Wuquf: Its significance

Mak says, "If we befriend a perfume seller, we too would smell as nice as the perfume he/she sells".

So, that is how I get hooked to Anuar Zain's "Ketulusan Hati", which is frequently featured on OASIS 106. As I don't really enjoy watching telly, I somehow make a point to sit down and watch telly with Mak, thus, explains my liking towards the song as that channel is one of those prominent ones tune in by my parents.

It was reported that the singer allows ASTRO to air his videoclip FOC and I think that is really kind of him to do so. May Allah bless him and his loved ones.

That song has a beautiful music to match its meaningful lyrics, which I seem to draw its similarities with Khalil Gibran's "Love" poem. Not surprisingly, it is 100% made in Indonesia (composed and written by Indonesians and recorded in one of those great Indonesian studios).

For this year's Haj season, Abang Man and Mr. Dnightcaller had been called to perform one of the "Five Pillars of Islam". So, listening to that song and thinking about them never fails to make me cry.

The image of a man crying while performing Wuquf in that videoclip remains a heart-thugging reminder to me as the following articles on Wuquf explains its significance in Haj and in our daily lives. From Allah, we come from, to Him we shall return and only from Him we could ask strength and guidance to give meaning and perform responsibilities we have been bestowed upon when we came into this world.

"Wuquf in Arafat" By Abu Haneef

On the 9th of Zul Hijjah,Wuquf in Arafat is performed from Zuhur to sunset. The main action in Wuquf is not to pray lots of Nafls but to stand facing the Haram asking Allah (swt) for forgiveness while recognizing Him as our Lord.

The Prophet said, "Al Hajju Arafah," meaning that standing in Arafat is the Hajj. Why?

To answer this, we must first understand the first Wuquf that all of us performed in front of Allah (swt).

"O Prophet, remind mankind about the incident when your Rabb brought into existence the offspring from the loins of Adam and his descendants (virtually each single individual of mankind) and made them testify about themselves. Allah asked them: “Am I not your Rabb?”

They all replied: “Yes! We bear witness that You are.” This We did, less you mankind should say on the Day of Resurrection: “We were not aware of this fact that You are our Rabb and that there will be a Day of Judgment” [7:172]

This happened when Allah (swt) gathered us all in one large assembly before the birth of any of us. It is also very important to note that this event took place when Man was made Allah’s vicegerent (khalifa) on this earth. At that time, Allah (swt) asked the rhetorical question "Am I not your Rabb?" By replying “Yes”, we have established a covenant with Allah (swt) to accept only Him as our Lord.

In other words, He made sure that as Khalifa we don’t forget the real owner, and act as if we are the owners.

Satan, the accursed, also resolved that he would persuade Man to take his own desires as his god or have Man worship someone other than Allah (swt).

Herein lies the significance of Hajj. Wuquf in Arafat is really the place where we go through the process of once again recognizing our Lord. It is no coincidence that Arafat means recognition.

This is the real significance of Hajj.

We assess our past. We ask for His forgiveness, and resolve to worship only Allah (swt), to stop accepting others as our Lord, and if necessary, to take action to change those who deny Allah (swt) and worship others or enforce other unjust systems.

"Wuquf Qalbi" by Ubaidullah Al-Ahrar

This means to direct the heart of the seeker towards the Divine Presence, where he will not see other than his Beloved One. It means to experience His Manifestation in all states. Ubaidullah al-Ahrar said, "The state of Awareness of the Heart is the state of being present in the Divine Presence in such a way that you cannot look to anyone other than Him."

In such a state one concentrates the place of Dhikr inside the heart because this is the center of power. All thoughts and inspirations, good and bad, are felt and appear one after another, circling and alternating, moving between light and dark, in constant revolution, inside the heart. Dhikr is required in order to control and reduce that turbulence of the heart.

Note: As nature takes its course (Read: As i grow older), like most people, I, too find getting closer to the Almighty as one of very few things that make ones feel contented. God has created such urgency in everyone after they have reached certain age to long for grace of God because as we grow mature, we cannot run away from being a good role model to the young ones. I believe, fundamentals of life can be found in teachings of all religions.