Bismillah.

I was thinking about this right before Being Me Sister Conference (which was on Saturday):

11 days.

11 days before the flight.  

1 Major sisters conference.

1 Major work deadline.

1 Weekend AlKauthar Course.

20 things left to buy.

4 suitcases to pack.

5 duas to memorize (at least).

1 dua list to finalize.

Tons of people to call.

The opportunity of a lifetime: Priceless.

It is a true blessing from Allah, that He has filled my life up with so much good, that perhaps my nafs will not have time to do anything bad. Alhamdulillah!

When Hajj was first prescribed, and before the conveniences of modern transport, sometimes people spent an entire year just travelling from their home country to the Kaaba! On foot, by camel, maybe by horse if they were well off. And now, we can get there in a day! Yet, we feel overwhelmed by the idea of a 14 hour flight.

A book we've done many times in halaqa (I should have it memorized by now!) is Patience and Gratitude By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/Patience_and_Gratitude.pdf). He highlight the following ayah:

“ ...If you are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you...” (Ibrâhîm 14:7)

In his explanation of the ayah, the author indicates that the action of gratefulness will automatically lead to response from Allah. Unlike other actions, such as forgiveness, rizq, mercy, these are conditional of Allah's will. Subhan Allah, this is quite profound.

It is in this journey, that perhaps our patience and gratefulness to Allah will be significantly tested. Sh Muhammad AlShareef in one of his Hajj coach videos (check them out, even if you are not doing Hajj, they are awesome masha Allah!), showed us the following picture:

My question to everyone is: What do you see? What do you see in the box?

The first answer that comes to mind is "a black dot...duh!", right?

But what about all the white dots around it? Why do always only notice the "black dots" in a situation and not all the white pearls that surround it? Subhan Allah, Allah has filled our lives with so many white pearls, and yet we lose sight of them the first chance we get!

This scenario can be applied to almost any situation and it kept crossing my mind throughout the Being Me conference, every time someone had a complaint. I kept making dua that He protects me from complaining during or after Hajj. We always want to improve, yes, but let's enjoy the white pearls that surround us. Before we start only seeing the black dots in everything. Those black dots will mean nothing in the grave, on the Day of Judgement or in our Final Abode.

It's our appreciation of the white pearls that will mean everything and save us from the hellfire. So let's focus on that.



 

So it begins...

Bismillah.

Today, we had our last Hajj prep seminar before our departure. Literally, like 2 little school girls, Sahar and I were giddy with excitement as we rushed into IMO to grab some seats as close to the front as possible.

Taking off our shoes, we see the towering figure and huge smile of Shaykh Alaa Elsayed welcoming the pre-Hajjis! My husband and Br Ahmer (Sahar's husband) run back to greet him and are enveloped by huge hugs and words of encouragement.

As we take our seats, I look around the room for any familiar faces. Aha! Farah's mom! Masha Allah, now that is one cool lady. We scoot over to the end of our row and sit beside her, hugs, kisses and congratulations on getting our visas shared amongst us. A cursory glance at the other faces in the room, returns back with smiles, apprehension, yearning and anticipation. I can share their sentiments.

The reminders begin. Starting with the brothers from Falcon Travel. Pack a lot of patience and follow the rules, follow the group leaders, follow the shuyookh and no fatwa shopping! The last 4 reminders seem easy, it's the patience one that worries me. 

By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. - Surah Al-Asr

Few short lines from Allah's words, that reminds me not to waste this opportunity and His invitation. Only Allah knows if I will pass or fail this test. But with the words and guidance from Sh Alaa Elsayed and Dr Muneer El Kasem, the motivation to pass these tests is overwhelming.

I'll end this post with a reminder given by Sh Alaa. He told us to imagine that as we depart our homes for Hajj, to think of our final journey. What would we say to our family members and friends if this was the last time we spoke to them? He told us to imagine that our car ride is like our coffin. That our plane ride is like our souls departing. That what we see outside our little windows is like the dunya we are leaving behind. Would the haram we did, be worth it?

Shaykh Alaa showing how to wear the ihram garment for men.

But Alhamdulillah, the Lord of the Worlds is giving us an opportunity. An opportunity to rectify ourselves in this journey of a lifetime. The question of whether or not we seize this opportunity should haunt our dreams and motivate us in our waking hours. Time is running out, and only Allah knows if it will be enough.