আমি যদি আরব হতাম মদিনারই পথ এই পথে মোর হেটেঁ যেথেন নূরনবী হজরত হজে যাওয়ার ইচ্ছে অনেক দিন থেকেই মনের মধ্য চাপা দিয়ে রেখেছি। সাধ এবং সাধ্যের এই অসম ব্যবধানটি ঘুচাতে পারছিনা অনেকদিন থেকেই। পরিচিত অনেকেই হজে যায়। আর আমি তাদের কাছ থেকে হজের গল্প শুনে মন ভরাই। তো এইবার আজমল মাসরুর ভাই হজে গেছেন।

মনে করেছিলাম উনি ফিরে এলেই অসাধারণ কিছু শুনতে পাবো। কারণ আজমল মাসরুর একজন উচুঁ মাপের স্কলার এবং ব্রিটেনের মূল ধারার মিডিয়া ব্যক্তিত্ব। কিন্তু না। আমার মতো কপাল পুড়োদের অপেক্ষা করতে হয়নি এক মূহর্ত ও। মাসরুর ভাই হজে যাওয়ার প্রথম দিন থেকেই লিখতে শুরু করলেন।

সে এক অসাধারণ এক দিনপঞ্জী। প্রথমে ফেসবুকে শেয়ার দিলেন। ব্রিটেনের মূলধারার পত্রিকা দি গার্ডিয়ানে ও লিখলেন। দেখুন দি গার্ডিয়ান প্রতিদিন অপেক্ষায় থাকি কখন তিনি ফেসবুকে শেয়ার দেন। আর আমরা ও কল্পনায় আজমল মাসরুরের সাথে মক্কা মদিনা ঘুরে আসি।

আজকে যখন মদিনার বর্ণনা পড়ছিলাম তখন কেমন করে যে চোখে পানি চলে আসলো বুঝতে পারিনি। রাসলের (স অতি প্রিয় জন্মভুমি মক্কা হতে মদিনায় হিজরত এবং মদিনাবাসীর হৃদয় নিংড়ানো ভালোবাসায় বরণ করে নেওয়ার সব ঘটনা যেনো আমার চোখের সামনে। মাসরুর ভাইয়ের মতো আমি ও যেনো কন্ঠ মিলাই কাজী নজরুল ইসলামের সেই জগদ্বিখ্যাত গানে- ''আমি যদি আরব হতাম মদিনারই পথ এই পথে মোর হেটেঁ যেথেন নূরনবী হজরত'' Ajmal Masroor Hajj blog Day 10 - 29/10/2012 I woke up as the bus drove through a bumpy gravel road. The bus made a sharp U turn and came to a screeching halt. I thought something bad had happened, may be an accident. But as my eyes began to read the outside neon lit signs I realised it was a service station and our bus to Madina must be taking a break. It was 5 in the morning and Fajar time was on us. I was feeling hungry and the prospect of buying some food of my own choice after eating from the same set menu for the last ten days was too exciting prospect for me to turn down so easily. I got off the bus and joined the rest of the pilgrims for Fajar prayer in the service station. The culture of prayer here in Saudi Arabia is so normal that everyone simply joined in. In the UK praying the service station would always be a secret affair. I would pray as far away from the public eyes as possible and I would be conscious of it too. Prayer is a private thing in the Western world and removed from any public expressions. The contrast could not have been more stark. Here it was done in the open and 5 times a day. The entire country paused for 20 minutes 5 times throughout the day. I ended up buying some fruit and juice from the dusty shop situated at the corner of the huge service station. It reminded me of a scene from a cowboy film, luckily here, there were no gun wielding boot wearing cowboys. The nearest thing would be a long white gown wearing, red clothed head covered flipflop wearing long bearded man. Hardly a scary scene unless you are thinking about Al Qaeda! Madina is very different to Makkah. It's less hot and not harsh for a start. The city is extremely clean, well maintained and had green vegetations that I had not seen for ten days. The people of Madina are mild tempered. There is no rush to get things done. People are relaxed and they smile more. The whole experience is thus very different. We arrived at our hotel that had an amazing view - it was overlooking the mosque of the Prophet. The entire area has been reconstructed with hotels all around the mosque. The hotel buildings are height restricted and do not appear overbearing or imposing over the Prophets mosque. The architecture is pleasant and spaced evenly to allow for air, sun and light to interplay fairly. The building were made of mainly concrete and marbles but they do not suffocate the surrounding. I arrived at my hotel room and immediately left for the mosque of the prophet. I love the Prophet and praying in his mosque is an essential experience every Muslim longs for. I walked in the mosque and felt a sudden pull in my heart. This is the place that became the nerve of Islam. The history of the world was rewritten due to what was said here. The Prophet lived here, prayed here, taught here, arbitrated here, distributed wealth from here, received foreign dignitaries here, he run the entire day to day live of the people from here. If the earth could have mouth to speak so much history would have been heard. I felt honoured to be here. I remember the famous lines of the Bangladeshi poet Nazrul Islam - "if I was the Arabia, the path of Madina, and along that path would have walked the Prophet". The love of the Prophet is so deep in the heart of the believer, every fibre of the believers body feels the pulse of this love and it the pulsation increases when one is here in the Prophets mosque. The Prophet is no longer alive but his words and actions forms the best legacy. I have come here in Madina to feel a bit of that. I believe none of the space around current mosque resemble anything of the time of the Prophet. Any old archeological remains have been totally removed and replaced by more contemporary materials. This is one terrible betrayal that the ummah will never forgive the Saudi government and its supporting scholars for. It is under their watchful eyes and orders a systematic destruction of every historic and archeological remains of the memories of the time of the Prophet, his companions and 1400 years of history. The only history these people are interested in preserving is the Al Saud families' history. When I asked one of the local scholars why have they erased all signs of history from Saudi Arabia, the answer was mind boggling. I was told the reason they have done this is to ensure people do not make these historical sights as shrines and worship them instead of worshiping God. The irony is that the pictures of Al Saud kings are enlarged and placed in most buildings, if this is not proposing people worship, what is? I detest these double standards these people promote. Educate people, not burn away thousands of years of invaluable history. The original mosque of the Prophet has been destroyed over time but a small part from the ottomans still exist and even that part was decorated by the Ottomans in a extremely ostentatious manner. When one stands for prayer in that area, eyes easily go wondering and begin reading thousands of multicoloured Arabic inscriptions. The simplicity of Islam and the message of the Prophet has been replaced by exaggerated superstitions or puritanism. I walked through the mosque to visit the grave of the Prophet and there were people who were touching the stones around the mosque and even pulpit that was made by the Ottomans thinking these items have some holy significance. There were people praying to the Prophet and calling out his name as if the Prophet could grant their wishes. These people were contradicting the teachings of the Prophet as while he was alive he clearly forbade people from elevating him to God like position. Then there are the special virtue police who were ready to strike anyone who does anything outside their understanding and superior royal orders. Ladies are strictly separated from the main mosque into an enclosure and only given small window of opportunity to visit the grave of the Prophet. Even the Prophet did not separate men and women in this manner. The Prophet has also warned against such puritans. The balance has been lost and education and adequate leadership can restore the beauty of Islam back in the heartland of islam - Saudi Arabia. The mosque has been expanded and renovated to a brilliant modern standard. It is visible every where and praise must be given where praise is due. The size of the mosque is breathtaking. When I stood at one end of the mosque I could not see the other end. The entire building is designed in a seamless symmetry. The outside courtyard has giant automated canopy type umbrellas that open to provide vital shade throughout the day and close in the evening to become lamp post providing beautiful soft lighting. Inside the mosque hundreds of arches, the design replicates the historic arches at the mosque of Cordoba. These arches are supported by pillars of marbles. Opulence and elegance has merged together to create a grand and islam's second holiest site. The mosque is splendid and if its historical and archeological remains from the time of the Prophet was persevered in its midsts it would have been simply magnificent. I prayed here as often as possible and very much at home and at ease. I reflected on one saying of the Prophet and that kept on replaying in my mind: "There come a time when people will exploit you and invite their friends to do the same, said the prophet to his companions. The companions replied "O Prophet of God, is this because we will be small in number?" The Prophet said, "no, you would be very large in number." The companions of the Prophet said, why O Prophet of God? The Prophet replied, "there would be widespread wahan." What is wahan, ask the companion and he replied, "it is love of this world and dislike of the hereafter". The love of this world is visible all around me. The beloved Prophet of God was driven out of his home by his own tribe and country folk. He escaped in the middle of the night to save him life. The wonderful people of this city - Madina welcomed the Prophet with both arms and not only have him security and a home but granted all his followers the same privileges. The true Madinan spirit of warmth and hospitality in what made the Prophet his mothers city, Madina a sanctuary. I am truly honoured to be here enjoying every minute of the magic of this amazing city. I wonder what would prophet say if he came to see his adopted home. How much of it would he recognise and how much of it would he abhor. When the Prophet arrived at Madina the first place he stopped was Quba, where he lay the first foundation of a mosque. I went there to check and pray but there was no real historical signs or remains of the original mosque. Instead there is a big mosque built by the late King Fahad, I was introduced to this part of the history by the scholar in charge of the mosque. I asked him, so sheikh, where exactly was the mosque and how big was it?" He looked at me and said "that is not important. The mosque was built by the King, may God have mercy on him", replied the sheikh. I was horrified and shocked at his lack of respect of the Prophet's work, he was happy to dismiss that as nothing but a historic dot, however the bigger ripple was his kings contribution. I was sad and simply walked away. Right next to the Prophets mosque lies the most famous blessed graveyard - Jannat al-baaqi. In this graveyard lies the bodies of thousands of amazing people including the companions. When I saw it, what struck me most was how simple the graveyard of the greatest people on earth was. Nothing but few pebbles adorn their grave top. Yet when we see the graveyard of some of the so called saints and pirs in various parts of the world, decorated with flowers, candles and concrete cover, marble headstones and other decorative pieces, it smacks pretentious loud and clear. Venerating the dead is a sick practice that needs to be eradicated. I m going to go six feet under one day, nothing will help me but my good deeds and God Mercy. Even the grave of the Prophet is excessive decorated. I would keep the security around the grave but not have those strange looking artifices that has come to colour the grave of the Prophet. The love of the Prophet is in following him, not venerating his grave. As I walked passed his grave and the grave of his companions and his wife, I said, peace and blessing of God be upon them all. I send my salutation and blessing on the Prophet. The people of the entire world is being represented by the pilgrims here and if their shopping spree, love of luxury and convenience was the measure of wahan, I can see plenty of it. The rulers of the rich Muslim countries building extra tall towers in the desert trying to outdo each other yet their own people at their door step die of hunger and diseases. Their fellow Muslims sleep with no food or drink or shelter. The legacy of the Prophet would truly be understood if we all became as generous, magnanimous and compassionate as the Prophet. He was the teacher of all teachers and I so glad I am ready to learn from his teachings the vital lessons of life. Our trip to Hajj and visit of the mosque of the Prophet was now complete. Good night  ।