Makkah Stories – Part 3: Andai Ku Tahu….

The call for this special solat would come almost immediately after any one of the five compulsory daily prayers. As I stood in line with the rest of the jemaahs, I just couldn’t help but wonder who it was out there, laying motionless, unable to respond to the world around him. Yes, I am referring to solat jenazah which is performed after solat waktu in Masjidil Haram.

With the hundreds of thousands present in the Holy City, death is imminent. It was every where – the sick, the healthy, young or old, age does not matter. When your time is up, that’s it. Others bid their farewell to you and hopefully you’ll be missed and remembered.

It was Mom who taught us to perform solat jenazah. She guided me at my first umrah and during this trip, Farah was under her tutelage. Mom said pahala banyak if we did the solat jenazah for the dead and it is an ibadah that we should at any time try to do.

As I concluded the solat, these thoughts kept coming to me. What if the dead was one of us? It could be me, could be Farah, could also be dear Mom and it could also be all there of us. Tears would well up in my eyes, as I visualize the grief of my family when receiving the news. I pray to Allah, to have mercy on us, to allow us still breathe his air and am able to worship Him still. Ya Allah, panjangkan usia kami agar masih kami dapat menghambakan diri pada Mu.

Although this trip did not pose much alarm on our health, I didn’t want to take any risks. One day Farah came home from solat and complained that her throat hurt so bad. I started her on antibiotics, just as our family doctor advised before we left. There were also times when Mom looked exhausted. Immediately, I had to change our ibadah plans – reducing the strenuous ones, only concentrating on the main solats.

When I was a little girl, I used to listen to my Grandmother’s Haj stories. Of the many she told us, I’d always remember the ones about those who died on board their kapal haji during the journey to the Holyland. With her distinct sound effect she’d describe how the body was let out to sea. “Bushhh…. bunyi eh bilo mayat orang meningga tu, dilopeh eh kek dalam laut, ” and I’d gasp for breath in suspense every time the story was told.

If listening to stories was enough to freak me out, this other incident remains fresh in my thoughts still. It happened during my Haj in 2005. We were on our way from Arafah to Mina. Although the distance between the two places was not far, the movement of the millions that night dragged our travel time, resulting stress amongst the jemaahs in the bus. One pak cik who was seated two seats in front of us, suddenly fell ill and started to have breathing difficulties. Most of us panicked when we heard the wife screaming during the otherwise calm and still journey. I didn’t think the pak cik was going to make it. Alhamdullilah, he recovered and made it back to Mina and later to Makkah to complete his Haj.

All these that I had witnessed and heard are my reminder that our mortality is REAL and that holding onto to things of utmost importance is the key to life. Death is inevitable, and everything except the Almighty God of course, will perish.

Allah SWT berfirman: “Hai orang-orang yang beriman, bertakwalah kepada Allah dan hendaklah setiap diri memperhatikan apa yang telah diperbuatnya untuk hari esok (akhirat), dan bertakwalah kepada Allah, sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui apa yang kamu kerjakan” (QS Al-Hasyr [59]: 18).