~ Hajj; the journey of Hearts

Salam alaik,

'Hajj' literally means to set out..
And there is a major difference between setting out & hanging out (for the heck of it).
For setting out is with a sincere solid intention -- infact ambition -- to go out & about to achieve something.
[ keep repeating these semantics to myself; helps me to purify my intention from time to time.]

1800's oldest snaps ever of Kabah tuLLAh

As we age, our life journey exerts an effect on us of types, we grow get seasoned so on & so forth.
Likely so, the journeys we embark on for places of kinds, render our thoughts & the way we look at our lives & ourselves mature enough to get the best out of our days ahead of us..

closeup

Hajj journey is one such life-changing event.
I don't even consider it a journey.. its more than that.. its odyssey.. an ongoing never ending one.
Uniformity, simplicity, serenity.. all packed at one place at one time.. its amazing.

[& uniform reminds me of this vid & the dude in it on wearing ihram.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ-74409sjM


No particular plans to write an all elaborated evocative article on Hajj today.
Just sharing the feel here & some Hajj tips i've learnt to keep handy;

Shukar (thankfulness) - Always do shukar, try remembering & recalling all the blessings of Allah.

Sabr (patience) - Increase ur sabr scope & span [as in; What are the things you do sabr on? What are the ones on which you lose it? List them, and then start moving things into sabr list]

Dua (prayer) - "O Allah, make the last part of my life the best part in front of u, and the last deed the best deed in front of u."

Time/Places for Dua:

1. After drinking Zamzam water.
2. Looking at Kabah-tu-LLah
3. During Tawaf (circumambulation), b/w Rukn-al-Yamani & Hijr-ul-Aswad
4. While standing on Safa & Marwa hills.
5. Youm al Arafah.
6. In Muzdalifah.
7. After stoning Jamarah.

I find this link particularly useful;
The_inner_dimensions_of_hajj

Take the Quiz in the Extras top tab, & lets see how well you fare in your general knowledge of Hajj, & doing so get the yummy cookie of unlocking the 'Hidden Extras'..


Quran recitation from 1885;

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