HJ ZULHEIMY - DOWN MEMORY LANE: SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: UMRAH 2015

JUMAAT PRAYER AT MASJIDIL HARAM

12 December 2015

The first day of arriving in Mekkah was Friday. I felt excited to perform the Friday prayer for the first time at Masjidilharam, even though I had to pray outside Masjidilharam because the inside of the mosque was already full.

MASJID AL-HARAM AND KAABA

The Grand Mosque (Masjidilharam) is the largest mosque in the world, located in the city of Mecca and surrounded by hills. The Kaaba, which is the qibla of Muslims, is located in Masjid al-Haram.
Allah s.w.t. said in Surah al-Imran verse 96, which means, "Indeed, the first house of worship built for mankind is the House of God in Mecca, which is blessed and a guide for mankind."

After the Friday prayer, we continued to perform the first Umrah since arriving in Mecca. For Umrah, you only need to perform Tawaf - circling the Kaaba seven times in a counter clockwise direction and then Perform Sa'ie - walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah beside Kaaba. The end of Umrah, exit from Ihram by shaving head (taqsir).

TAWAF

Tawaf is one of the most significant principal rites of pilgrimage (Haji or Umrah). Tawaf refers to the act of walking in circles or circumambulating the Holy Kaaba seven times in an anti-clockwise direction and praying two Rakaat behind the Makam Ibrahim.

TAWAF

SA'IE BETWEEN SAFA AND MARWAH

Sa'ie is one of the integral rites of Hajj and Umrah and refers to the ritual of walking back and forth seven times between the two Hills of Safa and Marwah, located adjacent to the Kaaba in the Masjidilharam.

The rites of Sa'ie commemorates the action of Hajar a.s , the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) who walked and run between the Hill of Safa and Marwah seven times in search of water for her son Ismail a.s.

SA'IE BETWEEN SAFA AND MARWAH

HALQ AND TAQSIR

For those performing Umrah out of the Hajj season, the hair is cut once after performing Sa'ie. Halq refers to the act of shaving the entire head and Taqsir involves trimming the hair on the head by at least an inch. Performing Halq or Taqsir is the wajib (obligatory) act that must be performed in order to leave the state of Ihram.

After completing the umrah pilgrimage, which is Tawaf around the Kaaba seven times, between Safa Hill and Marwah Hill, and shaving, we continued to stay in the Masjidilharam for Asr, Maghrib, and Ishak prayers. After the Isyak prayer, we went back to the hotel to rest. This means that from the time we left KLIA until we arrived in Jeddah, we have not had a break. Thank God for giving us strength and patience in our journey and worship since we arrived on this earth full of blessings.

KAABA

Kaaba is very important in the history of Masjidil Haram. The Kaaba is tube-shaped or square measuring 15 meters high. The Kaaba is also known as Baitul Atiq, Baitul Haram or also called the House of God or Baitullah.

The building is located on a site called Syazarwan forming 4 corners which are:

a. Iraqi column - pointing to the Northeast

b. Rukun Ash-Syami points to the North West

c. Rukun Al-Yamani - pointing to the Southwest

d. Rukun Al Aswadi - pointing to the Southeast where the Black Stone is located.

Pray in front of the Kaaba, in sha Allah, it will be accepted by Allah s.w.t. Among those found around the Kaaba are:

a. Hajar Aswad - located on the east side of the Kaaba, marking the beginning of tawaf.

b. Multazam - the place between the Black Stone and the door of the Kaaba. Rasulullah s.a.w in his hadith said this is the place where prayer is necessary.

c. Makam Ibrahim - the place where Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.) stood when building the Kaaba, also a suitable place to pray.

d. Al - Hathim - located between the Rukun and the Maqam Ibrahim a.s, the well of zam-zam and Hijr Ismail.

e. Hijir Ismail - a crescent-shaped wall construction. It is said that this is where Prophet Ismail and his mother Siti Hajar were buried. It is recommended to pray at Hijir Ismail.

f. Pancur Emas - a golden fountain or mizab that leads out from the roof of the Temple to drain rainwater. An auspicious area for praying.

As a Muslim, seeing the Kaaba for the first time is an unforgettable memory. Imagine all this time only seeing the Kaaba on TV screens and in newspapers, books, and magazines. But now I'm standing right in front of the Kaaba. I was moved when I remembered that Rasulullah S.A.W used to perform tawaf here...