Subject: Hajj (The Pilgrimage) Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:56 pm
Hajj -- The Fifth Pillar of Islam
[b]Part of the Qur'anic reference to the injunction about Hajj and the sacrifical offerings to[b] the poor comes in sura 22. The issue of Hajj started with Abraham.
[22:26]
And when We settled for Abraham the site of the House, [saying]: 'Do not ascribe any partner to Me and purify My House, for those who circumambulate it and those who are resident, and those who bow and prostrate.
[22:27] And announce among the people the [season for] Pilgrimage. And they shall come to you on foot, and on every lean camel. They shall come from every deep ravine,
[22:28] that they may witness things that are of benefit to them, and mention God's Name on appointed days over the livestock which He has provided them. "So eat thereof and feed the wretched poor".
[22:29] Then let them do away with their self-neglect, and let them fulfil their vows, and perform the circumambulation of the Ancient House'.
[22:30] [That is] that. And whoever venerates the sacraments of God, that shall be better for him with his Lord. And cattle are lawful for you, except for that which has been recited to you. So avoid the abomination of idols and avoid false speech,
[22:31] being ?an?fs to God, not ascribing partners to Him. For whoever ascribes partners to God, it is as though he had fallen from the heaven and been snatched away by [vulture] birds, or [as though] the wind had blown him into a far-off place.
[22:32] That [is his state]. And whoever venerates the sacraments of God, then that derives from the piety of the hearts.
[22:33] You may benefit from them until a specified time. Thereafter its lawful sacrifice is by the Ancient House.
[22:34] And for every community, We have appointed a [holy] rite that they might mention God's Name over the livestock that He has provided them. For your God is One God, so submit to Him. And give good tidings to the humbly obedient,
[22:35] who, when God is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and who endure [patiently] whatever may befall them, and who observe prayer, and who, from that which We have provided them, expend.
[22:36] And [as for] the sacrificial camels, We have appointed them for you as one of God's sacraments. There is good for you in them. So mention God's Name over them when they are lined up. Then, when their flanks have collapsed, eat of them, and feed the [self-contained] beggar and the suppliant. So We have disposed them for you that perhaps you might be thankful.
[22:37] Neither their flesh nor their blood shall reach God, rather it is your piety that shall reach Him. Thus has He disposed them for you, that you may magnify God for His guiding you. And give good tidings to the virtuous.
[22:38] Indeed God protects those who believe. Indeed God does not love the treacherous, the ungrateful.
[NB.
[22] And announce among the people the [season for] Pilgrimage. And they shall come to you on foot, and on every lean camel. They shall come from every deep ravine,
(i.e. And announce, call out, among the people the [season for] Pilgrimage. Thus he cried out from [the top of] the mountain of Abū Qubays, ‘O people, your Lord has built a House and has made pilgrimage to it an obligation upon you, so respond to [the call of] your Lord’, turning his face to the right and to the left, to the east and to the west; and every one of those for whom the performance of the pilgrimage had been preordained [by God] from among the loins of men and the wombs of women, responded to him [thus]: ‘[b]At Your service, our Lord, [we are] at Your service’ (Labbayka Allahumma labbayk).That is why Muslims at hajj keep repeating this phrase:
Labayka Allahumma labayk (O Allah, I have come responding to Your call.)
Labayk la shareeka lak labayk (I am responding to your call; there is no partner to You.)
Inna al hamda wa al ni'mata laka wal mulk (All thanks are due to YOU and grace is from You.)
La shareeka lak labayk (There is no partner to You.)
Three months after Ramadan comes the season of the great Pilgrimage to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, where an ever-increasing number of men and women converge each year, from every possible corner of the earth. The origin of the Hajj, the Final Pillar, and a central duty of Islam, dates back to the Prophet Abraham and brings together Muslims of all races and tongues to don two simple white cloths in an impressive display of Islam's disregard for racial or national divisions. Each year nearly several million people make the pilgrimage, making it the largest temporary gathering on the globe. It is an act of recollection and worship, but it is also a symbolic act representing the spirit's return to its homeland-one of the central elements of the Muslim life.
The rites begin and end at the Ka'aba the square 'House' built as Muslims believe, by Abraham and his elder son Ishmael. However, the culminating moment unfolds eight miles away, where Muslims stand and pray near the Mount of Mercy, a desert place where the Prophet (PBUH) used to preach. The pilgrimage is regarded as worship of a lifetime, and in being the Final Pillar of Islam, the seal of consummation, the completion of surrender and the perfection of religion. It was during the Pilgrimage that God sent down His revelation:
"Today I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My grace upon you, and approved Islam as your religion." [Quran, The Table Spread 5].
Muslims trace the recorded origins of the divinely prescribed pilgrimage to the Prophet Abraham, or Ibrahim, as he is called in Arabic. According to the Qur'an, it was Abraham who, together with his son Ishmael (Isma'il), built the Ka'bah, "the House of God," the focal point toward which Muslims turn in their worship five times each day. It was Abraham, too - known as Khalil Allah, "the friend of God" - who established the rituals of the hajj, which recall events or practices in his life and that of Hagar (Hajar) and their son Ishmael. In the chapter entitled "The Pilgrimage," the Qur'an speaks of the divine command to perform the hajj and prophesies the permanence of this institution:
"And when We assigned for Abraham the place of the House, saying 'Do not associate Anything with Me, and sanctify My House for those who go around it and for those who stand and bow and prostrate themselves in worship. And proclaim the Pilgrimage among humankind: They will come to you on foot and on every camel made lean by travelling deep, distant ravines" <Quran, The Pilgrimage 22:26-27>
The Conduct of Hajj
In commemoration of the trials of Abraham and his family in Makkah, which include Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in response to God's command, Muslims make a pilgrimage to the sacred city at least once in their lifetime. The Pilgrimage to Makkah is prescribed for all Muslims who can physically and financially perform it. God has prescribed certain rites that a pilgrim should observe properly. If he does not do so, his pilgrimage is not accepted.
To perform the pilgrimage means to leave all worldly activities aside and to proceed to meet the Lord, thus as in the case of all other Pillars of Islam, the primary condition is purity of intention (niyyah). The other obligatory rites are:
1) Ihram. Before arriving in the holy city, Muslims enter a state of consecration (dedication) known as ihram, by removing their worldly clothes and donning the humble attire of pilgrims, two seamless white sheets for men, and simple white dresses and scarves for women. The white garments are symbolic of human equality and unity before God, since all the pilgrims are dressed similarly. Money and status no longer are a factor for the pilgrims - the equality of each person in the eyes of God becomes paramount. They are also expected to observe the rules ofihram, which are not to have a sexual relationship, not to kill insects or animals, and not to remove any hair from the body
2) Tawaf al-qudum. Upon arriving in Makkah, pilgrims perform the initial tawaf, which is a circular, counter- clockwise procession around the Ka'bah. All the while, they state "Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk," which means, "Here I am at your service, O God, Here I am!" The tawaf is meant to awaken each Muslim's consciousness that God is the centre of their reality and the source of all meaning in life, and that each person's higher self-identity derives from being part of the community of Muslim believers, known as the ummah. Pilgrims also perform the sa'i, which is hurrying seven times between the small hills named Safa and Marwah, re-enacting the Biblical and Quranic story of Hajar's desperate search for lifegiving water and food.
3) Next, on the first official day of Hajj (8th of Dhul-Hijjah), the two million pilgrims travel a few miles to the plain of Mina and camp there. From Mina, pilgrims travel the following morning to the plain of Arafat where they spend the entire day in earnest supplication and devotion. It is said that when God forgives a sin for one servant at the place-of-standing (the plain of Arafat), He forgives it for everyone there who is guilty of it. It was also on such a day that the Prophet (pbuh) received the revelation from God "Today I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My grace upon you, and approved Islam as your religion."
4) That evening, the pilgrims move and camp at Muzdalifa, which is a site between Mina and Arafat. Muslims stay overnight and offer various prayers there.
5) Then the pilgrims return to Mina on the 10th, and throw seven pebbles at a stone pillar that represents the devil. ramy al jamarat This symbolises Abraham's throwing stones at Satan when he tried to dissuade Abraham from sacrificing his son. Then the pilgrims sacrifice a sheep, re-enacting the story of Abraham, who, in place of his son, sacrificed a sheep that God had provided as a substitute.
6) Thus the slaughtering of a sheep is another obligation, the meat of which is distributed among family, friends, and the poor and needy in the community.
7) After the sacrifice, the pilgrims return to Makkah to end the formal rites of Hajj by performing a final tawaf and sa'i.
8] They should also drink from the water of ZamZam.
9) And perform two rakahs of Prayer at the place known as Maqam Ibrahim, the place where Abraham and his son stood and prayed after building the Ka'aba.
If the rites (1), (2), (3) and (7) have been performed, then the basic rites are said to have been observed. Even if the other rites are not performed properly, the pilgrimage is said to have been performed. Muslims believe the rites of the Hajj were designed by God and taught through the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The Hajj is designed to develop God consciousness and a sense of spiritual upliftment. It is also believed to be an opportunity to seek forgiveness of sins accumulated throughout life.
The Prophet Muhammad said that a person who performs Hajj properly "will return as a newly born baby [free of all sins]."
The pilgrimage also enables Muslims from all around the world, of different colours, languages, races, and ethnicities, to come together in a spirit of universal brotherhood and sisterhood to worship the One God together.
The Inner Significance of the Hajj
To understand the inner significance of the Hajj ceremonies it is necessary to remember that Makkah is in many respects a town apart from all others. Good actions and bad are more clearly discerned, and the reward or punishment for them is held to be proportionately greater. Within the limits of the city, fighting and all aggressiveness are forbidden. No pilgrim is allowed for any reason to harm a human being or an animal during his sojourn in the city. In the state of ihram, the pilgrim feels that he is ridding himself for a while of all that linked him to his former life, with its desires and enmities, and can now devote his attention wholeheartedly to his Creator.
The circuits around the Ka'bah themselves symbolise the circulation of the heart around the holiness of God. In entering Makkah, and to perform tawaf where the first holy house of God was established, is to circumambulate the house that is a reflection of that Divine House in the Seventh Heaven, above and beyond which stands the glorified Throne of God, around which all the angels and the entire creation are constantly rotating. In the same vein, the running between the two hills of Safa and Marwa in the great hall now built to enclose them, suggest moving between the two aspects of God's mercy, compassion and acceptance.
The culminating point of the Hajj is the most simple rite of all. Here millions of people stand together in a scene of great beauty, surrounded by mountains on all sides. As the hours pass, one's thoughts already focussed on God by days of uninterrupted worship, have time to look deeply into one's life. And at the same time another symbolism inherent in the psychology of the Hajj becomes clear. Standing on the Plain of Arafat, we cannot but remember the day on which God will resurrect us together with all mankind, when the time of repentance will be irrevocably past. Now, however, there still remains a path back to the world, for soon we will be going home: an opportunity to set our lives right before we die to await the Day of Judgement.
The Hajj ends with the second of the great festivals, the Eid al-Adha, which lasts for fours days. Returning to our homes after days of physical exhaustion and spiritual uplift we are radically transfigured. The overpowering sense of contrition and repentance, which we bring back with us, is visible.
The Day of Arafa (Arabic: يوم عرفة) is an Islamic Holy Day, in which it is said that the religion had been perfected. The original day was on a Friday, but now the Day falls on the 9th day of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic Calendar. This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. It is the most important pillar of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after it is the major Islamic Holiday of Eid ul-Adha. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafa and the Plain of Arafa. It was from this site that Muhammad gave his famous Farewell Sermon in his final year of life.
It is said that a believer who fasts on this day expiates for the past year's sins and the sins for the year coming. It is thus a day of forgiveness from sins, similar to the Jewish day of Yom Kippur.
The Farewell Sermon of the Prophet, pbuh
O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present today.
O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no-one, so that no-one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury, therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib [Muhammad's uncle] shall henceforth be waived...
Beware of Shayṭān, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things. O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth inzakat. Perform hajj if you can afford to.
All mankind is from Adam and Hawwāʾ, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qu'ran and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people".[1]
[The Virtues of the Day of Arafa
It is the day on which the religion was perfected and Allaah's Favour was completed.
In Al-Saheehayn it was reported from Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a Jewish man said to him, 'O Ameer al-Mu'mineen, there is an aayah in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as an Eid (festival).' Umar said, 'Which aayah?' He said: 'This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.' [al-Maa'idah 5 interpretation of the meaning]. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
It is the major ritual of Hajj -- the most imp. step in Hajj without which the hajj is not valid. It is also the saddest day in Satan's life every year as it is the day on whic Allah forgives all the previous sins of the pilgrims and they return home after hajj with their Record of Deeds cleared of all previous sins as the the day they were born, and they turn a new leaf. On that day Allah boast to His angels:
"You see my supplicants have come to respond to my call unkempt and dusted from everywhere on earth. O my angels, be witnesses that I have forgiven their sins."
Related Issues:
a. A Video on the Merit of the 10 days of Thul Hijja
http://vimeo.com/7419971
b. The Status of the Prophet Abraham in Islam
Eid-ul-Adha which follows the Hajj immediately is celebrated in remembrance of the trial of Prophet Abraham's trial by Allah when he saw a vision that he killed his son, and he submitted to the will of God and was going to sacrifice his son. However, Allah rewarded him for his obedience and replaced the son with a huge ram. In Islam, the son who should have been sacrificed is Ishmael not Isaac. Here are the ayat that talk about the event:
[37:83] And truly of his adherents was Abraham.
[37:84] When he came to his Lord with a heart that was pure,
[37:85] when he said to his father and his folk, ‘What do you worship?
[37:86] Is it a calumny — gods other than God — that you desire?
[37:87] What then is your supposition regarding the Lord of the Worlds?’
[37:88] And he cast a glance at the stars
[37:89] and said, ‘Indeed I feel [I will be] sick’.
[37:90] So they went away, leaving him behind.
[37:91] Then he turned to their gods and said, ‘Will you not eat?
[37:92] What is wrong with you that you do not speak?’
[37:93] He then turned on them striking [them] with his right hand.
[37:94] So they came running towards him.
[37:95] He said, ‘Do you worship what you [yourselves] have carved,
[37:96] when God created you and whatever you make?’
[37:97] They said, ‘Build for him a structure, then cast him into the fierce fire’.
[37:98] So they sought to outwit him, but We made them the lowermost.
[37:99] And he said, ‘I shall indeed depart to my Lord, He will guide me.
[37:100] My Lord! Grant me of the righteous’.
[37:101] So We gave him the good tidings of a forbearing son.
[37:102] And when he was old enough to walk with him, he said, ‘O my dear son, I see in a dream that I shall sacrifice you. So see what you think’. He said, ‘O my father do whatever you have been commanded. You shall find me, God willing, of the steadfast’.
[37:103] And when they had both submitted, and he had laid him down on his forehead,
[37:104] We called to him, ‘O Abraham!
[37:105] Verily you have fulfilled the vision’. So do We reward those who are virtuous.
[37:106] Truly this was indeed a clear test’.
[37:107] Then We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice.
[37:108] And We left for him among posterity:
[37:109] ‘Peace be to Abraham!’
[37:110] So do We reward those who are virtuous.
[37:111] Indeed he is one of Our faithful servants.
[37:112] And We gave him the good tidings of [the birth of] Isaac a prophet, one of the righteous.
[37:113] And We blessed him and Isaac. And among their descendants is he who is virtuous, and he who plainly wrongs his soul.
The significance of the Prophet Abraham, pbuh, in Islam in addition to being a Prophet whom Muslims believe in as a tenet of faith is that Islam as taught by the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, is a culmination of what was practised by him. According to the Qur'an, he was the one to call those who believe in Allah and submit their wills to him Muslims:
[22:77] O you who believe, bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord, and do good that perhaps you may be prosperous.
[22:78] And struggle in the way of God, a struggle worthy of Him. He has elected you, and has not laid upon you in your religion any hardship - the creed of your father Abraham [is yours]. He named you Muslims before, and in this, so that the Messenger might be a witness against you, and that you might be witnesses against mankind. So maintain prayer, and pay the alms, and hold fast to God. He is your Patron. An excellent Patron and an excellent Helper.
Abraham was a Muslim and we Muslims follow the religion established by him:
[3:65] O people of the Book, why do you argue about Ibrāhīm, while the Torah and the Injīl were not revealed until after him? Have you, then, no sense?
[3:66] Look, this is what you are - you have already argued about matters concerning which you have knowledge; why then do you argue about matters of which you have no knowledge? Allah knows and you do not know.
[3:67] Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian. But he was upright, a Muslim, and was not one of those who associate partners with Allah.
[3:68] The closest of people to Ibrāhīm are those who followed him, and this prophet, and those who believe; and Allah is the Guardian of all believers.
According to the Qur'an, Abraham was the one who built the ka'aba originally, and he prayed to Allah to send a Messenger later for the people at that place to teach them. That was the Prophet Muhammad who came later:
[2:124] When his Lord put Ibrāhīm to a test with certain Words, and he fulfilled them, He said, “I am going to make you an Imām for the people.”He said, “And from among my progeny?” He replied, “My promise does not extend to the unjust.”
[2:125] When We made the House (Ka‘bah of Makkah) a frequented place for men, and a place of peace! Make from the Station of Ibrāhīm a place of prayer.(That is its significance in hajj now). We gave the (following directive) to Ibrāhīm and Ismā‘īl (Ishmael): “Purify My House for those who are to circumambulate (make Tawāf) and those who stay in I‘tikāf, and those who bow down or prostrate themselves (in prayers).
[2:126] (Recall) when Ibrāhīm said, “My Lord, make this a city of peace, and provide its people with fruits - those of them who believe in Allah and the Last Day.” He (Allah) said, “As for the one who disbelieves, I shall let him enjoy a little, then I shall drag him to the punishment of the Fire. How evil an end it is!
[2:127] When Ibrāhīm was raising up the foundations of the House, along with Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) (supplicating): “Our Lord accept (this service) from us! Indeed, You - and You alone - are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing!
[2:128] Our Lord, make us both submissive to You, and (make) of our progeny as well, a people submissive to You and show us our ways of Pilgrimage and accept our repentance. Indeed, You - and You alone - are the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful.
[2:129] And, our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from among them, who should recite to them Your verses, and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and cleanse them of all impurities. Indeed You, and You alone, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”
[2:130] Who can turn away from the faith of Ibrāhīm except the one who has debased himself in folly? Indeed We have chosen him in this world. And he is certainly among the righteous in the Hereafter.
[2:131] When his Lord said to him, “Submit!” He said, “I submit myself to the Lord of all the worlds.”
[2:132] And Ibrāhīm exhorted the same to his sons, and so did Ya‘qūb (Jacob): “My sons, Allah has certainly chosen for you the Faith. So, let not death overtake you but as Muslims.”
[2:133] Is it that you were present when death approached Ya‘qūb, when he said to his sons: “What will you worship after me”? They said, “We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Ibrāhīm, Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) and IsHāq (Isaac), the one God, and to Him we submit ourselves.”
[2:134] Those are a people who have passed away. For them is what they earned, and for you is what you earned. Nor shall you be questioned as to what they have been doing.
[2:135] They said, “Become Jews or Christians, and you will find the right path.” Say: “Instead, (we follow) the faith of Ibrāhīm, the upright, - and he was not one of those who associate partners with Allah.”
[2:136] Say (O, Muslims): “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us, and in what has been revealed to Ibrāhīm, Ismā‘īl (Ishmael), IsHāq (Isaac), Ya‘qūb and his children, and in what has been given to Mūsā and ‘Īsā (Jesus) and what has been given to the prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between any of them, and to Him we submit ourselves.”
[2:137] So, if they believe in the same way as you believe, they will have certainly found the right path, and if they turn away, then the fact is that they are in antagonism. Then Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
[2:138] (We dye ourselves with) the dye (religion) of Allah! For who is better in colouring than Allah? We are to worship none but Him.
[2:139] Say: “Would you argue with us about Allah, when He is our Lord as well as your Lord? For us our deeds, and for you your deeds! And we are faithful to Him.
[2:140] Or, would you say that Ibrāhīm, Ismā‘īl, IsHāq, Ya‘qūb and their children were Jews or Christians?” Say: “Do you know better or does Allah?” Who can be more unjust than the one who conceals the testimony he has from Allah? Allah is not unaware of what you do.
[2:141] Those are a people who have passed away. For them is what they earned, and for you is what you earned, and you shall not be questioned about what they have been doing
Last edited by Obedient Angel on Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:27 pm; edited 11 times in total
MustafaMc Bronze
Join date : 2011-08-14 Posts : 6 Location : Mississippi, USA
Subject: Re: Hajj (The Pilgrimage) Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:37 am
Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) willed that I completed hajj last year, alhamdulillah. I loved looking through the pictures posted here. I arrived in Mecca on the day after my 50th birthday and made my 1st tawaf about 3AM. Hajj and the trip to Medina was an amazing experience that I would love to repeat with my wife, insh'Allah. I was alone in the sense I knew no one there before hajj and I met only one other Caucasian American revert, but in another sense I felt perfectly at home among my brothers in faith from around the world. The conditions were difficult, but I witnessed an exceptional degree of tolerance and patience.
MustafaMc Bronze
Join date : 2011-08-14 Posts : 6 Location : Mississippi, USA
Subject: Re: Hajj (The Pilgrimage) Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:55 pm
While I was on hajj, I met people from all over the world. The one person who stuck out from the crowd was a man from Palestine. He had traveled to USA for work, but very shortly he felt an intense desire to return home. He saw the depravity and decadence that is prevalent in USA and chose to return home where life was much harder.
Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:56 pm
