For those of you that don’t know, the Hajj is a pilgrimage in and around Mecca, Saudi Arabia and is a requirement for Muslims if one is financially and physically able to make the pilgrimage. The actual rituals of Hajj span a period of about 5 days that come around once a year in the Islamic calendar.
That period of time is coming up soon and I have the incredible honor to go and perform the Hajj this year.
Despite the fact that I have this website and am on Twitter and Facebook, I’m still a private person. I was debating whether or not to even say anything about going for Hajj on here just in case it may be misconstrued as me being arrogant (“Hi Everyone! I’m more pious than you!! Just an FYI.”*) but I wanted to share.
Hajj is one of those things that I thought would happen… eventually. In the past few years though, going for Hajj actually started to materialize as something that I could feasibly do sooner rather than later. Last year, we were thinking about going but it didn’t work out. Even this year, things were touch and go for a while but Alhamdulilah, it all came together.
I’m not going to lie, I was definitely overwhelmed with the prospect of going for a while mostly for the reason that I was afraid that I would do something wrong and commit some faux pas. But if not now, then when? Who knows how things will be like in the future. All any of us ever know is the here and now. Alhamdulilah, the elation of going is getting stronger as the day of departure approaches and my worry is diminishing with each second of preparation I’m doing for the trip and how to perform the Hajj. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll probably still be freaking out to some degree from now until I go, but it’ll be a more controlled form of freak out rather than a free for all.
Besides reading about the rituals for Hajj, I’ve been trying to get myself in the right frame of mind to make this trip. One of the things that people seem to stress above all else is the need for patience. All 3 million+ Muslims that will be converging on Mecca will all be there for the same purpose and delays or issues of some sort of another are bound to happen. The best anyone can do is just go with it.
Having said all that, I humbly request that you all keep me in your duas/prayers (if that’s your thing) as I go for Hajj that it’s made easy and that it’s accepted!
Also, I wanted to ask that if there are any of you who would like me to say any duas on your behalf during Hajj, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email with the specifics :)
*Please note, I would never actually say that ever. I would never in my life presume to think I’m more pious than anyone.
I’m much too pious to do that *cough*.
That last sentence was a joke so laugh, laugh I say!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooooh that’s so cool! May Allah give you the full experience of Hajj in the best possible way! My in-laws are going, so tell them wassup if you see them among the millions lol.
Thanks, I appreciate that :)
Haha, yeah, I’ll keep a look out for your in-laws ;)
Thanks for sharing, Bushra…..and ‘good luck’!
Johnny
How exciting for you Bushra! May God rain his love on you as you embark on this adventure.
In my naivety I’d like to ask you a question. Can you sum up in short what the “goal” of Hajj is and what types of duas you perform? Does that make sense as a question? That’s probably a whole other blog eh? :)
Thank you Johnny!
Thanks to you as well Jessie! Your question is definitely valid :) There aren’t actually too many required prayers that one would say while performing the pilgrimage, a few only. A lot of the duas one would say would be to ask God for forgiveness and also just praying to Him about anything, like for good health for example. But you can really ask for anything. A lot of these duas can be said in whatever language one is most comfortable with. There are some recommended prayers but honestly, you can say whatever you would like most of the time.
If one performs the Hajj rites correctly with the best of intentions and sincerity, then it’s like one’s sins are forgiven, as if one is a newborn. Definitely a big deal for Muslims!
Cool. Thanks for your careful answer. In that case, I will pray that you are reborn. And though I’m not Jewish, there is a name of God in Hebrew that means “The God who unceasingly reveals himself to you.” I will pray that He does just that.
So good to see you this weekend, friend! We were glad you were able to make it out. May Allah accept your Hajj. We’ll have to grab a coffee when you return, iA!
PS: Don’t forget the Power Bars and Purell :)
Thanks Jessie!
It was good to see you as well Azmina and thanks for the well wishes! We should definitely have coffee after I get back, InshAllah :)
P.S. Done and done!
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