Labbaik Allah humma labbaik, Labbaik la sharika laka labbaik. Innal hamda. Wan-ni'mata. Laka walmulk. Laa sharika lak.In Malaysia, the chant one keep hearing during Eid is Takbir where the words Allah is Great is repeatedly called. But during Haj and the journey to Mecca, one would hear the above Tahmid repeatedly chant.
O my Lord, here I am at Your service, here I am. There is no partner with You, here I am. Truly the praise and the provisions are Yours, and so is the dominion and sovereignty.
At 5:18 PM Malaysian time, the solemn moment of Wukuf in the fields of Arafah commenced. Wukuf is the highlight of the Haj ritual. It is the summit for millions of Muslim gathered together for the brief moment after zuhr till end of asr.
An extract from the website almaghrib.org explained the meaning of Arafah below:
1. Arafah was the place were Adam and Eve met once again when they were sent down to reside on earth. They came down on two different spots but eventually were able to meet and recognize each other on this plain. Arafah here means “to get acquainted”, so based on this opinion Adam and Eve got acquainted to each other on that very same land we call today Arafah.The gathering at the field of Arafah is sometime described as the worldly equivalent to the day of judgement on the field of Mahsyar and a reminder that the day will come. Yushaimi Yahya wrote from Mekah in NST here.
2. When angel Jibreel came down to Prophet Ibrahim (alayhis salam), he taught him the rituals of Hajj and took him around the Holy Sites. For every ritual explained Jibreel would say to Ibrahim “A’raft?” or “Did you learn (this one)?” and Ibrahim would reply with “Araft” or “I did”. Thats why it was called Arafah i.e. he got to know or learn.
3. It is a place where people get to know “ عرف or arafa” each other. Since the hujjaj or pilgrims spend most of that day on the same place and perhaps spot, many will get to know new people and learn more about them. So it is a place of تعارف or getting to know one another, and because of the great number of people who get to know each other the word عرفات or Arafaat came about.
4. The word عَرْف or A’rf means fragrance, and because the plains of Arafah are sites on which Allah’s mercy (rahmah) and forgiveness descend, the people would describe the day, the place and its dwellers of being perfumed with this spiritual and mystical fragrance “Arafah”. Moreover because of the rahmah or mercy descending upon the gathering, the small mountain on the plain on which many hujjaj desire to stand was called the mountain of Rahmah“Mercy”.
During wukuf, it is metaphorically described that the heaven opened for Allah to receive and fulfiill one's prayers. It is one of the most sacred moment for prayers. Wallahu alam.
For Haji like us, it is a time to be reminded and reflect back of our own experience of wukuf and Haj in 2011 here.
We take the opportunity to pray for health and happiness for our parents, family, friends, ummah and ourselves. May Allah provide for prolong peace and prosperity to this nation of ours. And our 5-year wait period has passed, may we be given the opportunity for Haj again.
Selamat Hari Raya Qurban
Happy holidays to all. Do drive safely