My Christian friends have been calling me Alhaji over the years, and each time I restrain myself from telling them I have not yet been to Makkah to assume that title, lest they feel hurt or embarrassed. So I let it go. Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam, which is incumbent on every Muslim who has the means, healthy and of sound mind to perform. To my Christian friends why not, with long life I will make it to the Holy land. So they have every reason to preempt me that title.
So the moment soon came. I counted myself lucky and privileged to be offered a plane ticket and visa alongside 19 other professionals from Ghana to be part of the special guests of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques of the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al SaudI, to perform this year's hajj.
Indeed, most privileged to be among the array of professionals (medical doctors, academics, journalists, lawyers, Arabic teachers, to mention but a few) numbering about 4,501 across all race on the globe, accorded the rare privilege to perform Hajj at no cost to our pockets.
We finally touched down at Jeddah International Airport at dawn on Tuesday, June 20, after a long haul of more than five-hour flight on the EgyptAir from Kotoka International Airport, and additional more than an hour connect flight on the Saudi Airline from Cairo International Airport in Egypt. We were later whisked in buses to the Miqat (reference point of entry into the Holy Land at the outskirt of Makkah) where we had to declare our intentions, purify ourselves with an ablution and a special bath and adorn the Ihram (the pilgrims garment). It then dawned on me that after all my Christian friends have been calling me Alhaji with all good intentions and hope that I visit the Holy Land to consecrate as such.
MAKKAH, a city that never sleeps
The spiritual journey to seek the blessings and mercies of Allah to be reborn and cleansed of all our sins and impurities has started. We were humbly declaring "Here I am, O' Allah, here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Surely all praise, grace and dominion is yours, and you have no partner!" Soon, we arrived in the beautiful mountainous Holy city of Makkah, where life is organised around the worship of oneness of Allah.
We checked into Novotel Thakher Makkah Hotel with the finesse of Arabian hospitality, receiving flowers, zamzam water (blessed water) and a cup of Arabian tea. We dropped our luggages and started the rites right away at the Masjid Al- Haram, about two kilometres from the hotel, to perform the Ummrah (lesser Hajj).
We stepped into the three-storey most beautiful Mosque, and before me was the Holy Kaaba, built by Prophet Abraham and Son under the command of Allah as a place of monotheistic worship. The ambience sent chills down my spine. I felt a sense of fulfilment of a lifetime!! As required, we circumambulated Islam's most revered relic seven times and supplicating.
Indeed, it was a breathtaking spiritual exercise. I humbled myself before Almighty Allah, subsumed under multitudes (millions) of pilgrims from demography, colour, race, including people with special needs across the globe, adorned in same garment- a symbol of humility and moderation before Allah- united under the banner of worshipping the only God, Allah, swelling around the Kabaa, situated in the most Holy Grand Mosque, unceasingly for 24 hours, seven days in a week and 365 days in a year.
Time to perform the required two rakahs (prayers). As I face the kabaa head-on. I poured all my heart to Allah! Hear my prayers inter alia: O' Allah here I am responding to you to make Umrah, I come before you in all humility. Bless the King and people of Saudi Arabia, accept our Umrah and Hajj and bless my family with all your infinite bountiful blessings of good health, peace, happiness, joy and prosperity. Grant my parents of blessed memory Jannatul Firdaus (paradise). My country Ghana is going through economic challenges, help restore our economy and make life much better for us. My organisation, New Times Corporation, is going through difficult times. Bless our newspapers: Ghanaian Times and The Spectator, protect our livelihoods, restore us back to our glorious days of most favourite newspapers, and make us prosperous! My friends: Christians and Muslims asked for your blessings. O' Allah, you know their intentions much better than I do, bless them to realise their individual ambitions in life!
We moved to the next exercise within the precinct of the Mosque to perform the Safar and Marwa, involving running between the two mountains seven times in honour of the trial and tribulations of Hajar, wife of Prophet Abraham, who after giving birth to Ishmael run out of means of livelihood and had to run between the two mountains looking for means of livelihood, only for her to miraculously come to meet water under the feet of the new birth.
It was another tough exercise. We rounded it off with a sip of the miraculous and blessed water that originated from a spot at the feet of Ishmael through the powers of Allah. Several centuries and still gushing out, and connected to dispensers all over the multi-billion dollar magnificent Masjid Al-Haram.
Thanks be to Allah we finished the first phase of the Umrah rites. We were back to the hotel to take a nap after nearly 24 hours of no sleep and prepare for the next phase: the Hajj itself!!
Six days later, we resumed our Ihram, and we were chaperoned in buses for the 20-kilometre trip to Arafat, where Allah commanded the Holy Prophet to deliver his farewell sermon to humankind after perfecting the religion of Islam for humankind.
It was a scenic whole day of prayers and supplication by the estimated two millions pilgrims from across the globe on mount Arafat and beneath on the 8th day of Dhu-Hijjah (Tuesday, June 26), climaxing it with a sermon by Imam of Kaaba, Sheikh Dr Yusuf Bin Muhammad, who urged Muslims to hold fast the religion and unite.
We camped at the Tent City at Mina to cast stones for three days consecutively at the devil at Jamarat, a point where the devil tried to influence Prophet Abraham to disobey Allah's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael but to no avail, as the Prophet Abraham pelted the devil with stones.
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And as I re-enacted the act at the busy Jamarat, the song of the late legendary Ghanaian highlife artiste, AB Crentsil and the Ahenfo Band, "You devil go away from me", came to mind.
We made the sacrifice at Mina in commemoration of Prophet Abraham's obedience to Allah, bringing to finality our Hajj rites. We made another 8-hours journey from Makkah to Madinah by road, and also spent four days supplicating in the Holy Prophet's Mosque (Masjid An-Nabawi) as well as visiting historical sites.
MAKKAH, a city where infrastructure talks and oil money calls the shot
The cities of Makkah and Madinah, and for that matter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are really blessed with stupendous infrastructure. Their leaderships have used the natural resources they have been endowed with by God for a good cause. Good road network, posh hotels and other facilities have been expanding over the years to accommodate the millions of pilgrims that throng the country for Hajj rites. Besides, both are cities of piety and charity, where gift-giving means nothing to the giver; cities where cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness.
I have been back to assume the title that has been preempted. I went to Makkah and Madinah, saw and felt it, and now I am spiritually uplifted to continue to serve Allah with all my might forever more. To Allah be the Glory!
