Turkish pilgrims embark on Haj, pray for quake victims
Turkish earthquake survivors drew strength from their Muslim faith as they set off on an annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, keeping in their prayers loved ones they had lost or left behind seeking shelter from the wet, wintry weather. | |||||||
| In all, some 900 pilgrims were expected to make the long pilgrimage from Van in southeastern Turkey, to the holy city of Mecca, despite the tremor on Sunday that has killed at least 534 people and left thousands homeless. "We're going with a different feeling now," said Suat, a cleanly-shaved man in his late 30s, worried about his family now living in a tent, as he waited in the small departure hall of Van Airport on Thursday. He was among a group of around 100 pilgrims writing to embark a plane for İstanbul, on the first leg of their trip. A frantic, noisy crowd of relatives filled the hall to see them off. "We are overwhelmed, we will pray for our families. I will pray that the weather will not be so cold," Suat added, as those without shelter in the devastated towns and villages in eastern Turkey risked being drenched by freezing rain. Having been lucky enough to have been allocated one of the limited number of seats granted to Turkey under a quota Saudi Arabia awards each Muslim country for the Haj, the pilgrims did not want to lose their chance. They had planned their trip months in advance and what is already a special experience for all pious Muslims has gained extra poignancy for those who have witnessed the destruction in the last four days. In contrast to the desperate and mournful expressions etched on the faces of people across Van province, the pilgrims had looks of hope and devotion in their eyes as they embarked on a journey which is one of the five pillars of Islam. "My biggest prayer will be for Van and for my family left behind. I will ask God not to punish us anymore with these earthquakes," said Fevzi Gürkaynak, 61, whose house was damaged though not destroyed by the quake. Survivors in Van pleaded for more tents on Thursday, fearing death from cold after the tremor left thousands sleeping in the open. Hopes of finding more survivors have faded. A lot of the pilgrims were elderly, the majority men. Many of the male pilgrims wore loose-fitting light brown trousers and jackets, bearing a badge emblazoned with the Turkish flag for identification. Once in İstanbul they will change into the white ihram garment which male pilgrims are required to wear. Some female pilgrims wore white headscarves and long light-brown dresses. Turkey's religious affairs directorate has arranged to take 500 people on the pilgrimage, with private companies taking another 400, Mehdi Kulaz from the Haj department of the local religious authority told Reuters. He said three pilgrims had not been able to make the journey because they had lost close relatives or their homes in the quake. Another pilgrim, Zait Sönmez, said his house had emerged unscathed but a nephew was missing. "My nephew was under some wreckage and they haven't been able to pull him out. May God give strength to our state, our nation and rescue people. I will pray for my country. May God forgive us," he said. Source: Today's Zaman - Thursday, October 27, 2011 | |||||||
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Haj - GOD, Accept Our Prayers
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wicked Mother-In-Law At Work
While placing one of his finger at Tina*'s neck, Ustaz recited his selawat.
Tina's facial expression showed she was cringing with great pain, her eyeballs looked up, her four limbs were all struggling.
She had started the opening of her silat, the Malay self defence.
"Engkau siapa? Siapa hantar engkau? Kenapa kacau Tina?"
Ustaz continued with her ruqyah verses.
Questions after questions, verses after versus from the Qur'an were recited.
The jinn inside Tina could not take the life threatening episode any longer.
It began to cry and promised to leave Tina's body.
Ustaz told the unseen being if it is to disturb Tina again, Ustaz will seek GOD's permission to kill it.
After Tina was better, she said she kept seeing the dukun who used to visit her mother-in-law.
As far as she knows, the traditional Malay healer is only a family friend.
But she was in a suspicious environment not long after marriage and staying with her in-laws.
Many frightening dreams and incidences had happened.
Worst of all, a great weight had blocked her breathing.
She was always at the brink of death.
The first night at her in-laws' house, Tina already had nightmare.
Sleep disturbances were frequent, until they moved to their own home.
If not, she would often feel the presence of her husband beside her, although she knew that he was still at work.
Tina was not allowed to prepare morning coffee for her husband, nor preparing dinner for the family.
She knew, she had seen without her mother-in-law's knowledge, that the mother would blow into the plate of hot rice from which her husband will then eat.
She found it odd upon checking the kitchen cabinet, there were portions of sugar and salt, tied in small plastics.
The jinn inside Tina had agreed to become a Muslim.
After syahadah was recited for the conversion, it is not supposed to return to its master.
It will stay at the 'said' mosque where it will have to attend tazkirah, learning to become a better GOD's creature.
It is not to become human's slave.
"Ummie tak bawak balik ke air tu?
Dah puas cari dalam kereta. Tak adalah."
Tina asked about the water that Ustaz had asked her to bath with.
I knew I did not bring it home with me.
She called Ustaz asking about the matter.
He said that the jinn's owner had send 'someone' to take it away.
The owner was furious knowing her slave has turned against her.
In the meantime, Tina is to recite Ta'aawuz a thousand times daily, and
Laa Ilaaha Illallaah.Wahdahu Laa Syariikalah.
Lahul Mulku Wa Lahul Hamd.
Yuhyii WaYumiit. WaHuwa 'Alaa Kullii Syai'in Qodiir.
Tina knows her mother-in-law always wanted her dead.
Often her husband's nephews and nieces told her that their grandmother likes this particular someone to be her daughter-in-law.
Until today, all family members know that the grandmother still harbours her dream.
Tina's facial expression showed she was cringing with great pain, her eyeballs looked up, her four limbs were all struggling.
She had started the opening of her silat, the Malay self defence.
"Engkau siapa? Siapa hantar engkau? Kenapa kacau Tina?"
Ustaz continued with her ruqyah verses.
Questions after questions, verses after versus from the Qur'an were recited.
The jinn inside Tina could not take the life threatening episode any longer.
It began to cry and promised to leave Tina's body.
Ustaz told the unseen being if it is to disturb Tina again, Ustaz will seek GOD's permission to kill it.
After Tina was better, she said she kept seeing the dukun who used to visit her mother-in-law.
As far as she knows, the traditional Malay healer is only a family friend.
But she was in a suspicious environment not long after marriage and staying with her in-laws.
Many frightening dreams and incidences had happened.
Worst of all, a great weight had blocked her breathing.
She was always at the brink of death.
The first night at her in-laws' house, Tina already had nightmare.
Sleep disturbances were frequent, until they moved to their own home.
If not, she would often feel the presence of her husband beside her, although she knew that he was still at work.
Tina was not allowed to prepare morning coffee for her husband, nor preparing dinner for the family.
She knew, she had seen without her mother-in-law's knowledge, that the mother would blow into the plate of hot rice from which her husband will then eat.
She found it odd upon checking the kitchen cabinet, there were portions of sugar and salt, tied in small plastics.
*******
The jinn inside Tina had agreed to become a Muslim.
After syahadah was recited for the conversion, it is not supposed to return to its master.
It will stay at the 'said' mosque where it will have to attend tazkirah, learning to become a better GOD's creature.
It is not to become human's slave.
******
"Ummie tak bawak balik ke air tu?
Dah puas cari dalam kereta. Tak adalah."
Tina asked about the water that Ustaz had asked her to bath with.
I knew I did not bring it home with me.
She called Ustaz asking about the matter.
He said that the jinn's owner had send 'someone' to take it away.
The owner was furious knowing her slave has turned against her.
In the meantime, Tina is to recite Ta'aawuz a thousand times daily, and
Laa Ilaaha Illallaah.Wahdahu Laa Syariikalah.
Lahul Mulku Wa Lahul Hamd.
Yuhyii WaYumiit. WaHuwa 'Alaa Kullii Syai'in Qodiir.
Tina knows her mother-in-law always wanted her dead.
Often her husband's nephews and nieces told her that their grandmother likes this particular someone to be her daughter-in-law.
Until today, all family members know that the grandmother still harbours her dream.
The Haj - We Are No Judges
Sukisno aka Novi, a hajj pilgrim from Bojonegoro, East Java walked out from a rest room at the King Abdul Aziz Airport, Jeddah to perform hajj on Sunday night.
Sukisno, a beauty salon business person, admitted his transvestite status and planned to learn Islam totally after the hajj. (Antara/Prasetyo Utomo)
Source: The Jakarta Post - October 24, 2011
******
Before the scheduled date when I was to follow S back to her hometown in Lampung, Indonesia, she called to say she had to return home immediately.
Her father had passed away in Mecca.
So, her mother returned home at a much earlier date.
Neither her husband nor her children tagged along.
S had planned for me to meet her village teacher when her parents will be from their Haj last year.
******
The first time I met S, was at Masjid Raya not far from Batam Centre.
I was seeing my friend for the last time before she and her husband perform their Haj, in 2006.
S was sending off her father-in-law.
S was initially sceptical about Singaporeans.
Based on what she heard and read, Singaporeans are all about abc - abusive, being bossy, and cheaters.
What's more, her niece who had been working in Singapore for four years as a maid is yet to return home.
S believed the girl was abused, tortured, and her salary was never paid.
It was only after I brought S around, she was taken for an initial shock seeing Indonesian maids with latest handphones and fast texting fingers.
They gathered together, chatting their working hours away, while waiting for children at play.
We then went to hotspot City Plaza.
Many were dolled-up, many wore revealing clothing with jewellery.
S realised, these maids are not up to innocently nothing when many were accompanied by their male Bangladeshi friends.
After several trips to Singapore, and S get to know of married maids having relationship with not only foreign workers, but multiple Singaporean partners who support them, providing them cash, topping-up their phonecards, S realised her wrong perception of Singaporeans.
From then on, we became closer.
******
It was after two years of knowing S that she disclosed her father's predicament.
Her father had been the backbone of his family since he was able to carry loads.
The eldest in his family, responsibility was loaded on his both shoulders before he could understand the meaning of problem.
What's more problem solving.
Since her father became a man before he was even a boy, as a small built farmer, workloads he carried on his shoulder were usually more than any ordinary men able to handle.
Both S's parents were from the same village.
Her mother's parents married off their daughter (S's mother) to the man.
They knew their daughter will be in good hand, having a hardworking husband.
Too hardworking S's father was, until his body gave away.
He became a very old man in his 30s, and had lost all ability to work.
No energy left in his body.
He could not even sit down without being assisted, what's more to stand up.
Doctors just advised him to rest at home.
But as a farmer, there were 1001 things to be done.
They turned to traditional healer, who inserted susuk or charm needle, to support her father's body, for his health and mobility.
******
About 30 years on, the old man was advised to remove the foreign object before he reached the Holy Land.
On one hand, S knew it is religiously wrong to have susuk implanted in one's body.
But on the other, it is used for medicinal purpose, nothing to do for vanity.
I brought this matter to my eldest sister.
The susuk reminded her of a Singaporean female who had the object inserted into her knees, for health reason, after her long stay in hospital.
****** ****** ******
The susuk was not removed when the father left for Haj to complete the last pillar of his faith.
He had worked too hard to make a decent living.
Now, before his death, this ultimate goal needs a scoring too.
He wanted to step the spiritual path, the spiritual journey to reach HIM.
The journey that had been taken by just mere physical creatures who are all owned by THE ONE beyond the material world.
He wanted to see the Ka'abah.
Ka'abah is very inviting.
The very inviting Baitullah invites all sincere guests.
Its OWNER Selects HIS guests.
The father wanted to be one of them.
Baitullah is gravititional.
It has Its own unique pulling force.
That ALLAH's Possession was always in his mind, forever appearing in front of his eyes.
The father wanted to perform tawaf.
He wanted to be part of the whirling scene, like the obedient orbiting planets, never straying away from the designated path, before The CREATOR call off the day.
The father wanted to be present during wukuf, the world's greatest spiritual assembly.
Never mind the susuk inside him.
He wanted to be truthful to himself.
He wanted to lay bare his heart and soul for HIM to see.
HE Who Creates, Knows what's inside HIS mere creation.
The old man brought with him plentiful requests...
After performing their Haj, few days before the scheduled flight home, S's mother was doing her last minute shopping for souvenirs when news reached her that her husband had passed away in his sujud position while praying.
A new chapter in one of GOD's creation had opened.
His journey continues...
Monday, October 24, 2011
Gaddafi's Wealth And Harun Ar-Rasyid's Drinks
69 year-old Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule had ended.
He was found and being pulled out from a sewage drain.
Reports suggest that Gaddafi apparently had an estimated over US$200 billion, spread in bank accounts, real estate, corporate investments and gold, hidden away around the world.
He has some US$125 billion more than Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, whom Forbes estimates to be the world's wealthiest person.
Gaddafi had an Airbus A340 private jet.
It was used to repatriate Abdul Baset Ali Al-Megrahi, upon his release from prison in Scotland in 2009.
Eight-month uprising in Libya is hoped to end, with the ruler's horrible death.
After his death, Gaddafi's body was laid on a mattress in a cold storage, in an old meat store on Friday.
The place was formerly used for meat and other produce in Misrata's old market area.
Gaddafi was discovered hiding in a drainage culvert under a roadway.
The fallen strongman was dragged, beaten, and pushed around, but very much alive when he was found.
He was losing a lot of blood and his aged body could not bear with it.
He was begging for mercy.
The desperate Libyan leader begged for his life by offering gold and money before he was killed.
He was willing to offer anything in exchange for his life - Money and gold exchanged if his life was spared.
Instead of talking about money, as a Muslim, he was told to pray for his soul to be entrusted to God before dying.
But he just kept saying he was ready to give away his lots and lots of money and gold.
He kept pleading for life despite being ridiculed.
He was reminded to pray like a good Muslim before dying rather than lowering his self-esteem.
Khalifah Harun Ar-Rashyid, born in Rey, Iran, between 763 - 766, was the fifth Abbasiyah ruler in Iraq, from 786 to 809.
He was intellectually, politically and militarily resourceful.
During his reign, scientific, cultural and religious prosperity were significant.He was found and being pulled out from a sewage drain.
Reports suggest that Gaddafi apparently had an estimated over US$200 billion, spread in bank accounts, real estate, corporate investments and gold, hidden away around the world.
He has some US$125 billion more than Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, whom Forbes estimates to be the world's wealthiest person.
Gaddafi had an Airbus A340 private jet.
It was used to repatriate Abdul Baset Ali Al-Megrahi, upon his release from prison in Scotland in 2009.
Eight-month uprising in Libya is hoped to end, with the ruler's horrible death.
After his death, Gaddafi's body was laid on a mattress in a cold storage, in an old meat store on Friday.
The place was formerly used for meat and other produce in Misrata's old market area.
Gaddafi was discovered hiding in a drainage culvert under a roadway.
The fallen strongman was dragged, beaten, and pushed around, but very much alive when he was found.
He was losing a lot of blood and his aged body could not bear with it.
He was begging for mercy.
The desperate Libyan leader begged for his life by offering gold and money before he was killed.
He was willing to offer anything in exchange for his life - Money and gold exchanged if his life was spared.
Instead of talking about money, as a Muslim, he was told to pray for his soul to be entrusted to God before dying.
But he just kept saying he was ready to give away his lots and lots of money and gold.
He kept pleading for life despite being ridiculed.
He was reminded to pray like a good Muslim before dying rather than lowering his self-esteem.
******
Khalifah Harun Ar-Rashyid, born in Rey, Iran, between 763 - 766, was the fifth Abbasiyah ruler in Iraq, from 786 to 809.
He was intellectually, politically and militarily resourceful.
Baghdad flourished into the most splendid city of its period.
He established the legendary library Baitul Hikmah, or House of Wisdom.
The ruler often asked for advice from his men, from time to time.
There was once when Khalifah was sitting in his palace court when he became very thirsty.
He asked for a glass of water.
An eminent preacher, Ibn Sammaak, who was then visiting Khalifah Harun Ar-Rasyid, asked the ruler,
'If he is in the heart of the desert anywhere in his kingdom,
and he is about to die from thirst
and is refused that glass of drink,
would he bargain for it with half of his kingdom?'
To that question, Khalifah said `Yes.'
After finishing the drink, Ibn Sammaak followed up with another question,
'If that water stopped in his bladder due to some sickness,
then Khalifah is unable to discharge the drink from his body,
would Khalifah be paying another half of his throne just to be able to extricate it?'
Again, Khalifah answered, `Yes.'
Ibn Sammaak then said,
"The kingdom is worth one glass of water.
So is the urine that is produced from it.
What use is it to be proud of immense wealth!"
When Khalifah Harun Ar-Rasyid heard this statement, he went silent before he cried out loud fearing GOD.
Khalifah should show gratuity, not pride,with the kingdom he was entrusted to.
Khalifah should not be deceived by his whole kingdom which he valued it to just his double glass of water.
What does Khalifah desires from his throne, when he himself, equates it to what he had drank and just relieved.
Nights and days, we drink and we relieve ourselves, without GOD asking anything in return.
The World, With Whatever In It, Has No Value
When It Is Devoid Of Faith.
When Faith Is Lost,
So Is Inner Peace.
If Inner Peace Has No Soul,
It Is Not Enlivened By HIM
WHO Enlightened Whoever HE Pleases.
Pleased With Living Lives
Living With Faith
The Very Substance Of Inner Peace.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Nyai Roro Kidul In JB ?
N* had resumed her work.
She called me yesterday, promising to massage my feet for free.
She had been experiencing breathing difficulties for the past three months.
Even after several visits to the doctor, the breathing problem did not go away.
There is nothing wrong with her, according to the doctor.
She was not able to go to work, even to perform her daily prayers, for that three months.
Two weeks ago, she experienced suffocation.
Then she was not herself.
Nyai Roro Kidul painted by Basuki Abdullah
The spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul had entered her body.
Nyai Roro Kidul, that legendary 'Ratu Laut Selatan', Queen of the Southern Sea of Javanese mythology, is in JB?
Hard to believe, I said, during the first time I heard about it.
She claimed that the Sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamingkubuwono (1 - 10? Or only one of them? I did not ask) is her husband.
Nyai Roro Kidul has other different names too.
Sometime, she is referred to, as 'Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Kidul'.
To the royal palace, 'Keraton' of Surakarta, she is 'Kanjeng Ratu Ayu Kencono Sar'.
My Late Father used to tell stories of her, which I had mostly forgotten by now.
But N's incident reminded me of a documentary I watched few years back.
A group of university students went to make their own research on Nyai Roro Kidul.
They went to Samudra Beach Hotel at Pelabuhan Ratu in West-Java.
Roro Kidul's green room, numbered 308, is well kept.
They were supposed just to make a visit, without touching any items that is in the room.
But one of the student, just took the comb that was placed in-front of the mirror, and started combing his hair, without prior permission from the caretaker.
Not long after, putting on a green T-shirt, he told one of his friend that he was going for a walk into the sea.
The friend who watched him from the hotel room felt uneasy.
The said friend walked not along the beach, but he walked straight to the vast ocean, as if heading towards someone.
His dead body was later found by the search and rescue team in the sea.
It is a well-known legendary fact that Nyai Roro Kidul has always like green.
Men putting on green at the beach, most likely, will be pulled towards the sea and swept away by waves.
A number of them were never found, believed to have become her slaves.
Last Saturday, the spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul was in N again.
She came, accompanied by the beat of 'Kuda Lumping' or 'Kuda Kepang' as it is known here.
Claiming herself to be a Buddhist, many of her generations had become well-known, living their lives helping others.
One of them is now with a church, living his good and rich life in Jakarta.
Although N is a Muslim, it is ok for her, as N is her seventh generation.
She chooses N because of her good-heartedness, that makes Nyai wanted to help her to help others.
She warned N's husband, she would go after him if he is to mistreat N.
She touched many issues of N's marital lives.
She knew N wanted to return to Solo this coming Eidul 'Adha.
She named N's relatives back home, whom N has to meet.
She spoke at length non-stop, for more than two hours, of N's good deeds.
Now, Nyai will stay in N's body, never wanting to leave her again.
Nyai said, N has many known 'friends' who envy her.
It was the third time that the spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul entered N.
Whenever Nyai entered her body, it was almost deathlike experience for N with excruciating pain and suffocation.
She was unable to perform her daily prayers.
N just wanted to lead a normal life, massaging others.
It is all true what Nyai had said.
She did not deny that she is the seventh generation of Nyai Roro Kidul.
But N knows that whatever goodness had Nyai, her earlier generation, had brought to her - bear in mind - the spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul is a Buddhist.
Whereas N is a practicing Muslim.
She called me yesterday, promising to massage my feet for free.
She had been experiencing breathing difficulties for the past three months.
Even after several visits to the doctor, the breathing problem did not go away.
There is nothing wrong with her, according to the doctor.
She was not able to go to work, even to perform her daily prayers, for that three months.
Two weeks ago, she experienced suffocation.
Then she was not herself.
Nyai Roro Kidul painted by Basuki Abdullah
The spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul had entered her body.
Nyai Roro Kidul, that legendary 'Ratu Laut Selatan', Queen of the Southern Sea of Javanese mythology, is in JB?
Hard to believe, I said, during the first time I heard about it.
She claimed that the Sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamingkubuwono (1 - 10? Or only one of them? I did not ask) is her husband.
Nyai Roro Kidul has other different names too.
Sometime, she is referred to, as 'Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Kidul'.
To the royal palace, 'Keraton' of Surakarta, she is 'Kanjeng Ratu Ayu Kencono Sar'.
My Late Father used to tell stories of her, which I had mostly forgotten by now.
But N's incident reminded me of a documentary I watched few years back.
A group of university students went to make their own research on Nyai Roro Kidul.
They went to Samudra Beach Hotel at Pelabuhan Ratu in West-Java.
Roro Kidul's green room, numbered 308, is well kept.
They were supposed just to make a visit, without touching any items that is in the room.
But one of the student, just took the comb that was placed in-front of the mirror, and started combing his hair, without prior permission from the caretaker.
Not long after, putting on a green T-shirt, he told one of his friend that he was going for a walk into the sea.
The friend who watched him from the hotel room felt uneasy.
The said friend walked not along the beach, but he walked straight to the vast ocean, as if heading towards someone.
His dead body was later found by the search and rescue team in the sea.
It is a well-known legendary fact that Nyai Roro Kidul has always like green.
Men putting on green at the beach, most likely, will be pulled towards the sea and swept away by waves.
A number of them were never found, believed to have become her slaves.
******
Last Saturday, the spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul was in N again.
She came, accompanied by the beat of 'Kuda Lumping' or 'Kuda Kepang' as it is known here.
Claiming herself to be a Buddhist, many of her generations had become well-known, living their lives helping others.
One of them is now with a church, living his good and rich life in Jakarta.
Although N is a Muslim, it is ok for her, as N is her seventh generation.
She chooses N because of her good-heartedness, that makes Nyai wanted to help her to help others.
She warned N's husband, she would go after him if he is to mistreat N.
She touched many issues of N's marital lives.
She knew N wanted to return to Solo this coming Eidul 'Adha.
She named N's relatives back home, whom N has to meet.
She spoke at length non-stop, for more than two hours, of N's good deeds.
Now, Nyai will stay in N's body, never wanting to leave her again.
Nyai said, N has many known 'friends' who envy her.
******
It was the third time that the spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul entered N.
Whenever Nyai entered her body, it was almost deathlike experience for N with excruciating pain and suffocation.
She was unable to perform her daily prayers.
N just wanted to lead a normal life, massaging others.
It is all true what Nyai had said.
She did not deny that she is the seventh generation of Nyai Roro Kidul.
But N knows that whatever goodness had Nyai, her earlier generation, had brought to her - bear in mind - the spirit of Nyai Roro Kidul is a Buddhist.
Whereas N is a practicing Muslim.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Hajarul Aswad
The Black Stone and its importance
By ADIL SALAHI
When we do the tawaf around the Kaaba, during the pilgrimage or the Umrah, or even as a sunnah, we always start and finish at the eastern corner of the Kaaba where the Black Stone is placed. It is recommended to kiss the Black Stone or touch it at the beginning and as we start every round, but if the place is too crowded, it is enough to just signal with one’s hand, observing what is recommended to do and say during tawaf. It is important, therefore, to know what significance, if any, the Black Stone has.
Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second closest to the Prophet (peace be upon him) of all his companions, once stood at the Black Stone and kissed it as he was about to do his tawaf. He then addressed it saying: “I know that you are merely a stone that can cause neither harm nor benefit. Had it not been for the fact that I saw the Prophet kissing you, I would not have kissed you.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Thus Umar put the whole issue of the Black Stone and its significance in the right perspective. It is a mere stone that causes neither benefit nor harm to anyone. As a stone, it is not different from any other stone. Umar obviously knew that the stone could not hear him, but his words were meant for the people present, and indeed for all others. Saying them there meant that they would be communicated by other pilgrims to all their peoples throughout the Muslim world. Hence, the action of kissing the Black Stone or venerating it seeks only to follow the Prophet’s example, because the Prophet has taught us only what is good. Thus, it falls within the general requirement of following the Prophet’s guidance. The Black Stone has no significance other than its being the mark for the start and end of a particular ritual of worship.
It is useful to know something of the history of the Black Stone. It is well known that the Kaaba was built, on God’s instructions, by the prophets Abraham and Ishmael. It is reported that when they completed its building, Abraham said to his son: ‘Bring me a fine stone to but at this corner. He brought him this stone which was different from the rest of stones they used in the building. It is black with a touch of redness, and looked different in texture. There is no doubt that it is unlike other stones, because it has been there for several thousands of years, retaining its shape, form and color despite all sorts of weather conditions and the billions of hands touching it and lips kissing it. It resisted fires, floods and other turbulent conditions, as well as several cases of renovation and rebuilding. All those who renovated the building of the Kaaba retained it in its position. Some reports suggest that it is a meteor brought to Abraham by the Angel Gabriel. Even if this is true, it does not change its religious status we have mentioned, that it is a stone with no special characteristics or status. When we venerate it, we do so because it marks a ritual of worship, but it is not a part of that worship.
What is part of our worship is to follow the Prophet’s guidance. In this connection, he kissed the Black Stone at times, signaled to it with his staff at other times and signaled with his hand when convenient. Whichever of these is easiest for us when we do the tawaf is perfectly acceptable. We are rewarded for following the Prophet’s example. Anyone who thinks the Black Stone can bring him benefit or prevent harm is in gross error.
Source: Arab News - October 14, 2011
By ADIL SALAHI
When we do the tawaf around the Kaaba, during the pilgrimage or the Umrah, or even as a sunnah, we always start and finish at the eastern corner of the Kaaba where the Black Stone is placed. It is recommended to kiss the Black Stone or touch it at the beginning and as we start every round, but if the place is too crowded, it is enough to just signal with one’s hand, observing what is recommended to do and say during tawaf. It is important, therefore, to know what significance, if any, the Black Stone has.
Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second closest to the Prophet (peace be upon him) of all his companions, once stood at the Black Stone and kissed it as he was about to do his tawaf. He then addressed it saying: “I know that you are merely a stone that can cause neither harm nor benefit. Had it not been for the fact that I saw the Prophet kissing you, I would not have kissed you.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Thus Umar put the whole issue of the Black Stone and its significance in the right perspective. It is a mere stone that causes neither benefit nor harm to anyone. As a stone, it is not different from any other stone. Umar obviously knew that the stone could not hear him, but his words were meant for the people present, and indeed for all others. Saying them there meant that they would be communicated by other pilgrims to all their peoples throughout the Muslim world. Hence, the action of kissing the Black Stone or venerating it seeks only to follow the Prophet’s example, because the Prophet has taught us only what is good. Thus, it falls within the general requirement of following the Prophet’s guidance. The Black Stone has no significance other than its being the mark for the start and end of a particular ritual of worship.
It is useful to know something of the history of the Black Stone. It is well known that the Kaaba was built, on God’s instructions, by the prophets Abraham and Ishmael. It is reported that when they completed its building, Abraham said to his son: ‘Bring me a fine stone to but at this corner. He brought him this stone which was different from the rest of stones they used in the building. It is black with a touch of redness, and looked different in texture. There is no doubt that it is unlike other stones, because it has been there for several thousands of years, retaining its shape, form and color despite all sorts of weather conditions and the billions of hands touching it and lips kissing it. It resisted fires, floods and other turbulent conditions, as well as several cases of renovation and rebuilding. All those who renovated the building of the Kaaba retained it in its position. Some reports suggest that it is a meteor brought to Abraham by the Angel Gabriel. Even if this is true, it does not change its religious status we have mentioned, that it is a stone with no special characteristics or status. When we venerate it, we do so because it marks a ritual of worship, but it is not a part of that worship.
What is part of our worship is to follow the Prophet’s guidance. In this connection, he kissed the Black Stone at times, signaled to it with his staff at other times and signaled with his hand when convenient. Whichever of these is easiest for us when we do the tawaf is perfectly acceptable. We are rewarded for following the Prophet’s example. Anyone who thinks the Black Stone can bring him benefit or prevent harm is in gross error.
Source: Arab News - October 14, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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