Bismillah!

Bismillah!

Thursday, August 31, 2006

The Blind Following the Blind

“To be sitting in the Masjid-al-Haram, in Makkatul Mukarramah, is one of the great blessings of honour from The Almighty and a feeling of overwhelming gratefulness. As I was seated in the Masjid one day waiting for the Adhaan, two African women came and sat beside me making Dhikr (remembrance) of The Almighty. I turned towards them and made salaam, only to see that they were both blind. The woman who was sat beside me replied to my salaam and then continued with her Dhikr. Instantly my heart felt pity due to their blindness but at the same time it amazed me how blind people from around the world flocked to the Blessed City without the aid of their eyesight.

As I waited for the Adhaan, questions ran through my mind, how did they manage at the airport? How did they travel to Makkah? How did they find their way to the Masjid? I paused and questioned myself at how weak my trust in Allaah was. He can make anything possible, especially for those who have full trust and reliance in Him, just like these women did.

As the words of the Adhaan began to echo, everyone rose to their feet. I noticed that both the blind women stood slightly away from the Qiblah (direction of Kaa’bah), so I gently held the shoulders of the lady nearest to me and turned her towards the direction of the Kaa’bah. She stroked my hand and thanked me. Her friend held on to her clothing and followed whatever her friend said and did.

Seeing their actions reminded me of the phrase ‘the blind leading the blind’, unfortunately this phrase in English is used for mockery but to actually see this in reality is nothing but a miracle of our Creator.

When Salaah finished, I again turned to the blind lady next to me and spoke to her in broken Arabic. She paused for a moment and spoke in a sad and calm voice about Allaah and about her eyesight. Unfortunately, I understood very little but felt touched by the way she spoke about Allaah and about her blindness. As we departed we said our salaams.

As I was leaving the Haram, I saw them again asking the way to the Mataaf (area around the Kaa’bah). I went across and took the woman, who was previously sitting next to me, by the arm, with her friend following, and told her that I would take them to the Mataaf. Upon recognising my voice she became extremely happy and gave me du’aas. We walked up to the steps leading down to the Mataaf area, and each time I would say ‘step’ they took one step down reciting ‘Bismillaah ’. They prayed ‘Bismillaah’ for every step they came down. On reaching the Mataaf, we once again made our salaams and departed.

As they both walked away I was left wondering how they were going to continue, once again I found myself, reminding myself of how weak my trust in Allaah was. When these blind people I saw in the Masjid carried nothing but the praises & remembrance of Allaah on their lips, it was more than evident that Allaah was with them at every step. It was He who had fed them, clothed them, brought them to Makkah and was taking them to make Tawaaf, by whatever means He chooses.

The blind are seen doing Tawaaf (circumambulation) independently like free birds, with no worries or interest in other people or in what’s happening around them, with no distractions continuing to glorify Almighty Allaah with full reliance and trust in Him. They are deprived of one of the greatest gifts from Allaah and yet they continue to abundantly praise and glorify Him at all times.

Here we are, drowning in Blessings from Allaah, yet we forget the Giver of all these blessings until we experience a loss of them. May the Almighty through His Infinite Mercy & Grace give us all the right guidance to value each and everyone of His Blessings."

Aameen

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

"Whoever fulfills the needs of his brother, God will fulfill his needs. Whoever eases his brother's difficulty, God will ease his difficulty in this life and on the Day of Resurrection." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

2 comments:

  1. subhanallah something to really learn from.

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  2. Anonymous11:12 AM

    beautiful, moving post. JazakiLlah

    ReplyDelete