My Journey to the Source – Korey Togtema


The Car Trip to Toronto
We were sipping down our coffee and munching on cookies on our way to Toronto to attend an Islam Awareness event at Ryerson University when Jibreel started up again telling Amir and I, “We need to go for Umrah this year!” As much as this was an amazing idea I had to be the needle that ‘busted his bubble’ reminding him how non of us had even close to enough money to finance a trip like that. Persisting with optimism he replied that somehow we were going to make it work. I agreed that if we kept making dua, Allah will open up doors and bring us to worship him at his house in Makkah. As we were discussing this it was nearing the time for Salat ul-Jummah and we debated whether to stop early in London and wait for the khutba to start in the Islamic centre, or keep going and pray in Toronto. By the will of Allah, just as we saw the two minarets off the highway in London, we unanimously decided to pray at the centre.
We sat and listened to Dr. Munir give the khutba and prayed two rakat. Just before we were about to pray our sunnahs Dr. Munir announced that an Umrah trip would be taking place in July and there were only a few spots left. I have never seen Jibreel move so fast. He weaved in and out, over and under everyone to get to the front (this was a skill of his that came in handy for us a few months later ). He rushed to Dr. Munir and told him exactly what we had been talking about in the car. In less than two weeks we had received notification that the three of us plus a few more had been sponsored to go for Umrah thanks to a very generous brother (may Allah reward him). Before we knew it we were on the plane to Saudi wearing towels and chanting the Talbiyya.
Our Umrah
We arrived in Makkah by bus and started our Umrah in the middle of the night. Something as simple as walking toward the Masjid was such an intense experience of anticipation and awe of being where we were at that moment. I remember as we entered the doors of the Masjid, Dr. Munir told us to keep our eyes fixed on the group until we were in plain sight of the Kaba. The walk from the doors to the main area of the Masjid was feeling like it was taking forever. Just then Dr. Munir said “ok look straight ahead.”
I am a person who does not often shed a tear for many things at all. I generally don’t show any emotion of that sort. But at the moment that my eyes were set on the Kaba (and many times throughout the trip), they soaked my entire face with tears. I could not even explain the feeling I had when doing the tawaf. It was as if something was grabbing hold of me and telling me that I had chosen the deen of truth and from now on nothing could pull me away from it.
Meeting new friends
It was on the second floor at our first fajr halaqa that we met Abu Al-Hassan, a brother from Libya who spends some time out of each year helping people in the Haram. We knew very little about this brother, and what we knew even less was the extent to which he was going to enrich our trip in Makkah. There soon after started a rumour that perhaps this man was an angel (I may have been responsible for that) because he would manage to be in the exact places we would go almost every time. When we were climbing up Jabal an-Noor, he climbed down and met us half way.
We also had the blessing of making friends with some Saudi people whom I must say are unmatched in their hospitality and generosity. Our trip to Ta’if to meet Shaykh Salih was one we never dreamed of taking. To see the mountains that the Prophet sal'allahu alayhi wa salam had to climb only to be pelted with stones by the locals after he tried to tell them about the Deen. Our ability to step foot in all the places where the Prophet sal'allahu alayhi wa salam and his companions stood defending and calling people to the worship of Allah truly strengthened my iman and made my connection with Islam so much more real and relevant than it was before. Also, being invited to the farm of Ihsan Al-Qurashi was an amazing experience. There we were able to share in our stories of how we came to the Deen and listen to the inspiring talks that he and other brothers gave us. I would like to add that Shaykh Ihsan makes the best perfume on the market and to this day, I still receive compliments when I wear the ones he gave us. Maybe he will let me run one of his stores in Canada some day.
The trip to Makkah was one that can never be compared to any other. Still today, I feel the yearning to return. I was told that after you visit Makkah, you will always feel like you are travelling even if you are home. I have never felt so at home as when I was praying in front of the Kaba and contemplating that majesty of Allah swt.