Nima Ahmed

Alexander is a twelve years old American boy who converted to Islam absolutely willingly after his mother gave him books of all religions and full freedom to choose a religion for him self. He started praying the five prayers everyday and when he was asked about his greatest difficulty with his new religion, he sadly said it is that sometimes he misses some prayers due to his little knowledge about the exact timings of the prayers. Alexander named him self Mohammed Bin Abdullah as Dr. Anas Bin Faisal Al Hiji mentioned in his article in Al Watan a Kuwaiti news paper. Alexander or Mohammed as he named himself learned few Arabic words, few Suras from Quran and some Islamic Ahkam Shariya. This little boy who could do all that without meeting a single Muslim, with the praise and guidance of Allah as one of his miracles, is now planning to visit the holy Makkah. Yes that is true, Mohammed was asked what his wish was, he said he had many wishes part of which was to learn Arabic, memorize Quraan, however his most important wish was to visit Makkah and kiss Al Hajar Al Aswad. He started to save his pocket money, he collected 300$ and he is aiming to save up to $1000 to be able to go the holy city of Makkah .

Why I started with this story was not to tell the story of this young believer but to ask the big question to my nation to my sisters and brothers from Somaliland to the fathers and mothers, where are we from Allah? Where are you from his merciful calls to you?

Alhamdulillah I live in Saudi Arabia particularly in Jeddah where Makkah is only 70 kilometers away from Jeddah, and thanks to Allah again my family and my father is always willing to take us to the holly Masjid (Al Haram) as often as we can, more than 2 or 3 times in Ramadan even when we used to live in Riyadh for long which is 800 plus kilometers away from Makkah.

No one can describe the feeling of being in this holly place for you nor anyone can feel it for you, you must feel it at least once in your life. It is a happy happy feeling it is a feeling of great comfort it feels as if all of your problems, sadness and awful issues are simply gone they are not there anymore, nothing matters because everything is going to be ok. As you are performing Tawaf or Umra or prayers or Duaa you get closer and closer to the creator to the owner of all good, you feel free you feel weak you feel you need to cry. You remember all that you need all that you wish and you pray more you remember all bad that you did all the prayers you have been missing all those whom you did wrong to and you cry asking for forgiveness, you feel clean you feel pure again like a newborn innocent baby, you remember all the good you have, the good health, the cure from illness the education you get the family you have the car you drive the job you have the wife you love the children who fill your life and you thank the Giver you thank Allah and you cry.

Have we Somalis been there? Have we cried? Have we saved and saved to take this trip of purity? Do we miss Allah?

What made me write this message to you is my jealousy for my people, I feel jealous when I see Egyptians, Indians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Kuwaitis, Russians and all Muslims from all nations there in Haram in great numbers, and find a family or three from my homeland. It is the last 10 days of the holly month of Ramadan and none of the Somali families I know from Riyadh (let alone the rest of the world) have yet visited Makkah! I do not know about the Somalis in Europe or America or Africa or anywhere in this world, I do not know if life would have taken me away as it took many of us if I was thousands of kilometers away from Makkah like most of Somalis or if I would have been trying like little Alexander (Mohammed), I wish I am wrong, I wish there are many of us like little Mohammed saving to come closer to Allah and I pray they come soon.

nimcosagal@gmail.com

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