08/05/2026
KAABAH, AN OSCAR AND THE WORKER!
So ever since I was young I wanted to be in the arts, my first artistic endeavour was acting. I had dreams of going to Hollywood and winning an Oscar 😳 Yes I wanted to win an Oscar!
One day I was sitting with my mum and some aunties were over our house, the ladies were talking and then my ears perked up when an aunty said ‘Allah accepts any dua you make when you see the Kaabah for the first time when you visit Makkah’.
So I said aunty elaborate please, she explained the first moment your eyes see the kaabah make whatever dua you want and it will be accepted. I was not practicing, so I believed the aunty and my mind starting planning.
As I said at this moment in life I was not practising but I would pray here and there and I had so much belief in Allah. I needed my dua for the Oscar I wanted to come true, so now I had to go to Makkah!
I asked my mum if she would lend me flight money to Makkah, I was working so I said I would pay her back, but she was so happy I wanted to go Makkah! I called a travel agent and booked a ticket to Makkah on my own.
You won’t believe it but I only booked a ticket for 3 days, so leave on a Friday and be back on the Monday. I know I was crazy. Others book tickets to Ibiza in jahilliyah I booked my ticket to Makkah for my Oscar dua 🤦🏽♂️😅
So my flight day came. I got a train to Heathrow airport, jumped on Saudi Airlines, copied some people to put on the ihram, landed in Jeddah, got questioned by a Saudi guy at the airport who took my passport, I’m not kidding I had to sn**ch my passport out of his hand and run out the airport. To this day I did not turn back to see if he was chasing me, I just jumped into a taxi and went to Makkah.
So the moment was here I walked into the haraam, head down so I don’t see the kaabah to early and by the way I did not know where to even look, so what’s really amazing in hindsight is being close to the kaabah without looking at it gave me this special feeling. So back to my moment, I lift my head and see the kaabah and I’m just about to make my dua, but all of a sudden water is thrown across my feet. I’m shocked don’t say my dua, look at my feet and turn my head and this worker with an empty bucket is standing there and he starts wiping the floor. I look at him, then the kaabah, then him again and he is just cleaning away, not knowing he took my dua opportunity away. My moment was gone, at the time I remember I was so upset and angry!
But today I say Alhamdulillah, as that worker brother was sent by Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) to save me from making such a dua.
P.S This picture is when I went umrah later in my life as a practising man Alhamdulillah.
