Familiarity In The Land of Islam

I was 10 years old when I first went for Umrah, the pilgriamge to Makkah. There are small memories I still have from that time. Dad holding my sister on his shoulder while going round the Kabah, my sister and I racing each other to fill cups of water for the elderly women and sleeping on mom's lap when tired.

Very few are blessed with the chance of performing Umrah with their parents after marriage, but Alhamdulillah Allah granted me that favor. 16 years later, here we are in the land of the birth of Islam, together with my own little family. It was everything I imagined it to be and even more. This time, it was Amina who was carried by dad and I and my sister were holding our mother's hand.

Makkah is a global village in the truest sense. You can find people from all over the world, standing next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, praying and supplicating. And in the little while I spent in the Haram (the mosque), I felt like I belonged to a close-knit community.  Children would come to the Haram after school, still in their uniforms, kissing their moms and hugging their teachers. Younger kids were chasing each other and babies were crawling under the watchful eyes of their moms. Teachers were holding classes under pillars, surrounded by their students. People would greet each other with the Salams (peace), both known and unknown. Local ladies would come with their children with boxes of dates and flasks filled with kahwa (Arabic coffee). Each child would take a tray filled with goodies and distribute them. The mother would fill glasses with coffee and pass them around. Every day I would find myself sitting next to someone from a different country. We would strike a conversation over dates and coffee and it was always interesting to hear their story. This was the first time I actually put my Arabic knowledge to full use and man was I glad I did since I got to meet many wonderful ladies. I met a woman from Algeria who actually baked biscuits and brought them all the way to Makkah. Everyday she would bring a box of those delicious Algerian cookies and pass them around. After the evening prayers, when the crowd decreased, there was a lot of space to walk and play. Amina would run around with gay abandon following kids twice her size. Everyone had a kind word to tell. They would pick her up, kiss her and give her things to play with. And if she would run too far, the cleaners or another pilgrim would pick her up and bring her back .

Islam lays emphasis on the importance of a community. I am sure growing up here would teach children many things of importance like empathy, volunteering and contributing to the society. It's been only two days since I returned and already feel like I've left a part of me in Makkah. It felt so much like home to me. There is some sort of a familiarity in everyone's eyes in the House of Allah- where the love for Him brings people together from all over the world to gather in one place seeking His pleasure.