CorrectingThings

Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful) "And those who strive for Us — We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good." — [Surah Al-Ankabut, 29:69] Assalamu Alaikum everyone, In my last blog, I shared how I made the decision to perform Hajj with my father. Today, I want to take you through our preparation process, which was a crucial part of the journey. Preparation for Hajj is key to ensuring a successful pilgrimage, and it’s something that ideally begins as soon as one embraces Islam or if you are an existing muslim, whenever you reach adulthood. However, it’s never too late to start — once you make the intention or book your trip, the preparation should begin right away. For us, preparation for Hajj was a process that had been unfolding since my childhood. My mother used to constantly narrate the stories of Hajj and Madinah, and my father did the same. These stories planted a seed of excitement a...

<Thanks to my wife for this sketch> Since I can remember, my mother had always expressed her deep desire to embark on the sacred pilgrimage of Hajj. It was a dream she held close to her heart since her childhood, an aspiration she longed to fulfill. Despite traveling outside India to places like Canada, Singapore and Malaysia, she yearned for Hajj to be her first journey beyond the borders of her homeland. However, as the saying goes, "We plan and Allah also plans, and He is the best planner" (Quran 8:30). Allah had different plans for my mother. A few years later, she passed away, and the opportunity to fulfil her lifelong dream of Hajj slipped away. Her departure left a void in our lives, and my father's health began to deteriorate. In 2018, my father suffered a severe heart attack, and the doctors were uncertain if he would survive. By the grace of Allah, he pulled through, defying the odds. As his health remained fragile, the weight of my mother's unfulfille...