Assalamualaikum dan Selamat Sejahtera
Strangers No More
Makkah, Muzdalifah, Arafah, Mina and Madinah . . .
We came, we saw . . . and were struck with awe!
Strangers we were at the onset
letting nothing and expecting none to let.
We came, we saw . . . and were struck with awe!
Strangers we were at the onset
letting nothing and expecting none to let.
Each and everyone of us
displaying our very own air of indifference . . . distinctive
to boot, discriminating culture and differing belief.
A lifestyle filled with much individuality
developing a flair for arrogant familiarity.
A so-called behavioral manner
trendily termed as
some kind of non-intervention
in other people concern!
Writer and wife Hjh Alimah Md Yasin
WRITER'S MALE ROOMATES (at left) IN MAKKAH
Hj Salleh Ibrahim and wife Hjh Juliah Partono
Dato' Hj Muhammad Hatta Abdul Aziz and wife Datin Hjh Zabedah Idris
YM Hj Raja Aman Shah Raja Shahruzz Aman and wife Hjh Che Zainah Abdul Wahid
and
WRITERS MALE ROOMATES (at left) IN MADINAH
Hj Abdul Halim and wife Hjh Noral Saniah Mohd Som
Hj Kamarudin Abdullah and wife Hjh Hapsah Omar
Hj Hishamudin Muda and wife Hjh Norziera Ngah
Without much concern to the norms
of commonly accepted sensibility;
Without much ado for collective liability
or respect for social responsibility;
Most fearfully . . .
without having any sense of humility
even when faced with the probability
of inviting much wrath
of the Almighty!
Nonetheless
with the passing of time
with the dawning of many-a-day
and forms of learning in many-a-way
inculcating valuable values
instilling honourable virtues . . .
we were destined
to be transformed
into matured earthlings
hopeful of becoming better beings.
No longer
putting interest of self above others
no longer behaving like suspicious strangers . . .
hence open to goodness
to the calm and charm
of this holy land
universally renowned as
the Haram!
Everything and everyone
seekers of the holy Haj
were blended into a bond of brotherhood . . .
via common religious solace
falling into place
fitting into space.
And, by the will of God
Allah the Almighty
we should by now be adept to sincerity
well adjusted to the tremors of insanity
as we now truly saw and experienced
what the truth is in reality!
And by the grace of God
strangers at the onset
have now visibly been transformed . . .
to become siblings
in a closely knit fraternity.
Our stay here
will soon be over.
But . . . no matter how slim our hope be . . .
let's pray that
the way of life we have since shared
shall prevail and be practised
throughout our existence
in whichever community or clan
in whatever country or land.
Later
In retrospective to this day
(the excitement would have simmer down by then)
it would then be the acid test
to gauge whether
whatever we have gathered here
would have truly served
as the turning point
to a new lease of life
our very own . . .
for life!
And on the spur of a moment . . .
We will have to depart
regardless of
having sporadically achieved or otherwise
what we came for
what we sought after.
Still in one very special corner
of our heart
and in our very own special manner . . .
we will want it not
to be strangers again,
no never all over again!
For then
all will be lost with nothing gain.
And, with nothing gain
all our feelings
will be tattered and torn
and all our efforts forlorn!
The practice we carried out
the principle we adhered to
and the vows we pledged
will be waywardly placed
bingo
in a limbo .
And, presto
that would surely be
plain destruction
to a meaningful construction:
the Haj congregation.
Our intention refracted,
our attention distracted . . .
Our act listless,
our target fruitless . . .
Nauzubillah!
Makkah, Muzdalifah, Arafah, Mina and Madinah . . .
After coming, after seeing and after leaving
we are still very awe stricken
just like at the very beginning!
amb
Oct-Dec 2011
MAY ALLAH BLESS US ALL
AMEN
dsuarang.blogspot.com
AMEN
