Dawood pada sebelah malam hari :)
Yang ni uztaz kata....tak perlu mutawiff hantar. Orang M'sia cukup pandai melakukan acara "tawaf kidai" ni.