1
ALL CREATURES ARE DOING THE TAWAF,
TO PRAISE ALLAH
By Ninie G. Syarikin
My friends,
I'd like to tell you my experience
when I was doing the tawaf
around the Ka'bah.
Lots of people were circumambulating
that House of Allah.
Many kinds of people.
Big, medium, and small, like me;
Tall, medium-height, and short, like me;
Black, white, yellow, and brown, like me;
Boys, girls, toddlers on their fathers' shoulders,
even infants in their mothers' arms,
men, and women, like me.
Old, young, and middle-aged, like me.
All kinds of people, including me.
Doing the tawaf, my dear friends,
felt like being in a boat rocked by the sea,
pulled to the right and pushed to the left.
I was pressed forward,
I was dragged backward,
I had to keep my balance.
And a few times I would stumble over
Some meditating pilgrim, whom I couldn't
comprehend why and what he was doing,
sitting on the ground amidst
innumerable moving legs.
I was doing my tawaf
walking hand in hand
with other female pilgrims
that I met in my group
at the beginning of our hajj journey.
We were trying to help and protect
each other the best we could.
At times,
we would search each others' eyes,
just to see and make sure that
each of us was all right.
But sometimes our chain was broken,
and we would be separated and scattered
in chaos.
Then we would be seeking each other,
while keeping our circumambulation
at a reasonable pace.
And the moment
our eyes caught each other again,
whoever was ahead would slow down,
and whoever was behind
would quicken her pace,
until we held our hands once more,
and started our steps together again.
All of these gestures were done
in a strong feeling of sisterhood,
while offering our praise to Allah:
“Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk,
Labbayk la syarika laka Labbayk!”
“I have come to respond to
Your call, ya, Allah! Here I am!”
Many times the circle felt so crowded and slow
Sometimes the round felt spacious and fast
Several times I was overshadowed
by towering people
A few times I felt covered and overweighed
by heavy people.
There were times I couldn't breathe,
and more than once I had to hold my breath.
However, a few times
I could see the clear blue sky above
and witness countless birds
flying around the top of the Ka'bah.
Subhanallah! Glory be to God!
Even birds were performing the tawaf
with their warbling sounds,
as if offering their takbir.
Allahu Akbar! God is Great!
My good friends!
During the tawaf,
I saw strong, towering, powerfully-built
black men, the Africans, I gather,
from the depth of Africa,
cooperatively and stoically carrying
the infirm, the feeble, the sick and
the old pilgrims, in wooden dollies,
on top of their seemingly steel heads,
padded by round and thick cloths.
Those black brothers were aiding those pilgrims
in performing their tawaf,
who strangely looked like the royal
sitting comfortably
in their colorful and decorative chambers
as if carried by their servants.
So long was their line that
it formed its own lone circle
which appeared like a gigantic ring
surrounding the Ka'bah.
I was observing in astonishment,
speechless,
yet mentioning du'a in my heart,
may Allah reward those African brothers
much, and much more in the akhirah,
than what they receive in return,
in this dunya.
Day and night
the Ka'bah was never deserted,
and the number of worshippers
circumambulating, never decreased.
All the time, the praise to Allah was heard:
“Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk,
Labbayk la syarika laka Labbayk!”
“I have come to respond to
Your call, ya, Allah! Here I am!”
The appearance of the pilgrims
performing the tawaf looked like
the waves of the ocean.
The dominant color of white ihram
seemed like the foam of the sea.
Spectacular! Grand!!
My Muslim brothers and sisters!
During the tawaf,
I saw waves of pilgrims
trying to fight their way through,
approaching the House of Allah.
They looked like harsh currents
striking and smashing the boat.
Then several of them would reach the Ka'bah,
and like glue, they would scale its wall
with their hands and fingers,
and would slowly creep aside in one direction.
I understood what they were doing,
and was again astounded at their zeal.
They were trying to come close to
the Hajar Al-Aswad, the black stone,
to touch and kiss it.
Sometimes they would be washed away
by the currents,
and sometimes they would succeed in
achieving their hearts' desire.
I was located too far away to do the same,
besides lacking the passion and courage
to fight my way through.
So, I just waved and waved my right hand
in its direction with sentiments,
then kissed that very hand,
while whispering to the stone from afar:
“Wahai, Hajar Aswad, may we meet
in a better time during 'umrah.”
Nevertheless,
I was comforted by the remembrance of
what Khalifah ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab stated:
"Oh, Hajar Aswad, you are a stone;
you can neither help nor harm.
Had I not seen the Messenger of Allah
kissing you, I wouldn't have kissed you."
I settled to the knowledge that
the act is not obligatory.
My brothers and sisters!
As I completed my tawaf,
exhausted and perspiring,
yet spiritually elevated and gratified,
I decided to take a short refuge.
So, I went up to the top floor of
the Masjidil Haram,
and chose a spot in a corner.
This time I wanted to act
as a lone spectator to the pilgrims
performing the tawaf below.
And, Masya Allah!
What I saw was nothing but
magnificent and majestic!
The Sovereignty of God!!
Human waves in white,
worshipping the Creator
in hum and murmur.
Which echoed and re-echoed.
Which resonated and resonated.
Which reverberated and reverberated.
Without end.
Until,
as though the sound slowly disappeared
from my ears, when my eyes,
between consciousness and dream,
caught regiments and regiments of creatures,
which I would never have the least ability
to describe them to you
in all the would-be years of my life.
It was simply beyond words!
Those creatures were performing their tawaf
in such an order and total devotion,
oblivious to their surrounding,
that I was sure,
they must not be human beings like us.
Though they were circumambulating
among the pilgrims,
those pilgrims didn't seem to be aware
of their presence.
I was profoundly in awe!
I was profoundly in awe!!
After pondering a long while,
I simply concluded that they were
none other than the divine creatures:
the mala'ikahs and the jinns.
The angels of Allah, my dear brothers,
as we learned from Al-Kitab,
were brought into being by Allah
exclusively to worship Him.
And they were performing the tawaf to worship Him.
While the jinns, my dear sisters,
as we learned also from Al-Qur'an,
were shaped by Allah with similar aim
as He created us, human beings.
"I had not created jinns and humans,
except to worship Me."
So,
Allah made the mala'ikah from light,
the jinn from fire,
and fashioned Adam, the first human,
from clay.
Allow me to kindly refresh your memory,
Brothers and Sisters!
That at one time,
a group of jinns,
after they heard the beautiful recitation
and the truth of the Qur'anic verses,
immediately declared their iman to Islam.
And that among them,
some are righteous and pious,
and some are not,
and that among the jinns,
some are Muslims and some are not,
just like us, humans.
So, my good Brothers and Sisters!
The obligation of hajj
also applies to the Muslim jinns.
Allah Al-Malik, Allah Al-Wali!
The Absolute Ruler, The Governor!!
And, so, there, they were!
In the courtyard of the Ka'bah.
Those angels and jinns
were also offering their praise:
“Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk,
Labbayk la syarika laka Labbayk!”
“I have come to respond to
Your call, ya, Allah! Here I am!”
Indeed, yes, indeed!
Day and night,
the Ka'bah was never deserted,
and the number of worshippers
circumambulating, never decreased.
On the contrary, they increased!
How very true!!
At all times, the praise to Allah was heard:
“Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk,
Labbayk la syarika laka Labbayk!”
“I have come to respond to
Your call, ya, Allah! Here I am!”
Then,
I thought,
reflecting for a while
with immeasurable gratitude,
I started hearing again that hum and murmur,
the sea of white ihram
surfacing again before me.
Immediately, I took my leave
from my temporary sanctuary
and immersed in the white sea.
NGS
Washington, DC, Tuesday, January 12th, 1999
GLOSSARY:
1. Tawaf: Circumambulation around the Ka'bah.
2. Ka'bah: A large cube, a cement block structure the size of a tiny house,
covered by black velvet cloth with gold thread scriptures, situated in the
city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It is the center of direction for prayer for
the Muslims all over the world, five times every day.
3. Du'a: An Arabic word for 'prayer' or 'supplication'.
4. Takbir: A praise for the greatness of God, which says ‘Allahu Akbar’ and
which means Allah is The Greatest.
5. Akhirah: An Arabic word for the 'Day of Judgement.'
6. Dunya: An Arabic word for 'world;’ ‘dunia’ in Indonesian and Malay,
7. Ihram: 2 piece white seamless garment worn by Muslim men during hajj.
8. Wahai: An exclamation of wonder in Indonesian or Malay language, both
for happy and sad feelings, equivalent with 'oh,' 'lo' or 'hi,' used to show
surprise or call attention to something or someone.
9. ‘Umrah: Visit to the Ka'bah, the House of Allah, and perform some
hajj-like rituals during the non-hajj season. This worship is called small,
minor or lesser hajj. However, ‘umrah does not replace or eliminate the
obligation of hajj to Muslims; hajj is obligatory, while ‘umrah is
voluntary.
10. Khalifah ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab: The second caliph during the Islamic
period after the leadership and death of Prophet Muhammad SAW.
11. Masjidil Haram: The huge mosque which surrounds the Ka'bah.
12. Masya Allah: An interjection in Arabic language to admire God's
creations, but at the same time also contains a prayer that God will protect those creations from their destruction or evil effects.
13. Mala'ikah: An Arabic word for 'angel.'
14. Jinn: An Arabic word for 'devil.'
15. Al-Kitab: An Arabic word for 'book,' but in this context is for the Holy
Book.
16. Al-Qur'an: The Holy Book revealed to Prophet Muhammad, SAW, as the
guidance for the Muslims.
17. Iman: Faith, such as faith in Allah.
FOOT NOTES:
"And I (Allah) created not the Jinns and Humans except
that they should worship me (Alone) "
(Page 6: Al-Qur’an, Surah Adh-Dhariyat
-- Chapter The Winnowing Winds -- 51:56)