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When Life Begins --------- ---------
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When Life Begins ---------
Abdullah completed the last
Tawáf
around the Kaaba in an unusual
state of mind. To go around the Kaaba was a special event by itself. The
last round had made it even more special. In addition, what he had
experienced last night had made the Kaaba appear to him in a
completely new light. For him, it now embodied the Throne.
Being human, after all, he was extremely tired after consecutive
Tawáfs. He sat on the floor and kept staring at the Kaaba for a while. He
then got up with mixed feelings of disappointment and optimism and
with a heavy heart, he started what is always the most difficult thing to
do for the lovers of God… to leave The Sacred Mosque before departing
from Mecca!
Morning light was fully apparent now. Abdullah headed out in such
a manner that he stopped every so often and looked back at the Kaaba.
He then strengthened himself, and saying, ‘
Allahu Akbar’
, started
moving forward again. However, involuntarily he looked time and again
over his shoulders to sneak a final view of the Kaaba. Once, in doing so,
he bumped in to someone.
Abdullah looked ahead and saw an elderly man with a white beard
standing in front. He realised that he had bumped into the man who
appeared to be his compatriot from his appearance. Abdullah’s
enthusiasm suddenly turned to embarrassment.
He said in an apologetic tone:
“Forgive me, Sir! It is my fault. I was not looking ahead.”
“No problem.” The man replied affectionately. He then added:
“I was also at fault to some extent. I was also not looking ahead. In
fact, I was trying to find my family. We came here to do
Umrah
and got
separated due to the crowd.”
“Had you not agreed beforehand on a meeting point in case you got
lost?” Abdullah asked. He explained further:
“It is important to do so in the Haram, otherwise it becomes very
difficult to find the lost ones.”
“Well, we agreed to meet near the gate called the ‘
Báb-al-Fatáh’
as
it is less crowded. However, I have been standing here for quite some
time but they have not arrived yet.” The man replied in a concerned
tone.
“In that case, your problem is solved!” Abdullah replied smilingly.
He added:
“You see, this is not your meeting point. You are waiting at the
wrong gate. I will take you to your destination.”
The man looked around briefly, embarrassed, and then replied as
he started to walk along with Abdullah in the right direction:
“Actually, we only reached here last night. It is our first visit. As
such, we are not fully familiar with the various landmarks. My daughter
and granddaughter separated from me during Umrah. I had provided
them with the directions but forgot them myself! Thank God, you
bumped into me otherwise I would have been waiting there for a long
time.”
“There is a purpose in every act of God, Almighty”, Abdullah replied.
His tone suddenly became very affectionate when he said the word,
‘God’.
“Oh, there is my daughter!” The man exclaimed cheerfully pointing
in a certain direction, ignoring Abdullah’s comment. He headed quickly
in that direction.
Abdullah looked in that direction and saw the elderly man heading
towards a middle-aged woman. Abdullah could not decide whether to
follow suit or to go back his own way; he had finished the task at hand
anyway. He felt that it would probably be more polite to take his leave
before heading back, so he followed the man.
When he reached close, he heard him giving an explanation for the
mishap to his daughter. When he saw Abdullah, he said:
“This young man showed me the way.”
“Thank you very much for your help, Son”, the woman said
elegantly, although her face clearly betrayed signs of the toils of the
journey, Umrah and the latest incident. She added:
“We had been waiting here for Daddy for quite some time.”
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