Chapter 8
The Desert Thief ~ continued from Chapter 8 | Show Us The Way
Sheba told David and Shimea the Arabian traditions about Adam and Eve: they were both cast out of Paradise and wandered alone, Adam far off and Eve in Arabia. They were lost for over 200 years. God finally allowed them to come together again in Mecca and Adam prayed that he could build a shrine similar to the one in paradise. And so the Ka’bah, cuboid building, was built.
“We are close,” Sheba said one night. She wore a simple, white seamless robe and she held two more in her hands. “You must wear these now.”
The boys quickly ducked behind the cart and took off the desert clothes that carried so many layers of dust and sand.
The long caravan trail of camels and donkeys and tired trav- elers stopped at the great Ka’bah.
“We are in a holy and pure state, Ihram,” she motioned them forward. “Stay with me now and follow my direction.”
It seemed that the entire world was taking the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
In all directions and from sand dune to hill, camels, tents and men filled the desert landscape. The long train of caravans reached into the distance. There was little room to move for risk of being spat at by a camel.
Animal skin tents of all types and length were erected so that the very sands disappeared beneath a carpet of dust and boots.
A sea of white robes rolled over the hot desert sands. Men yelled and pushed forward in a great rush, each whipping his camel or donkey forward at a mad pace.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said David looking at Shimea.
Shimea carefully led David through the great mass of white robes. He began to chant as others did around him until hundreds of men were chanting:
Here I am, Oh God, at Your command!
Here I am at Your command!
You are without associate!
Here I am at Your command!
To You are all praise, grace and dominion!
You are without associate!
David looked at Shimea. “You have learned well.”
He grabbed Shimea’s white robe as they walked in the narrow paths between tents.
“Why did we not see Sheba yesterday?”
“She spent the day reading and preparing for today.”
“So many people.”
They both stopped and looked at the many white robes that dotted the brilliant, hot landscape.
Shimea coughed and sneezed as the dust rose in the noonday sun.
“Just after dawn she left for the Valley of Arafat,” Shimea said. “They will stand or sit all day at Mount Mercy. They collect stones for the next day.”
Shimea looked back at David as they made their way through the crowds. They stopped and drank from a water bag.
“On the third day, they throw rocks at pillars that represent the fight against Satan and Abraham’s trials,” Shimea continued.
“How do you know all this?” David asked.
“You were not the only one listening to Sheba,” said Shimea as he was pushed forward by two men.
“Nor the only one who has fallen under her spell.”
Shimea laughed and pushed on through the hot, dusty crowd.
He grabbed David’s robe and continued, “Then they perform seven Tawaf or turns around the Ka’bah.”
David stopped as they approached the wall of men and women, the camels and the donkeys and looked out over the great, hot cloud moving toward the Ka’bah.
The Ka’bah stood in silence, the black cube made of granite 15 cubits high and 12 cubits across. The interior was hollow, empty and covered with a Kiswah, a black cloth embroidered with golden words.
“David,” Shimea looked back.
David stumbled slightly and his brother gathered him up. Shimea saw a tent with the flap open. A woman beckoned him in.
“Ta’ala,” she smiled and motioned him onto the rough, wool rug that lay on the sand.
David rested on the floor and drank water. The woman, dressed in her white robe, smiled and clasped her hands in prayer to comfort the weary traveler. Shimea thanked her and kneeled.
“Take me to the desert,” David pleaded to Shimea. “Rest.”
He stroked David’s forehead and stayed kneeling while his brother laid back and closed his eyes.
“To the desert,” said David, who was in and out of consciousness over the next few hours.
Continue reading… Chapter 8 | Never Going Back
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