Month 7, 1436
Nervously sitting in front of the bank officer.
"As I've mentioned. The thing is, since Mohammad is very long, added to the fact that my full name would occupy the entire space of my passport, thus the reason why in Malaysia they shorten it to 'Mohd.' instead.", kelentong Abu dengan kelicikan ikan Phelps Schooling berenang di air.
Abdullah Abdul Rahman yang sangsi, segera berdiri menuju ke Pengurus Cawangan meminta kepastian.
"Yeah, we can accept this."
Teringat akan tips interview yang mana menggalakkan candidate untuk banyak bercakap dan bertanyakan soalan jika mahu mengelakkan dari disoal terlalu banyak, Abu seraya memuji,
"Mashaallah. I've remembered the narration that our beloved S.A.W. mentioned that there are two of the best names ever and you have both".
Abdullah Abdul Rahman seraya tersenyum.
"Abdul Rahman is my father's."
"Hey also, now that you have iqamah & bank account, you can easily go for hajj."
"Go to hajj?"
"Yeah, hajj."
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Month 12, 1436
Day -1
Kawan sebelah cubicle. Emad Essam Ed-din. Before he went back to Alexandria for eid (& finally seeing his newborn daughter) & before Abu went to go & shave his head later on, soon. Inshaallah.
Day 0 - 6/12
Pit stop. There're throngs of people offering the hujjah food & drinks. Awesome. "Cheat code" detected.
Day 1 - 7/12 (Mecca)
Of all the places to accidentally met, met an acquitance in the toilet of Haram. Before performing Tawaf Qudum.
Receiving ole-ole from home. I swear to God mom. I'm turning 30 this year & am performing hajj here. No need for serunding lah. Terima kasih mak.
Hey. I didn't notice this part of Mekah before.
Welcome to Mina. When Abu see it for the first time. He was like. But when the food arrive.
Nikmat mana lagi yang kamu deny.
Day 2 - 8/12 (Mina)
The place was mashaallah cozy. No really. It really is. If it's any cozy, we wouldn't be able to,
Alhamdulillah. But instead would be,
And then, the night comes.
By right, we should be going to Arafah tomorrow morning. But you know, hajj being hajj, to prevent mishaps & stuff, we were ordered to go there tonight.
And off we go.
The walk to the train was rather tiring (It's relatively short distance so I don't know why but yeah). But it was the first time ever that I felt that we're really doing hajj here when everybody's reciting the talbiah loudly (Guys, loudly. It's a sunnah). Awesome.
Day 3 - 9/12 (Arafah + Muzdalifah)
Morning. Still ada some yang tidur. Demyu hujjah. (Tidur pun beribadat no?).
Afterwards, macam biasa. Ada sesi ceramah. Also, the second occasion that "weird" thingy happens to Abu. But perhaps another story for another time eh.
The tent was great. And so was the food etc. Lainsyakartum right? No, seriously. (Can save one empty bottle of water (small size) to store your pebbles later on. If you don't already have some special pack dedicated for that you girl scout you).
Now the main event. I suppose I should dedicate an entire post for this alone but, for the sake of not wanting to further prolong this, let's just say, your entire journey is actually for this one. Heck perhaps, even your entire life. (Okay maybe second to service to your parents). My strategy here? 30 minutes of doa by standing (and of course raising your hands) then 15 minutes in the tent reciting Qur'an. You can biithnillah squeeze in 3 rounds or 4 with this. But remember, it's not about quantity ya.
If you don't know what else to make dua for (or get bored - seriously?), recite Al-Ma'thurat. You can thank me (and Hassan al-Banna of course) later.
Oh also, cry if you can. But I reckon you will.
Have to go back in order to spend the night in Mudzdalifah. The first (real) time Abu experienced the famous crowd of hujjah. Jam packed der. The most important thing? Sabr. Sobrun jamil. Seriously. You will be tested. When all else fail? Smile & sacrifice by helping others instead. Kan dah nak jadi haji?
I wonder, how's those who're walking doing?
Welcome to Mudzdalifah my friend.
Also, don't forget to pickup these little buddies of yours ya. Their entire existence is just to help you? (Well, not that really 17:44)
One more thing, Isya' of course jangan lupa lah ya. Haha.
Day 4 - 10/12 (Jamrat) - Hari Raya!
As early as wee hour in the morning dah ramai yang bertolak ke Jamrat. Ada yang nak pergi after Zohor. Oh also Abu, today is the day that whole lots of people clashing (?) occur. Innalillah. Be safe there ya.
While waiting for our turn to board the train.
In the end, collectively, we decided to jalan lah instead. Our (lone) mutawwif suggest after Zohor lah. Kurang orang sikit kut (you wish). Tapi sebab semua pun first timer, then gung-ho nak waktu afdal. (God help & forgives us all).
The view was nice (hey Abu you're not here for the view remember?). (Finally) Felt like hari raya. Albeit without the rendang & all.
Also, we can see here some amateurs trying their best to adhering to the sunnah of Ibrahim a.s. May God forgives us all.
Anyway,
Looks intimidating no? Is the devil this big before? I dunno.
We were at top floor. So you see, we can view the nice canopy up top (Again Zaini, not for the view).
Some prefers (read: choose) not to have their photos taken. So you should respect that (Haha. Obviously. Astaghfirullah).
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Just some photos for the second, third & final day of throwing jamrat. (I didn't manage to get photo for the final tawaf but by dear God, the crowd was suffocating. Instead of perhaps 15 minutes per round, Abu clocked in (ingat racing ke?) 45 minutes per round. More time for dua right? just don't miss your bus (for those leaving altogether lah)).
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Month 7, 1418
On the way ke Seremban.
"Abah, ni sekolah apa ni? Tengah-tengah dalam hutan ni?"
"Oh, ni kalau sekolah yang ada 'A' dalam dia, selalu nya sekolah agama"
"Oo. Taknak lah sekolah agama. Nanti kena belajar bahasa Arab".
"Haha"
And so Abu went to Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Sepang. Appointed as head of class the very first day. Then to Victoria Institution. Spent Ramadan of 1998 there. Then to MRSM Gerik. Spend about 3 months (?) there. Then as the One Whose In His Hands My Life is intended, went to the goddamn school Abu's been trying to avoid in the first place.
Alhamdulillah.
