It was a dark and stormy night. No not really. In October my mother gave me a call asking whether I would like to go for Umrah. Without hesitation I instantly said yes. I've always been meaning to go and in the last few years this have been playing in my head.
In a daze and as if in a dream preparation begin. The accessories needed for the trip were purchased. The deposit and fees were paid and on 14 December 2013 attended a mind-blowing Umrah Course (Kursus Umrah) held at Masjid Jamek Al Amaniah Batu Caves organised by the agency Wira Saujana.Wira Saujana was contacted by my mother's travel agent Masih Travel with one strict term. As long as the dates are after 19 December 2013, book it. (19 December was a Board Meeting that I needed to attend).
Before we knew it our Visas from the Saudi Arabian government were approved and we should shortly be on our way. A few more items were purchased as I went on leave right after the Board Meeting. The items were purchased at the Tabung Haji building. Good stuff.
We planned to depart from Concorde Inn near KLIA. And we drove to Concorde Inn on 26 December 2013. We had dinner in KLIA with the entire family boarding the hotel shuttle. (That's the hotel on the left.)
The next day on 27 December 2013 we begin our life journey. For my parents it was their 5th for me and my sister it is our first. So it is a little unnerving. For me I am still in dream land even though we will be departing at 15:00.
We left the hotel at 10:00 to KLIA to attend a briefing by the agency at 11:00. We assembled at Counters K where the brief was given by Ustaz Zulhusni who will be accompanying us. There they distributed our passports, health cards, ID tags and the Arrival Cards. We sat down for a while before it was time to depart. We prayed our Jamak Zuhur and Asar (praying both the Zuhur and Asar prayers together. A benefit allowed for travelers (musafir)with specific terms and conditions to be followed.) It was a Friday and we missed Friday prayers. By the time we finished praying it was time to board the aircraft. We took the aerotrain and went to gate C2.
Since we had to go straight to Makkah we have to wear our Ihram (two pieces of unsewned cloth for men. Au naturel so to speak.) on board the aircraft.
The aircraft was Saudi Arabian SV833 bound for Jeddah via Riyadh. We sat together in the middle aisle. As part of our religious journey for the first time ever on a plane I did not watch any movies, did not listen to any music, did not read any magazine or comics. Instead I read supplications and when possible verses from the Al Quran.
The journey took over 8 hours where we stopped over in Riyadh for an hour. We landed in Jeddah at 20:55 (Saudi Arabian Time). Went through immigration, that took a little longer when it was my turn. Apparently, they have issues with men over the age of 40. My dad, mum and sis just breezed through.
Soon we had to collect our luggage. There was a little confusion as we couldn't find the agent and then as we exited we met a man who wanted our passports. Soon we met the agent representative Syed Ashraf that told us that it was okay to hand over the passports to the man as he was representing the Muassasah Agency that arranged our visas.
We boarded the bus that would be taking us to Jeddah. There were some delays with our passports as one of the passports was an Indonesian passport and it was sent to an Indonesian group. By the time we left for Makkah Tul Mukarramah it was almost 23:00. We arrived at the hotel after midnight. After we had our midnight snack we had to go to Masjidil Haram to perform our Umrah.
We started off by performing the Tawaf. The Tawaf needed to be performed 7 times around the Kaabah anti-clockwise starting from the Hajjarul Aswad. The Hajjarul Aswad is on the left of the entrance to the Kaabah or Multazam.
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| The Hajjarul Aswad |
Each time we pass the Hajjarul Aswad we need to recite Bismillah. Allahu Akbar. Walillahilhamd and lift our hand in a wave. We can recite any verses or supplications or any specific prayers we want while circling the Kaabah 7 times.
After completing the Tawaf we performed the Solat Tawaf to signify we have completed our Tawaf. It was here that I had my first realisation that I am truly here in front of the Kaabah.
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| Tahiyyat Akhir |
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| Kaabah with Maqam Ibrahim on the right in gold. |
While reciting my Tahiyyat Akhir where in the verse we mention the name of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) AS I suddenly realised that right before me was the Maqam Ibrahim (Maqam Ibrahim houses the foot print of the Prophet and not actually his grave).
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| Maqam Ibrahim upclose. |
Before me was the Kaabah built by the hands of Prophet Ibrahim AS and his son Prophet Ismail (Ishmael) AS. And that hit me hard. I was soon overwhelmed with emotions that I have never felt before bowing and prostrating towards the Kaabah symbolising the greatness of the Almighty Allah SWT.
All this while when I perform my prayers I recite in my prayers as part of the ritual. But this time when I recited it I could feel the presence and greatness of the Prophet Ibrahim and absolute submission to Allah SWT. Allahu Akbar!
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| Best depiction I could find of the Saie. |
Then we proceeded to Al Safa and Al Marwah to perform our Saie. Saie is a brisk walk and slight run between the hills of Safa and Marwah where we begin from Safa and on the 7th round we end at Marwah. The total distance is around 3.5 km with 500 m one way.
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| Scenes during Saie. It was 4 am at this time. |
Once we complete we need to do Tahallul where we need to snip some pieces of hair or more (some shave their head, something I was not to keen to do) to signify we have completed our Umrah. By the time my father and I completed the Saie we realised that my mother and sis have not completed theirs. We looked for my mum and sis, found them and encouraged to slowly complete the saie.
By the time we completed the Umrah it was almost Subuh or Al Fajr prayers as they call it in Saudi Arabia. My mum and sis returned to the hotel while my dad and I performed our Al Fajr prayers. It was my first mandatory solat at the Masjidil Haram and it was absolutely wonderful. The feeling was great. It was so overwhelming that once in a while I am overcome by my emotions again. By the time we returned to the hotel it was almost 7:00. That begin the 28 December 2013 in Makkah.
From the 28 till 31 December 2013 we performed our mandatory prayers 5 times a day at Masjidil Haram. Each moment felt as if I am getting closer and closer to Allah. I feel as if I cannot waste not even one moment. My father and I walked over 500 m both ways to go for the prayers. For the Al Fajr, we are greeted by the Azan or call to prayers at 4:30 to wake everyone up. Soon we got ourselves ready and started walking to the Masjid. While we walked we converged into a sea of thousands of ummah who were also walking to perform the Al Fajr prayers.
We started off with Tahiyyatul Masjid, a Sunnah Solat special prayer each time we enter any masjid. While we waited for the 2nd azan we would normally recite verses or read the Al Quran. Soon by 5:37 the Muezzin sounds the 2nd call to prayer. This is then followed by the Sunnah Solat for Al Fajr. Around 15 minutes later the Muezzin again calls out for prayers this time a shortened version known as Iqama to get everyone ready. (This practice is the same for any masjid anywhere around the world with the exception of the 1st Azan. Normally there would only be one Azan.)
The Al Fajr prayers is 2 Rak'aat. (The best way to describe it is rak'aat means times or parts. For Al Fajr is 2 parts, Zuhr, Asr and Isha is 4 parts and Maghreb is 3 parts.) After the Al Fajr prayers there was a call to pray for Solat Al Janazah. These are prayers and supplications for those that died while performing the Umrah or Hajj or for those that passed away in Makkah. And that begin our first day in Makkah Al Munawarah.
We returned to the hotel, freshened up and quickly fell asleep. My dad turned on his alarm to wake us for the Zuhr prayers. By 11:30 we were up and ready walking towards the Masjid. Zuhr as mentioned above is performed in 4 parts with the Sunnah Solat performed before and after the prayers. Then we walked to a nearby mall known as Al Safwah to get something for lunch. The agency prepared lunch but we were quite exhausted to walk back to the hotel. We ordered something at the food court. The portions were huge so we kept some for my mum and sis.
We then returned to the hotel. For Asr my dad and I walked back to the Masjid and then quickly returned to the hotel. For the Maghreb and Isha prayers my mum and sis by then we were well rested so they joined us to walk towards the Masjid. We performed the Maghreb prayers and for the Isha prayers we waited for it after the Maghreb prayers. In the meantime we did I'tikaf at the masjid where we recite prayers and read the Al Quran. We found a spot on the 2nd floor where they had an air-conditioned area in the mosque. It was comfortable and did not have as many people in the beginning.
After the Isha prayers we had a slow pleasant walk to the hotel. At the hotel we went to the FC floor for our dinner. Dinner was pleasant and surprisingly good. Soon after we retired to our rooms thus ending our first day in Makkah Tul Mukarramah.
The days that followed continued our ritual of performing the 5 daily obligatory prayers at the Masjid. We started wandering around areas around the Masjid and did some shopping. As my mum has been here 5 times she led the way.
On 30 December 2013 we met my cousin who were there with her family. We were lucky enough to be allowed to enter the top of the Tawaf complex (a structure built to cater for the wheel chairs and the less able as the crowd is not as intense) where my dad and I performed Tawaf Sunnah, did our Solat and took a few photographs.
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| View from the Tawaf complex |
The next day the performance of the daily obligatory prayers continued while we explored a little more of Makkah.
On 1 January 2014 we celebrated my father's 73rd birthday this time without the obligatory cake. Being there we even forgot for the moment that we have entered the new year. With hardly any news to bother us we were serene and contented. Even actions back home of a few foolhardy people failed to perturb us. We were close to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad SAW and foolish actions of a few were just that foolishness. They too need to get closer to Allah and Rasullullah SAW and maybe then they can truly understand what it all means.
On the same day we went Ziarah (visiting) organised by the agency. First we were at Jabal Thur, the place where Rasullullah SAW and Abu Bakar RA hid from the presecution of the Quraish before they migrated to Madinah Al Munawarrah.
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| Jabal Thur |
Then we were brought to Jabal Rahmah, the place where our Prophet Adam AS and the first lady Hawa (Eve) met after having casted out of the Heavens.
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| Jabal Rahmah |
We were also brought to Jabal Nour
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| Jabal Nour |
where the Hira' Cave is housed. Here is where Al Quran was first revealed to Rasulullah SAW through the angel Jibrail (or Gabriel). We were also brought to the places where they perform the Hajj, Arafah where they needed to spend the night and Mudzalifah where they collected the stones and in Mina where the stones will be thrown in the ritual known as Stoning the Devil.
The next day was spent in prayers and some last minute shopping as we will be leaving for Madinah Al Mukarramah the very next day.
On the 3 January 2014 we woke up at 3:00 and left for the Masjid to perform our final Al Fajr prayers in Masjidil Haram for this trip. We performed our prayers then returned to the hotel. Since it was a Friday my dad and I decided to be in the Masjid early and since it was still early we decided to perform our Sunnah Tawaf once done we found a nice spot right in front of the Kaabah. In the meantime my mum and sis needed to perform the Tawaf Wida' (or farewell Tawaf) which is obligatory. They completed the Tawaf but it was quite taxing on my mum that she had to return to the hotel in a wheel chair. But she was fine after that.
The crowd on Fridays is truly amazing. The numbers swell to almost a million as every single corner, nook and cranny is filled with people. After the Friday prayers my dad and I performed our Tawaf Wida' thus signifying the end of our trip to Makkah. Soon it was time to get on the bus and on to Madinah Al Mukarramah. It was almost a 6 hours bus trip.
We arrived at the hotel at almost 22:00. By the time the hotel check-in and unpacking is completed it was almost midnight. The next day was the inner Ziarah at Masjid Nabawi led by Ustaz Farhan. He first brought us to the Tsafiqah Bani Sai'dah Garden.
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Bani Sai'dah Garden (Photo taken from
some other website) |
Here the first of the Khalifah Saidina Abu Bakar RA was bai'ah or chosen to be the first khalifah after the demise of the Prophet Rasulullah SAW.
He then brought us to the Masjids of Saidina Abu Bakar, Umar and Ali. Originally these were Mahals. These Mahals or Madrasahs were the education centres for the newly converted Muslims at that time. The Masjids were built to commemorate this fact.
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| Making our way to the Maqam. |
He then took us to the gates of Masjid Nabawi. Solemnly we walked in as we approached the most exalted human being the Prophet Muhammad SAW's Maqam. As we stood opposite the Maqam we voiced our greetings to him and passing on the greetings by others to him. For some it was an emotional moment. For me my emotions did not hit me till later in the night.
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| Maqam Rasulullah. Immediately to his left is Saidina Abu Bakar and Saidina Umar. |
After the ziarah we were left to do our own things and my dad and I continued to I'tikaf in the Masjid until it was time for Zuhr. Here was where my emotions hit me. While praying and saying my Tahiyyat, Rasulullah was mentioned in the prayers and it suddenly it hit me that he was right there very very very close by. I was overwhelmed by emotions and suddenly felt special that I was given the opportunity and honour to be in the same building as he.
After Zuhr we returned to the hotel and had lunch on the 1st floor of the hotel with my mum and sis. The food was not bad.
We rested for a while before leaving for the Masjid to perform our Asr prayers. After Asr we explore Madinah for a bit before returning to the Masjid to perform our Maghreb and Isha prayers.
The next day 5 January 2014 we had the external ziarah (visit) where we were taken to Masjid Quba. Masjid Quba was the first Masjid that Rasulullah built and he said that the reward for those that performed prayers there after taking their wudhu' at home is as if the person have performed the Umrah. Not wanting to waste such reward we performed a few Sunnah Solat there.
Next we were taken to Jabal Uhud where the great Uhud Battle was fought between the Muslims and the Quraish. Here we learnt of the great sacrifices made by the companions to propagate Islam to the masses and we also learnt the great risks taken by Rasulullah. Here was where Rasulullah's uncle Saidina Hamzah syahid along with many others. While listening to the explanation I smelt something sweet that I thought came from perfume. As I walked towards the graveyard the smell grew stronger and it was explained that the sweet smell reputedly comes from the grave of Saidina Hamzah.
We then stopped by a dates estate and a dates market. I bought some stuff but did not have time to buy more as we were only given 15 minutes as we needed to be back for Zuhr prayers.
After the Zuhr prayers by special arrangement we went to visit a place called Magnet Hill near Jabal Baido where vehicles are driven by themselves up to 120 km/h with the engine off. We tried it and it seems to be legitimate. Why and how it happens? Only Allah knows best. We had a fun time there including having ice cream in the so-called God forsaken place.
With that our trip to Madinah almost comes to a close as the next day is our flight back to KL. We again performed the obligatory prayers and the next day we went to visit Rasulullah SAW again to say farewell with a request to allow us to return again.
My abstinence while there from the television, computers, internet, phone, messages, news made me realise that the worldly activities are mere distractions from my submission to Allah and my following the teaching of Rasulullah SAW. I aim and I wish to be better in everything especially as a Muslim and hope that I will be less distracted than I was before.
My one resolution is to be better in everything to be able to achieve my ultimate aim to be a better creation of Allah and a better Ummah of Rasulullah SAW. May I be given the strength and determination and may I be blessed in my journey.
My aim here is to share my experience for those that have not had the chance or may not have the chance to experience like I have.
Thank you for reading.
7 March 2014 I received a private message from a Facebook friend "Quiet Day Today...". This message is so profoundly was on hind sight the most wrong thing to say. Because the very next day we were shocked by a Press Release by Malaysia Airlines.
