format_quote Originally Posted by
Kiro
tell it now bro
Been having problems with my line this past few days... could not get onto IB at all. Only managed it briefly using someone else's computer.. Have to sort out my smart phone...
So here goes
Quite sometime ago, when my wife was pregnant with our first child I was given the opportunity to visit Kaaba.. I went with my parents and siblings.. I'm sure if I were to go again there now I would not recognise the place from the changes that has taken place. .
If my memory serves me right, we went to Makkah first. Labaik Allah hummalabaik :)
My first sight of the kaabah was surreal.. there it was, in between the pillars with arches, draped in black, this box like structure with gold writings, standing before my eyes. There was no point asking if I was dreaming, I knew it was real.
It was the beginning of ramadhan. I've heard stories about the "cash" terms (NOT LITERAL) as opposed to "credit" terms (again not literal) about the nature of spoken words. We have made
the pilgrimage, we are at the holy site(s) as His guests, and we are giving salutations and making dua.
Loose lips, sinks ships!
We don't want our lack of thought or careless dua to be said. Especially ones that we will likely forget.
Anyway, after a few days at the kaabah, I was still not successful in getting anywhere near the black stone. At least 6 rows of people at anytime. One of the nights, my brother and I decided to wait up and by 2am he decided to go back and sleep. I waited on. By 3 it had thinned out to about 3 rows deep. I made my way. I joined the crowd. Over time and manoeuvring I found myself right behind the person who's got his head in the frame! 'Ya Allah, I'm next!' I thought how jealous my brother was going to be in the morning when I see him.. serves him right for going to sleep and giving up the wait. Then suddenly I feel a slight pressure building up on my back pressing me forward onto him. He's stuck with his head inside the cavity and there is no way out. He ended up lifting each leg at a time, putting it on the wall and with his might, pushed outwards. I was behind him, I was pushed out with him... it had gotten back to around 5 layers again... I immediately realised that my intentions stank! I wasn't going to get my turn and went to bed
Then we got to Friday prayers... didn't understand anything spoken except for the routine.. and after the prayer my dad said, "That was worth 1,000 times praying anywhere else." I was glad for the info after the fact. I don't think I could have prayed in any capacity thinking about the rewards! ... 1000 divided by 51 weeks (is it?)... Hmmm that's around 19 years worth!
Getting long already. .and not even in Medina yet...:exhausted
Might as well get there straight. .
By the time I got there I realised one thing, I regretted not knowing how to read the Quran. I did know it, but I left it too long and I totally forgot. I think I was by then getting to be quite bored of reciting the same 3 short surahs for about a week now.
But having one week to digest the 1000x rewards it wasn't so daunting the second time (this time at Al Nabawi) when we did the Friday prayers there.
When I got my chance to get a space at raudah, I read the little surahs that I had learnt and asked Allah... I said I want to learn to read the Quran. I felt such a waste, I wasn't able to fill my spare time reading verses. Slowly, even at a crawl to finish the book once in Makkah and another time in Medina. But here I am and I can't read!
He granted my wish. Shortly after arriving home, I found an ustaz, I learnt to read. I was happy, and then things conspired and the lessons became irregular and next thing I realised was that it was over a year since I last had lessons.
I asked myself. Why?
Then I realised my dua, it was to read, not to finish. Hmmmmmm.... How precise do we need to be?
:peace: