FATMAH DAUGHTER MARIAM 6 YEARS OLD RECITING VERSES FROM THE HOLY QURAN

FATMAH DAUGHTER MARIAM 4 YEARS OLD MAKES HER ARABIC BREAD

MY JOURNEY TO ISLAM

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I was born in 1953 and my Christian parents gave me the name Feliciano J. Nagac, II, who, 40 years later, would convert to Islam and adopt the Muslim name, AbdulSalaam J. Nagac.

A native of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, which is predominantly Roman Catholic, my pious parents taught me and my younger brothers how to pray the rosary and enjoined us to go to the church on Sundays. For a while I felt proud that I was growing up religious like my parents, but as I saw followers of Christian sects debating or disagreeing with other Chrisitian sects in their interpretation of the verses of the Bible, I became confused and somehow felt uncertain about Catholicism. Consiequently I began to feel hesitant to go to the church and felt lazy praying the rosary until I totally abandoned both. Deep inside me, however, I felt and believed that there is One Supreme Being who’se in control of everything and everyone including me. Nothwithstanding my obvious doubts on the authenticity of my faith at that time, I didn’t switch to any other Christian sect or to any other religion.

My first encounter with Islam was in 1993, through the preachings of Omar Ali, my only Muslim fellow-employee at the Philippine Helicoper Services, Incorporated (PHSI), renamed Eurocopter Philippines, Incorporated (EPI), Domestic Airport, Manila, where among the functions I held was, Technical Librarian.

Omar’s Islamic preachings came at a time when I was very much active in music who sang and played the guitar as Cat Stevenz, my ‘idol’ during those days was doing before he became Yusuf Islam. As such, I was very much present in birthdays, Christmas celebrations and other social gatherings, and, naturally, I felt my importance to those people who loved me for my music. In short, it seemed to me then that Omar preached Islam to me to take away my happy-go-lucky lifestyle or to ‘brainwash’ me to submit to the many do’s and don’ts prescribed by Islam, because according to him, only by submitting myself to such does and donts that I will be able to enter Paradise and enjoy everlasting happiness.

Other than explaining to me a lot of things about Islam, Omar from time to time gave me Islamic literatures, and on one occasion he made me watch Ahmed Deedat’s video tape “Is the Bible Word of God?”. What I now consider as Omar’s ultimate blow to my loyalty to my faith then, was when he loaned me the English translation of the Qur’an on the condition that in accepting it, I should, as a pre-requisite, first take a bath and put the Qur’an on an elevated place every after reading. How Omar was able to convince an anti-Muslim that I used to be since childhood to read the Qur-an and at the same time follow the rules on how the material should be handled is rather strange. I must admit that, as I started reading Omar’s scripture, I began to feel both excitement and fear: excitement that as I, one by one find answers to the questions in my mind, I’d find myself no longer ignorant or uninformed. I felt fear also that as I gradually become confortable about Islam I would eventually desire to become a Muslim, and, consequently, be forced against my will to abandon many of the things that made me feel happy now and then, and, perform certain duties like regular prayers, abstaining from food and drinks, etc., during Ramadan, which seemed too much to me.

Upon Omar’s invitation, I attended the 1993 Eid’l Ftr celebration at the Nayong Pilipino masjid just a walking distance from PHSI. It was there that I told him of my intention to embrace Islam. After the Khutbah, I was made to execute my Shahadah and all the male Muslims who were there came one after another to hug me.

Among the changes to my personality since I converted to Islam was that I gradually abandoned my vices and my guitar-singing hobby at home which was now replaced with either reading Islamic literatures or listening to Islamic cassette tapes and or watching Islamic videos. During weekends I attended seminars at the Islamic Wisdom Worldwide (IWW) in Quiapo, Manila where I listened to lectures on Tawheed, Comparative Religion and Arabic Level 1.

The Islamic seminars I attended at IWW also gave me the chance to take home Islamic reading materials from time to time, which either I distributed to relatives and officemates or kept in one area of the house which eventually grew into a small Islamic library. At the PHSI library on the other hand, during breaktimes I had ample opportunities to preach Islam to fellow-employees.

To my great surprise and happiness, last year 2000, Dr. Muhammad Amin Gafari, the Director of IWW, informed me that I was being recommended for Hajj free of charge on my part along with 20 other Filipino Muslim converts. The journey enabled me not only to perform pilgrimage to Mecca but also visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. The entire trip was unforgettable to me having recorded on a journal my daily observations while I was there and eventually published it in my blog, “Message from the Desert”

My experiences on Hajj made me even more enthusiastic in sharing the message of Islam to my fellow-employees, unaware that years after my resignation from the company in 2004 to lead a simple life and have more time for Islamic studies specially Qur’an reading, 3 of those guys I had conversations with about Islam at the library namely Dennis Regaspi, Perlito Urquiola and Joel Fariñas eventually got employment in aviation companies the Middle East and while there they embraced Islam.

My change of religion became an emotional issue between me and my parents. To my Dad who used to be a world war II veteran and then an air force personnel after the war, my becoming a Muslim means joining a religion that teaches wanton and merciless killing of innocent people simply because they belong to another religion, while my mother warned that my prolonged refusal to return to Christianity would eventually cause her death. None of their fears came true and none of their pressures affected me till they realized that I’ve embraced Islam and will stick to it till my last breath.

That I used to be a musician as I mentioned here earlier made me forget about marriage. In 1996, however, or 3 years since I became a Muslim, I met a woman who embraced Islam in 1994 while working for a Palestininian family in Ajman, U.A.E. and whom I found adhering to the Islamic rulings on attire aside from being more capable than me in reading the Arabic text of the Qur’an, I didn’t waste time in proposing marriage to her and on the 18^th of May 1997 our Islamic wedding was solemnized not far from the apartment that I was renting and which eventually became our first residence.

Today, 18 years since I declared, “I bear witness that there is none to be worshipped other than Allah, and I bear witness. that Mohammad is the Slave and Messenger of Allah”, my wife Fatmah and I now have 4 children namely, Jameela 13, AbdulMajid 12, Abdulaziz 9 – all except Mariam 5 who is the youngest and who knows only Surah Al Fatiha, Sura Al-Ikhlas and a few verses of Surah Ya Sin, perform the 5 times daily obligatory prayers in Arabic and fasting during the month of Ramadan. With this, I can say that my lonesome journey to Islam in the past is now a joyful journey for myself and my immediate love ones, to Paradise.

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My Pilgrimage to Mecca on Year 2000 or “HAJJ 1420H” (Part 3 of 3 Parts)

“HAJJ 1420H”

or

“PILGRIMAGE to MECCA 2000”

(Part 3 of 3 Parts)

 

6th of Zul-Hajj / March 12, 2000 (Sunday)

Pilgrims at the Guest House waiting for next Hajj activities

While waiting for next Hajj activities we pilgrims at the Guesthouse did a variety of things. Some were reading the Qur'an though most of us concentrated on those Hajj literatures given to us at the ground floor reception area.

Other pilgrims were having coffee at the lobby and conversing with fellow-pilgrims from other countries. There were also pilgrims who walked out of the guesthouse to shop for souvenirs or simply have some sightseeing. In the afternoon, Ra Lam and I went to a nearby commercial center to look for Mecca posters. I ended up buying a Sajadah for my wife while Ra Lam bought one Sajadah for himself and one for a friend back home. On our way back to the guesthouse, we saw pilgrims at the highway walking towards the 2 pedestrian tunnels leading to Masjid Al-Haram .

At night, one of our companions told us that General Adiong, our group leader, wanted everyone’s presence at breakfast the next day.

7th of Zul-Hajj / March 13, 2000 (Monday)

Meeting at the Canteen

After the breakfast, a meeting was held during which General Adiong asked for suggestions from us on what, as a team, should we prepare for in connection with the various phases of the Hajj.

We knew while we were still in the Philippines that, as guests of the Prince we would be provided with a service vehicle as well as food but we had no idea as to what extent such accommodations would be extended to us. We heard that Hajj involves a lot of walking and we heard from one another as well as through reading about the places that we were going to, but we didn’t know exactly which areas would require walking and how long would each walking last. We even wondered on how we could prevent anyone of us from getting drifted away from the group during long walks with thousands of other pilgrims moving in the same direction, and, should such a problem happens, what should we do? The question also as to whether there was need for us to bring provisions such as water and snacks were raised. In short, we discussed possible scenarios in the hope that we would be ready for it just, in case.

When the General realized that we could not prepare adequately for something that we are not thoroughly familiar with, he took time to write a note indicating our concerns and personally brought it to the ground-floor office of brother Ibrahim, the Guest House in-charge. Coincidentally, brother Ibrahim, who I see to be always in a hurry, was in his office at that time. When, after acknowledging our Salam, brother Ibrahim felt that the note which the General was holding contained inquiries, he begged the latter to just convey the message verbally to him as he had enormous concerns at hand he just didn’t have the time to go over that note anymore. The good General heeded, after which our experienced host responded by telling us that our concerns have already been anticipated, in fact, he said, his office has been doing its best so that the pilgrims’ needs for the duration of the Hajj are attended accordingly.

8th of Zul-Hajj / March 14, 2000 (Tuesday)

Pilgrims left for Mina

Early in the morning today, we pilgrims at the guesthouse were told to pack some of our things and the mattresses we were using at the guesthouse and prepare to leave for Mina. When the physical count was made in the bus, we found out that one of us, brother Dimabildo, was not around. We searched the area for nearly an hour but we didn't find him.

At around 11:45 the bus moved to its destination without brother Dimabildo! With us in the bus were pilgrims from Syria. As the bus moved along the highway which, sometimes passes in between rocky mountains, we occasionally passed by pilgrims in smaller separate groups walking along highways with their belongings (thermos included) with them. What a moving experience it is to see worshippers in sandals travelling in those isolated highways at high noon.

At about 12:30 in the afternoon we arrived in Mina where we saw an almost endless row of tents spread over a wide open field lying flat south of Mt. Al Quwais. These tents are divided into blocks enclosed with iron fences. Our guides led us to our tent that was next to that of the Syrians. To our amazement, our tent, like those of the thousands of other tents outside are carpeted and air-conditioned! For every block of tents, a row of bathrooms / toilets exclusively for men and another one for women as well as wudhu or wash areas were adequately available. There’s also a tent in each block designated as distribution point for food from which pilgrims received in carton boxes. Likewise, coffee, tea and snacks were available on tables outside the tents.

Purposely, we were brought to Mina to perform prayer / meditation, which was among the traditions of The Prophet, peace be upon him. The occasion also gave us the opportunity to converse with fellow-pilgrims from other countries and through that, we were pleased to learn that many of the pilgrims were not actually ‘traditional Muslims’ but ‘Muslim-converts’, so to speak. From them we learned that in their respective countries there’s an apparent increase in the number of mosques because more and more worshippers from other religions are joining Islam.

The Return of our ‘Missing Brother’

We were having our supper at the tent when suddenly, brother Dimabildo entered and excitedly told us what happened. He said – sounding victorious - that he discovered the short cut to the Masjid al Haram which he said to be just about half an hour walk from the GuestHouse. In fact, he said, one end of this tunnel is very near the guesthouse. Dimabildo was so happy to tell us that for having found this tunnel he was able to perform another Tawaf at the Kaaba! He added to say that when he returned to the guest house after that, we had left for Mina already and that when Ibrahim, the guest house in-charge saw him and heard his story, the latter felt so delighted that he offered to personally drive the car to ferry him to our tent.

Lecture inside the Tent

Shortly after dinner an Arab came to our tent to join us, and, squatting on the carpet we formed a circle. The fellow was a jolly one who spoke very fluent English. He told us that he works as teacher and has already been assigned to various Islamic institutions, the most recent one of which is in the United States. After introducing himself as Abdul-Aziz bin Hazan and knowing our names and a few things about ourselves, he explained to us many things about Hajj. The lecture was followed by questions and answers through which we learned plenty, not only about Hajj but other things related to Islam. When asked whether it’s true that the government of Saudi Arabia is giving free education, hospitalization and housing to its citizenry, Hazan nodded his head to confirm it. Having sensed that we wanted to hear more about the subject, Hazan added to say that, “Education in Arabia is Free - from Kindergarten to Ph.D.” Hazan also elaborated on the other social services that the Saudis are receiving from their government and as he went on I realized that no other race is as blessed as the Saudis. I therefore concluded that the Islamic Economic System which Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) established some 1400 years ago, is indeed superior over all other economic systems in the world today.

9th of Zul-Hajj / March 15, 2000 (Wednesday)

Departure from Mina to Arafat

At around 7:30 in the morning today, we boarded our bus that left Mina for Arafat.

At around 8:00 we arrived in Arafat and occupied a much wider tent which accommodated over a hundred pilgrims and with adequate air-conditioning system inside.

At 8:25 someone announced that this day being holy, pilgrims were advised not to leave their places or intend to go to Mt. Arafat because the Prophet himself did not do it. We were advised not to sleep nor to spend our time chatting but to meditate, ask forgiveness from Allah and pray for our loves ones.

Departure from Arafat to Muzdalifa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4gPjgk85Bg

At around 5:00 in the afternoon pilgrims boarded their buses and waited there till shortly before Maghrib. Our destination: Muzdalifa

Shortly afterwards the bus moved. While speeding towards Muzdalifa, we saw on the opposite lane, a long line of empty buses (hundreds of them I guess) on stand-by ‘bumper-to-bumper’, each waiting for its turn to move towards Arafat to pick up pilgrims and ferry them to Muzdalifa.

As soon as we reached Muzdalifa, we laid down our mats and mattresses on the road. We had barely done that when everybody scrambled to position for the shortened prayers combining Maghrib and Isha. Since not everyone had a mat or mattress to stand on and or perform sujud, some had to share with those who had, although there were those who had to contend with whatever they had with them such as blankets, towels, and even cartoons they found in their surroundings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMtDPMovA94&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoUHqkMXG-Y&feature=related

Standing with other pilgrims in a row, I didn’t know how far the Imam was ahead of us for I couldn’t hear even a bit of his voice. What I could only hear then was the voice of one who was some distance ahead of us saying, “Allahu Akbar!” which made those in front of us execute the next prescribed praying position, which we followed. The “Allahu Akbar!” was in turn repeated a number of times behind us.

After the prayer we were given food in cartoons and after our supper we collected pebbles right there and kept them for tomorrow’s ‘throwing of the Great Jumarat or Big Stone’. We all slept on that Muzdalifa road shortly afterwards.

10th of Zul-Hajj (Eid’l Adha) / March 16, 2000 (Thursday)

March to the Great Jumarat (or the Big Stone)

After Fajr prayer and breakfast on the road, we were ferried back to the guesthouse.

At about 9:00 in the morning we went down the guesthouse and began our march towards the Great Jumarat. That’s about an hour brisk-walk. Our starting point was the edge of the bridge coming from the end of one of those 2 nearby tunnels leading to Masjid Al-Haram.

Among the things that amazed me as we marched is the vastness of the 3 parallel roads leading to the Jumarat. The road at the middle, which is the narrowest, is about 50 feet wide while the roads on our right and left are about 3 times wider. Whereas the wider roads are exposed to the sun, galvanized roofing supported by pillars standing about 40 feet high shelters the middle road. The road at the middle has 2 lanes; whereas the right lane was being used by the pilgrims marching to the Jumarat, the other lane was being used by those going to Masjid Al-Haram – passing through the pedestrian tunnels. Pilgrims who could no longer penetrate the sheltered road due to immense crowd nevertheless marched on the outer roads.

Spectacles in the March

Whereas many pilgrims marched alone, the others were in pairs like husbands and wives as well as groups such as families. There were also larger groups consisting for example, of a row of 8 pilgrims walking arm-in-arm with about 5 to 30 other rows marching behind them. It was common to see miniature flags of nations, banners and other articles - from sticks to bottles to umbrellas, etc., - raised above head levels as convenient identifying reference of groups wanting to keep their flocks intact during the entire march. The march was, as I observed, so solemn an exercise that none of the multitudes of pilgrims spoke unless necessary; the predominating sound around us then, was the rumble of marchers’ sandals. Along the sidewalks of both lanes of the middle road were vendors selling all sorts of souvenir items laid on mats, as well as pilgrims either laying asleep on their mattresses or simply resting. There were also ice-cold water fountains alongside the pillars.

After about a quarter of an hour since we began our march and between excitement and meditation, I saw something that moved me: a man carrying a 3-year-old girl on his shoulder, his left hand lifted above his head holding the girl to keep her from falling; meanwhile, the man’s right arm was clutching a curled mattress tucked under his right armpit, and, beneath the mattress was the man’s hand gripping the loops of a plastic bag of provisions, I suppose. The man’s wife on the other hand, was following about 10 feet behind him dragging the 2 kids beside her. I felt uneasy looking at the man in such a preoccupied, awkward or strenuous position considering the distance that he has traveled and the distance that he has yet to complete before he could finally let go of his loads! What an incredible act of worship, Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! I said to myself. I felt relieved, only after seeing a fellow-pilgrim offering to carry the mattress for him.

Shortly afterwards, we saw the marchers make a right turn and from that point the middle road was not sheltered anymore. The open space allowed us to see what looked like a sea of humanity moving shoulder to shoulder. We still had a long walk before we finally reached the area of the Jumarat. As we went on approaching the area, we noticed that unlike the outer roads which were level all the way straight ahead, the middle road was gradually going up an incline appearing like a bridge through which we saw pilgrims moving downwards to the direction head-on to ours. Actually this is the Jumarat Bridge, the middle of which the 3 Jumarats stand hundreds of yards apart, with the largest Jumarat being the nearest to the foot of the bridge in front of us. As we get close that bridge, we were signaled not to proceed ascending to that bridge but to make a turn to either of the outer roads until we get to the base of the big Jumarat under the bridge.

The Jumarat

As instructed, we went on through the right outer road till we reached the Great or Big Jumarat. This we found out at last is a 150-foot high rectangular concrete post planted on the ground and standing high with its sharpened top extending beyond the hole at the bridge above us. The thickness of the Jumarat itself is about 3 feet. A cone-shaped waist-high concrete circular fence (with the wider diameter at the top having an approximate radius of about 15 feet) serves as reservoir of the pebbles thrown at the Jumarat. This, the Jumarat as we found out later, was built to symbolize the Devil.

We stoned the Jumarat with 7 pebbles (one pebble per throw) as a way of humiliating Satan and pleasing our Lord. Today’s ‘throwing’ was the first of the required 3-consecutive-day throwing rituals. (Tomorrow, the 2nd day, we will be throwing pebbles at 3 Jumarats (7 pebbles per Jumarat) with the following sequence: the Small Jumarat, then the Medium Jumarat, and then the Great Jumarat. The procedure for 2nd day will be repeated on the 3rd day).

On my way back to the guesthouse I saw brothers Hamid and Abdurrahim. As the three of us went on walking, we saw, on different areas of the populated road, pilgrims undergoing head shaving. We also saw pilgrims crowding before booths to buy sheep for slaughter as their sacrifice on this special occasion known as Eid'l Adha, which commemorated the slaughter by Prophet Abraham of a ram instead of his son Ishmael on that day Allah tested his faith. Sheeps slaughtered as sacrifice on Eid’l Adha is being distributed among the poor in the community. The shaving of head as well as the slaughter of sheep later became among the traditions of Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, as integral parts of the Hajj.

As soon as we arrived at the guesthouse we found our companions alternately shaving each other.

At around 4:00 in the afternoon, we boarded our bus that took us to Mina. We arrived in the place about 5:00 in the afternoon.

11th of Zul-Hajj / March 17, 2000 (Friday)

March to and stoning of the Small Jumarat; Medium Jumarat then, Great Jumarat

This is the 2nd of the 3 ‘stoning’ days. Our group today consisted of the following: General Cuadra, General Piad, Butch Baliao, the Eugenio couple, Abdurrahim Rueca, Ra Lam and myself. Unlike yesterday, the stoning sequence today is as follows: The Smallest Jumarat first, followed by the Medium Jumarat and then the Great or Big Jumarat, 7 pebbles each.

In going to the Smallest Jumarat we did the same march but this time we went farther ahead than yesterday choosing the left outer road till we made a right turn to ascend to the incline of the opposite end of the bridge which was the prescribed way of going to the Small Jumarat.

Before we reach the foot of the bridge however, the crowd was so dense already that arriving pilgrims like us could not advance anymore. Then there was an announcement over the loudspeaker in language we couldn’t understand; then the announcement was made in another language and so on, till we heard English. It was actually an announcement telling pilgrims to stay put and discontinue marching for the bridge leading to the Jumarats was now filled with pilgrims. Instantly we feared that the bridge might collapse. The situation was like this for a few minutes until finally we were able to move on.

12th of Zul-Hajj / March 18, 2000 (Saturday)

March to and stoning of the Small Jumarat; Medium Jumarat then, Great Jumarat

This was the last of the 3 ‘stoning’ days. Same as yesterday, we stoned the smallest Jumarat, then the second Jumarat, then the third Jumarat - 7 stones each.

The three Jumarats above described symbolize the 3 occasions that the devil tempted Prophet Abraham and his family to disobey Allah. The family responded on each occasion by stoning the devil. The stoning of the Jumarats by worshippers during Hajj therefore, a reenactment of those events.

Our Farewell Tawaf

At about 8:30 in the evening, brother Ra lam, Ebrahim Du, the Eugenio couple and myself proceeded to Masjid Al-Haram to perform the prescribed Farewell Tawaf. We reach the Masjid past 9:00 pm because of heavy traffic. During Tawaf the slippers in the plastic bag that I tucked into my waist fell to the ground. I motioned to pick them up but Ra Lam blocked me for fear that in doing so I might lose my balance and fall on the ground and be crushed to death by pilgrims behind us moving at unstoppable momentum. After my last Tawaf I drank Zamzam water and, because I didn’t know then that it was not required anymore – I proceeded to perform the 7 Sa’y! I got out of the door of the Masjid without slippers. I looked around hoping to find a pair but I couldn’t, so I went to the Janitor nearby and conveyed to him my problem. The fellow looked around for a while till he saw the pair I needed – a pair abandoned by the owner maybe because of the broken strap on one side, Alhamdulillah! I went home alone, passing through the left side of the two tunnels behind the back of the King’s palace. After about half an hour I reach the other end of the tunnel. A few hundred yards away I made a left turn and finally I was back to the Guesthouse.

13th of Zul-Hajj / March 19, 2000 (Sunday)

Our Last Day in Mecca, our First in Madinah

This was our last day in Mecca. It was my last day to see those generous Bangladeshi attendants at the guesthouse that I had light moments with occasionally. Early morning today after Fajr, all pilgrims left the guesthouse.

Bus ride from Mecca to Madinah is a long one. I wish I had a map to tell me where I was from time to time but I had none. However, I remember having seen at least 2 mountains miles away at my left which were the only cone-shaped that I saw since we sat foot in Arabia.

At about noontime, the buses entered a locality and drove into what looked like a restaurant with a welcome streamer for pilgrims. I understood the message because it was in English. We were served lunch and, to my amusement, a bundle of roses each! We left shortly after taking our lunch and performing our Zuhur prayer. We reach Madinah by nightfall.

Our guides brought us to a hotel located just a building across the Prophet’s Mosque. Going to the Prophet’s Mosque is as uplifting as going to Masjid Al-Haram. The marble flooring at the grounds fronting the Masjid is equally shiny and the towering minarets as imposing as those in Masjid Al-Haram with those pointed tips & crescents made of gold.

Performing Prayer at Rawdah & Visiting the Graves of the Prophet & his 2 companions

With brothers Eugenio and Dimabildo, I performed Sunnah Prayer (2 rakah) at Rawdah, a spot in the Masjid measuring approximately 50 square feet. This spot is said to be a part of the Garden of Paradise.

At the rear portion of Rawdah is a small open cubicle measuring approximately 10 square feet with about 6 marble pillars approximately 7 feet high. This structure is said to be the house of the Prophet. It used to be outside of the Masjid. After the Prophet’s death, an extension of the Masjid was constructed so that the house with walls already removed is now enclosed in the extended portion.

In front of the Rawdah is a platform of some kind with about 14 ladder steps. On top of this platform which I would know later as Minber in Arabic, is a microphone. That, is where the prophet used to make Khutbah or sermon (without microphone, of course).

After our Sunnah Prayer at Rawdah, the 3 of us proceeded to the cubicle at the left of Rawdah. Beside this cubicle with steel gate are 2 other cubicles also with steel gates. The first cubicle houses the Prophet’s tomb, while the two other cubicles were for the tombs of his 2 companions: Abubakar and Omar. As soon as we were in front of the Prophet’s tomb we quietly offered our salutations or greetings. After that, the three of us walked out of the rear door of the Masjid. Then, when we were about a hundred yards away we looked around and we saw the blue-colored dome on top of the Masjid, which actually indicates the location of the Prophet’s tomb.

14th of Zul-Hajj / March 20, 2000 (Monday)

Shopping around Madinah commercial complex

We had no other place to go or thing to do but perform or regular prayers at the Masjid. At night my companions and I would go out for some sightseeing. At the small store in front of the Masjid I bought a tape ‘Journey to Hajj’. I went farther till I reached the commercial district where I was able to buy a few Islamic literatures and some small presents for my love ones.

15th of Zul-Hajj / March 21, 2000 (Tuesday)

Leaving Madinah for Jeddah

Today we left Madinah for Jeddah. We reach destination late in the afternoon and we checked in at the Ambassador Suite at Quraish Corner, Madinah Road. We will stay here while waiting for available flight to Manila.

16th day of Zul-Hajj / March 22, 2000 (Wednesday

No activity today – awaiting availability of flight to Manila

17th day of Zul-Hajj / March 23, 2000 (Thursday

No activity today – awaiting availability of flight to Manila

18th of Zul-Hajj / March 24, 2000 (Friday)

Jumaat Prayer at the Lobby of Ambassador Suite and visit to us by Filipinos at Jeddah Islamic Centers

There was no Masjid near Ambassador Suite so we performed our Jumaat Prayer at the lobby immediately outside our room.

At night shortly after supper, Filipinos working in different Islamic centers in Jeddah visited us. They were about 15 and mostly converts-to-Islam. They told us that they agreed among themselves to serve us while we are in Jeddah. They felt sad to know that we were already scheduled to depart for Manila the following day.

19th of Zul-Hajj / March 25, 2000 (Saturday)

Return Flight to Manila

Early in the afternoon today we were ferried from our hotel to the airport for our flight home. It was a bit emotional parting of ways between some of our companions and fellow-pilgrims from Britain.

20th of Zul-Hajj / March 26, 2000 (Sunday)

Arrival in Manila

We arrived in Manila late in the afternoon and everyone was in a hurry to reach home.

My house happens to be just near the airport so I invited Ra Lam to come with me and share some coffee for a while. While on our way, I was imagining my kids Jameela (2 years old) and Abdul-Majid (1 year old) jumping happilly when they see me. When my wife opened the door however, the kids just stared at me and my guest; they probably wondered where I had been for quite a long time and why was my head shaven.

End

ooo 0 ooo

My Pilgrimage to Mecca on Year 2000 or “HAJJ 1420H” (Part 2 of 3 Parts)

HAJJ 1420H”
or
“PILGRIMAGE to MECCA 2000”

(Part 2 of 3 Parts)


Afternoon of the 5th of Zul-Hajj / March 11 (Saturday)
Moment of all moments: going to the Kaaba

Whereas some of us preferred going to the Kaaba shortly after bringing our things at the Guest House, some chose to first make a survey to asses the situation around the Kaaba then go back to the Guest house and return to the Kaaba a little later for the Tawaf. The rest on the other hand, decided to go there after Asr (afternoon prayer). Ra Lam and I were with the last group, which included brothers Kamar, Dimabildo and the Eugenio couple.


As the bus rolled to bring us to the Kaaba, there were things we saw along the way that amazed me. The highway, on which our bus was speeding for example, ended up at the foot of huge rocky mountain where a tunnel begins. We penetrated through that long stretch of tunnel which is fully lighted and air-conditioned, till our bus stopped at an entrance leading to an escalator. The escalator brought us up quiet slowly and even before we reached the top we knew that we were already in the place when one after another the tips of those Minarets appeared. Then finally we were on the grounds fronting Masjid Al-Haram.


Seeing and entering for the first time the gate of that sacred complex resting on a wide expanse of marble floor made me feel as if I was walking close to Paradise. There’s this endless stream of people - men in white and women in either black or white Abaya - moving in and out of the Masjid with many others either performing personal prayers or reading the Qur’an while squatting on their mats at the grounds in front of the Masjid entrance. With the Hajj pamphlet in my hand, I walked with the rest of the group following brother Kamar, our leader. He suggested that should any of us be separated from the group while in the course of performing the rituals inside, the front gate shall be our meeting place afterwards.

Entering Masjid Al-Haram
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_2olrm-l4U

When we were just a few steps away from the entrance, I removed my slippers and put it in the plastic bag that I reserved for it and then tucked the thing under my belt. Although there’s a rack intended for slippers near the entrance, many pilgrims carry their footwear inside for they fear that if they leave them outside, they might, as experienced by many pilgrims during their exit later on, not be able to find those slippers anymore from among the other slippers that pile up as more and more pilgrims arrive.

Ready to enter the Masjid, I lifted up the pamphlet with my right hand and recited softly the appropriate Dua, then moved my right foot in. I depended so much on this pamphlet which I had to glance from time to time for the Dua in Arabic that need to be recited in appropriate places and times.

Once inside the Masjid, I observed among other things, that the pillars are of very shiny white marble stone. I estimated that there are hundreds of those pillars at the ground floor alone. The chandeliers too are plentiful inside the Masjid and many of them are of golden frames. On our way towards the center of the Masjid where the Kaaba stands we passed through zamzam water stations with containers and drinking cups. We also passed by wooden racks containing copies of the Quoran.

The Masjid being too crowded, we had to walk forming one line because the possibility of one to be separated from his companions while moving inside the Masjid is quite strong for people in haste could, suddenly cut through someone else’s path. Then, looking through those pillars ahead of us, I said in whispers, “oh, I’ve seen you at last”, referring to the unsheltered Kaaba around which we saw those worshippers moving shoulder-to-shoulder in counter-clockwise direction. Momentarily, our group had to pause, trying, like the other pilgrims who just came, to find a passageway from among those sitting on the floor whose number became so large that the path leading towards the Kaaba became practically blocked.

From where we stood, we saw that the Kaaba grounds are about a few steps lower than the ground floor of the Masjid. Through hand signals we agreed to continue moving. Trying to reach the stairway, our group was split because there were others that moved with us and we had to slow down in order not to hurt those on the floor and sometimes we had to stop to let a pilgrim finish performing Sunna prayer before moving towards the vacant space in front of him. We did just that and just as we feared earlier, by the time we were on the Kaaba grounds we have lost sight of some of our companions who may have, at that time, been wondering where to find us from among those hundreds of thousands of other Pilgrims moving about the Kaaba grounds.

Our time to perform Tawaf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgfIIjN0QWs&feature=related

Realizing that there was no way we could find our ‘missing’ companions, the 4 of us, Ra lam, who was at my left and the Eugenio couple who were right behind us, started to move along with the other pilgrims already performing Tawaf. We should have started, as the pamphlet says, our Tawaf on the Black Stone corner of the Kaaba which is the established starting and ending point of Tawaf, but we couldn’t go there anymore because of the immense crowd that we had to go against to reach the spot. We remedied this by agreeing among ourselves to just add one more round to our Tawaf

Many of the pilgrims performing Tawaf could recite prayers in Arabic and they unconsciously attract other pilgrims to swarm them and quietly pray along with them in the hope of receiving reward from Allah for having joined in their prayer. The most unforgettable to me about Tawaf are the pilgrims themselves, the Muslims who traveled from far away places of the earth to converge, pray and moved together around the Sacred House begging for forgiveness and blessings from their Lord. In due time, our Tawaf was over and as we moved with other pilgrims leaving the place, we saw others arriving and making their way into the Kaaba grounds to start their Tawaf. That sight gave me the impression that Tawaf is an endless day and night movement of worshippers, until the Hajj season is completed. Later on I discovered that Tawaf doesn’t end but goes on and on 24 hours each day of the year! This is because there is an endless arrival of worshippers the world over coming to the Sacred House.

Forgetting to perform the Sunna Prayer before the Makkam Ibrahim

After finishing our Tawaf we were suppose to proceed to the Makkam Ibrahim to perform the Sunna during which the Quoranic verses recommended are: Surah Al Qafiron and Surah Al-Ikhlas - in that sequence. However, none of us came to remember about it anymore. Our oversight could have been due to the fact that the Kaaba grounds was already so crowded at that time and the motion of people, many of whom were taller than us, might have obstructed the Makkam Ibrahim from our sight. What we came to remember instead after our Tawaf was the drinking of Zamzam water, which in fact comes after the Sunna prayer. So, we intended to proceed to the Zamzam Well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZeTFs0lwr4 which was then just a few steps away from us, but although we were so excited to go there, we saw that the crowd was already so thick to hurdle for us to be able to get there, so we decided to just find some other source of Zamzam water. For this reason we walked towards the steps going up to the ground floor of the Masjid and once inside, we saw an open cubicle where faucets for Zamzam are plentiful.

Performing Sa’y at Safa and Marwa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyK8_8qeL84

After drinking Zamzam water, we inquired from fellow pilgrims for the direction of hill Safa that was our starting point in performing ‘Sa’y’. Our pamphlet says that upon reaching hill Safa, which we found to be an incline on one end of the 2-lane corridor which composes ‘Safa wal Marwa’, we have to turn our faces towards the direction of the Kaaba and then raise both hands and at the same time recite the appropriate Dua.

As soon as we performed the dua at hill Safa, we joined other pilgrims who slowly moved down and away from Safa and proceed towards the hill Marwa incline. With several pilgrims moving at one time, I was separated from my 3 companions but I went on with my Sa’y just the same, hoping that we would still see one another before our Sa’y is completed.

The corridor connecting Safa and Marwa is a long stretch of marble floor. In this corridor pilgrims on both lanes move in opposite direction. These lanes are separated by 2 other lanes (narrow ones about 3 feet wide each) intended for the use of the handicapped carried by wheel chairs that also move in the opposite directions. Each of the outer lanes is approximately 30 feet wide and the ceiling, about 50 feet high. If a pilgrim is making Sa’y from Safa to Marwa, at his left side is the location of the Kaaba approximately 300 feet away, while on his right side is the wall of Masjid Al-Haram along which are gates for pilgrims moving in and out of the Masjid Al-Haram complex.

This Sa’y differs from Tawaf in that, Sa’y is a 7-time-march in opposite directions, with march in one direction being counted as one (1) Sa’y. Tawaf on the other hand, is a 7-time-march in the counter-clockwise direction. Another difference between these is that, Tawaf is being performed around the unsheltered Kaaba, while Sa’y is done within the sheltered corridors of Safa and Marwa (with the exception of the 3rd floor of Safa & Marwa corridor that is unsheltered). I remember that perpendicular to and above the Safa and Marwa corridors are semi-bridges on which other pilgrims move about and watch those pilgrims below performing sa’y. At one point during Sa’y, the pilgrims gradually increase their speed upon reaching the ‘green mark’ on the wall at their right and they return to their normal speed upon reaching the next green mark. This area between those 2 green marks is said to be the area where Hagar, prophet Abraham’s 2nd wife would start rushing as she was anxious to find a caravan on the other side of either hill from whom she hoped to beg for some water for her and her son Ismael.

As soon as we reached the Marwa incline, we moved a few steps up then turned our head towards the Kaaba. Standing on this spot, we raised our hands and at the same time repeated the Dua that we did at hill Safa. Then we moved down and away from hill Marwa to proceed to hill Safa - which makes up our second Sa’y - the time when we found one of our missing companions Mohammad Ibrahim Du. When all the required 7 Sa’y were completed, brother Du brought Ra Lam and me to one corner and with scissors, cut portions of our hair as part of the rituals. Then we saw brothers Dimabildo and Gadat rejoining us, the Eugenio couple and Ra Lam still out of sight. For a while we waited at the stair on one side of the Safa wal Marwa corridor hoping that our missing companions would appear

Leaving Masjid Al-Haram

Outside the main gate of Masjid Al-Haram, the 4 of us, brothers Mohammad Ibrahim Du, Dimabildo, Gadat an I were wondering if there were buses parked somewhere near the Masjid assigned to transport us pilgrims who stay at the Prince’s hotel in Azizia. Uncertain about this, we agreed to move out and look for such buses though we felt that our search would be a difficult one for 2 reasons: from the gate of the Masjid are a number of roads (separated by tall and short buildings alike) and we didn’t know which road to choose to begin our search; secondly, a walk from one road to another wasn’t easy for even the roads at that time were flooded with pilgrims leaving or coming to the Masjid, and naturally, with crowded roads it is difficult to determine a service bus from a passenger bus unless one gets so close to those vehicles. Just the same we moved out of the Masjid premise and proceeded to one of those streets. As we came closer to the buildings we found that beneath them are shops selling assorted articles from dresses to necklaces and watches, fruits, posters, books and cassette and video tapes of Arabic and or English inscriptions. Along sidewalks we saw vendors selling Siwak (a kind of wooden stick said to be used by prophet Mohammad in brushing his teeth), Hijab (women head cover), post-cards, etc.; there were shops too selling Shawarma and other food stuff. Unable to find any service bus to our hotel, our option was to take a taxi.

Problem: How to return to the Guest House

Getting a taxi was likewise difficult because hardly could such a vehicle penetrate the roads teeming with pilgrims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHy2gIafs3A We were practically stranded on that road fronting the end of the tunnel where our service bus from the hotel dropped us hours earlier. In spite of heavy traffic resulting from over-crowd, we saw a number of taxi able to sneak in from among those small streets in the area. In Mecca, taxi drivers pick up passengers if there are still vacant seats in the car. In addition to the typical taxicab that we saw there, we also saw wagons running with passengers standing as they hold on to the braces of such vehicles . We tried calling a number of taxi and showed them our wristband which tells of our ‘residence’ at Azizia, near the Masjid Bimbaz but these drivers just shook their heads and or reasoned out in language we didn’t understand. Then we heard the Adhan or call-to-prayer through loudspeakers. At the second call, we saw men from all directions hurrying towards the middle of the road and positioned themselves standing side by side, occupying almost the entire width of the road. Within seconds the line of worshippers standing side by side was duplicated several times at the back. We should have joined one of those lines but we felt that our anxieties during the past 2 hours have made us impure and we couldn’t see water around the place to wash ourselves with or perform ablution. So we decided to just perform the prayer upon our return to the guesthouse.

The Fulfillment

The lack of sleep the previous night and the Tawaf and Sa’y that we did today made us feel tired somehow. But this was compensated enormously by the fulfillment we felt for having walked around the Kaaba tracing the footsteps of those Holy men known as Prophets who have one after the other walked on those same grounds in response to the Lord’s call.

(To be continued)

My Pilgrimage to Mecca on Year 2000 or “HAJJ 1420H” (Part 1 of 3 Parts)

“HAJJ 1420H”

or

“PILGRIMAGE to MECCA 2000”

(A journal of my experiences, observations and impressions before, during and after the event)

(Part 1 of 3 Parts)

How it began to happen

February 24, 2000

Shortly before noon today, I received a phone call in my office at the Philippine Helicopter Services, Incorporated, Domestic Airport, Manila,  from Dr. Mohammad Amin Ghafari, my teacher on Islamic studies and the Director of Islamic Wisdom Worldwide (IWW) in Manila.

Dr Ghafari called to tell me that I was one of the nominees to perform Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca. He said that if I’d be lucky, I would enjoy free travel and board and lodging accommodations as, “Guest of Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Fahad” of Saudi Arabia. This privilege, Dr. Ghafari said, is being alloted to at least 20 Filipino Muslims who shall leave for Arabia anywhere between March 9 and 11. Our group, Ghafari said, includes at least three (3) Officers from the Philippine National Police namely, General Percival ‘Jaffar Al Mahim’ Adiong, General Rex ‘Abdul Rascid’ Piad, and General Enrique ‘Mohammad’ Cuadra. Also to go with us is Nick de Guzman, a broadcaster of Radio Station DZRH of the Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC).

After our talk I was certain that Dr. Ghafari’s phone call to me today will be remembered for as long as I live.

Days later, I received another call, this time from Abdul-Aziz Amrani of IWW. Mr. Amrani told me to proceed to the Saudi Arabian embassy and see Mr. Sahl Ergesous, the 2nd Secretary.

At the embassy I was instructed by Mr. Ergesous to wait at the lobby and it was there where I met for the first time ‘radio man’ Nick de Guzman or ‘Ra Lam Mohammad’. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Ergesous handed to us the letter of Ambassador Saleh Moh’d Al-Ghamdi to Director Acmad Tomawis of the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA), requesting for the facilitation of our passports at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Departure from the Philippines

4th of Zul-Hajj / March 10, 2000 (Friday)

This was my first time to see the rest of the ‘20’, except for Robert ‘Hamid’ Coo who had been my co-worker in some Islamic dawah activities a few years back.

From the Saudi Arabian Embassy which was our meeting point, a van ferried us at around 12:00 a.m. to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. At the airport’s lobby, there were Muslims performing the noontime prayer. Once inside the plane some of us started adjusting the time to coincide with the prevailing time in Saudi Arabia. In my case, I chose to keep Philippine time all throughout the journey.

Ra Lam and I occupied the seats assigned to us on the left-hand side of the plane, with me sitting beside the window. Through the microphone, someone spoke to the passengers in Arabic, then in English advising us about the does and don’ts in flight followed by a Duat (prayer in Arabic). How comforting it is to think that a Muslim’s voyage always start with a prayer. Our first stopover: Riyadh. Flight time from Manila: 9 hours.

As soon as the aircraft has taken off and assumed level flight, earphones were distributed and Emergency procedures were demonstrated jointly by a flight stewardess and by audio-visual presentation through the screen in the forward section of the plane’s aisle. Afterwards, the screen began showing us an illustration of the plane and of the Kaaba and their position in relation to each other. Also, the position of the plane and its path in relation to the illustrated map of countries over which it would fly, were shown alternately with data indicating our altitude, speed, bearing, distance, and it’s time from points of departure to destination. Seeing a Saudi Airline Magazine in front of me, I scanned its pages and learned through the Foreword that this year’s pilgrims would number about 700,000 who would be shuttled by some 300 units of the Saudia 737s deployed around the globe. This figure does not include other carriers and means of transports.

At 7:00 p.m. it was already evening in Manila, yet through the plane’s window I was seeing mid-afternoon daylight. Some passengers began adjusting their watches by adding 5 hours to coincide with the local time or the time at point of destination. Some didn’t do that; they preferred seeing Philippine time in their watches all throughout the duration of the Hajj.

Many times I peeped through the window in the hope of seeing land or water below us, but 40,000 feet is too high I couldn’t see anything beyond those clouds below, except darkness.

Stopover / Refueling in Riyadh

Minutes before the 9th and final hour the plane began descending. Then I saw lights about the ground below. “So this is Riyadh” I said to myself, “full of lights”. And I observed that none of those lights down there flickered. Whether big or small they were unmoving lights and they all looked like having the pinkish color. They were unlike the colorful flickering lights in skyscrapers we see in western movies. One moment I saw this odd-looking, imposing structure with huge circular shapes about itself it looked like flying saucers of some sort installed one on top of the other - I recalled I saw it earlier in a photograph on a wall at the ground-floor lounge of the Embassy in Manila.

Finally, the plane landed at about 1:50 a.m. (Philippine time) for an hour stopover.

Then plane took-off again for an hour and a half flight to Jeddah. Afterwards the steward excitedly advised us that it was time to wear our Ihram  (the 2 pieces of unsewn white cloth which are the prescribed clothing that a male pilgrim must use - without any underwear - during his Hajj http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ughnIIvEI&feature=related). In a short while male pilgrims one after another went to the bathrooms to shave off all of their underhair and then take a bath. These by the way, are rituals required prior to the wearing of the Ihram. The other pilgrims, while waiting for their turn outside the bathroom, rehearsed for the prescribed manner of wearing the Ihram. The others went cutting their fingernails - an act that a pilgrim would no longer be allowed to perform after he has put on his Ihram, otherwise his Hajj will be nullified.

Stopover / Overnight in Jeddah

We landed in Jeddah as scheduled. As our plane was taxiing towards the tarmac, we saw a line of 737 planes sitting idly at the ramp. I suppose those planes had already done their mission of transporting pilgrims from various countries just a few hours earlier. In a short while Arab attendants led us down the plane towards the buses that awaited us. As soon as we were seated in the bus with fellow-pilgrims from other countries, brother Timosa began reciting, “Labaika La Humma Labaik; Labaika La Shareka Laka Labaik; Inalhamda; Waniamata; Laka Wal Mulk; La Shareekala!" This recitation was repeated on and on in the bus, led alternately by pilgrims of various nationalities till the bus stopped at the terminal where our travel documents and belongings underwent checking by airport authorities. At the terminal we saw, to our amusement and delight, pilgrims from all races waiting to be checked. Needless to say, there was pleasant chaos in the terminal while scores of pilgrims - black, white, tall and short - quietly performed individual prayers; others in the crowd either chatted on the floor and benches or conversed with fellow-pilgrims they just met. After about 2 hours of checking, we were led to the terminal of the pilgrims airport, a vast sheltered open space where we spent the whole night conversing with one another and with other nationals who gathered around long tables.

Departure from Jeddah to Mekka by bus

5th of Zul-Hajj / March 11, 2000 (Saturday)

At about 8:00 a.m. today, all the pilgrims in Jeddah were instructed to board on buses assigned to them. Ra Lam motioned to get his things to load them to the cargo compartment but the hosts insisted to do the loading for us instead.

While the bus was speeding on the wide highway, videotapes were played on the television sets on board. Those tapes were actually footage of common mistakes committed by pilgrims while performing Hajj rituals, while circumambulating around the Kaaba. Those footages were shown to keep us informed of acts that we should avoid.

Looking through the glass window of the bus I didn’t see any motion in the desert out there. The pilgrims in the bus one after another fell asleep. My eyes were heavy too that I struggled to remain awake wishing to see as much as I can about ‘Hajj’ on television and about the surroundings, but I found myself waking up later and learn that I have slept 15 or more minutes and then I was awake for 15 or more minutes and had fallen asleep again. I think most of us in the bus slept for as long as half or maybe more of our travel time. A number of things that I saw outside puzzled me. For example, I noticed cracks on those rocky mountains, they appear as perfect straight lines. Also I noticed that the designs of edifices I saw from time to time on either side of the road are far different from the western designs that my eyes are accustomed to, and yet I found Arab architecture very appealing. These observations gave me the impression that, when the Great Creator created this area, He designed it to be different and isolated from the rest of the earth and as to why He did that nobody knows except Him.

Inside the bus, our breakfast was served in carton boxes.

Arrival at the Guest House in Mekka

We reached Mecca before noontime. The bus stopped before a huge building. We Filipino pilgrims were gathered along with other nationals at the lobby of this structure that we found out later to be known as ‘Guests of Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Fahad’. It was in this lobby that each group of nationals was given a briefing about schedules of buses plying through the different areas of Hajj. The in-charge of the host whom we only knew by the name Ibrahim informed us in fluent English that every hour buses are stationed in front of the building to ferry pilgrims intending to go to Masjid Al-Haram. We were also informed among other things, about the services that we pilgrims can avail of in that 10-story building. After that briefing, an attendant went around to distribute umbrellas, pack of necessities like toothbrush, toothpaste, nail cutter, soap (unperfumed). In addition, we were each given a rubberized white wristband with red Arabic inscriptions. I saw none from our group and from among the other nationals bothered to ask for the meaning of that inscription. It seemed to me that none of the pilgrims gave thought about what the wristband was for. It was days later when someone from our group told us that the inscription means, “Friend of Abdul-Aziz bin Fahad” - residing in ‘Guest of Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Fahad’ in Aziziya. The wristband was therefore, a sort of an identification and address for the Arab in the street to refer to, in case the wearer gets lost at any time of his pilgrimage.

The Pilgrims at the guesthouse

We Filipino pilgrims were given 3 separate rooms on the 4th floor. My companions in the room were Ra Lam, Butch Balaiao and the 3 generals. Each of us had a mattress, pillow and blanket - no bed in that room as in other rooms. The occupants of the room next to us were brothers Abdulkadir Dimabildo, Mohammad Ebrahim Du, Gadat Ismael, Muhammad Eugenio, and Esmael Timosa. In the 3rd room, were brothers Hamid Coo, Abdurrahim Rueca, Abdulwali Villanueva, Nathif Omar, and Kamar Sabdulla. Muslim brothers from Sudan occupied at least 2 other rooms close to us. On the table at the lobby, coffee, tea, and hot water were available day and night. For our movements up and down the building, 3 elevators were in use. Restaurant was on the 2nd floor, providing services on the following daily schedules: breakfast at 8:30 a.m., (local time) lunch at 3:00 p.m. and dinner 7:30 - 10 p.m. There’s a ‘Question and Answer Room’ on the 1st floor. Also, there’s a huge prayer room at the 3rd floor, although most of the pilgrims proceed to the Bembaz Mosque just across the guesthouse when Adhan is heard through loudspeakers.

Although we have at least 2 Imam’s in our group, brothers Sabdullah and Timosa, the absence of an Arab guide who could communicate with us in English gave us a hard time communicating with non-English-speaking Arabs and other nationals. For this reason, once in a while someone in a crowd could be heard asking, “anybody speaks English?” or simply, “English?”; those in the crowd who don’t respond by either shaking their heads or calling a companion who knows the language. And when there is one who does, he readily comes forward and say, “yes, what is it, brother?”

(To be continued)

Cave Hira the place where the first Verses of the Holy Qur'an were revealed by Angel Jibril to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as commanded by The Lord of all Creations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMq2mYXPdsk

The Holy Qur'an was revealed by Angel Jibril  to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) inside this Hira cave in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, more than 1,400 years ago during Ramadan, the sacred 9th  month of the Hijra calendar (also known as Lunar Calendar).

The English interpretation of the verses are shown below the title of this site (please see top).

Please click on the website appearing below the above photo for you to see the visual presentation of the cave.