Amnesty

AMNESTY

The call has been made. It is my turn to apply for amnesty. I have travelled a long way to attend this conference. The crowd is large and growing. This amnesty of a lifetime is for one day only. Those not called here can apply for minor amnesties.

I am certainly dressed for the occasion. My garb is simple. If you will look carefully, I am the one dressed in two pieces of cloth. Oh my, and so is everyone else. So this is the dress-code of this convention. I do carry another garb and the one which I, with much help, have sewn onto my self.

I have done the registration at a place nearby. I spent the day there yesterday. This was quite important as it allowed me to check myself one last time before that important appearance and application for amnesty.

Now the time has arrived. How long do I have? What am I to say? I step forward. A thin layer of cloud has dimmed the heat of the sun. The moment though does cause me to perspire somewhat. I raise my hands and present myself finally: “Here I am, O Allaah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours, and all sovereignty, You have no partner.

All Praise be to the Lord of the worlds. Peace and Blessing upon Our Leader, Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family, his friends and all those who follow him until the appointed time.

O our Lord, we have harmed ourselves and if You, O Allaah, do not forgive us we will certainly be of the lost ones.”

These words seeking forgiveness, first uttered by our father Aadam (peace be upon him) in the very place I am now, brings fear to me as I wondering whether I am deserved, yet there is hope because these words were accepted from Aadam (Peace be upon him)

My words are interspersed with trying to control my tears which by now is streaming down my cheeks. My beard is soaked and my voice even I cannot recognise. How fortunate am I to be Muslim and how more fortunate am I to be given this opportunity. If I pass here, and I continue to wear my garb tightly, the garb of taqwa, the garb of God-consciousness, then perhaps the next time I present myself to my Lord, that ultimate time, that perhaps then my passage on that day will be easy.

How did I commit so much sin, O my Lord, I have been oblivious of you when you have blessed me with much. I cannot thank You enough, but please please dear Lord, do not forsake me. I am but weak, and I humbly present myself to Thee. Cleanse me O Lord, Cleanse me, Forgive me and show mercy to me. O My Lord have mercy on  my parents as they showed mercy on me when I was little. And as they have grown old, make me one that show mercy to them.

O my Lord, our dear children, take care of them, and make them standard-bearers for Islam until the end of time. O Lord, You know we live in difficult times, make us and them the strangers that Your Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke about (when he- peace be upon him- said "Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers.")

O My Lord, Thou who are Most Merciful, forgive us, our wives, our brothers, our sisters, our children, our families, our friends and all Muslims.

Let not my actions be in vain, please O Lord accept from me.

As those not here have been involved in the minor amnesty through their fasting and other acts of worship, what a truly amazing day.

The feeling though, the feeling standing there on the plains of ‘Arafah, can never truly be explained, it has to be experienced. If for no other reason, that feeling of that day alone makes me long to repeat my Hajj.

The unity of the Ummah is captured on this day when we stand before the Almighty as equals. Certainly we need to inculcate that into our lives.

The Mercy of our Lord is certainly understood on that day. Certainly, it is something we need to seek out every day and Praise Him who is Most Merciful.

To those currently on Hajj, We pray that Allaah Almighty accepts from them their standing and repenting on ‘Arafah. To those not there we pray that your wuqoof through your fasting is accepted and that you too may be forgiven.

For those who have not been there, may Allaah increase in you that desire to present yourself on this glorious day and may He indeed make it a reality for you.

For those who have been there, no doubt you still have that yearning, may He, the Most High, make it easy that we may yet have another opportunity.

“Here I am, O Allaah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours, and all sovereignty, You have no partner.

All Praise be to the Lord of the worlds. Peace and Blessing upon Our Leader, Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family, his friends and all those who follow him until the appointed time.

O our Lord, we have harmed ourselves and if You, O Allaah, do not forgive us we will certainly be of the lost ones.”

Allahumma taqabbal minnaa wa minkum

Our message to the Hujjaaj

As we bid you and your family salaam on your travel to the holy city of Makkah for haj, we make dua that the Almighty bestows His richest blessings on you, that He grants you good health & strong eemaan inshaAllah, that you may fulfil all your obligations and ibaabaat according to His wishes, that He grants you and all Hujjaaj a haj mabroor and a haj maqbool inshaAllah.

As you prepare to leave we are reminded of the benefits of Haj and we are reminded of the beauty of our Deen. We are reminded of the Mercy of our Creator, The Almighty and Most High, Allah. We are reminded of the Unity (oneness) of Allah and the Unity of brotherhood.

You are answering the call of our father, Ebrahim – peace be upon him – on the instruction of Allah, the Most High, to call people to the pilgrimage. There were no media, no newpapers, no tv, no satellite, no facebook, no email – standing on a hill he called out to the people – people who were nowhere in sight –yet people came and thousands of years later, you are of those people, who were not inspired through the media, but the power of that call is in the hands of Allah, who has placed that desire there. You, the hujjaaj are indeed blessed.

As you shed tears as you leave your home, may the Almighty fill these tears with mahabbah, with rahmah and with much barakah. As you get into your car, may the Almighty grant you a safe and peaceful journey inshaAllah. As you leave, place you faith in the Almighty that He takes care of your belongings, your family and friends that you leave behind, you are at peace as you focus on the magnificent and momentous journey.

And as you enter Madinah, and you are reminded of the city from which the Muslim Empire was built by our illustrious leader Muhammad SAW – notice your physical proximity to Muhammadur rasoolullah – peace be upon him - when you visit his grave and how then can you not make dua to be with him –peace be upon him - in the hereafter . And do not forget us in the Raudatul Jannah - as verily the Prophet –peace be upon him - has said that a dua, a prayer made there is mustajab/accepted. Make dua for our well-being and especially that the Almighty grants us strong eeman/faith and protect our children.

And as you don your ihram for your ‘umrah, know that you are taking a small step for what lies ahead. But know that no amount of materiality or wealth can replace that feeling when you are in ihraam. And as you labbayk, as you utter the talbiyah, know that you have placed yourself in the 'presence' of Allah. Make dua that the Almighty sustains that feeling for you and make dua that all Muslims experience that feeling some time in their lifetime.

And as you leave the tranquillity of the Enlightened City, and you make your way to the Baytullahi Haram, seeing the Ka'bah - built by our father Ebrahim –peace be upon him - for the first time, you realise that this haj that your are performing is nothing else but emulating the builder of the Ka'bah. Pause! Ttake a moment or two to look at the simplicity, yet magnanimity of the Ka'bah. Then as you circumambulate the Ka'bah, remember that the Prophet – peace be upon him - has said that as great as this Ka'bah is, that the life of a Muslim is more sacred.

Then as you drink the Zamzam after the tawaf  you are reminded that this zamzam is nothing else but the miracle/blessing Allah has bestowed upon us through the builder's assistant, Ismaeel –peace be upon him. Drink your fill for this is a sign of the blessing of Allaah, that in the middle of the desert, Allaah, has made a provision for you – a reminder that Allah’s power encompasses everything, that depend on Him and you will realise His blessing, the ultimate blessings.
Then your ‘umrah reaches culmination as you perform the sa'i - remembering Sittina Hajir (reminding you of your mother, alas of all mothers) who has so wonderfully cared for us in childhood and beyond. This sa'i reminds us also of our search for so much in this dunya, but alas nothing happens except with the mercy of Allah, i.e. we have to forsake our whims and fancies and place our trust in Allah, the Provider, the Nourisher, the Sustainer.

And how beautiful it is that the haj is the fifth pillar of Islam after the Shahadah - for we cannot do the haj without having declared our faith (and its merely with our tongues). The haj is after salah - which is the connection with Allah after we have made shahadah. Then also after zakah which is our acceptance that to complete our connection with Allah, we have to share our zakah with the lesser fortunate, that we realise that provision and sustenance comes from Allah. Then Allah commands us that if we our intent on being truly Allah-conscious, i.e. that we want to have taqwa, that we fast…. And then when we are at a "high" having attained this increased level of taqwa, then we are ready - spiritually to perform the haj. We then again declare our shahadah, we perform even more salah (nafl) while we are in these sacred places, we have to spend of our wealth to get to these places and we are conscious to give charity before and while we on journey and we fast (as an option) when we do tamattu'. And fasting is linked to Hajj  when those not on Arafah are required to fast on the day of wuqoof.

Then you prepare yourself for Mina, again donning your ihram, reciting the talbiyah on youm-at-tarwiyyah. You spend the day in dhikr and supplication - make dua for us for you are indeed the guest of Allah, you are the favoured. Then after fajr the next day, you proceed to ‘Arafah- and you are reminded that as a earthling, this is sort of a dress rehearsal for qiyamah, dressed in your ihram (shroud), on a day when its only you and your Creator. You feel the peace of this sacred place. You are reminded of Nabi Adam and Jabal Rahmah which is nowhere else but on ‘Arafah – that Allah showed His mercy after our father, Adam – peace be upon him, transgressed (O Allaah,O Our Lord, we have harmed ourselves and if You do not forgive us we wil be on the lost ones).
 Shed tears for Allah's sake and may one of those tears carry my name that Allah may forgive me (and all Muslims), that Allah grant us strong eeman, grant us His satisfaction, protect us against the Fire and grant us jannah inshaAllah.

Remember us as we will remember you as our wuqoof is indeed in our fasting on that day, the day of Arafah. Unity indeed.

Remember us as you descend on Mash'aril haram -Muzdalifah, chanting "Rabbana aatinaa …." and we know that we too are included in that dua.

And what mercy is it when you pelt the jamaraat at Mina, relieving yourself of your whims and fancies, committing yourself to Allah and then as the blood flows from your qurbani, know that the Almighty has forgiven you (inshaAllah), that you after your stay for the days of tashreeq will return home free of sin like the day your mother gave birth to you (according to the hadith of the Prophet SAW).

May Allah bring you safely back to us, that you may inspire us, that we may learn from you and that you may be the shining example that the Almighty wants you to be.

We offer our salaams to you, make dua for you that our Creator grants you a safe journey and a haj mabroor inshaAllah.