A child’s first glance at the Ka’bah.
The moment we were waiting for had finally arrived.
It is always an emotional scene for many including myself, but I was not sure how my kids would react. The 7yr old was just not feeling well and I didn’t expect much of a reaction from her, but my 10 and 12 yr olds were old enough to appreciate what we were about to lay our eyes on.
They were also quite tired and jet-lagged over the past week of activities in Madinah, so I was not really sure how they would react when seeing the Ka’ba for the first time.
When that moment finally came, and my two oldest children lifted their heads up to finally get a glance at the Ka’ba, they immediately started tearing up.
Subhan Allah.
It was a pleasant surprise for me and also made me a bit more emotional, because I realized that my wife and I are doing something right.
We have done something right in order to make them feel emotionally attached to the house of Allah.
All those years of teaching the kids about who Allah is, His magnificent status, and how He is deserving of all worship, the Seerah lessons, etc, it all was worth it.
It is one of my most prized memories that I will ever have when going for Umrah.
It gives me comfort in knowing that they are attached to Islam, but also it gives me the drive to keep on treading forward.
Shaytan wants me to take it easy, but I will not take it easy.
Au contraire mon frére.
This minor victory is a victory, but it is not a license to become complacent.
Just like when Rocky Balboa was getting plummeted by Ivan Drago, and it seemed like the fight was over, Rocky finally threw a right hook and cut the Russian giant, shattering his confidence, and allowing Rocky to gain huge momentum.
Rocky didn’t stop at that one punch, but that punch exposed the fallible nature of the Russian giant, and made Rocky go all out for the victory in the end.
Even better, when the Prophet ﷺ freed the Arabian Peninsula from idol worship, the Muslims didn’t stop there.
They kept going and doubled down on spreading Islam!
Every victory you see from your child’s manifestation of Islam should be a motivational tool to make you double down on your quest for knowledge and teaching that knowledge to your children.
Complacency is not an option.
Complacency is never the option.
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P.S. On a side note, not everyone reacts the same way emotionally during circumstances like this one (seeing the Ka’ba for the first time). Some people don’t feel that overwhelming emotion until after they start making tawaf, or even days later. People are different, and crying at first glance vs not crying at first glance does not necessarily mean one is more or less pious.
Yet another reason not to be complacent.