It has been one year and more that I got the most amazing opportunity that I have had till date! It was when I visited Mecca and Madinah for my Umrah!
There are so many accounts in my little diary that I carried with me there, and indeed beautiful accounts of those wonderful 17 days I spent in Saudi Arabia. But I never fathomed the courage to write about it on my blog, for one simple reason- I never knew if someone who does not have any knowledge about Islam and Umrah, the importance of the places Mecca and Madinah, the reason for why we ever go for Umrah or Hajj would ever understand this!
But I realize today, when I reminisce those beautiful memories, that it is only so unfair of me to not share it with people, irrespective of their religion, faith, and sect!
Every single day I spent there, was a moving experience, but I will like to highlight a few beautiful moments of absolute awe and inspiration for a human.
1. Faith!
Mashallah! The Masjid-ul-Nabvi is a beautiful Masjid spread on a vast area. It is said that during the time of Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) the village of Madinah was as big as the Masjid is. Once the village started expanding after the rise of Islam, they converted the original small village into Masjid-ul-Nabvi.
Now as this entire Masjid is too vast, it is very difficult to find some particular places where we are required to fulfill some duties or nuances of the Umrah. On one such occasion when we were lost and could not figure our way out, I came across a young beautiful slim tender woman, who looked almost my age!
Before I go ahead- The pilgrims that come to Mecca and Madinah do not belong to one country. They come from all over the world, you name the country and they are there! Different countries, different cultures, different languages, all united by one thing- Islam!
Believe me! To know in your heart and to see with your eyes that you belong to a community as huge as this, spread across the world, and all connected by one faith- it can blow your mind away! It felt so much better to know you belong to something that is so much bigger than what you can ever fathom with your sane or insane mind!
I do not think that this huge a population of the world can be fools to be believing in something bigger than their existence! It reminds me of every single day of my life when I lost faith and conviction in myself, in my dreams, in my existence, in the mere beautiful soul that Allah has given me right since I had those tiny feet and crooked teeth, to a grown woman today.
I found Faith in humanity, in service, in community, in belonging! All my life I spent years trying to find love and the feeling of belonging to something better and bigger, something beautiful. And there I was, right there among all that crowds and herds of people who did not know my name or anything about my existence, except for the fact that I am a fellow Muslim.
There was not a single day when I was not greeted with smiles, and warm wishes. People who do not belong in my life, in the small little world that I have made for myself, were making efforts to make my day brighter- why!? I wondered why!?
And within those few days itself I found my answer- it’s because I am loved, I am loved as someone who belongs to the faith that they follow.
How beautiful can the magic of faith be- when everyday of life can become so peaceful and filled with love! How often do we spread that love in the world?
2. Love is Universal
Coming back to the fair slim and tender lady I met, who was almost my age! Since we knew nobody else’s language and there were very few people who conversed in English, it really was a challenge to communicate verbally. Not that it created any hindrance in our experience there!
She did talk in English, and bless me I found her at the right time! She guided me with the correct route to the place I was trying to find. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, with such ease and effortlessly she asked me “Where are you from?”
I answered very proudly “India!”
Her face broke into a huge smile and she was in so much awe! She exclaimed “India! Wow! I am from Indonesia!”
And before I could gather anything further to say, she hugged me so tight and she kissed my cheek! She hugged my mother too! She told me how happy she was to meet me! She had such high praises for India and told me I should visit her in Indonesia!
I do not remember the last time I received such love from a stranger, leave aside from someone I love deeply! And in that moment of truth, I knew love has no language, it has no barrier, it is not in the lifelong togetherness, or the sacrifices. These are all the price we pay in the name of love.
Love is this, the smile you bring to a face of someone you do not even know! And the eternal memory you give to them, never to know their name, never to know anything of their existence ever again!
3. Humility is the biggest gift!
Every single day I spent there, I was nothing and nobody! I was nobody’s daughter, sister, girlfriend, best friend, employee, employer, and student! There was no role that I was playing there, and I was a huge void waiting to be filled with all these experiences and more.
I am not an egoist as a person. I forgive, I forget, I love and I seek pain in these emotions. But it will only be so dishonest if I would not agree that I come with arrogance ingrained in my inert nature. The arrogance which I believe we all carry within ourselves, knowingly or unknowingly. For a fact, I have made conscious knowledge of that arrogance and taught myself more humility.
But the humbleness that I learnt in all my days there is beyond imagination or explanation! In true entirety, I gave up on every dream, every goal, every belonging and every relationship, that at some point had become an anchor. In those sea of people that I was walking with every day, I acknowledged myself to be a ‘nobody’!
Frankly, nobody cared if I was a painter, a doctor, a thief, a billionaire or a deprived! All I was- was a devotee sans of any titles, any privileges, and any expectations! You know what that kind of existence does to you?
It makes you so humble from the depths of your heart! Here you are in a land you have never set foot on before, the language you do not know and the people you have never met! And yet you are safe and loved and cared and cherished!
What wonders could a life like that make, if we learnt to be this- a ‘nobody’! I felt so small, so small in the magnanimity of the religion I belong to, the faith of millions and billions of people that drives with me every day with every single prayer I make, and the tears that are flowing like rivers asking for forgiveness for when we ever thought of ourselves as somebody!
No institution as this institution of faith has given me the opportunity to learn a lesson like this!
4. Your faith can fathom boundaries and depths of the universes in the grain of a second!
This is one of the most cherished memory, and the biggest moment of my life. For I saw with my own eyes, and felt with my own heart- my prayers being answered, my faith being rewarded, my love being appreciated and my existence being blessed!
It starts with a small ritual I might say for the sake of this article, that I wanted to fulfill, but it was an extremely difficult task! And that was the only one left for me to know I have done everything I came there for, as a part of my duties as a Muslim performing an Umrah!
On the very last day in Mecca, during my Tawaf-ul-Wida (which is the last pilgrim you perform near the Holy Kabah) I was crying and praying with my true heart. We have to perform seven rounds revolving the Kabah to finish one Tawaf!
When I started with the First round- I was crying thinking in my heart that I could not perform this one last ritual (the difficult one). My mind was wandering back to wanting to do that one thing so my heart could find peace! Then by the time I reached the fifth round, my heart told me may be Allah is saving it for me to come here again to fulfill the task! It’s a sign he will call me to this Holy place again! My restlessness started wearing out and I started feeling peace! By the end of seventh round- I had had a conversation with Allah, as if he had assured me that all the prayers in my heart has been heard and they will be answered. And I was at peace knowing that I will In Sha Allah be called here again!
And then, miracle! Right out of nowhere, there was a tiny window of opportunity that opened up in front of my eyes! I leaped to it, I was filled with the courage, strength and wisdom to make that choice. As difficult as the task seemed, I fulfilled it with ease, effortlessly and without a doubt in my mind of not reaching the finish line! It was as if, Allah had truly answered my prayers right there and I was elated to find that reward!
You see the power of the energy that you expend in the universe wanting something with all your heart, and the faith- the unfathomable faith that you put in it, that by all means without a doubt it is fulfilled! Your prayers are answered, your love is rewarded, your patience is tested and you come out clean and strong!
Takeaway: Life is the biggest gift if used wisely!
Each one of us is a Nobody! There is nothing that we can create out of anything which has already not been created for us! Our brains are our biggest assets to make our lives easier. But our hearts are our biggest investments! Each one of our precious heart is an investment of a lifetime that we make for ourselves.
Love has no language, no color, and no words! It is universal and free flowing, without guile, without doubt, without expectation- and this love you are never going to feel for another mortal soul ever! All those friendships, relationships and family, they are engagements- apprenticeships I would say where we are learning and growing and investing and expecting! True Love is beyond our fathomable imagination and reach!
A religion which took me to a place that made me feel a surreal and heavenly depths of my existence, that cleansed my soul of evil and pride, that made me realize that life is about giving, loving, sharing, and having the energy to move the heart and the soul of another with the slightest efforts! If that religion is tabooed, taunted upon and misjudged, I have no qualms no regrets and no complains!
The biggest pleasures of life are missed by those who close their eyes to what their mind cannot fathom and heart cannot conceive!
