MAYBE THAT IS NOT S**T!

MAYBE THAT IS NOT S**T!

EVER since Medina, those who pilgrims constantly tested my patience. They were Ismail and his friends, Lajis. Both of them were retirees, in their early 60s, and from Klang Valley. Just because they used to have good jobs, status, they were very temperamental. They would always be something that was not right. They always complained about something. As the leader of the group, I had a headache trying to pander to their behavior.

     Upon reaching Medina, it was already dawn, and they complained about the size of the room. Cramped. Uncomfortable. They should be given another room and another hotel. Only Pak Cik Ismail and Pak Cik Lajis complained, while the other pilgrims, who were also given the same treatment, did not make a fuss at all. They accepted anything they got as they understood that this was not a VVIP package which cost thousands of ringgit and that this hotel was not a 6-star establishment.

     "What are our activities for today?" That was the question that these two persistently asked. I told them that there was none, as the plan was to rest, because we had just arrived. The pilgrims were tired from their flight and needed a good rest to restore their energy.

     But Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail were not satisfied. Now they queried how was it possible that we were just be resting and sleeping in our rooms from morning until night? They said that if that was the case, then they had really wasted shelling out thousands of ringgit.

     "We will have some activities. Everything has been arranged, but only on the following days. After all, we're going to be in Medina for four days. There is still plenty of time. For now, we rest first," I explained.

     But Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail remained unhappy. They insisted the tour organisers and I hold some activities. Finally, unable to stand their grumblings, we agreed to do so. It would be done after the 'Isya prayer as that was the most suitable time. During the day, the pilgrims could rest and just take a stroll around the hotel area.

     At night, after 'Isya, the pilgrims gathered in the hotel lobby as directed. However, these two pensioners were not around. The other pilgrims began to sigh. They got fed up of waiting, but still no sight of Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail. After 15 minutes, I called them.

     "I'm sorry Pak Cik, could you come down now? All the other pilgrims have been waiting for a long time," I said. Guess what did they say?

     "Sorry, we don't want to follow. We're sleepy now. We just want to sleep."

     I was deeply shocked to hear their reply. And so were the other pilgrims when I told them what Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail had said. The other pilgrims grumbled. They were annoyed and angry. Earlier, these two were the ones pressing us to hold come activities, and now when everyone was ready, they didn't want to participate.

     That night, we continued with the activities, visiting some of the interesting and significant places around the Nabawi Mosque, the Prophet's mausoleum from behind the green dome, and the Baqi cemetery. During the visit, the tour guide regaled us with the history to these; why the Prophet was buried there, how Allah deflected the disbelievers' attempts to steal the Prophet's body, which was buried at the Baqi cemetery and why the cemetery did not have gravestone like we do. We returned to our respective hotel rooms at 2.30 in the morning.

     The next day, we continued with other activities, visiting the date market, Qiblatain Mosque, Quba Mosque and others. Pak Cik Ismail and Pak Cik Lajis joined in with these activities. We departed for Mecca two to three days later with our Ihram intentions to perform our Umra in Bir Ali. We boarded two buses to get there and arrived in Mecca at 3.00 am.

     As soon as we arrived, the two men complained again; accusing the tour guide of not doing his job of explaining what we had seen during the journey on the bus. That was strange. When I asked the guide, he denied it. He said he did provide the necessary information of certain places, where to stop for prayers, food and more. The other pilgrims on the bus also refuted Pak Cik Ismail and Pak Cik Lajis' accusations towards the guide.

     Back at the hotel, they even grumbled about why it was so difficult to perform Umra. Why so many people went to the Al-Masjid Al-Haram, resulting in a congestion that made the paths and alleys so narrow. It was so difficult to do the tawaf and sayee because of the volume of people.

     I told Pak Cik Ismail and Pak Cik Lajis that they were only now giving visas for Umra. So, it was no wonder that there were so many visitors from every corner of the world. Of course things would get congested. Put it simply, there was always something to complain about every day by these two friends. Suffice to say, all the other pilgrims seemed fine.

     Throughout this period, I continued to patiently pander to Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail. At the same time, I was also hoping that I would be given the opportunity to make Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail realised their mistakes. Patiently I continued to wait until...

     That morning, we boarded the van to do the Umra together. However, at Al-Masjid Al-Haram, we went separately. We only met up again when were were in the dining hall. Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail surprised me when they told me that they had accidentally saw filth and excreta scattered all over the floor of Al-Masjid Al-Haram when they were doing their Umra.

     "There was so much shit. Thank God we didn't step on them," said Pak Cik Ismail. I was shocked to hear it. It was strange that they should be excreta in the mosque. When I was doing my Umra and other devotional duties, I certainly did not find any waste, or hearing other pilgrims talking about it, or vacating an area. Furthermore, this is a mosque, so it did not make any sense that any pilgrim would relief himself in such a holy place.

     I told Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail that what they had seen was definitely strange. It could have been possible that a pilgrim was having diarrhoea, but then again, it might have just been their imagination, similar to something that happened to a female pilgrim five years ago.

     Then, I told the story to Pak Cik Ismail and Pak Cik Lajis. Five years ago, I worked for another travel agency. My job was to take pilgrims to the Holy Land. One night, a commotion could be heard in the hotel room where we were staying. There was the sound of a woman screaming and crying.

     I quickly went to see what was happening. The woman was not part of my group; she was from another agency. Around her was the Ustaz who had brought the woman as well as other pilgrims who were staying in the nearby rooms.

     I asked the woman why she was crying and screaming. She replied that she saw insects and excreta in her room. According to her, every inch of the room was covered with it, on the floor, on the bed, in the bathroom, everywhere.

     We all looked at each other. The leader of that group explained to the woman that there were neither insects nor excreta in her room. We didn't see anything that was disgusting or unusual at all.

     "Why don't you go in and pray?" he coaxed her.

     The woman continued to resist. She said that if she entered, she would end up stepping on the insects and excreta. Her feet and body would become dirty. She immediately howled and cried.

     "Don't worry, we are here. If anything happens, we'll help," I heard the ustaz say, in his attempt to calm the woman down.

     In the end, after much persuasion, and finally accepting that what she had seen was simply a figment of her imagination, the woman eventually agreed to go back to her room. There was no insects or excreta in her room after all. The images that had plagued the woman finally disappeared from her mind.

     I tried to ask the ustaz, whose group the woman belonged to, what had really transpired. Perhaps it was because we were both carrying out the same responsibility, he eventually gave me a brief rundown on the woman's background.

     The Ustaz declared that nothing happens without a reason. Even more so in this holy place where all kinds of ordeals and challenges would be showered down by Allah on His servants so that they may repent and strengthen their faith. Those who bear witness need to learn from the lessons.

     So, what was the source of the incident? Who was that woman?

     The ustaz replied that perhaps it was Allah's will that she found herself in such a predicament. It seemed that before she came to the Holy Land, she was involved in all kinds of vices. You needed only to look at her dressing and her behavior. What she did, I don't think it appropriate to mention here. Anyway, this was something that others had recounted, and not what the woman herself had confessed.

     "That was the information that I got. Wallahualam... maybe it's true, maybe it's not. Maybe before she came here she didn't perform her salat Taubat," added the ustaz.

     I told Pak Cik Lajis and Pak Cik Ismail that everything happens for a reason. They are to test us so that we may reflect on ourselves and our mistakes. Maybe we have committed a big sin, or have hurt other people. Or have been impatient with the test showered down by Allah. Maybe we have not been mindful of our words and behavior. Or enjoy ridiculing other people. Or are not grateful with what Allah has bestowed upon us. That's why things happen to us, or we see things that we don't like and are disgusting.

     I hope the two pilgrims who had tested us considerably during the trip comprehend fully the message I was trying to deliver.

     "Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning." (Al-Zumar, 39:10)

N / F : FROM "THE BEST COLLECTION STORIES FROM MECCA", BY MASTIKA.