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Here I am at your service, Oh my Lord!

I was at Arafah among approximately 2 millions pilgrims from all

over the world gathering around the Mount Rahmah responding
the noble invitation of Allah SWT. Thousands of tents put in
order were being occupied by the pilgrims who had deeply waited
this moment. At earlier time, we had been in the state of ihram in
which two sheets of unstitched clothes were the only clothes we
wore. The intention was purified for the sake of Allah SWT and
then talbiyah was recited time after time. “Labbaik, Allahumma,
Labbaik. Here I am at your service, Oh my Lord”.

Arafah is the only place dan time for accomplishing one of the hajj
rituals and widely accepted as the ultimate moment in pilgrimage.
Whatever the conditions are, the pilgrims must physically present
for the moment. Even intensive-care patients must be transported
to the field so that they will not fail to spot the moment. Hajj is
Arafah. Arafah is the moment when a human being is conditioned
to recognize himself, God and universe, so that they are able to
reaffirm his personal mission statements and revitalize his
accomplishment. There are many lessons can be learnt from
Arafah.

Arafah is training for decease. The training has begun since we left
home for pilgrimage. All is left behind except what is required for
the journey to Mecca. Family and properties are put to the
guardianship of Allah. Despite the situation is now much easier,
nobody is sure that he or she will back home. No body knows
when and at which part of the earth he or she is passing away.
The intended farewell is a good exercise of how we have to leave
them someday. We may love everything as much as we wish for
but they have to be stuck someday for sure. In Arafah the training
is continued. The clothes we are wearing in the state of Ihram are
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comparable to those attached to a death body. Sooner or later
the worldly life will end and nothing is taken to the grave except of
the unsticthed clothes. Nothing is continued to give assistance for
the next journey except three things, the knowledge that had been
disseminated, the capitals that had been invested in the way of
Allah, and the successors who are praying for us.

Moreover, it is believed that the sacred moment is the simulation

of upcoming moment when the dead is revived on the true day.
“Verily, We give life to the dead. …” QS. 36(Yaa-Sin):12.
Besides this moment is also the reproduction of the moment when
our spirits undoubtedly spot the existence of God, the Creator,
and gave a clear testimony of it. “And (remember) when your
Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their
loins, their seed (or from Adam’s loin his offspring) and made
them testify as to themselves (saying): “Am I not your Lord?”
They said: “Yes! We testify!” lest you should say on the Day
of Resurrection: “Verily, we have been unaware of this”. QS.
Al-A’raf (7): 172.

This consciousness should give us a clear understanding of where

we are now, where we come from and leave for. This vivid
understanding should lead us to the wisdom of what must be
prepared for the future. “… and let every person look what he
has sent forth for the morrow …” (QS. 59(Al-Hashr):18).

Arafah is the moment of contemplation in which our records are

brought into the mind, leading to the awareness of wrongdoings
we have ever done. What surfaces at the moment are only some
recorded episodes of our life whose full versions will be shown
later on the day after. “… and We record that which they send
before (them), and their trace and all things We have
recorded with numbers (as a record) in a Clear Book.” QS.
36(Yaa-Sin):12.
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Recognizing our misconduct is one form of Allah’s mercy so that
we have an opportunity to ask His forgiveness while some may
even not be able to recognize their misconducts. Unawareness
will only lead to regret and dissatisfaction when the opportunity
has been fully closed. The holy Qur’an has revealed the moment
when the frustated beg to be returned to a wordly life a little
while.

Arafah is the moment and place in which all human beings have to
detach all temporary attributes. Having no single short-lived
attribute attached, we should then be conscious that human beings
are one and the same as we all have the same origin. This
democratic principle of Islam had been underlined hundreds years
ago in the Farewell address of Prophet Muhammad on Mount
Rahmah at Arafah on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah ten years after hijrah.
“O people, surely your Lord is One, and your father is
one. You belong to Adam, and Adam was created of clay.
No Arab is superior to non-Arab or vice versa. No white
man is superior to a black man and vice versa”. “God
said: ‘Surely, the noblest amongst you are those who are
most God-fearing amongst you’”.

This principle is the starting point for fair competition. Despite

every person has a unique characteristic, each has an equal
opportunity to be the real winner. This is reasonable since the
target is achievable and the ‘assessor’ is Allah the Just (al-Adl). “
… Verily Allah is All-Aware of what you do” (QS. 59(Al-
Hashr):18).

Recently, the great atmosphere of Arafah might seem to be

deminished by the facilities provided by the servant of holy places.
Some pilgrims may even experience slightly better facilities related
to their temporary status. Physical facilities, I believe, are not
always related to the spiritual experience. Many even believe that
the more down-to-earth you are the easier you get the celestial
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atmosphere. Yet, Allah SWT is the Host of this gathering and
what we feel should be much more dependent on our relationship
with Him and in what way we behave in any situations. A nature
of moslems is always amazing. For a moslem, either good or bad
situations can always be read and responded positively. A good
situation is responded with thankful (as-syukr) and it is good for
him. A bad situation is responded with patience (as-shabr) and it
is also good for him. Life is very simple if everything happened is
attached to God.

A true believer even does not have time to count bad situations.
There are too many graces from Allah the Most Gracious. “And
if you would count the Favours of Allah, never could you
able to count them …” (QS. 16(An-Nahl: 18). We do not
need to spend many efforts to recognize the graces from the Lord.
They can be easily found both inside and outside, in every episodes
of our life. “Then which of the Blessing of your Lord will
you deny?” (QS. 55(Ar-Rahman)). A scholar I respect has
said that we do only need to retrieve a single grace and think of it
to be thankful. Time and health are two kinds of graces that are a
lot overlooked. To be a true monotheism believer (moslem) and
a special guest of Allah the Most Gracious here in the Holy land, I
believe are the ultimate graces from the Lord. Allah SWT has
been particularly full of pride with His special guests in Arafah,
who have been come to Him with a humble state and beg His
Mercy and forgiveness. Arafah is special moment when Allah the
Most Gracious and Merciful provides Great Amnesty to his guests.
He does not even allow us to have a question whether we have
been forgiven or not. Arafah is the moment when the pilgrims are
reborn in purity.

Thankful is a means to upgrade our quality, it is a remarkable way

to love God. Love is a driving force to perform well in any
situations. This noble reason has been also a driving force for the
Prophet to do additional prayers, reciting the Holy Qur’an in some
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parts of the night, despite his ‘sins’ have been all forgiven.
“Verily, we have granted you (O Muhammad) al-Kauthar.
Therefore, turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to
Him only).” (QS.108(Al-Kauthar): 1-2). Thankful will result in
noble love and the readiness to sacrifice that both lead to a great
victory (private victory and public victory).

Wallahu a’lam

Bogor 19/01/2006