Three Signs

It was the month of the maulid. “Maulid” (or “mawlid”), in this context, refers to the birth of the Prophet sallallahu alaihiwassalam (may peace and blessing be upon him). This happens on the 3^rd month of the Islamic calendar, which is rabi’ul awal. I was, for lack of a better phrase, hell-bent to attend at least one maulid recitation session at one of the Indian Muslim mosques. This happens after the dusk prayer (maghrib), until the call for the night prayers (‘isha) is made. Indian Muslims usually recite the “subhanallah mawlid”, a collection of litanies that are a pastiche of historical accounts and praises of the Prophet s.a.w.

These litanies are only found in Arabic and where I reside, there was no English translation. I was on a mission to find a translation to improve my understanding of the maulid.

It was then I e-mailed one of my good Ustad friends, whether he knew of any translations.

He replied my email, and also without me asking, mentioned that he was going for ‘Umrah in March.

I read the line again. That was strange. He didn’t have to mention it. But he did. As he was also an awesome Ustad who spoke fluent English, he would be a brilliant spiritual guide for the trip. I replied that I was thinking of performing my ‘Umrah too.

He said that if I was considering going for the ‘Umrah, then it would be a most meaningful one if I brought the boys along.

I took this reply as a sign.

I said that I had considered the children, but that he just helped re-affirm my decision.

***

I was starting my gym sessions with a new trainer. He was the husband of my wife’s personal trainer, and since she had some idea about my fitness needs, she recommended that I engage him.

He was good. In fact, he was great. He knew his stuff, and was passionate about fitness.

He was also passionate about his faith. We discussed about our shared experiences and I found it his perspectives as a revert very eye-opening. One day, he suddenly mentioned his ‘Umrah trip in 2013 being a life-changing experience.

Hmm.

We spoke a lot about his journey, what he learned about life through that trip, and how it had changed his understanding of life completely. 

I went home and reflected on this. I decided that I met my trainer for a very specific reason, and that this was another clear sign. Why would anyone I barely knew, open up about his innermost spiritual journey?

***

I was driving home one day after a family outing, and while waiting in the jam that developed on the way to the MCE, I popped my wife the question – that I had been considering going for the ‘Umrah as a family, and what she thought about it.

There was a pause. I expected something along the lines of "it would be too taxing for the boys". The pause continued.

Then she nodded and said that it was a good idea to consider. 

My head took a double-take inside my head. 

We discussed and decided that it was indeed a good time to go to do the 'Umrah, with the boys in tow.

By now I was very convinced that the invitation had been given to me. Now the question was – what time was the appointment?

Time was running very short. Usually people booked ‘Umrah trips way in advance. I had about 2 months, and even then people said that this was “too last minute”. My ustad (the same ustad) had earlier informed me that he usually engaged a particular tour agency for his ‘Umrah trips, but that for his trip, there were plenty of people in the waitlist. I sighed and told myself that this might mean I might not be able to follow him.

Nevertheless, I called the tour agency and checked if my family and I would be able to go on a package tour in Mid-March, and the sister on the other end told me she would try, as I was quite "last-minute" (yes, I got the point) and there were plenty of people in the wait list. We decided that if we were meant to go this time, this was it - either we got this round or we didn't.

I waited. Meanwhile, we all went for a short trip to Bali for a holiday.

In Bali, I received a call from the tour agent, confirming that we had a slot and that my Ustad had pushed very hard for us to be included. What could I say? I prayed for my Ustad to be blessed by Allah without limit. Later, I learnt from him that my family obtained airline tickets even before his own daughters could do so…

And we were set for the journey to see the Beloved, and His Beloved.