Hajj Travelogue Series Day 2
Arafah Day 2
The day of forgiveness!
9th Zilhajj 1432 :
We were about to leave for Arafat at 3 o'clock am 9th zihajj , I appreciated their wise decision because if we set out for Arafat on next early morning after fajar then we might got stuck in a mega huge traffic jam as the haajis from all around the world had to go to one point and that was Arafat mountain ( Jabl e Rahmah).
Well , we seated in our buses leaving luggages in Mina. We reached Arafat when the azan of Fajar was about to begin. After settling in Arafat camp , we prayed fajar over there and went to sleep . This break was very necessary because we couldn't sleep well last night ! I put an alarm on my cell phone of 9 o clock so that I could prepare myself for asking the long list of Duas I prepared as a part of my hajj luggage.
It is said that it's better to make Duas right after zuhur salah on arafah day. So I decided to keep doing zikr as much as I could. The group also provided the zikr page so we hajjis took it seriously in doing our own personal Ibadah. My child was also trying to do zikr with me but along with it she was playing with her friend too. As the zuhur salah approached , each of us got seated , listened to the khutbah ( speech) through speaker , prayed and started asking Allah swt our own needs related to Dunya and aakhirah. A pin drop silence was there among women except the voice of children. On Arafah day , usually the king of Saudi Arabia provides food to every haaji. It was Mandi ( an Arabic rice dish) . It was yum mashAllah ! In sweet , it was kunafah ( an arabic dessert) and fruits.
In afternoon , like around 3 and 4 pm , many people were going to make dua at Arafat mountain. I wished it , but my husband didn't think it's a right option as we were with our children. It was a hot day too. So I silenced myself and tried to concentrate on my long list of Duas. On that day , I tried to make dua very sincerely , by knowing the fact , that no dua is rejected on the Arafah day. I tried to remember everyone in my Duas, started my prayers from myself , my family , my parents , my siblings , my relatives , my friends, for Muslims around the world , my country , my aakhirah etc. For those also , who has left this Dunya and are sleeping in graves .
As the evening approached , majority of us went out from tent , at least I was assuming that I am going to stand in front of Allah , all alone . I say many people were standing row by row , I chose to stand in the first row . Tears were in my eyes, a different feeling I had, made dua for a long time over there . My husband and my child were behind me . I tried my best not to forget anyone in my Duas. I still remember the shivering I had while crying because I had a live connection with Allah swt who was just there to listen us like always. Sounds of helicopters could be heard who were roaming in the sky for the security perspective and they were also throwing light shower to overcome the suffocation. What a beautiful evening that was! SubhanAllah!
At the time of sunset , just last moments were there for us to ask for forgiveness from Allah swt , everybody was doing his or her job including me. Cries and remembrance of Allah swt was in the air among people. Suddenly , one Indian old man , came to us and asked for money as he lost his retun ticket and wallet during the hajj . I , being a servant of Allah , thought , what could be a better moment to please Allah swt only , that was the arafah day , I opened my wallet and gave him the reasonable amount like some of others did too. In return , he thanked us and gave dua. May Allah had accepted for us.
After maghrib , the pack up time had arrived and we were asked to leave to catch the buses. The orangish pinkish sky was reminding me that here is Allah swt who must be have forgiven us . A very different feeling I was having. I kept praying in my heart till I didnt reach Mina.
We didn't know what was going to happen next!
Guess what?
We waited in the bus in Arafat for about 2 to 3 hours , as everybody was moving from one point to the other point at a time. But who cares! Most of slept and kept snoring in the bus as we got tired after a whole day! I called my parents , while talking to my mom , I suddenly started crying for no reason , I think those were the tears of happiness. My mom got scared and she kept asking , was everything okay ? I told her that I couldn't believe I was a part of this gathering in Arafat . AlhamdulAllah . Emotional moment that was!
We didn't even know what was going to happen next?!? Guess what! We couldn't found our tent in Muzdalifah . We reached Muzdalifah , but we couldn't gathered as one group there. Because of the fact , which was confirmed afterwards , that many hajis blocked the road by performing maghrib and isha salah in congregation. We thought that there was a huge traffic jam because of many buses. Well anyways , what happened actually later , our bus driver decided to stop the bus and asked everyone to pray salah in the bus and then to pick stones from nearby area of the bus and to get back to the bus before fajar salah.
After collecting the 49 pebbles for each of us , me and family decided to take out our own tent . We spread out the tent and sleeping bags on the footpath and tried to sleep over there. Women and children of both families slept inside the tent and men outside of it.
Suddenly , a man stepped on my daughter's foot mistakenly ( according to him) and she cried badly. It was the test from Allah. In the middle of the night , a rumor was spread that police is coming and asking everyone to get up from the side track but alhamdulAllah they didn't come to us .
Around 4 am , we heard the engine of our bus which was just beside our tent. It was an announcement for us to get back to the bus . It actually alarmed us. Our children were walking in a deep sleep. Some of them simply didn't want to get up from their cozy sleeping bags.