Mathaabah - a place of returning

wa idh ja3alnaa-al-bayta mathaabatan-li-nnaasi...

"And when We made the House (the Ka3bah at Makkah) a Mathaabah (a place of resort) for mankind..." (Al-Qur'an, 2:125)

The word 'Mathaabah' in the verse above is used denote a place to which one returns again and again. And how fitting this word is when one of the undeniable privileges the Ka3bah enjoys is its being a place where people assemble from all over the world, and to which they long to return to timelessly.

Indeed, a person never has enough of visiting the Ka3bah and he parts every time with a greater desire to return. How spectacular this power to draw millions of people is when one thinks how little Makkah has to offer by way of landscape, and how little the Ka3bah has to offer by way of architecture and artistry!

Some even go on to say that a sign of one's Hajj being accepted is that, on parting, they find in their heart this desire to return and to present themselves at the Ka3bah once more.

(Paraphrased commentary of Mufti Muhammad Shaafi'ee's Ma3aariful Qur'an)

Hajj 2013 for me insha-Allah!!