"Selamat Hari Raya Haji, Maaf Zahir Batin!"

At 2 am tomorrow morning my wife and I will be joining other Malaysian Jemaah boarding a bus which will take us to Mekah. This will be my second time doing Haj, and I am doing this Haj for my late father who died when I was ten. My late mother, alhamdullillah, had the opportunity and did perform her Haj many years before she died in 2002.

I performed my own Haj together with my wife in 2003. It was indeed the start of my love affairs with Saudi Arabia.

In 2003 I was based in Singapore working with Unilever Asia. During my last conversation with my mother in August 2002, one day before she died, I promised her that I would do my Haj. That promise brought a smile which unfolded slowly and glowed eternally on her face. She squeezed my hand with approval.
My father died in 1969 before he could perform his Haj.

While doing Haj in 2003, my wife and I thought that it would be so nice if I were to get a job  opportunity in Saudi so that we could visit Mekah as often. We prayed to Allah to grant us that wish. Alhamdullillah, in July of the same year I was offered a job by Unilever Middle East, and to be based in Jeddah. In September of the same year, I relocated and started my new job.

Tomorrow morning, we will be taken to Mekah to do our Tawaf Qudum and then to Minna where we will camp until Wukuf in Arafah.

InshaAllah, may God accept the Haj of Muslims from all over the world. May all our sins and those of our beloved ones whether dead or alive be forgiven.

"Selamat Hari Raya Eidul Adha...Mohon Maaf Zahir Batin... Di minta halalkan makan dan minum...dan doakan supaya di permudahkan urusan kami di Mekah nanti!"