The time for Isha came, and with it came the adhaan of Shaykh Ali Mulla, perhaps the most recognized call from the Haram. It is a call that has had a particular effect on me. There is a saying that “Before you visit Makkah it beckons to you, and when you leave it behind it calls to you forever”. For myself, this calling often comes in the form of this particular adhan, whether hearing it for real or hearing it simply in the mind, it has been a reminder and calling towards this blessed place for years, and now, praise to Allah, we got to hear it again, live. Its echoes throughout the great expanse of the masjid and the night sky over Masjid al-Haram is rivaled only by its echoes in the hearts of those hearing it.
Many people began to make du'a after the adhaan was completed, for one of the greatest times for du’a is between the Adhaan and the Iqaama; it is a time where the sincere supplication is not rejected.
There is a story related by Imam Ghazali of a man who while during Hajj was visited by two angels in a dream on the night of Arafah who told him that of the six hundred thousand pilgrims making Hajj, only six of those were accepted. He woke that morning anxious and in grief, rightly worried about his own standing given that only six people had their Hajj accepted. The next night, in Muzdalifah, the two angels visited him again in his dream and told him for each of those six people, due to their merit and own prayers, a hundred thousand were given to each, so all six hundred thousand people had an accepted Hajj.
All of us, one hopes, can recall of supplications that we have made to Allah that have been answered. We can fall into a trap of thinking that my du’a was answered by Allah. But were those supplications really answered, are was it just the supplication of someone more righteous than we being answered? Could it be that whatever good fortunes have befallen us, whatever we have wished for in the past that has come true, was in fact because of an accepted du’a of someone else rather than our own du’a? Perhaps it was the du’a of our parents, or our friends. Perhaps it was the du’a of a stranger who we have never seen or never met, who saw us in the corner of his eye one day and made du'a for us. Perhaps it was the du’a of one of our ancestors hundreds of years ago praying that good would befall his offspring. Like those nearly six hundred thousand people making Hajj that year in that story, we may never really know. All we can do is work and struggle to find sincerity and humility in our du’a and pray to Allah that we may be included amongst the righteous.
The recitation of the Isha prayer was brief, and consisted of the last three verses of Surah Baqara. In this group of verses, just before the sublime invocation at the end, we are told not to distinguish between the Prophets. And it leads one to reflect on the Prophets, being in the place where several Prophets have walked years ago.
There was sheer excitement within myself, and the others no doubt, as we awaited the Taraweeh prayer. I thought of Hajj and the day of Arafah and being on the bus anxiously awaiting to arrive on the plain of Arafah. The excitement I had now was similar to then. Hajj is based on both physical action and spiritual introspection; its physical rites can be so taxing and numerous, however, that room for spiritual introspection can be at times forgotten. Yet if one talks to any Hajji, they will universally speak of the standing on the plain of Arafah as the greatest part of Hajj. For it is on the plain of Arafah that the physical rites stop, and where one can delve into deep spiritual introspection.
Ramadan is based heavily on spiritual introspection without many rites to be performed specifically, other than the recitation of the Qur’an and the performance of salah, in particular the Taraweeh which is unique to it. In this month, some of the secrets of salah can be unlocked.
While the many rites of Hajj are a celebration and commemoration of the Messengers of Allah, the unique rites during Ramadan are a celebration and commemoration of the Books of Allah. Both of them are commemorating and celebrating that conduit between the divine and humanity, the conduit of revelation consisting of the Messengers and the Books of Allah.
If Ramadan is a celebration of the Qur’an, it is magnified in the Taraweeh in the Haram. For it was here that many of these verses were sent down. It was here that history was made and revelations were sent down juxtaposed to these historical events. To here Shaykh Shuraim recite the du’a of Ibrahim in the surah named after him asking Allah that Makkah be a place of peace and security was an awesome experience for all of us. For we were standing there in serenity, with the briskh night breeze causing our thawbs to billow in the wind, all witnesses to Allah’s answering of Ibrahim’s du’a for it had come to fruition. The evidence was before our very eyes.
Imam Shuraim’s recitation was as magnificent as it always has been. Seven years earlier, I had heard him for the first time in the Haram and since then I have been listening to his tapes, which are recorded during the Taraweeh. And now to finally hear him and stand behind him in the Taraweeh in the Haram! Appropriately so, as Surah Ra’d (The Thunder) was recited, to hear the beautiful recitation of the words of Allah was like lightning under the skin, as if the heart undergoes a brief moment where it becomes in phase with the rest of the physical body which is constantly glorifying Allah . It is as if the heart begins to receive input and sensation from this perpetual state of constant glorification of Allah that every single cell of the body’s limbs and organs is in. Its effect is as sharp as lightning and as profound as thunder, for those brief moments can begin to shatter the shell of sins and forgetfulness that mask the heart.
"In the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." Ra’d 13:28
There is a sweetness to salah that when one experiences it, one understands why Rasulallah (peace be upon him) stated that salah was the most beloved thing in the world to him that brought coolness to his eye. One of the shaykhs in our religious tradition stated that if the kings and rulers knew what we the Muslims had, i.e that sweetness, they would fight us for it.
One finds that sweetness in Arafah in the midst of millions of people, and one sees the magnificence in these millions. So it also is in the Taraweeh of the Haram. As one stands before the Kaaba in the Tarweeh and looks towards it and at all the people facing it in turn, one finds magnificence. And as one lowers their eyes towards the place of prostration, and then into their own heart, one finds sweetness.
After days of physical actions and deeds, the Hajj reaches its high point, and its most crucial point, on the plains of Arafah. Here, physical deeds and actions are minimized, and the Muslim simply stands and raises his or her hands, calling on Allah for forgiveness and mercy. The petitioning for mercy is all we can do, for no one, not even Rasulallah (peace be upon him) as he has stated, will enter paradise on account of their deeds but only because of Allah’s Mercy.
The culmination of the Taraweeh prayer in the Haram is the Witr prayer. And like on the plains of Arafah, it ends in the same way, with us standing, facing the Qibla, hands raised and asking Allah for forgiveness and His Mercy on the Day of Judgment. And His Mercy prevails over His Wrath.
O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it. Hadith Qudsi in At-Tirmidhi.
As the Witr was completed, and as the most memorable of days came to a close as we left the Masjid, no doubt all of us were praying that the Qunoot was accepted. We would be back soon, God willing, back for another chance to converse with our Lord, to fast for His sake, and to visit His House.