this is the centre of the muslim world, the 'qibla' (direction of prayer). as mentioned in an earlier post, allah's throne in heaven is directly above it.
the 'tawaaf' (circling of the kaaba 7 times) has not stopped (except for the 5 compulsory daily prayers) for more than 1400 years and will not stop until the day of judgment. it is said that as many as 70,000 angels in heaven do tawaaf around allah's throne and the same angel doesn't do it twice.
although some say the spot has been sacred in existence since the time of prophet adam (peace & blessings be upon him) the holy kaaba was first properly constructed by prophet ibrahim, or abraham with his son ishmael (peace & blessings be upon them) after allah instructed ibrahim to build him a house. he stood upon a stone during its construction. the stone, complete with his footprints, is still in existence. it is housed in the small, gold structure to the extreme right of the picture. this is known as 'maqaam-e-ibrahim'.
the cornerstone of the kaaba in the picture above is the 'hajar-e-aswad' ('the black stone'). it's not visible in the picture. kissing the stone is said to absolve a person of their sins.
i advise people that want to read more on the 'hajar-e-aswad' and other features of the holy kaaba to research into the history of the kaaba alongside the history of makkah, as it is too vast to summarise here. the entire city of makkah was built around this sacred structure.
...it pours. this is the torrential downpour in makkah, which started just after maghrib today. feels like london!
we're lucky it didn't rain this time last week. we would have been in muzdalifah. without a tent!
while most of makkah was in neighbouring mina for hajj, the cover of the holy kaaba was changed. there's a special factory in makkah that makes it and it costs a few million pounds. it's made with the finest materials, hand-stitched and the lettering is threaded with real gold. it's changed once every year. to my knowledge, the old cover gets cut and sold off.
the crowds in makkah are gently subsiding (although it doesn't seem like it in the picture, taken at approx 2am last night) as people leave to return home or go on to medinah.
thanks to all who have given me words of support for this blog, which i should add was made in spare moments and did not interfere with my own prayers while i have been here, which have always been my primary concern.
my intention has always been purely to educate and tell of my own experiences on this spiritually-awakening journey.
i really appreciate all the words of encouragement and i'm glad it has made such a difference to people's lives in such a way that it has increased the want in their heart to be here into a need.
inshallah may allah give us all the chance to visit his house and the final resting place of the prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) again and again.
ameen.
i would like to urge everyone to pray for those that have passed away on this journey. let their memories live on in our continued duas. may allah accept their intentions and their 'labbaik'.
ameen.
let their untimely death serve as a reminder that life in this world is temporary and unpredictable. the life in the hereafter is forever.
please also pray for the injured, that allah grant them a full, speedy recovery inshallah.
ameen.
alhamdulillah we completed day 5 with ease. all of us had built up experience during the ramee of days 3 and 4 to know what we had to do.
we are back in makkah now and with that alhamdulillah, we have completed our hajj.
it has been an enlightening journey, not only to the holy land, but to find the better beings and better muslims within ourselves.
these are moments that will stay with us forever. being here with 20 people of our immediate and extended family, living together, eating together, praying together, has strengthened the bond between us all. may allah keep strengthening that. ameen.
the day of arafat will always stay with us all, in particular the heartfelt dua that the imam of our group made to allah at the end of the day, that didn't leave a single dry eye in the group.
that day changed us all.
personally, i realise how i have neglected the farz (compulsory requirements of a muslim) amongst other things and still the almighty blessed me and members of our family with the chance to be here, to atone for our sins and make a new start. inshallah, at the very least, i intend to keep up with the farz.
in addition to arafat, the extremely cold night in muzdalifah under the stars, braving the crowds during the pelting of the jamaraat and taking an active part in the qurbani (sacrifice) was character-building to say the least as we overcame our own numerous small, medium and big devils to fulfil the rites of hajj.
this whole trip has taught us all to exercise great 'sabr' (patience) in all aspects of our life.
may allah accept everyone's hajj. ameen.
today, being new years day, we're all recovering from the big party we had in mina last night. hehe just kidding!
today is the 5th and final day of hajj. it's similar to day 4 in that all that needs to be done is 'ramee' (pelting the 3 jamraat) between zawaal time and sunrise tomorrow morning.
it will most probably be busiest straight after zohr today so we have decided to wait until after asr before we proceed to the jamraat. our luggage will go separately on a coach straight from mina so we don't have to take it with us.
after we have done ramee at jamraat, we will walk straight to makkah to our hotel (distance of about 3-4 miles) where we'll stay till sunday before leaving for jeddah to return next monday.
