by Summayyah Sadiq-Ojibara

Created on: May 28, 2008

Going for Hajj for me was almost surreal. I was single, in a job that demanded a lot from me physically and mentally and at a point in my life where my strength of faith was being challenged by many forces. So going on a holy pilgrimage was the last thing on my mind.

Looking back though I later understood and was completely awed by the wisdom and mercy of Allaah in His Plan and Love with the events that happened on the journey and how they changed my life forever.

That was indeed the time to go on a journey of exploration, self-discovery, recovery and spiritual growth.

My first encounter with what lay in store for me started on the plane, on the way to Saudi Arabia. The plane ran into some turbulence that was almost fatal. At that point the questions started and I began to ask myself if I had justified my living in the time allocated; if I had enough to take before Allaah as evidence of how meaningful or less my sojourn on earth had been.

Alhamdulilah; praise be to Allaah, we arrived safely; it was not time to give accountyet.

As we stepped into Saudi Arabia, still shaken by the experience on the airplane, the heaviness soon got dispelled as I observed some the hilarious antics of my fellow travelers. Most of them were simple unlettered men and women who found everything fascinating, from the white Arabs to the strange machine that threw up' bottles of drinks just by the touch of a button, to the ones that swallowed the dirt on the floor!

The Pilgrimage had started.

Before we left for Hajj, my father had given me several talks and books to prepare me for the journey. I also went to orientation programmes and read a lot on the requirements and rules. I was blessed with some very valuable advise from a wonderful friend who has since passed on, may Allaah forgive her and have mercy on her soul, Amin. She also gave me books and videos that really helped me understand some the challenges of the journey and how to milk the most benefits from the journey.

I had to purify my intentions and my means. My intentions had to be sincere and for Allaah;

Allaah The Exalted says, "And We did not command them save to worship Allaah, making the religion sincerely for Him" (al-Bayinah 5).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Every action is based upon intention. For everyone is what he intended. Whoever made the migration to Allaah and His Prophet, then his migration is to Allaah and His Prophet. Whoever's migration was for something of this world or for the purpose of marriage, then

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