(Jabal Rahmah, a place on earth where man first met woman, Adam met Eve. Here, Muhammad SAW received the Last Message from Allah. Here he then delivered his last Friday sermon, then he fall sick and pass away not long later)
If the speculation about man first existence is true, that Adam on his descending to rule the earth, he landed in Ceylon, while the wife, Eve, landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, then all those religious development over the centuries must have something to do with such an event. Historically, as most religious historian speculated and predicted, the religion begin in the East, somewhere in the Himalayan. Even the Urdu language, to some was the first human communication language was developed in the East. Probably that was where Adam initially had landed. Buddhism and later Hinduism were speculated to develop from the mountainous India. Thereon the religion move to the East to merge with the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures to form the religions of their own. But those I would say is a mere theory with the interest to portray the greatness of Buddhism and Hinduism relative to any other religions.
(2) In the West, one could read, the Babylon, the Egyptian, then the Greek, the Roman, the Persian, the Yaman, and the Aztec (South America) have developed their polytheism religion of their own. Indeed, the Middle East and Mediterranean seem to be the place of birth of religions. In Islam, as well as the Judaism and Christianity, the true religion was born somewhere in the Middle East - Lebanon-Jordanian belt ie what being term as the old Palestine. Middle East is the birth place for monotheism religion, which in the Islamic sense is Islam. The fight against polytheism began at the time of prophet Abraham, the son of the master scripture of the Palestine. He believes that one should not pray to one own creation as practiced among the Arabs centuries before the proclamation of Islam as the complete monotheism for all mankind. In those days, Mecca was among the polytheism center of the Arabia.
(3) If one ever visit say the Temple of the King, say the Dalai Lama Temple in Tibet, the Watt Prakeaw (?) in Bangkok, the Golden Temples in the Golden Triangles of Burma-Thailand, the Angkor Watt in Phnom Phen, Grand Buddish Watt in Vientiane, Borobudur in Jogjakarta, the Sind temple in Amritsar, the Hindus Shrines at the Ganges, Vatican of Rome, even the Grand Pyramid in Egypt, all those in fact were and are the manifestation of a Holy City. I believe if one visit these places, sure one will have the feel of the religious aura of the place. Why?
(4) Accordingly, if one ever visited Taj Mahal, one probably could really feel the deadly passionate love of Shah Jehan to Mumtaz Mahal (this lady really ‘mahal’). Why is such a place having such a love serene seclude touch? What contribute to such an aura?
(5) The Mormons are proud with Salt Lake City of Utah, America. The City is so peaceful. People don’t simply drink beer here. A very abnormal among the West. Women and men wear well covered dress, well behave. Another abnormality. Everybody seem to be very polite and act with soft characters. The City nicely located overlooking the Salt Lake high up in the white icy mountain. If one is there, one can feel the aura of such a harmonious place of human culture and natural environment. Why?
(Right, the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City)
(6) Let get down to Las Vegas or even Los Angeles, the Cities of anything, heaven on earth. The City house from devils to angels. All can do as they wish. A cities of total freedom. Cities of real capitalism. The same goes to Monaco, Macau, or even Hong Kong sometimes ago. All I would say, serve to their purpose.
Mecca Early Development
Mecca, in the history of Islam was indirectly developed by the angels. It started with the erection of the Kaabah, a place of worship for the Jin and angels. Allah probably had quietly planned that once He had created the human being ie Adam and Eve, surely this couple will have to be descended to manage all His other creations on earth. Allah made Kaabah as the human, jins, angels and even the satans unifying place. With such an assumption, I would guess the very reason why Adam, though he was parted far away in India (Himalaya), when descended to earth from heaven, he then walked to Jabal Rahmah, close to Jeddah to meet his love one, Eve to be united and breed thereon. Eve was the gift, the greatest incentive from Allah for Adam to walk thousands of miles to pay homage to the Kaabah though it was a mere ruin at that time, where later he was ordered to rebuild.
(2) Adam and Eve, they first gave birth to two twin pair kids ie Qabil and his sister and Habil and his sister. In order for the population of humankind to breed with greater genetic hybridization, Allah had ordered Adam to marry their kids in cross generation ie the sister of Qabil must marry to Habil and likewise. Unfortunately, the woman's beauty, ie the sister of Qabil was much beautiful than Habil, made Qabil to be a deviant, thus he refused to the idea. He demanded to marry his very own twin sister. But surely Adam disapproved such a demand, which later made Qabil to kill Habil. That was the beginning of human bloodshed on earth. Probably that was also the very reason, to this day, the Arabs (they are brothers) never can be peaceful with each other including the Israel or the beginning of the existence of sickening jealousy in human heart. Even among other brothers and sisters or families, most hardly can be kuku dan isi. The in fight among brothers and families members sometimes is much worst than among the non-blood related!
(3) Surely, Adam did have more progenies. All I would guess were asked to marry each other, and to disperse to the different direction of the earth, to form what today all these about 155 nationalities and tens of thousands of races and tribes worldwide. My guess the Arabs and the Indian stock particularly the northern tribes must had come from the Qabil and twin sister breeds. The Mexican may also come from the same stock. Indians and Mexican especially among the ladies, they seem to have lots of similar features.
(4) As time passed by, due to space, geographical setting, climatic differences, and cultural development, I would say was the very reason, Kaabah then became insignificant. Though Adam and Eve and all his kids were Muslims, but the religion of Islam was yet to be fully developed. Chances for deviation was and continue to be great. Human being in their very existence (and to this day), they were more preoccupied by the struggles to survive in the much challenging world as compared to their forefather home, the heaven. These struggles than built the new cultural forms, thought and ideologies. Thus, the cultural development of all these races and tribes, I would say surpass the development of the Total Islam. Before Muhammad SAW, Islam is just known as the religion of One God, Allah. Human socio-cultutal evolution then I would say had made the original One God Religion of Adam to evolve as well.
(5) Human quest never stop. They continue to search for their identities and supremacy. The cultural development and all those searches for supremacy later, made human come to the concept of God and Religion. The search mounted with the challenges of natural disasters. That how I believe, Allah, the Creator of this universe makes one mind wonder: Who govern the world, the sun, the stars, the moon, the sky and man’s most prominent question of who created him?. The concept of God and religion thereon crystalized. Thus, Buddism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zoaism (?), etc and all those, I would guess were the progressive cultural search for the Almighty Power that could unite and safeguard the human races of a particular region. Nonetheless, I have a strong believe that the idea of God transcends into then so many religions must had come from the goddess genetic implanted their foreparent ie Adam and Eve.
(6) Allah never left human mind to wonder without guide. Free ranching of human mind will end to nowhere. Over tens of thousands of years, since after the descending of Adam and Eve to earth, human still can’t be at peace with themselves. Then, the birth of Ismael through Hajar, a woman slave of Pharaoh given as the second wife to Abraham. The birth created jealousy to his elder wife, Sarah, that made Abraham to send Ismael-Hajar to the deadly desert Becca Valley, where the Kaabah was firstly built by the angels and later rebuilt by Adam. The thirst of Ismael, his deadly cries, made Hajar panic and felt hopeless, thus to wander between the Mt of Safa and Marwan, which later through the continuous kicking of baby Ismael, a stream of water pour out what today forms the ZamZam well. Thereon, the site became a resting place for the merchants and travellers flying Egypt-Yaman to Palestine-Sham (Syiria)-Iraq. The ZamZam well then attracted more and more travelers to reside in Mecca. The city there and then developed slowly into a busy trading post.
(7) Allah then ordered both Abraham and his son, Ismael to rebuild the Kaabah which by then was ruined to earth. With such, then came the call for all monotheism practitioners to pay homage to Kaabah on annual basis. Thereon, Mecca, with the Kaabah became a city of trading and spiritual retreat. Based on Adam’s and Abraham’s lives history, one could deduced, Mecca was the first city or at least human settlement on earth. It was built from rubble. It was built from the tears of Hajar and Ismael. It was built due to human bad feeling of each other. It was built of great struggle and sacrifices by Muhammad SAW and the blood of tens of thousands of the early Muslim fighters. It is a City built on one's clear destiny and dedication, for one to be mindful of the presence and greatness of Allah.
Pre-Islamic Management of Mecca
After the death of Ismael, Kaabah turned into the centre of polytheism, by the influence of the City of Sanaa in Yaman. That I would guess made the migration of his other brother, Issac to the Palestine, and organized his monotheism followers in BaitulMuqaddis. Allah then changed the kiblah of the early Muslim from Kaabah to BaitulMuqaddis. BaitulMuqaddis was then the centre of Judaism and Christianity, the supposed to be the progression religion of Islam, but then developed into the diversion of Islam. But Mecca survive due to the existence of the ZamZam and the pray of Abraham: "O Allah, the Al Mighty, please safeguard this City and keep it to prosper forever..."
(2) When Muhammad SAW managed to wrestle back Kaabah from the Kafir Quraish, his very own race through the Hudaibiyah Treaty, Kaabah then was returned as the centre of monotheism ie Islam and the kiblah of the Muslim. Thereon Kaabah developed into the spiritual city of Islam and the centre for the Islamic expansion. (Left, the ruin of the old Hudaibiyah Mosque where Muhammad SAW signed a peace treaty with the Mecca Quraish, where then he had Abu Sufian, the great Quraish Army General to join him)
(3) In Mecca, Muhammad SAW spent most of his time in preaching about Islam. He devoted most of his time to teach and coach the Muslim to the true teaching and way of lives of Islam. He spent more time toward the spiritual aspect of the religion. Why? Time was the essence. He had spent most of his time (20 years?) in Madina in his struggle to wrest Kaabah into the original position of Islam, thus with his age catching fast, he needs to focus on receiving and revealing all those messages from Allah. But he also made great effort to spread Islam to the rest of the Arabia particularly to Iraq, Syria, and Palestine which in those days were hostile to the existence of Islam. I would say he had less time (mere less than 10 years?) to develop Mecca as compared to the time he had in developing Madina as an Islamic State or City. In Madinah he was surrounded by friendly communities, while in Mecca he need to face all the hostilities.
(4) I would believe, there then, by tradition, his disciples and all those strict followers, had paid less attention in the development of Mecca as a proper city or state. The focus was on spiritual and expansion of Islam as the way to the sunnah of the rasul. As the importance of Mecca as a holy city of the expanding Muslims, I would say, to this day, the focus was and is more toward accomplishing the basic physical spiritual needs of the pilgrimages. The Saudi, whom had been trusted to care for the Kaabah, Mecca, had not gone beyond what is tradition.
The Wisdom of Ukur Baju Di Badan Sendiri
I was fortunate to come across with the eldest son of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea ie Sana Somare. In his word, ”We had made too much mistakes been led by the Australian to look at Australia as the model of our development. Australia is an advanced country while we are at the third or even fourth world status. We can’t compete with the professional, we need to learn from the amateur or semi-pro. Sarawak is the best model that we should emulate, but, our leaders (his dad, the Prime Minister and his Minister brother) missed that”. What is the significant of his Statement? The Malays proverb: Ukur baju di badan sendiri; one must fit one’s dress based on one’s size, I would say is very relevant when one critically analyse the development of both Mecca and Madinah.
(2) During my study in Colorado, USA, I met many Saudis studying there. They and the Arabs love to frequent Las Vegas, the most lively-happening city in America. It is the Mecca for gaming, entertainment, shopping, and sure money laundering of the American. Almost all the largest hotels on earth are located in Las Vegas. Sahara and Pyramid hotel, which were among the first built there, manifested the flocking of the Arabs to this city. A real nice customer friendly city with great landscapes and infrastructure-infostructure networks to the whole world.
(3) Las Vegas, in Nervada, in fact is a City built from dry deadly desert. Historically it started as a Saloon Station for the East-West travelers and cowboys. The Hover Dam, that source the water from the Colorado River that flows from the Rocky Mountain turned the City into what it is now. The City is a Mecca of Gaming, Entertainment, and Shopping. My revisit to the City in 2007, it seem the size had swollen to almost double from that of the 1998. Though almost all American Cities are planned and developed along the same principle ie grid-based, but what make Las Vegas different from the others are the fantastic urban landscape in the natural (trees, water bodies, etc) and artificial (lighting, arches, billboards, etc) forms, plus the efficient connectivity of all the hotels, casinos, shopping, and entertaining complexes. Thematic mega building structures (Pyramid, Sahara, Tropicana, Caesar Palace, etc) are well designed, configured and connected. The well configuration of the urban fabrics, that enable for the smooth and comfortable mobility of visitors, I would say is the key pull factor of Las Vegas. Las Vegas has the aura of a City of Sin. In no doubt, the City of Sin is and will forever is Las Vegas. One immediately feels the lives of Las Vegas once one travel along the Las Vegas Street. Why?
(Las Vegas, a nice thematic City, Heaven on Earth)
(4) In Colorado, one could feel the University City once one visited Boulder and Golden. Why? For, Denver, the State Capital of Colorado, one could strongly feel the natural ambient of the Rocky Mountain, the feel of Take Me Home Country Road of the song of John Denver, thus giving the City the aura of the Mile High City. Why? As I studied the configuration of Denver, Boulder and Golden, all are designed and configured to blend with the natural functionality of the natural ambient plus efficiency of human and vehicular mobility.
(5) Today Mecca development, the Saudis are cutting their dresses along the American models. I would say, that is short sighted. To take everything from the American is not good. We should adopt and adapt all that would give Mecca its authentic unique and special values of its own. There shouldn’t be any second Mecca, there’s only one and one Mecca. Mecca, with the Kaabah, probably the first monument on earth, not originally designed by men, but by angels, with the doctrine of compulsory pilgrimage for the able Muslims, which say at today socio-economic status, there are about 40,000,000-60,000,000 of them worldwide. That will never can make Mecca sleep or rest.
(6) My observation of today Mecca development, soon this City will be turned into a Shopping City. Mecca is going into a vehicular city which is not in harmony to the spirit of walking as shown by Muhammad SAW. Mecca and Madinah is not pedestrian friendly at least 1,000 meters within the Masjid vicinity. Hotel with shopping mall are sprouting. But what would be the basic of Mecca? This is a Tanah Haram. Merely thinking making Mecca into a Mega-shopping City I believe wouldn’t work unless the liberal Saudi want to have a great friction with the keeper of Islam, which will not be acceptable to the Muslim world. Saudis should not behave wastefully. The wealth given by Allah to the State doesn’t belong totally to them. They can’t just be a big spender without thinking and planning on a much long term basis. The wealth given by Allah must be wisely used for the great welfare and comfort of every human kind.
(7) If one wants to look for ideas, not necessarily the best could give the best idea. The present best, probably is of human valued best and not necessarily approved by Allah. Thus, one probably could also derive the best idea from the most simplest or even the much undeveloped, harsh. That the very reason, the Malays had great vision: Ukur baju di badan sendiri! One can learn not only from Harvard professors, but even from the poor trishaw men. Muhammad SAW got the ideas on how to improve his people in the harsh Jabal Nur. Mahatma Ghandi, suffer to hunger to relief his people from the British oppression and interracial in fight. Hose Rizal turned the prison into his writing chamber to spread the spirit of nationalism among his people, the Philippines. Nelson Mandella, spent most of his life in the cell to liberate his nation, the South Africa, from the semantic apartheid.
Model of the Poorer States
My visit to Luang Prabang, Laos and Siem Reap, Chambodia in September 2010 was great. These two cities are not holy city. They are tourism cities. The cities were built along the marriage of the local culture and the French. The United Nation rebuilt the cities from the rubble of the long war and fighting in the region. The structures, the layout, the configuration gave a simple serene, pleasant and quiet seclude for soul searching visitors. The cities are Indochinese-French aptitude. In fact, now I’m conceptualising the redevelopment of the North Bank of the Sarawak river along similar model, insyaAllah if I’m trusted.
(2) In 2009, I visited my children days favourite figure person ie Ho Chii Minh's place of birth ie Hanoi. His home, his Museum, and his Mausoleum are treated as scared places by the Vietnamese. There are nice genius blend of local and French architectures and colors. The parks takes the local nice natural ambient well integration with the City development, the well landscape roads system, the surrounding communities’ activities preserved to the best natural states, and the visiting procedures are well observed makes the whole place really inviting and memorable.
(Right, the home of the Unifying Father of the Vietnam, a great nationalist rather a communist who slam the American, French, British and Australian to chicken out in great shame)
(3) The same with the birth village of Mao Tze Dung the communism founder of China. His home, the rural surrounding environment, as well as the HighWay leading to his Village from ChangSa City, are well planned, developed, landscape and maintained. The aura of the Grand Chairman Moa is there as one drove to his Village. His Statue stand high across the ChangSa City Waterfront.
(4) If one watches the olden day martial art movies of the Chinese, Korean and Japanese, their temples really gave that serene and scared feeling. All because, the functionality of the Temples and the surrounding were well blended. The disciplines of the tenants, students, visitors are well observed and organised.
(5) In a smaller sense, the good feeling of the Floating Mosque of Kuala Trengganu, Putra Jaya, and Kg. Laut, Kelantan are all about blending of the Mosque with the local. The same with the Masjid Agung of Jakarta and Bandung.
(6) Unfortunately Hudaibiyah, Al Jannah, Jabal Nur, Mina, and Arafah don’t give me the sacred feeling of the place. Why? Probably, leaving these places along their natural environment won’t work. Accordingly, the messy Mecca, don’t excite me as well. Without Kaabah and Masjidil Haram, I would see Mecca is just another ordinary city, and that I would say very unfortunate. The Saudis had not able to work on the most strategic and practical concept to turn Mecca into the Spiritual-Tourism City, a city that shine the true civilization for all mankind. What happened was, they built, then they demolished. Mecca, is a City of Build and Destroy. What a waste of wealth and times?
(7) To me, as of today, Kaabah and MasjilHaram are a stand alone statues from the greater development of Mecca which is moving fast into the capitalist greed. In a much smaller sense, I see, Kaabah-MasjidilHaram and Mecca just like the isolated, stand alone Masjid Jamek of Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Hasannal Bolkiah of Bandar Sri Bengawan. The Holy place, the City, the people are not well blended into a harmonious fabric. If not because of its compulsion onto the Muslims, Mecca or Madinah will just be a quiet city. Mecca lack the unity of the Soul and Body.
Critique of Present Mecca and Madinah Development
The Mayor of Madinah had worked well in making the Nabawi-Madinah into an integrated blend of City and Place of Worship. The glaring handicap, as a tradition probably, to follow the 'Sunnah' of Rasullulah, the business in Madinah still being organized along the bazaar concept. Trading in Madinah and Pasar Siti Khadijah of Kota Bharu doesn’t make much different except in term of building structures. Madinah (and Mecca and all those key historical sacred places) need more landscapes. The advice of Muhammad SAW: In Tanah Haram, one must not cut a tree so the Saudi must turn it into: In Tanah Haram, let organise orderly tree planting, and will not that would make Muhammad SAW smile with pride then? If it is true the ZamZam can cater for whatever numbers of human needs, I don’t see why such a blessing can’t be used to make Mecca, Madina and all those holy sites became great and pleasing green? How did Allah portray the beauty and pleasing of the Heaven: water and parks.
(2) Thus probably along the same premises, keeping with the tradition, Mecca trading areas are also being organized along the old Arab’s Bazaar. For those who have not been there, in fact Mecca and Madina cities are nothing more than the Gambier Street of Kuching. Just raised the buildings into 10-30 storeys and turn those into hotels, while the ground floors, just rent to those small or medium entrepreneurs to sell whatever they want to sell. It has not much deviated from the olden day Bazaar of the Egyptian, Turkish, or Persian. Even the hotels and all those block of buildings are not well connected though there are just side by side. Thick walls and messy lanes keeps them apart.
(3) The development of Kota Bharu, Kelantan especially within the radius of Masjid Muhammadiah, is just as what is happening in Mecca. A development without proper strategic plan. No wonder Nik Aziz Nik Mat called Kelantan as Serambi Mekah.
(4) I could see, the Saudi keep building tall buildings by the side of MasjidilHaram, but couples of years later, they will just have to demolish the buildings to make way for larger open space and traffic management for the pilgrimages. Worst, they keep digging all those rocky hills to build the buildings which if one care to calculate, the cost to flatten those hills are just as expensive as putting up the building itself. What a waste of resources?
(5) To me, the Saudi never use their economist to forecast the emerging prosperity of the whole Muslim world. The Saudi are too blind or naive to acknowledge that the other Muslims are just as equal if not better than them in the eyes of Allah. I have a strong sense, the Saudis are looking down at their others Muslim. What a pity, stingy and probably jahilliah.
(6) To solve the pilgrimage congestion, they just make a very adhoc and simple stand. To them, the answer to the influx of the Muslim pilgrimages is just by imposing two traditional thinking: quota and tore down all those nearby buildings. To me sound simple, but surely stupid and lazy. I would say, they are so used to the mind of don’t rather the mind of far creative facilitating.
(7) The very reason why the trading in Mecca and Madina had never change is simple. 1,400 years ago, Umar Al Khatab many times get furious with his people when he visited the bazaar. What he found out was the Arab Quraish love to leave the trading activities be run by the slaves, prisoners of war or even the traditional locals. He saw no change among them. They can’t even do good trading practices. That the very reason why he brought in the much business minded Quraish, but unfortunate they are easy going and lazy. Today, if one visited every trading outlets in Madinah and Mecca, these people, they spoke Malay: beli-beli, bagus-bagus, murah-murah, tiga sepuluh rial!. Most of them are either Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian or even Indonesian. Either they are in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, London or Perth, their style of trading remain the same. They are just the running dogs of the sleeping Arab tenants. The Meccan and Madinah people had greatly ignored the warning of Umar Al Khatab.
(8) To me, Mecca and Madinah, soon would be Indian, Bangladeshi, Indonesian, and Pakistani Streets. I won’t be surprise soon will come the Padang-Medan Phenomena all over Madinah and Mecca. Warung Bakso Istimewa already exist in Jeddah. Soon I believe both Jeddah nad Riyadh will be flooded with the Padang and Madura traders jsut as what is happening in Chow Kit Road in Kuala Lumpur. Observing the Arab liking, I would believe, lesehan would be their best future choice. The Indonesians are best at this. Just like the America, one day, a Javanese blood may rule Saudi Arabia.
My Dream of Mecca and Madinah
There are 1,200,000,000-1,300,000,000 Muslims worldwide. The Malays may constitutes about 250,000,000-300,000,000 of them. The Arabs may be around 300,000,000-400,000,000 of them. The Indian (inclusive the Bangladeshi and Pakistani) and Chinese are also substantial. The Turks and Persian are also great numbers. These nations or races, forms the emerging economies of the Muslim world. Taking the average of 20-30 percents as the upper to the lower middle income group, there would be 24,000,000,000-40,000,000,000 of them worldwide. This is the number that loves to have a visit at least once in their life time to these two places. But in Islam, even the poorest still work hard to accumulate sufficient resources to enable them to pay homage to Mecca. Thus this may contribute another 10,000,000-15,000,000 more to the figure. What then the annual growth rate within the Muslim world: 2.0-2.5 percent. But how much can Mecca accommodate the incoming of these people for Hajj and Umrah. In 2011, estimated only about 4,500,000 can make it there, because of the Quota. By 2020, estimated 15,000,000,000 will make it there. Is Mecca and Madina ready?
(2) By simple logic, there is a need of 2.0-2.5 percent facilities expansion on annual basis if Mecca and Madinah are to accommodate the full influx of the Muslim. Umrah took the most 14 days. Hajj may take to 30 days. But, the population of Mecca and Madinah itself is almost 2,000,000,000. Thus for every Thurday and Friday, the influx of the local to this Holy Places definitely will place strain to the visitors whom, based on my judgment on the March Umrah, there are about at least 500,000,000-700,000,000 of us there. Thus I would say at any Arab weekend, there are about 1,000,000,000-1,500,000,000 people in Mecca and Madinah for Umrah purpose. This is a huge influx. The figure I would say will never goes down. My observation, MasjidilHaram and Nabawi, at most can take about 1,000,000 people at a comfortable level while 4,500,000 would turned the place really into a very messy place. I don't believe such a huge number cramb into such a concentrated area would give all the solemnity needed by the pilgrimages, Thus, even at today level, the facilities in Mecca I would say should be twice if not three times better than what it is.
(3) Thus both MasjidilHaram and Nabawi should have at least 1,000,000 sq meters of praying places instead of the 300,000-400,000 sq meters that is available now respectively. Worst the transportation system in both Cities I would say is very inefficient and indiscipline. May be they are a bit better than Cairo or New Mexico!
(4) Surely there are views saying that, those are the challenges that made Hajj and Umrah became significant. I can take that argument if those challenges came in the forms of nature. But if those are due to human indifferent, I don’t believe even Allah will be happy with such. Did He not say: …I have given you everything so that you can (use them to) appreciate Me better…?. My believe, He had equipped Arabia with oil and water, but He purposely challenge them with the deadly desert climate, so that they (and we) could think on how to use all His endowments to make all His devotes to appreciate (syukur) of Him to the best.
(4) Tanah Haram is 20 kilometers in radius. That would give an area of 400 sq kilometres or 40,000 hectares based on Modern Mathematic calculation. But based on Algebraic calculation, the area would then expand to 3.14 (400) or 1,256 sq km or 125,600 hectares. This is a very significant size of urban planning areas.
(5) Thus my view, Allah had given Napoléon Bonaparte a great wisdom to come with the idea of Boulevard. In those days, he marched his army on these Boulevard to show his supremacy. In those days, there are hundreds of thousands of them. Europe was shaken by his show of power! Accordingly the influx of the pilgrimages are also a symbol of Allah army. Did Muhammad SAW not say something about this? Just imagine, the figure is in millions of them. We can even make the figure to run into tens of millions. Can’t we not think the possible adoption of the Boulevard ideas, to give the feel of the grand march of the Ummah of Muhammad?.
(6) Will it not be nice to be able to see MasjidilHaram and Nabawi from every and very distance corners of a City. The wide boulevard, dressed with nice landscapes with numerous mode of public transports shuttling and converging at say four main corners of the Masjids surely could give the image of the grand march to enable everybody to answer to the call of pray within 30 minutes from their places of stay and work.
(7) Accordingly, the Roman built their coliseum on high column. The Moors came with the concept of high post with arch structures. Muhammad SAW was saved by the cave and he got his first message while in the cave. The same with Moses. And Allah, had shown the human being how a cave can hold it gigantic structures due to the arc form of the 'column' and cavities. To me, in fact Allah had used the cave to give us the idea on how we could build a nice connectivity for both MasjidilHaram and Nabawi with vast open space to all the surrounding mega-buildings. Even the current MasjidilHaram and Nabawi are built along the Moors, the Romam, the cave concept of building structures. The only handicaps, the Saudi (we) never expand from there.
(8) Thus, as a rich State, the Saudi in fact must impose and provide incentives to all those developers within the vicinity of the Masjids to make at least the ground floor of their building as an open structure space that have clear visibility and connectivity to MasjidilHaram and Nabawi. The ground floor of these building should be at least two storeys high. Say why not make all buildings within the radius of five kilometres surrounding the MasjidilHaram and Nabawi to have such well planned vision. With such big space, I would believe, then MasjidilHaram and Nabawi would each have say 15,000,000 sq meters of open space. With such a space, therefore each Masjid could comfortably take at least 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 of pilgrimages at one time. If this could be accommodate, the pilgrimages could then generate trillion of Rials to the Saudi coffer. Thus, using the existing petro-money for the good of Islam and its ummah will pay off even a better deal. I believe Allah just love to see how our mind should facilitate to glorify His very religion.
(9) Islam is a great religion. The Saudi, whom Allah had given the trust to keep the religion failed to make it great. The wealth given by Allah to the Saudi for such purpose had been wasted to feed the greed of the American. The Saudi are still indifferent to the true purpose of Allah giving them the oil and gas. All because, they (we) had not fully submit to the concept of Allahuakbar. SubhannaAllah.
(10) Tanah Haram, to me in fact is a bounty for Muslims professionals. Allah had made that land only for the Muslims, yet we can’t take the advantage of such ruling to our best advantage. Our interpretation to the need to love Allah and Muhammad SAW seem to narrow to the very basic. We had not expanded our mind to really glorifying Islam as the Way of Lives to all the mankind. Islam is a civilization that should goven the whole humankind.
(11) The Malaysian and Indonesian Muslims, if we could combine force with the Khan of India and Pakistan and the Mullah of Central Asia, definitely we could help the Saudi to be a great keeper of Kaabah and Nabawi. I would believe, what needed now is for Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to work together to place in history that the Malays are also key players in the spread and development of the Islamic civilization.
(12) The Malays, we are such a versatile community are very much tolerant to the mixed culture of the West, Middle East and Far East. With such a characteristic we should be able to what some dream: to be the renaissance force of the Islamic Civilization.
(13) Mecca and Madina should now take the position as the Islamic Centre of Excellence to all aspect of lives. Mecca must be a Mecca for all aspect of the Muslim world: spiritual, culture, trade, technologies, etc. The Malays probably should show the way to these Arabs. They need new leadership to lead them to the Real World of Islam.
(14) How? I have a though about how Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur should be able to make the Malays to be the renaissance force of the Islamic Civilization. I’m rewriting on this idea, and hopefully Najib and Mahathir will pick it up. Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta, the emerging of Islam should now be in the hand of the Malays. The sun rises from the East. The Kaabah’s door faces the East. Makam Ibrahim is located to the East. The Mt Safa and Marwan is to the East of Kaabah. What do all these mean? I believe, Allah do want us to think and work hard from now. My reasoning to be in Mecca and Madinah is answered. Probably five years from now, I will migrated to Jeddah if not Riyadh for the selling of this idea. Help me God. SubhannaAllah. MasyaAllah.
Mecca-Madina, Saudi Arabia.
22-29 March, 2012
Note:If the speculation about man first existence is true, that Adam on his descending to rule the earth, he landed in Ceylon, while the wife, Eve, landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, then all those religious development over the centuries must have something to do with such an event. Historically, as most religious historian speculated and predicted, the religion begin in the East, somewhere in the Himalayan. Even the Urdu language, to some was the first human communication language was developed in the East. Probably that was where Adam initially had landed. Buddhism and later Hinduism were speculated to develop from the mountainous India. Thereon the religion move to the East to merge with the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures to form the religions of their own. But those I would say is a mere theory with the interest to portray the greatness of Buddhism and Hinduism relative to any other religions.
(2) In the West, one could read, the Babylon, the Egyptian, then the Greek, the Roman, the Persian, the Yaman, and the Aztec (South America) have developed their polytheism religion of their own. Indeed, the Middle East and Mediterranean seem to be the place of birth of religions. In Islam, as well as the Judaism and Christianity, the true religion was born somewhere in the Middle East - Lebanon-Jordanian belt ie what being term as the old Palestine. Middle East is the birth place for monotheism religion, which in the Islamic sense is Islam. The fight against polytheism began at the time of prophet Abraham, the son of the master scripture of the Palestine. He believes that one should not pray to one own creation as practiced among the Arabs centuries before the proclamation of Islam as the complete monotheism for all mankind. In those days, Mecca was among the polytheism center of the Arabia.
(3) If one ever visit say the Temple of the King, say the Dalai Lama Temple in Tibet, the Watt Prakeaw (?) in Bangkok, the Golden Temples in the Golden Triangles of Burma-Thailand, the Angkor Watt in Phnom Phen, Grand Buddish Watt in Vientiane, Borobudur in Jogjakarta, the Sind temple in Amritsar, the Hindus Shrines at the Ganges, Vatican of Rome, even the Grand Pyramid in Egypt, all those in fact were and are the manifestation of a Holy City. I believe if one visit these places, sure one will have the feel of the religious aura of the place. Why?
(4) Accordingly, if one ever visited Taj Mahal, one probably could really feel the deadly passionate love of Shah Jehan to Mumtaz Mahal (this lady really ‘mahal’). Why is such a place having such a love serene seclude touch? What contribute to such an aura?
(5) The Mormons are proud with Salt Lake City of Utah, America. The City is so peaceful. People don’t simply drink beer here. A very abnormal among the West. Women and men wear well covered dress, well behave. Another abnormality. Everybody seem to be very polite and act with soft characters. The City nicely located overlooking the Salt Lake high up in the white icy mountain. If one is there, one can feel the aura of such a harmonious place of human culture and natural environment. Why?
(Right, the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City)(6) Let get down to Las Vegas or even Los Angeles, the Cities of anything, heaven on earth. The City house from devils to angels. All can do as they wish. A cities of total freedom. Cities of real capitalism. The same goes to Monaco, Macau, or even Hong Kong sometimes ago. All I would say, serve to their purpose.
Mecca Early Development
Mecca, in the history of Islam was indirectly developed by the angels. It started with the erection of the Kaabah, a place of worship for the Jin and angels. Allah probably had quietly planned that once He had created the human being ie Adam and Eve, surely this couple will have to be descended to manage all His other creations on earth. Allah made Kaabah as the human, jins, angels and even the satans unifying place. With such an assumption, I would guess the very reason why Adam, though he was parted far away in India (Himalaya), when descended to earth from heaven, he then walked to Jabal Rahmah, close to Jeddah to meet his love one, Eve to be united and breed thereon. Eve was the gift, the greatest incentive from Allah for Adam to walk thousands of miles to pay homage to the Kaabah though it was a mere ruin at that time, where later he was ordered to rebuild.
(2) Adam and Eve, they first gave birth to two twin pair kids ie Qabil and his sister and Habil and his sister. In order for the population of humankind to breed with greater genetic hybridization, Allah had ordered Adam to marry their kids in cross generation ie the sister of Qabil must marry to Habil and likewise. Unfortunately, the woman's beauty, ie the sister of Qabil was much beautiful than Habil, made Qabil to be a deviant, thus he refused to the idea. He demanded to marry his very own twin sister. But surely Adam disapproved such a demand, which later made Qabil to kill Habil. That was the beginning of human bloodshed on earth. Probably that was also the very reason, to this day, the Arabs (they are brothers) never can be peaceful with each other including the Israel or the beginning of the existence of sickening jealousy in human heart. Even among other brothers and sisters or families, most hardly can be kuku dan isi. The in fight among brothers and families members sometimes is much worst than among the non-blood related!
(3) Surely, Adam did have more progenies. All I would guess were asked to marry each other, and to disperse to the different direction of the earth, to form what today all these about 155 nationalities and tens of thousands of races and tribes worldwide. My guess the Arabs and the Indian stock particularly the northern tribes must had come from the Qabil and twin sister breeds. The Mexican may also come from the same stock. Indians and Mexican especially among the ladies, they seem to have lots of similar features.
(4) As time passed by, due to space, geographical setting, climatic differences, and cultural development, I would say was the very reason, Kaabah then became insignificant. Though Adam and Eve and all his kids were Muslims, but the religion of Islam was yet to be fully developed. Chances for deviation was and continue to be great. Human being in their very existence (and to this day), they were more preoccupied by the struggles to survive in the much challenging world as compared to their forefather home, the heaven. These struggles than built the new cultural forms, thought and ideologies. Thus, the cultural development of all these races and tribes, I would say surpass the development of the Total Islam. Before Muhammad SAW, Islam is just known as the religion of One God, Allah. Human socio-cultutal evolution then I would say had made the original One God Religion of Adam to evolve as well.
(5) Human quest never stop. They continue to search for their identities and supremacy. The cultural development and all those searches for supremacy later, made human come to the concept of God and Religion. The search mounted with the challenges of natural disasters. That how I believe, Allah, the Creator of this universe makes one mind wonder: Who govern the world, the sun, the stars, the moon, the sky and man’s most prominent question of who created him?. The concept of God and religion thereon crystalized. Thus, Buddism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zoaism (?), etc and all those, I would guess were the progressive cultural search for the Almighty Power that could unite and safeguard the human races of a particular region. Nonetheless, I have a strong believe that the idea of God transcends into then so many religions must had come from the goddess genetic implanted their foreparent ie Adam and Eve.
(6) Allah never left human mind to wonder without guide. Free ranching of human mind will end to nowhere. Over tens of thousands of years, since after the descending of Adam and Eve to earth, human still can’t be at peace with themselves. Then, the birth of Ismael through Hajar, a woman slave of Pharaoh given as the second wife to Abraham. The birth created jealousy to his elder wife, Sarah, that made Abraham to send Ismael-Hajar to the deadly desert Becca Valley, where the Kaabah was firstly built by the angels and later rebuilt by Adam. The thirst of Ismael, his deadly cries, made Hajar panic and felt hopeless, thus to wander between the Mt of Safa and Marwan, which later through the continuous kicking of baby Ismael, a stream of water pour out what today forms the ZamZam well. Thereon, the site became a resting place for the merchants and travellers flying Egypt-Yaman to Palestine-Sham (Syiria)-Iraq. The ZamZam well then attracted more and more travelers to reside in Mecca. The city there and then developed slowly into a busy trading post.
(7) Allah then ordered both Abraham and his son, Ismael to rebuild the Kaabah which by then was ruined to earth. With such, then came the call for all monotheism practitioners to pay homage to Kaabah on annual basis. Thereon, Mecca, with the Kaabah became a city of trading and spiritual retreat. Based on Adam’s and Abraham’s lives history, one could deduced, Mecca was the first city or at least human settlement on earth. It was built from rubble. It was built from the tears of Hajar and Ismael. It was built due to human bad feeling of each other. It was built of great struggle and sacrifices by Muhammad SAW and the blood of tens of thousands of the early Muslim fighters. It is a City built on one's clear destiny and dedication, for one to be mindful of the presence and greatness of Allah.
Pre-Islamic Management of Mecca
After the death of Ismael, Kaabah turned into the centre of polytheism, by the influence of the City of Sanaa in Yaman. That I would guess made the migration of his other brother, Issac to the Palestine, and organized his monotheism followers in BaitulMuqaddis. Allah then changed the kiblah of the early Muslim from Kaabah to BaitulMuqaddis. BaitulMuqaddis was then the centre of Judaism and Christianity, the supposed to be the progression religion of Islam, but then developed into the diversion of Islam. But Mecca survive due to the existence of the ZamZam and the pray of Abraham: "O Allah, the Al Mighty, please safeguard this City and keep it to prosper forever..."
(2) When Muhammad SAW managed to wrestle back Kaabah from the Kafir Quraish, his very own race through the Hudaibiyah Treaty, Kaabah then was returned as the centre of monotheism ie Islam and the kiblah of the Muslim. Thereon Kaabah developed into the spiritual city of Islam and the centre for the Islamic expansion. (Left, the ruin of the old Hudaibiyah Mosque where Muhammad SAW signed a peace treaty with the Mecca Quraish, where then he had Abu Sufian, the great Quraish Army General to join him)
(3) In Mecca, Muhammad SAW spent most of his time in preaching about Islam. He devoted most of his time to teach and coach the Muslim to the true teaching and way of lives of Islam. He spent more time toward the spiritual aspect of the religion. Why? Time was the essence. He had spent most of his time (20 years?) in Madina in his struggle to wrest Kaabah into the original position of Islam, thus with his age catching fast, he needs to focus on receiving and revealing all those messages from Allah. But he also made great effort to spread Islam to the rest of the Arabia particularly to Iraq, Syria, and Palestine which in those days were hostile to the existence of Islam. I would say he had less time (mere less than 10 years?) to develop Mecca as compared to the time he had in developing Madina as an Islamic State or City. In Madinah he was surrounded by friendly communities, while in Mecca he need to face all the hostilities.
(4) I would believe, there then, by tradition, his disciples and all those strict followers, had paid less attention in the development of Mecca as a proper city or state. The focus was on spiritual and expansion of Islam as the way to the sunnah of the rasul. As the importance of Mecca as a holy city of the expanding Muslims, I would say, to this day, the focus was and is more toward accomplishing the basic physical spiritual needs of the pilgrimages. The Saudi, whom had been trusted to care for the Kaabah, Mecca, had not gone beyond what is tradition.
The Wisdom of Ukur Baju Di Badan Sendiri
I was fortunate to come across with the eldest son of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea ie Sana Somare. In his word, ”We had made too much mistakes been led by the Australian to look at Australia as the model of our development. Australia is an advanced country while we are at the third or even fourth world status. We can’t compete with the professional, we need to learn from the amateur or semi-pro. Sarawak is the best model that we should emulate, but, our leaders (his dad, the Prime Minister and his Minister brother) missed that”. What is the significant of his Statement? The Malays proverb: Ukur baju di badan sendiri; one must fit one’s dress based on one’s size, I would say is very relevant when one critically analyse the development of both Mecca and Madinah.
(2) During my study in Colorado, USA, I met many Saudis studying there. They and the Arabs love to frequent Las Vegas, the most lively-happening city in America. It is the Mecca for gaming, entertainment, shopping, and sure money laundering of the American. Almost all the largest hotels on earth are located in Las Vegas. Sahara and Pyramid hotel, which were among the first built there, manifested the flocking of the Arabs to this city. A real nice customer friendly city with great landscapes and infrastructure-infostructure networks to the whole world.
(3) Las Vegas, in Nervada, in fact is a City built from dry deadly desert. Historically it started as a Saloon Station for the East-West travelers and cowboys. The Hover Dam, that source the water from the Colorado River that flows from the Rocky Mountain turned the City into what it is now. The City is a Mecca of Gaming, Entertainment, and Shopping. My revisit to the City in 2007, it seem the size had swollen to almost double from that of the 1998. Though almost all American Cities are planned and developed along the same principle ie grid-based, but what make Las Vegas different from the others are the fantastic urban landscape in the natural (trees, water bodies, etc) and artificial (lighting, arches, billboards, etc) forms, plus the efficient connectivity of all the hotels, casinos, shopping, and entertaining complexes. Thematic mega building structures (Pyramid, Sahara, Tropicana, Caesar Palace, etc) are well designed, configured and connected. The well configuration of the urban fabrics, that enable for the smooth and comfortable mobility of visitors, I would say is the key pull factor of Las Vegas. Las Vegas has the aura of a City of Sin. In no doubt, the City of Sin is and will forever is Las Vegas. One immediately feels the lives of Las Vegas once one travel along the Las Vegas Street. Why?
(Las Vegas, a nice thematic City, Heaven on Earth)(4) In Colorado, one could feel the University City once one visited Boulder and Golden. Why? For, Denver, the State Capital of Colorado, one could strongly feel the natural ambient of the Rocky Mountain, the feel of Take Me Home Country Road of the song of John Denver, thus giving the City the aura of the Mile High City. Why? As I studied the configuration of Denver, Boulder and Golden, all are designed and configured to blend with the natural functionality of the natural ambient plus efficiency of human and vehicular mobility.
(5) Today Mecca development, the Saudis are cutting their dresses along the American models. I would say, that is short sighted. To take everything from the American is not good. We should adopt and adapt all that would give Mecca its authentic unique and special values of its own. There shouldn’t be any second Mecca, there’s only one and one Mecca. Mecca, with the Kaabah, probably the first monument on earth, not originally designed by men, but by angels, with the doctrine of compulsory pilgrimage for the able Muslims, which say at today socio-economic status, there are about 40,000,000-60,000,000 of them worldwide. That will never can make Mecca sleep or rest.
(6) My observation of today Mecca development, soon this City will be turned into a Shopping City. Mecca is going into a vehicular city which is not in harmony to the spirit of walking as shown by Muhammad SAW. Mecca and Madinah is not pedestrian friendly at least 1,000 meters within the Masjid vicinity. Hotel with shopping mall are sprouting. But what would be the basic of Mecca? This is a Tanah Haram. Merely thinking making Mecca into a Mega-shopping City I believe wouldn’t work unless the liberal Saudi want to have a great friction with the keeper of Islam, which will not be acceptable to the Muslim world. Saudis should not behave wastefully. The wealth given by Allah to the State doesn’t belong totally to them. They can’t just be a big spender without thinking and planning on a much long term basis. The wealth given by Allah must be wisely used for the great welfare and comfort of every human kind.
(7) If one wants to look for ideas, not necessarily the best could give the best idea. The present best, probably is of human valued best and not necessarily approved by Allah. Thus, one probably could also derive the best idea from the most simplest or even the much undeveloped, harsh. That the very reason, the Malays had great vision: Ukur baju di badan sendiri! One can learn not only from Harvard professors, but even from the poor trishaw men. Muhammad SAW got the ideas on how to improve his people in the harsh Jabal Nur. Mahatma Ghandi, suffer to hunger to relief his people from the British oppression and interracial in fight. Hose Rizal turned the prison into his writing chamber to spread the spirit of nationalism among his people, the Philippines. Nelson Mandella, spent most of his life in the cell to liberate his nation, the South Africa, from the semantic apartheid.
Model of the Poorer States
My visit to Luang Prabang, Laos and Siem Reap, Chambodia in September 2010 was great. These two cities are not holy city. They are tourism cities. The cities were built along the marriage of the local culture and the French. The United Nation rebuilt the cities from the rubble of the long war and fighting in the region. The structures, the layout, the configuration gave a simple serene, pleasant and quiet seclude for soul searching visitors. The cities are Indochinese-French aptitude. In fact, now I’m conceptualising the redevelopment of the North Bank of the Sarawak river along similar model, insyaAllah if I’m trusted.
(2) In 2009, I visited my children days favourite figure person ie Ho Chii Minh's place of birth ie Hanoi. His home, his Museum, and his Mausoleum are treated as scared places by the Vietnamese. There are nice genius blend of local and French architectures and colors. The parks takes the local nice natural ambient well integration with the City development, the well landscape roads system, the surrounding communities’ activities preserved to the best natural states, and the visiting procedures are well observed makes the whole place really inviting and memorable.
(Right, the home of the Unifying Father of the Vietnam, a great nationalist rather a communist who slam the American, French, British and Australian to chicken out in great shame)(3) The same with the birth village of Mao Tze Dung the communism founder of China. His home, the rural surrounding environment, as well as the HighWay leading to his Village from ChangSa City, are well planned, developed, landscape and maintained. The aura of the Grand Chairman Moa is there as one drove to his Village. His Statue stand high across the ChangSa City Waterfront.
(4) If one watches the olden day martial art movies of the Chinese, Korean and Japanese, their temples really gave that serene and scared feeling. All because, the functionality of the Temples and the surrounding were well blended. The disciplines of the tenants, students, visitors are well observed and organised.
(5) In a smaller sense, the good feeling of the Floating Mosque of Kuala Trengganu, Putra Jaya, and Kg. Laut, Kelantan are all about blending of the Mosque with the local. The same with the Masjid Agung of Jakarta and Bandung.
(6) Unfortunately Hudaibiyah, Al Jannah, Jabal Nur, Mina, and Arafah don’t give me the sacred feeling of the place. Why? Probably, leaving these places along their natural environment won’t work. Accordingly, the messy Mecca, don’t excite me as well. Without Kaabah and Masjidil Haram, I would see Mecca is just another ordinary city, and that I would say very unfortunate. The Saudis had not able to work on the most strategic and practical concept to turn Mecca into the Spiritual-Tourism City, a city that shine the true civilization for all mankind. What happened was, they built, then they demolished. Mecca, is a City of Build and Destroy. What a waste of wealth and times?
(7) To me, as of today, Kaabah and MasjilHaram are a stand alone statues from the greater development of Mecca which is moving fast into the capitalist greed. In a much smaller sense, I see, Kaabah-MasjidilHaram and Mecca just like the isolated, stand alone Masjid Jamek of Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Hasannal Bolkiah of Bandar Sri Bengawan. The Holy place, the City, the people are not well blended into a harmonious fabric. If not because of its compulsion onto the Muslims, Mecca or Madinah will just be a quiet city. Mecca lack the unity of the Soul and Body.
Critique of Present Mecca and Madinah Development
The Mayor of Madinah had worked well in making the Nabawi-Madinah into an integrated blend of City and Place of Worship. The glaring handicap, as a tradition probably, to follow the 'Sunnah' of Rasullulah, the business in Madinah still being organized along the bazaar concept. Trading in Madinah and Pasar Siti Khadijah of Kota Bharu doesn’t make much different except in term of building structures. Madinah (and Mecca and all those key historical sacred places) need more landscapes. The advice of Muhammad SAW: In Tanah Haram, one must not cut a tree so the Saudi must turn it into: In Tanah Haram, let organise orderly tree planting, and will not that would make Muhammad SAW smile with pride then? If it is true the ZamZam can cater for whatever numbers of human needs, I don’t see why such a blessing can’t be used to make Mecca, Madina and all those holy sites became great and pleasing green? How did Allah portray the beauty and pleasing of the Heaven: water and parks.
(2) Thus probably along the same premises, keeping with the tradition, Mecca trading areas are also being organized along the old Arab’s Bazaar. For those who have not been there, in fact Mecca and Madina cities are nothing more than the Gambier Street of Kuching. Just raised the buildings into 10-30 storeys and turn those into hotels, while the ground floors, just rent to those small or medium entrepreneurs to sell whatever they want to sell. It has not much deviated from the olden day Bazaar of the Egyptian, Turkish, or Persian. Even the hotels and all those block of buildings are not well connected though there are just side by side. Thick walls and messy lanes keeps them apart.
(3) The development of Kota Bharu, Kelantan especially within the radius of Masjid Muhammadiah, is just as what is happening in Mecca. A development without proper strategic plan. No wonder Nik Aziz Nik Mat called Kelantan as Serambi Mekah.
(4) I could see, the Saudi keep building tall buildings by the side of MasjidilHaram, but couples of years later, they will just have to demolish the buildings to make way for larger open space and traffic management for the pilgrimages. Worst, they keep digging all those rocky hills to build the buildings which if one care to calculate, the cost to flatten those hills are just as expensive as putting up the building itself. What a waste of resources?
(5) To me, the Saudi never use their economist to forecast the emerging prosperity of the whole Muslim world. The Saudi are too blind or naive to acknowledge that the other Muslims are just as equal if not better than them in the eyes of Allah. I have a strong sense, the Saudis are looking down at their others Muslim. What a pity, stingy and probably jahilliah.
(6) To solve the pilgrimage congestion, they just make a very adhoc and simple stand. To them, the answer to the influx of the Muslim pilgrimages is just by imposing two traditional thinking: quota and tore down all those nearby buildings. To me sound simple, but surely stupid and lazy. I would say, they are so used to the mind of don’t rather the mind of far creative facilitating.
(7) The very reason why the trading in Mecca and Madina had never change is simple. 1,400 years ago, Umar Al Khatab many times get furious with his people when he visited the bazaar. What he found out was the Arab Quraish love to leave the trading activities be run by the slaves, prisoners of war or even the traditional locals. He saw no change among them. They can’t even do good trading practices. That the very reason why he brought in the much business minded Quraish, but unfortunate they are easy going and lazy. Today, if one visited every trading outlets in Madinah and Mecca, these people, they spoke Malay: beli-beli, bagus-bagus, murah-murah, tiga sepuluh rial!. Most of them are either Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian or even Indonesian. Either they are in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, London or Perth, their style of trading remain the same. They are just the running dogs of the sleeping Arab tenants. The Meccan and Madinah people had greatly ignored the warning of Umar Al Khatab.
(8) To me, Mecca and Madinah, soon would be Indian, Bangladeshi, Indonesian, and Pakistani Streets. I won’t be surprise soon will come the Padang-Medan Phenomena all over Madinah and Mecca. Warung Bakso Istimewa already exist in Jeddah. Soon I believe both Jeddah nad Riyadh will be flooded with the Padang and Madura traders jsut as what is happening in Chow Kit Road in Kuala Lumpur. Observing the Arab liking, I would believe, lesehan would be their best future choice. The Indonesians are best at this. Just like the America, one day, a Javanese blood may rule Saudi Arabia.
My Dream of Mecca and Madinah
There are 1,200,000,000-1,300,000,000 Muslims worldwide. The Malays may constitutes about 250,000,000-300,000,000 of them. The Arabs may be around 300,000,000-400,000,000 of them. The Indian (inclusive the Bangladeshi and Pakistani) and Chinese are also substantial. The Turks and Persian are also great numbers. These nations or races, forms the emerging economies of the Muslim world. Taking the average of 20-30 percents as the upper to the lower middle income group, there would be 24,000,000,000-40,000,000,000 of them worldwide. This is the number that loves to have a visit at least once in their life time to these two places. But in Islam, even the poorest still work hard to accumulate sufficient resources to enable them to pay homage to Mecca. Thus this may contribute another 10,000,000-15,000,000 more to the figure. What then the annual growth rate within the Muslim world: 2.0-2.5 percent. But how much can Mecca accommodate the incoming of these people for Hajj and Umrah. In 2011, estimated only about 4,500,000 can make it there, because of the Quota. By 2020, estimated 15,000,000,000 will make it there. Is Mecca and Madina ready?
(2) By simple logic, there is a need of 2.0-2.5 percent facilities expansion on annual basis if Mecca and Madinah are to accommodate the full influx of the Muslim. Umrah took the most 14 days. Hajj may take to 30 days. But, the population of Mecca and Madinah itself is almost 2,000,000,000. Thus for every Thurday and Friday, the influx of the local to this Holy Places definitely will place strain to the visitors whom, based on my judgment on the March Umrah, there are about at least 500,000,000-700,000,000 of us there. Thus I would say at any Arab weekend, there are about 1,000,000,000-1,500,000,000 people in Mecca and Madinah for Umrah purpose. This is a huge influx. The figure I would say will never goes down. My observation, MasjidilHaram and Nabawi, at most can take about 1,000,000 people at a comfortable level while 4,500,000 would turned the place really into a very messy place. I don't believe such a huge number cramb into such a concentrated area would give all the solemnity needed by the pilgrimages, Thus, even at today level, the facilities in Mecca I would say should be twice if not three times better than what it is.
(3) Thus both MasjidilHaram and Nabawi should have at least 1,000,000 sq meters of praying places instead of the 300,000-400,000 sq meters that is available now respectively. Worst the transportation system in both Cities I would say is very inefficient and indiscipline. May be they are a bit better than Cairo or New Mexico!
(4) Surely there are views saying that, those are the challenges that made Hajj and Umrah became significant. I can take that argument if those challenges came in the forms of nature. But if those are due to human indifferent, I don’t believe even Allah will be happy with such. Did He not say: …I have given you everything so that you can (use them to) appreciate Me better…?. My believe, He had equipped Arabia with oil and water, but He purposely challenge them with the deadly desert climate, so that they (and we) could think on how to use all His endowments to make all His devotes to appreciate (syukur) of Him to the best.
(4) Tanah Haram is 20 kilometers in radius. That would give an area of 400 sq kilometres or 40,000 hectares based on Modern Mathematic calculation. But based on Algebraic calculation, the area would then expand to 3.14 (400) or 1,256 sq km or 125,600 hectares. This is a very significant size of urban planning areas.
(5) Thus my view, Allah had given Napoléon Bonaparte a great wisdom to come with the idea of Boulevard. In those days, he marched his army on these Boulevard to show his supremacy. In those days, there are hundreds of thousands of them. Europe was shaken by his show of power! Accordingly the influx of the pilgrimages are also a symbol of Allah army. Did Muhammad SAW not say something about this? Just imagine, the figure is in millions of them. We can even make the figure to run into tens of millions. Can’t we not think the possible adoption of the Boulevard ideas, to give the feel of the grand march of the Ummah of Muhammad?.
(6) Will it not be nice to be able to see MasjidilHaram and Nabawi from every and very distance corners of a City. The wide boulevard, dressed with nice landscapes with numerous mode of public transports shuttling and converging at say four main corners of the Masjids surely could give the image of the grand march to enable everybody to answer to the call of pray within 30 minutes from their places of stay and work.
(7) Accordingly, the Roman built their coliseum on high column. The Moors came with the concept of high post with arch structures. Muhammad SAW was saved by the cave and he got his first message while in the cave. The same with Moses. And Allah, had shown the human being how a cave can hold it gigantic structures due to the arc form of the 'column' and cavities. To me, in fact Allah had used the cave to give us the idea on how we could build a nice connectivity for both MasjidilHaram and Nabawi with vast open space to all the surrounding mega-buildings. Even the current MasjidilHaram and Nabawi are built along the Moors, the Romam, the cave concept of building structures. The only handicaps, the Saudi (we) never expand from there.
(8) Thus, as a rich State, the Saudi in fact must impose and provide incentives to all those developers within the vicinity of the Masjids to make at least the ground floor of their building as an open structure space that have clear visibility and connectivity to MasjidilHaram and Nabawi. The ground floor of these building should be at least two storeys high. Say why not make all buildings within the radius of five kilometres surrounding the MasjidilHaram and Nabawi to have such well planned vision. With such big space, I would believe, then MasjidilHaram and Nabawi would each have say 15,000,000 sq meters of open space. With such a space, therefore each Masjid could comfortably take at least 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 of pilgrimages at one time. If this could be accommodate, the pilgrimages could then generate trillion of Rials to the Saudi coffer. Thus, using the existing petro-money for the good of Islam and its ummah will pay off even a better deal. I believe Allah just love to see how our mind should facilitate to glorify His very religion.
(9) Islam is a great religion. The Saudi, whom Allah had given the trust to keep the religion failed to make it great. The wealth given by Allah to the Saudi for such purpose had been wasted to feed the greed of the American. The Saudi are still indifferent to the true purpose of Allah giving them the oil and gas. All because, they (we) had not fully submit to the concept of Allahuakbar. SubhannaAllah.
(10) Tanah Haram, to me in fact is a bounty for Muslims professionals. Allah had made that land only for the Muslims, yet we can’t take the advantage of such ruling to our best advantage. Our interpretation to the need to love Allah and Muhammad SAW seem to narrow to the very basic. We had not expanded our mind to really glorifying Islam as the Way of Lives to all the mankind. Islam is a civilization that should goven the whole humankind.
(11) The Malaysian and Indonesian Muslims, if we could combine force with the Khan of India and Pakistan and the Mullah of Central Asia, definitely we could help the Saudi to be a great keeper of Kaabah and Nabawi. I would believe, what needed now is for Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to work together to place in history that the Malays are also key players in the spread and development of the Islamic civilization.
(12) The Malays, we are such a versatile community are very much tolerant to the mixed culture of the West, Middle East and Far East. With such a characteristic we should be able to what some dream: to be the renaissance force of the Islamic Civilization.
(13) Mecca and Madina should now take the position as the Islamic Centre of Excellence to all aspect of lives. Mecca must be a Mecca for all aspect of the Muslim world: spiritual, culture, trade, technologies, etc. The Malays probably should show the way to these Arabs. They need new leadership to lead them to the Real World of Islam.
(14) How? I have a though about how Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur should be able to make the Malays to be the renaissance force of the Islamic Civilization. I’m rewriting on this idea, and hopefully Najib and Mahathir will pick it up. Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta, the emerging of Islam should now be in the hand of the Malays. The sun rises from the East. The Kaabah’s door faces the East. Makam Ibrahim is located to the East. The Mt Safa and Marwan is to the East of Kaabah. What do all these mean? I believe, Allah do want us to think and work hard from now. My reasoning to be in Mecca and Madinah is answered. Probably five years from now, I will migrated to Jeddah if not Riyadh for the selling of this idea. Help me God. SubhannaAllah. MasyaAllah.
Mecca-Madina, Saudi Arabia.
22-29 March, 2012
My writing, is based on my long reading of so many books as well as personal experiences. InsyaAllah, upon my true retirement, I will refine this writing and will places all the necessary references. Thus forgive me if there are lots of memories corruption along the way. It is unintentional ABC
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4 comments:
Interesting story! When Adam and Eve came to this world, were they alone or did they find other people in the place where they landed?
Aslmkm ..Tuan , your writing & ideas have always been my food for thought .. provocating but fresh. Sometimes I agree sometimes not but this article is really serious and I fully agree that Mecca must be a Mecca for all aspects of the Muslim 'body' and 'soul'. But I doubt .. could the Malays be the 'renaissance force'. Wsslm
First, the Malays have a saying: tepuk dada tanya selera; thus if we work hard to be so be us! When we were born, our dad & mum never can predict what we would be, but we work for it so here we are. Personally if every one of us work for that glory end, why Allah will not grant us such a victory? And whether you agree or disagree with all is about one experience and thinking process. Sedangkan lidah lagi tergigit so I don't see any problem with disagreement except on basic or principle matters.
(2) Second, theologically, Adam and Eve were the first human on earth. But they have been created faraway at high up in Heaven. If one think from the theological perspective, thus in Heaven now there would also be no human being. But scientifically, sure some will think...nea, let rocket up and reach that Heaven even before we die. Definitely there is a place somewhere apart from this Earth, human being can survive. So if we can reach the Heaven, then...what would be the next story? Human had landed on the moon, now they are attempting to the Mar.
(3) Let think, the Hajaratul Aswad was descended from Heaven. Significantly, it is made visible and accessible at Kaabah to all Muslim except the way the system was organized made it difficult for them. Also remember about Israq n Mikraj? Thus what do all this mean? Allah challenge us to think and to appreciate. If we can't feel all these, we would never can appreciate Him and Muhammad SAW struggle to establish Islam as our adeen!
(4) Thanks for your comments.
Assalamualaikum..
Selesailah sudah menatap:`Mecca-What
form of a city?
Bertemankan Ikim sumber inspirasi menjana minda,kedengaran sayup-sayup suaranya antara jelas dan tidak.
Saya membaca dan terus membaca,tiba-
tiba saya tersentak sebentar..
Berulangkali saya membacanya..
merenungnya..dan terdiam seketika..
Oh Tuhan..
Setibanya di akhir paragraph, tercatat satu ungkapan yang memilukan:"Probably five years from now,I will migrated to Jeddah or Riyadh for the selling of this idea."
Hati tiba-tiba menjadi hiba dan sayu.Tanpa disedari titis-titis halus kedinginan mengalir membasahi pipi. Saya seolah-olah terasa seperti kehilangan sesuatu..
Mungkinkah juga pembaca lain..
Apakah ini benar seperti yang saya baca dan faham sebentar tadi..atau
hanya sekadar mainan perasaan?
Malaysia ku yang aman dan sejahtera:tertumpahnya darah,cinta dan kasih sayang,airmata dan pengorbanan,keringat dan lelah,budi dan jasa,harapan dan cita-cita yang menggunung..
Adakah cita-cita yang di tinggalkan itu nanti akan di perjuangkan..
Adakah keringat dan airmata yang telah pun terlerai membasahi bumi itu akan menjadi benih dan baja, buat menyubur sepohon pokok seterusnya berdaun,berputik, berbunga dan berbuah..
Adakah harapan,cita-cita dan impian akan menjadi penyambung dan pelengkap kepada kejayaan warisan yang akan di tinggalkan..
Atau mungkinkah ianya akan layu, terkulai,rebah menyembah bumi, berkubur tanpa pusara..
Siapakak lagi yang layak dan mampu untuk membela nasib kami anak-anak petani,penoreh,pelaut yang serba kemiskinan dan kedhaifan..yang melarat sepanjang zaman..
Mungkinkah kami akan terus-terusan di badai ombak mengganas membelah samudra luas..
Mungkinkah juga umpama layang-layang terbang di awang-awangan tanpa arah dan tujuan,terputus tali tanpa kemudinya..
Mungkinkah juga akan terus terjunam ke gurun padang pasir yang panas kekeringan..
Begitulah perih..begitulah getir..
namun tekad tetap di teruskan menghambat esuk selagi ada waktu, saat,masa dan ketika.
Selagi nafas menghela,kudrat tetap ada untuk bangsa dan negara.
Perjuangan yang bukan ingin di tuntut,di canang,di bangga atau di balas sekadar cukup untuk di kenang hingga ke akhir hayat.
Setulus hati putih bersih, bersulamkan emas,bertatahkan intan,
berpetrikan impian,anugerah mulia ciptaan Ilahi,membulat tekad merantau jauh,memperolehi apa yang di hajati hanya demi agama dan masyarakat yang di cintai.
Semuga mentari esuk sentiasakan mencerah bersama semangat yang padu dan niat yang ikhlas.
Bakti luhur yang di curah untuk kejayaan semua umah dunia dan akhirat.
Di sini negara bertuah kita,di sinilah bumi di pijak,di sinilah juga langit di junjung.
Hujan emas di negeri orang,hujan batu di negeri sendiri,lebih baik negeri sendiri.
Tempat jatuh lagi di kenang, inikan pula tempat bermain.
Mudah-mudahan Allahswt akan sentiasa memberkati Saudara.
Wassalam~Tq.
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