Everything but the Invitation

Lots of people are under the impression that I’m on Hajj at this time praying away. I thought I’d clear the air asap.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t go on Hajj this time due to visa complications. The group I was supposed to travel encountered some bad luck and the visit to Mecca fell into jeopardy.

What happened? Simply put, the group I was traveling with didn’t have a dedicated quota. Their quota was being sponsored by a Saudi national. Around mid-October, when everything was “nearly” said and done, a dispute arose between the group’s leadership and the Saudi which ultimately led to the breaking of the partnership. The Saudi refused to sponsor the quota anymore and after that it was all downhill.

All hotel bookings and transportation arrangements had to be cancelled. The group’s management thought that they would attempt to execute Plan B which was to quickly apply for a government sponsored “special quota”. This required approval from the Supreme Court (in the form of an NOC) which in itself was a tedious task. Now, the group’s head was coordinating this approval through a third-party but were fairly confident that things would work out.

But right when things were looking stable, the Saudi ministry issued a letter to the Supreme Court of Pakistan about a horrendous case of corruption during this Hajj session. As a result, a legal proceeding started in the Supreme Court to investigate this claim and during this while, the Supreme Court decided to stop issuing further visas until the case was resolved. So although the NOC was issued, the entire group (consisting of 63 hopefuls) were denied a visa.

It may seem that the group is to blame for this debacle but now, I carry a different perspective. The reality is that we didn’t have the invitation from Allah this time around. Regardless of how many resources you may have and how well-planned your trip may be, Allah’s Will is the most important VISA that you need in hand.

Alhamdulillah, I’ve learnt a lot from this experience both in terms of worldly dealing and spiritually. Yes, the news was painfully shocking for me and the entire family but we soon came to the conclusion that Allah had something better in store for us.

I seem to have a better understanding of  Hadhrat Ali’s (ra) words when he said something to the effect: “Mein nay apnay iraadon kay tootnay say Khuda ko pehchana”.  ( roughly translates to “I recognized Allah with the breaking of my plans”)

The greatest gift of this experience was that Hajj seems so much more valuable and precious to me. The ones who end up going are undoubtedly Allah’s chosen ones. The most important thing to bring to Hajj is a repentful heart…and the most important thing to have to get to Mecca is Allah’s Invitation.

May Allah give everyone the precious opportunity to perform the Hajj and come back with a clean slate. Ameen.

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