Miqat

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Mīqat (Arabic ميقات, lit. "a stated place") are the stations at which pilgrims on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required of all able Muslims, put on ihrām, the pilgrim's garment. Five of these stations were set up by Muhammad, a sixth being added later for the convenience of travellers from India and points further east. The stations are as follows:

Zu 'l-Hulafa, serving pilgrims coming from Medina
Juhfa, for Syria
Qarnu 'l-Manāzil, for those coming from Najd
Yaulamlam, for Yemen
Zāt-i-'Irq, for 'Iraq
Ibrahīm Mursīa, catering to travellers arriving by sea from India

[edit] Entering Miqat and Becoming One

The show begins at Miqat. At this point, the actor (mankind) must change his clothes. Why? Because one's attire covers the person as well as his character. In other words, an individual doesn't wear clothes, but rather, the clothes cover him!

Clothes symbolize, pattern, preference, status, and distinction. They create superficial "borders" which cause "separation" between people. In most cases, "separation" between people, gives birth to "discrimination". Furthermore the concept of "I" not "we" emerges! "I" is used in the context of my race, my class, my clan, my group, my position, my family, my values, and not "I" as a human being.

So many "borders" have been created in our lives. The descendants of Cain, the executioners and the cruels split Adam's family and mankind's unity into many parts and factions. What resulted were the following relationships: master and servant, oppressor and oppressed, colonialist and colonialized, exploiter and exploited, strong and weak, rich and poor, nourished and malnourished, honored and dishonored, happy and unhappy, noble persons and lay persons, civilized and uncivilized, Eastern and Western, Arab and Ajam and etc.

Humanity is divided into races, nations, classes, subclasses, groups, and families. Each one has its own distinct status and values, names and honors. And-for what? All this just to show "ones-self-but under so much "make-up"! Now take off your clothes. Leave them at Miqat. Wear the Kafan which consists of plain white material. You will be dressed like everyone else. See the uniformity appear! Be a particle and join the mass; as a drop, enter the ocean. Don't be proud, you are not here to see somebody, but be humble. You will be seeing Allah. Be the one who realizes his mortality or a mortal who feels his existence.

At Miqat, regardless of your race or tribe, you must doff all the covers you wore in your daily life as: - a wolf (symbolizing fierceness and oppression), - a rat (symbolizing slyness), - a fox (symbolizing craftiness), - or a sheep (symbolizing slavery). Leave all these in Miqat and assume your original shape as a "man" - just one "Adam" as you will be at the end, as one "dead"!

Wrap yourself in two pieces of cloth. One covers your shoulders and the other goes around your waist. No special style or material is used. It is made of very plain and simple fabric. Everyone is wearing the same outfit (Ihram). No distinctions in appearance are visible. The caravans from all over the world which are traveling to Hajj will congregate at Miqat. They will meet at the same time and at the same place! On his way to Allah, man is not just "to be" but he is "to become" what he should be! Quran XXIV:42 And unto Allah is the journeying. How wonderful! Everything is moving - evolution, death and life, life and death, contradiction, change, and direction. Quran XXVIII:88 Everything will perish save His countenance. And Allah is the "absolute" - being, perfect, and eternal! Quran LV:29 Everyday He exerciseth (universal) power. Hajj is also a movement. Man decides to return toward Allah. All of his egos and selfish tendencies are buried at Miqat (Zu-halifa). He witnesses his own dead body and visits his own grave. Man is reminded of the final goal of his life. He experiences death at Miqat and resurrection afterwhich he must continue his mission in the desert between Miqat and Miad.

The scene is like the day of judgment. From one horizon to the other, a "flood of whites" appears. All the people are wearing the Kafan. No one can be recognized. The bodies were left in Miqat and the souls are motivated here. Names, races, nor social status make a difference in this great combination. An atmosphere of genuine unity prevails. It is a human show of Allah's unity. Fear and pleasure, excitement and charm, perplexity and rapture all appear as minute particles in a magnetic field. Allah is in its center (qibla')! Only man shows himself. He is situated in one direction which is toward Allah. In this desert all the nations and groups merge into one tribe. They face one Kaaba.

Once you remove your clothes and all the signs which distinguish "you" as an individual, you may enter into the heart of the crowd. In the state of Ihram', try to forget the things that remind you of your life. Everyone "melts" himself and assumes a new form as a "mankind". The egos and individual traits are buried. The group becomes a "people" or an "Umma". All the I's have died in Miqat; what has evolved is "We". By the time you leave Mina you should have integrated into the Umma. This is what Ibrahim did. You are also supposed to act like Ibrahim. Quran XVI: 120 Lo Abraham was a nation obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of the idolators.

At last, one is all and all is one! Everyone is equal. The society of polytheism is converted into one of monotheism or Tawhid. This is the Umma or the society which is onto the right path. It should be a society which is perfect, active and led by Islamic leadership (Imamat). Everyone performing Hajj has turned away from himself to face Allah. He has been endowed with the spirit of Allah. You have gone from an exile to the hereafter. You have been exposed to the absolute facts. You have overcome ignorance and oppression and have been enlightened by consciousness and justice. You have rejected polytheism and adopted monotheism. Previous to the performance of Hajj, the people neglected their human quality. They were alienated by power, wealth, family, land, and race. Their life was only in the context of mere "existence". Finally, the experience of Hajj allowed them to achieve self-discovery. Now they perceived each other collectively as "one", and individually as a "man" NOTHING ELSE!.[1]

[edit] Praying in Miqat

When at Miqat and ready to start the Hajj, you are aware of what must be done and why. In the Ihram attire you will perform the prayer of Ihram, presenting yourself to the Almighty Allah. Say - Oh Allah, I No More worship the idols, and No More am I the slave of Nimrod'.

Oh Allah, I am standing in front of you with the gesture of Ibrahim not as an oppressor (wolf), not as a cheater (fox), not as a hoarder (rat). Nay, I face you as a "man" wearing the same clothes that I will wear when I see you in the hereafter. This means that you willingly and consciously want to obey Allah and become His slave. You will rebel against anyone and anything beside Allah. Your readiness to exercise necessary duties is expressed. Such a position is not different from the regular prayer, but at this time it is like a more intimate talk to Allah. It is as if Allah's presence can be felt.

Say:

Oh the most gracious and the most merciful, whose glory and mercy go beyond the limits of friends and enemies, the righteous and the sinful, the believers and non-believers ... Oh Allah, I worship you since you are the only one who deserves to be worshipped. I choose no master, but you, the master and owner of the day of judgment. Quran I:2-4.

Quran I:5 Thee (alone) we worship; thee (alone) we ask for help. Oh our only love, Oh our only help! See how we are lost by our ignorance! See how we are misled by the oppressors! See how we are limited by our weakness!

Quran I:6 Show us the Straight Path - the path of truth, consciousness, fact, beauty, perfection, love, and goodness.

Quran I:7 The path of those whom thou hast favored, Not (the path) of those who earn thine anger nor of those who go astray.

At Miqat in the white dress of the hereafter, each bow denies and asks forgiveness for the wrong deeds which were motivated by fear and greed. They were committed during your life. Each prostration asks forgiveness for those which were done in the Courts of Powers. The prayer at Miqat is a promise to Allah that there will be no prostration nor bowing to anyone other than Him! Peace be upon you Oh Mohammad, His slave and Messenger Peace by upon you and those obedients of Allah and the good doers. Peace be upon you ... All these are phrases which refer to the "near ... not the far".

Allah, Ibrahim, Mohammad, people, heaven, the hereafter, salvation, freedom, love and etc. are all present at Miqat. Dressed in the colorless clothes of Ihram, you experience a new birth - a resurrection! No longer will Satan, who rejected Allah's command, cheat you. No longer will you feel like a stranger. Shameful and apologetic, you return to Allah. But now you are free and responsible! [2]