The journey is not yet finished (144)

8 Brothers to help thier mother to perform the Hajj

The journey is not yet finished (144)

(Part one hundred and forty-four, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, October 7, 2014, 4:05 pm)

2014 Hajj season has ended, the government of Saudi Arabia successfully managed services to approximately 2.5 million pilgrims from 163 countries and Hajj pilgrims this year also declared free of Ebola virus infection and free Mers.

Health Ministry declares Haj 2014 free of Ebola, MERS

MINA: Health Minister Adel Fakeih has declared this year's Haj epidemic-free as he announced that 70 people who were considered as possibly having MERS have all tested negative of the coronavirus.

“I am pleased to announce the Haj was free of all epidemic diseases,” Fakeih told reporters in Mina as pilgrims performed the last rituals of the Haj and began leaving the holy sites.

About two million Muslims from 163 countries have performed Haj this year. The Haj drew a cross-section of humanity, from presidents to commoners, including a wounded Syrian rebel war veteran.

The health ministry employed thousands of health workers to make sure pilgrims were protected from two deadly viruses, Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

Fakeih set up of a “command and control” center to direct the Haj health operation, and required every pilgrim to complete a health screening questionnaire.

Passengers were monitored by thermal cameras that detect high body temperature, and 15 isolation rooms were set up to hold any suspicious cases at the airport in the city of Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia is the country hardest hit by MERS, which has killed 322 people in the kingdom since it first appeared in September 2012.

The health ministry on Sunday reported two more MERS deaths, one in Riyadh and another in the mountain city of Taif, 80 kilometers east of Makkah.

Because of the Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa, pilgrims from the hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were not allowed to perform Haj this year.

The Saudi Red Crescent Authority also declared the emergency response plan for the Haj season a success. Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, president of Saudi Red Crescent Authority, said emergency air and ground teams responded to about 15,000 cases in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

The Red Crescent employed some 3,600 emergency personnel, including doctors, technicians and support services, with some 536 ambulance teams scattered in the holy sites.

8 brothers vie to serve mother perform Haj



This year’s Haj witnessed eight sons of a woman competing with one another in assisting their mother to perform her Haj rituals comfortably. They all wanted to gain special reward from Allah for doing goodness to their beloved mother.

Many people accompany their elderly mothers and fathers for Haj and Umrah to show their love and commitment toward them, inspired by the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah that urge the faithful to support their elderly parents.

Seventy-year-old Aysha came for Haj this year with her eight sons, and each one them wanted to provide maximum care to her. In order avoid conflict, the youngest of them, Mustafa Al-Faisal, proposed that everyday two of them carry her in a wheelchair to perform the rituals.

“It was a good suggestion,” said the eldest brother Moussa. “During the past 20 years we have been saving money to perform Haj with our mother,” he said, hoping that Allah would accept their Haj and prayers.

Triplets born in Makkah during Haj



A Makkah couple were blessed with triplets on Sunday, officials of the Maternity and Children's Hospital said on Monday.

The mother of the male triplets delivered her babies as more than two million pilgrims from 163 countries performed Haj in the holy city.

Hospital director Dr. Anas Sadayo said the mother gave birth 15 minutes after she was rushed to the hospital as she started having labor pains.

Anas said the "complication rate in the birth of triplets is high, but with the grace of God Almighty the medical team performed the delivery process smoothly."

The babies each weighed between one to one-and-a-half kilograms, said Dr. Suhair Mahjoub, an obstetrician and gynecologist.

Haj has never been so organized — from the trains that run on elevated tracks to the extremely helpful security forces on the ground and in the many helicopters that hover overhead informing the central operations command about possible bottlenecks.

Saudi Arabia has poured billions of riyals into infrastructure here at the holy sites. Most of these gigantic projects have been carried out in the last five years. They have helped ease the pilgrimage for the millions who come from the four corners of the world every year to perform the annual pilgrimage.

“Only Saudi Arabia can do this,” said Mohammed Shahnawaz, an Indian pilgrim from Delhi. His wife, Samreen, nodded in affirmation. “We were told by people who performed Haj in the past, that it would be very hard, very tough.”

Of course, Shahnawaz’s informants were referring to a time when Mina did not have a massive Jamrat complex with multiple layers featuring multiple entry and exit points. Stampedes were a regular occurrence because the pedestrian bridge was too small to serve millions of pilgrims performing the same task of stoning the devil within a limited time.

“People have no idea about the trains that have made the movement of pilgrims from Mina to Arafat and back a breeze. The thrill that you experience when you board a train is indescribable,” said Samreen. “It gives us energy and provides us with a new lease of life. Earlier pilgrims had no such luxury. They walked from one end of Arafat to the other end of Mina in order to reach Jamarat, a distance of nearly 10 km.”

Shahnawaz’s fellow pilgrims paid fulsome tribute to Saudi Arabia, its leadership and its warm and helpful people. “Allah has bestowed upon them rare honor and they have lived up to the expectations of the Ummah. They have provided services that seem impossible,” he said. “May Allah grant Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman a long life. We will always pray for them. They have taken excellent care of the guests of God.”

Ibrahim Khaleel from Karachi, Pakistan, said he was at the Haj in 2006. “Performing the stoning ritual was fraught with dangers. My mother was with me then and she is also here now,” he said. “At that time, I performed the stoning ritual on her behalf. This time, however, she accompanied me to the Jamarat Bridge and she herself stoned the walls representing the devil on Sunday,” he said.

Khaleel wept when he recalled the help provided by the security forces manning the complex. “They took my mother on their shoulders and carried her to the very wall itself so that she could easily throw the stones,” he said. “My mother’s reaction was to bless them. She put her hand on their heads and told them, ‘Your king is a good man, and because he is good and kind, Allah has given the honor to him of being the Custodian of the Holiest Mosques in Islam.’“

At the time of writing, Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif was visiting tents to check whether proper arrangements had been made. That personal care for the guests of God has endeared the Saudi leadership to all Muslims who perform the Haj. As one pilgrim said, “Allah will bless them with His bounties more than ever because they have done everything they can to ease the pilgrimage.”

Expatriate Muslims joined Saudis in celebrating Eid Al-Adha by organizing reunions and visits while others utilized the week-long holidays for sports activities.

Worshippers started arriving at the grand Mosque in Dubhat district in Malaz which had an open area for large congregations as early as 5 o’clock on the first day of Eid.

Some expatriates came along with their children wearing national dress.

The event lent variety and a diversified atmosphere with different cultural backgrounds and color, but all were performing together the annual Eid prayer facing one common direction toward the Qibla of Kaaba in Makkah.

“I take the opportunity of this festive occasion to exchange greetings and embrace fellow brothers immediately after congregational prayers at the mosque to open a new chapter of friendship,” an Indian IT specialist, Mojeeb Aftab, told Arab News.

He said that although he finds it difficult to understand the sermon in Arabic, he knows for sure “all of us here came to purify ourselves and ask for divine forgiveness of fellow brethren.”

Many other expats followed it by animal sacrifices. “For us Sudanese, the sacrifice is an obligatory duty for each and everyone,” said a translator from Sudan adding that it is a strict Islamic duty that we should adhere to. For him, it is an occasion for reunion with families and friends.

Triplets born in Makkah during Haj

He said, “This practice promotes unity among us.”

Arab News also visited the Filipinos who gathered immediately after Eid Al-Adha prayer, for Eid celebration and reunion at the same time.

“This great day is being celebrated by more than a billion Muslims around the world as a symbol of sacrifice and teaches us how to make sacrifices in our life,” said Rasol Abbas, the elderly leader of the Filipino group. He said, “We made sacrifices while working here. As such, we have to make use of every single day of our stay here to boost productivity,” Abbas noted.

According to Samsoden Calauto, chairman of Amtar Tugayanian International Foundation, the occasion reminded him of the great wisdom of the sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) for a higher purpose under divine orders.

Journalists beat all odds in the line of duty



As the revolutionary progress in the various Internet tools continue to overwhelm the world, it is the media personnel who are still mastering the scene every time there is a big event taking place in any part of the world, such as the Haj.

People call them the unknown or ghost soldiers, for the fact that do their job from behind the scenes and work hard to ensure that the message is delivered to the readers wherever they are.

However, not only covering Haj season for many reporters, photographers and cameramen falls within their job as journalists. Rather, it is perceived by many of them as a remarkable religious mission aimed at delivering the message of Islam to the rest of the world.

This Haj season, as was the setup in the previous years, the media delegations are residing in camps hosted by the Saudi Civil Defense Center in Mina and the Saudi Telecommunications Company in Muzdalifah and Arafat.

Although the camps are equipped with A\Cs, beds, refrigerators and furnished with carpets, this doesn’t sound as fancy as it sounds.

The high temperature and the many computers and refrigerators posed an overload to the electric power supply. This caused some AC’s to fail to operate for hours during the day and at night, making it almost impossible to sleep despite the state of weariness and exhaustion journalist would be suffering from running around hunting news down.

Without a doubt, being involved in the Haj season is not an easy job to do whether you are in the services, or the media sector. However, journalists feel the huge burden that falls on their shoulders particularly during Haj.

“It is in the heart of our job to report news to the readers who are eager to learn more about Haj. Having that in mind, we are also doing our best to deliver an important message not only to the Muslim world, but also to non-Muslim communities so they would learn more about Islam,” Majed Al-Mofadhali, a managing editor at Makkah Daily and head of its media delegation to Haj, told Arab News on Sunday.

Al-Mofadhali, like several other journalists, had decided to take the opportunity perform Haj while covering the various rituals of Islam’s fifth pillar.

“This makes it a double burden on me and on other colleagues who are also performing Haj,” he said. “It is not an easy mission on both counts and I only hope that I do my job as good as possible,” he said.

Asharq Al-Awsat’s Fahd Al-Bugami said that as soon as he came back from Muzdalifah he had to visit a clinic after he had skin rashes in certain parts of his body from friction, in addition to blisters on his feet.

Nevertheless, this was not good reason enough to stop him from doing his job as a reporter. “It is a tough mission covering this important Islamic ritual but without the media the larger world would be ignorant of what is happening in this part of the world,” Al-Bugami said.

He elaborated that journalists are professionals working under a code of ethics which includes the need to be fair to all parties involved in any news story. However, journalists, most of the time, work under pressures such as meeting deadlines, checking facts, verifying quotes and most of all pleasing their editors.

“Of course, you will sometimes fail. This is an imperfect world, and journalists are also imperfect. But as far as I am concerned, I will continue to do my job relentlessly,” he said.

The media has a noble message that reaches its peak while covering Haj, Ibrahim Al-Qurashi, from Asharq Al-Awsat, said.

“The Kingdom has done enormous and impressive job in service of the pilgrims. It is fair to say that the world should know what the Saudi government has been doing to facilitate this religious journey of the millions of pilgrims coming from around the world,” Al-Qurashi said.

“We also report any mishaps that we see while covering the various rituals of Haj. We are the people’s window to the authorities and we are the country’s window to the outer world so we try to be balanced in our reporting as much as possible,” he concluded. (Continoe)

The virtue of Hajj And Umrah

by

Shaikh Abdullah bin Abdul al-Azhim Khalafi

From Abu Hurayrah radi anhu, that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said:

العمرة إلى العمرة كفارة لما بينهما, والحج المبرور ليس له جزاء إلا الجنة.

"Umrah to Umrah is a sin between them, and the pilgrimage Mabrur no reward for it than Paradise." [1]

From Ibn Mas'ud radi 'anhu, that the Prophet sallallaahu' alaihi wa sallam said:

تابعوا بين الحج والعمرة فإنهما ينفيان الفقر والذنوب, كما ينفي الكير خبث الحديد والذهب والفضة, وليس للحجة المبرورة ثواب إلا الجنة.

"Iringilah between Hajj and Umrah for both abolish sin and indigence, as fire blower removes dirt (rust) iron, gold and silver, and there is no reward for Hajj Mabrur but Heaven." [2]

From Abu Hurayrah, he said, "I heard the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said:

من حج لله عزوجل فلم يرفث ولم يفسق رجع كيوم ولدته أمه.

'Whoever performs Hajj sincere for Allah Almighty without cruel and kefasiqan, then he returned without sin as the time he was born by his mother.' "[3]

From Ibn 'Umar' anhuma, from the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, he said:

الغازي في سبيل الله والحاج والمعتمر, وفد الله, دعاهم فأجابوه. وسألوه فأعطاهم.

"People who fight for Allah and those who go for Hajj and Umrah, is the delegation of God. (when) God's call to them, then they fulfill His calling. And (when) they asked Him, then God granted (their request). "[4]

Hajj Umrah Along Liability To Do It Once In a Lifetime, For Every Muslim, Baligh, intelligent, Freedom And Able

Word of Allah Ta'ala:

إن أول بيت وضع للناس للذي ببكة مباركا وهدى للعالمين فيه آيات بينات مقام إبراهيم ومن دخله كان آمنا ولله على الناس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيلا ومن كفر فإن الله غني عن العالمين

"Verily, the first house built for the (place of worship) is the man who was in Bakkah Baitullah (Mecca) blessed and a guidance for all mankind. Him there are signs of real, (among) the station of Abraham; whoever entered it (Baitullah's) men-so he was safe; pilgrimage is the duty of man to God, that is (for) people are able to travel to the House. Whoever denies (hajj obligations), Allah Rich, (does not require anything) of the Worlds. "[Ali 'Imran: 96-97]

From Abu Hurayrah, he said, the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam berkhutbah in our midst, he said:

أيها الناس قد فرض الله عليكم الحج فحجوا, فقال رجل: أكل عام, يا رسول الله? فسكت, حتى قالها ثلاثا, ثم قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: لو قلت نعم, لوجبت, ولما استطعتم. ثم قال: ذروني ما تركتكم, فإنما هلك من كان قبلكم بكثرة سؤالهم واختلافهم على أنبيائهم, فإذا أمرتكم بشيء فأتوا منه ما استطعتم, وإذا نهيتكم عن شيء فدعوه.

"It is obligatory upon you the pilgrimage, then pay the poor (the pilgrimage)." Then there is a saying, "Do every year, O Messenger of Allah?" Then he was silent until the person to say it three times, then the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "If I say yes, will undoubtedly become a liability and surely you will not be able to (carry)." Then he said, "let me as I let you. Surely that destroyed the people before you is a lot to ask and a lot of them at odds with the Prophet. If I ordered something to you, then perform your as best you guys. And when I forbid something, then leave. "[5]

Prayer at Mina

From Ibn 'Umar anhuma, he said, "the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said:

بني الإسلام على خمس, شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله, وأن محمدا رسول الله, وإقام الصلاة, وإيتاء الزكاة, وحج البيت, وصوم رمضان.

"Islam is built on five pillars: (1) testament that there is no god who is entitled diibadahi correctly but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, (2) establish the prayer, (3) practice regular charity, (4) the pilgrimage to the House, and (5) Ramadan fasting. '"[6]

From Ibn 'Abbaas anhuma, he said, "the Prophet sallallaahu' alaihi wa sallam said:

هذه عمرة استمتعنا بها, فمن لم يكن عنده الهدي فليحل الحل كله, فإن العمرة قد دخلت في الحج إلى يوم القيامة.

"It is worship Umrah we have fun with it. Anyone who does not have hadyu (animal sacrifice), then he should bertahallul overall, because worship has entered the Umrah pilgrimage until the Day of Resurrection. "[7]

From Shabi ibn Ma'bad, he said, "I went to 'Umar, and I said to him:

يا أمير المؤمنين, إني أسلمت, وإني وجدت الحج والعمرة مكتوبين علي, فأهللت بهما, فقال: هديت لسنة نبيك.

"O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I had converted to Islam, and I'm sure that myself have compulsory Hajj and Umrah, and then I started working on the second worship. 'Then he said,' You've got-the instructions to implement the Sunnah of your Prophet. '"[8]

[Copied from the book Al-Sunna wal Wajiiz FII Fiqhis Kitaabil Aziiz, Author Shaikh Abdul Azhim Badawai bin al-Khalafi, Indonesia Guide Fiqh Complete Edition, Translators Team Tashfiyah LIPIA - Jakarta, Ibn Kathir Library Publishers, Printed in Ramadan 1428 - September 2007M] (Continoe)