I guess i should write about Jordan before its images leave me. I was sent there for a conference and was taken on a tour of the Roman ruins that abound in Jordan , I must admit that i did not find them too interesting. I have visited Wilili, the Roman ruins known as Voulubulus in English that are here in Morocco, and honestly, once you've seen one Roman ruin, you get the general idea.
What i was excited for was a chance to see the graves of some of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad( peace be upon him) who are buried in Jordan. To be honest, I didn't realize how many of his companions had gone to Jordan and were buried there. A friend of mine who lives in Amman planned a trip to three in particular and arranged for transportation and everything.
We set out semi-early in the morning, leaving Amman for the Jordan Valley. The tombs of the three companions we were to visit are relatively close to each other in the Jordan Valley relatively near to the river Jordan. There are two things you notice while driving through the Jordan valley, 1- the abundance of fruits and vegetables, it is a fertile area from which comes many of the fruits and vegetables they sell in Amman. 2- the abundance of Jordanian police check points, because we were very close to the border with occupied Palestine (Israel) . I could see it with my bare eye across the valley. It is a deep , strange feeling to finally see what you have read about for years, and have already developed a strong feeling and opinion about before ever haven seen it. I wanted to take a picture of it, but a man warned me that there were military posts within sight of us and they would not want me to take the picture.
So, after driving through twisty mountains and finally reaching the valley we arrived first at the mosque and tomb sight of Derar bin al Azwar. He is described as having been a poet-warrior who fought in the wars of Apostasy. He is also the brother of Khawla bint al Azwar , a woman who was also known to have fought gallantly in early Muslim battles against the Romans. May God be pleased with them. He passed away about 1,410 years ago. His resting place is a peaceful little compound area with a mosque attached. I looked in the guest book that was kept there and saw that Muslims from as far away as Chechnya and India had just recently stopped by to pay their respects.
Next, we went to the sight of the grave of Abu Ubaida Amer bin Al-Jarrah, one of the first converts to Islam during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and one of the 10 people the Prophet Muhammad told had been promised Paradise. His tomb is inside of a whole cultural center complex with a mosque and library and an tree shaded courtyard. It was a beautiful peaceful place to take a rest from the midday heat and pray the afternoon prayer.
We headed towards the final grave site of our day-trip, that of Shurabil bin Hasanah, and because this one was so close to the Israeli border, the Jordanian police actually stopped our car ( instead of just waving us through like at the other checkpoints ). They asked to see our passports and asked if we had any bags. Of course i was the only one carrying luggage with me, so they made me get out of the car and open it for them. "Its just clothes, I'm just here for a conference" I
said to the police guy in Arabic. He seemed satisfied and let us pass, it was not as unpleasant an encounter as it could have been, Praise God.
We arrive at the grave site, which is domed over like they all usually are, so although they are buried in the ground , you walk into a building to access the grave. We pay our respects, give our Salaams and recite Suratul Fatiha , the opening chapter of the Qur'an at his grave, then walk outside to see the cemetery and the beautiful flowers and the mountains in the rear of the tomb. It was at this point that i wanted to take a picture of Israel, but was warned by the man hired to look after the tomb that that would not be a good idea.
So then a few hours drive back to Amman,with there having been many others we wished we could have had the opportunity to visit, Mu'adh ibn Jabal for one. God willing, maybe next time. I can definitely say that the visit improved me. It brought to life what had for so long been books and stories. The reality of the existence of the companions of the Prophet, who joined and defended the nascent creed of Islam was made clear to all of my senses, and not just my intellect. I always thought the "holy land" designation for this part of the world by follower of the big 3 (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) was kind of cheesy and plastic souvenir-ish, but there is something to it.
Peace Friends
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