Madinah oh Madinah

>> Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I have a soft spot for Madinah. The 9 days a spent in Madinah were wonderful except for one small incident which I shall narrate now.

It was about 5.45 a.m. and I had just left the Prophets Mosque after fajr prayers. I walked in through a side lane and stopped in Movenpick coffee stall to buy me a cup of coffee and a cup cake before meeting my wife for real breakfast.

As a walked out of the crowd at Movenpick, I felt the side pocket of my jeppa a little light. I immediately checked my pocket only to realize that I have been picked. My wallet with slightly more than 300 Saudi Riyals had gone missing. Not so much the money but I had my credit cards, Identity Card and Driver’s license in my wallet. For once I thought that I will not be able to see these important documents anymore. With thousands of pilgrims making their way towards Movenpick, anyone in my position will think alike.

All I could do at that moment was to say a short prayer seeking divine intervention. And guess what? From the thousands walking the lane, I managed to single out a young Afghan, chased him, caught up with him and gave him a hard hit on his back. The young Afghan turned around, annoyed but at the same time gave me signals to body check him. I did but found nothing.

I looked around only to see a group of Indonesian pilgrims surrounding him as if waiting for my signal to bash him up. I had never been as embarrassed in my life as I was at that moment.

Suddenly, to proof me right, a shop keeper came out of his shop, tapped me on my shoulder and pointed his finger at my wallet lying amongst items displayed in his shop. The shop keeper pointed at the young Afghan as the culprit. The Indonesians immediately sought my permission to trash the Afghan up but I told them to hold until I check my wallet to see if the contents were intact. Every item including the money was intact and I told the Indonesians to let the Afghan go.

As I was smiling ear to ear, a group of Turkish pilgrims came to me and asked me how I managed to identify the Afghan from the thousands walking the lane. My simple answer to them – ALLAHU AKHBAR (GOD is great) which was followed by a thunderous similar roar from the Turks. And now I repeat ALLAHU AKHBAR. Have faith and ALLAH has HIS plans. Rest assured ALLAH will never let you down…

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