Let us perform the hajj while we are still young
They were numerous(men women and kids) yesterday Saturday 2nd of Muharram to make the journey to north London (Tottenham) in order to take part in the ceremony dedicated to our new pilgrims. In fact, WAMA was holding yesterday a ceremony of welcoming some of its members whom Allah honoured through performing the Hajj (the 5th pillar of our religion) 1430 hegira.
At 19:05 the ceremony was opened with Qur’an recitation (by Cheick Cisse).This was followed by the introduction of the moderator Keita, the secretary general of WAMA, who greeted everyone for coming, before announcing the agenda of the ceremony.
The pilgrims (A. Toure,Kassim, S.Caba, T,Sendou, Mrs Toure Hadja) were all seated at the front desk facing the public for the circumstance. As to begin with, Oustaz Caba gave a talk about the advent of the new Islamic year 1431 Hegira. In his communication he emphasised the importance of Muharram, which is the 1rst month of the Muslim calendar, especially the 10th day. He mentioned several important Islamic events( the prophet Musa was saved from Paraoh, Prophet Idris entered Paradise, Prophet Ibrahim was saved from the fire of Namruz,etc, ) that occurred on that particular day. He also called on the community at large to celebrate with all their families the 10th of Muharram as our new year day. “As muslims and though we are in Europe, we should be proud of our culture”, he said.He then advised the muslims to fast th 9th and the 10th of this month. However, he warned those muslims who follow suit others’ cultures to keep away from celebrating Christmas and other festivities which are rejected by our religion. He ended his talk with duas for the new year for all. After the first talk, the floor was given to every pilgrim to tell the public their experience of the pilgrimage. That said, T. Sendou was the first to narrate what motivated him to go for pilgrimage, what he did experience in the Holy place of Makkah and what he gained from that holy journey (patience, an increase in takwa), all that was told with a mixture of jokes and seriousness. He, then advised all the muslims who have not yet performed their hajj to do and mainly while they are still young. He was followed by Amidou Toure and Kassim. Although they all talked about their experiences the pilgrims, all the same insisted on two essential factors that can facilitate the hajj for us: formulating the intention and having god fearfulness (Takwa). Finally, Caba concluded the speeches with duas after those made by Hadja toure, Sendou’s wife. The ceremony ended around 21:15 where a meal was shared by all.
In a nutshell, the least that can be said is that the ceremony was a positive one since it enabled the people who came to have a glorious time with the new pilgrims by sharing their experiences. It was also an opportunity for the wama to stress on the importance of the celebration of the Muslim new year 1431Hegira within the community (next Sunday).
By RC
