JANNATUL BAQI
The next day I wanted to visit Jannatul Baqi, the graveyard of Madina.
Hafiz Ashraf gave me some tips on how to enter the grave as there were
restrictions in place. So, after Asr salah I took his advice and prayed at the
Makkah gate, gate 36. Then I went out where hundreds of others had the same
plan as me. We were to follow a Janazah into the graveyard.
I took Hafiz Ashraf's advice and went deep into the graveyard. My plan
was to visit the grave of Uthman RadhiaAllahu Anhu in particular, as other
known Sahabahs graves were fenced off. I reached it Alhamdulillah. It was an
emotional moment being at his grave again. I didn't think my prayers were at
all worthy for him, but I gave some anyway. Two police officers were guarding
it. Whilst people (including myself for educational purposes) were taking
pictures, they encouraged us to do Ziyarah.
It was hot in Jannatul Baqi. The sun blazing. I prayed for the
inhabitants and especially the Sahabah and family of Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alyhiwasallam. I especially thought of our Mother Aisha RadhiaAllahu Anha who
was with our Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam to his last moments.
As usual people were taking photos and videos. A brother wanted me to
take a picture of him with the graves behind him, but I politely declined.
I took wife to the side of Jannatul Baqi, due to Saudi law forbidding
women from going inside. She done Ziyarah from here. Some other women were also
looking into the graveyard and sitting around. A police car went past and a man
(whom we would normally call a 'Haram Police') told them to move on.
I showed wife Mount Uhud and pointed out how someone had written Allah on the mountain (probably with white rocks).
DEAD END
We then walked over to Masjid Ghamama. This is a Masjid in which 3 things
were said to have occurred. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam prayed 1. Rain
prayer here 2. Eid prayer 3. Janaza of Najashi (Rahimahullah). We also saw
Masjid Abu Bakr, supposedly built by Sayyiduna Abu Bakr RadhiAllahu Anhu as
well as Masjid Ali, built by Sayyiduna Ali RadhiAllahu Anhu. Or they might have
prayed certain prayers like Eid salah there.
Outside the Masjid was a shop, so we both bought coffee and doughnuts.
We didn't enter the Masjid courtyard again and decided to go around the Masjid
back to our hotel. It was a long walk. A few roads and accesses were blocked.
Wife remembered a hotel she stayed at in the area we had passed.
We passed a food shop and decided to buy something I was craving to have
in Madinah; Shakshuka sandwich. It's a small sub with shakshuka made from eggs,
tomatoes and onions. This brings back a lot of memories and my go to breakfast
item in Madinah.
But the way to our hotel wasn't easy. Due to road blocks we found
ourselves at a busy main road with no pedestrian footpath. I was wondering what
to do. Whilst wondering, I saw something that I really wanted to see and visit
for some time now. The Cave of Bani Haram. I came to love the stories of
Sahabi Jabir ibn Abdillah RadhiAllahu Anhu, who was from Bani Haram in Madina.
We saw it from afar. Just then a car pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride. I
asked how much and he replied with 20SAR. To be honest at this point I just
wanted to get back to the hotel so we jumped in.
We got back inside our hotel and enjoyed our coffee, doughnuts and shakshuka.
DATES AND HARAMAIN TRAIN
Later on, I received a message from Ustadh Salim, a British teacher who
lives and teaches in Madina. He kindly agreed to drop off some Dates I wanted
to buy. So, after Esha he kindly came down to our hotel with a friend of his.
We had been in contact for a couple of years but never met each other.
Alhamdulillah it was really nice to have met him finally. He does a lot
of charity work for the needy in Makkah, Madina and Yemen. He was also involved
in Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) in UK. May Allah reward him
abundantly, Aameen. I got to find out that the vice-Mayor of Madinah is a
friend of his! Ustadh Salim has helped me many times before with requests. I
pray I get to meet him for a longer time again, Aameen.
The next day, 16th February, we prepared to go to Makkah for Umrah. As a
farewell, we decided to go over and present our Salams to Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alyhiwasallam. Wife decided to try her luck with getting into Riyadhul Jannah,
but since she didn't have a booking and the guards wouldn't let her in. Despite
her pleas, they wouldn't budge.
I went to the Rawdah. It's never easy. I was emotional again. I was able
to stand in front of his grave for a minute. After giving Salam I went out to
meet up with wife by the green dome. We spent some quality moments in
reflection.
We went back to the hotel. We donned our Ihram clothes. We had booked
the Haramain train for 2:30pm so had to be at the station for at least 2pm.
Ustadh Salim kindly arranged a driver for us who came at 1:15pm to pick us up.
Farewell Madinah you served us well. Leaving the Prophet Sallallahu
Alyhiwasallam city is never easy.
Our driver, Mohammed, dropped us off at the station. He had come the
night before with Ustadh Salim so I recognised him when he picked us up. I
asked him how much to give but he said nothing! I insisted but he didn't want
to take anything. I did give him some though Alhamdulillah. He was very kind
and said he will wait until we have got on the train; I was to text him. May
Allah reward him abundantly, Aameen.
As we went into the beautifully built station, we were greeted by female
workers who wanted to see our Tawakalna app. We then scanned our tickets and
made our way to the security area where our luggages were to be scanned. (I
highlight females, because until recently, there would be male workers here
only. Alhamdulillah the female workers are quite efficient).
A worker told us to take our scissors out from one of our luggages. As
my wife had to use the scissors for Ihram we asked if we could keep it. Our
pleas to her and her supervisor wasn't good enough. We left it.
As we were going down the escalators, I noticed a brother from London.
He is a friend of my older brother, so I called him. We had quick chat before
boarding the train.
MashaAllah the train was very nice and clean. We found our seats and
settled for the journey. After the train left the station, we made intentions
for Umrah. Just then an announcement was made on the train telling us that we
were passing the Meeqat. It's only a mere 1 minute into the journey, so anyone
taking the train to Makkah for Umrah need to have made intentions beforehand. I
texted Mohammad to let him know we are on the train. May Allah reward him
abundantly, Aameen.
The scenery outside was beautiful. Desert, houses, Masajid etc. we wondered what life is like in the different towns and villages we passed by.
JABAL OMAR MARRIOT
Brother Azzam, who I had met earlier came and found me in our coach. He
kindly suggested that we can go to our Makkah hotel with him if we want as he
will get an Uber. We accepted. Alhamdulillah after 2 hours and 10 minutes we
arrived in Makkah. This journey would usually take 4-5 hours by car.
Brother Azzam, then ordered an Uber. After about 10 minutes the car came
and we got our luggages in and headed to our hotel, Jabal Omar Marriot. Brother
Azzam's hotel was next door at Hayatt Regency.
SubhanAllah brother Azzam didn't take any payment for the taxi ride from
us. He himself helped us with our luggages and jumped back in the taxi to go to
his hotel. May Allah reward him abundantly, Aameen.
We checked in to the hotel. Much has changed in Saudi, now there's
female workers more prominently in various industries.
(To be honest I find the women more reliable!) Alhamdulillah the
receptionists were kind and efficient with their work. I noticed one of the
male receptionists shaking hands with a porter, which touched my heart.
Sometimes porters are looked down upon.
Our room was beautiful. It was triple the size of our Madinah hotel and
had a lot more facilities. We both had no desire for much luxury, but Allah
gave it to us. It was very nice and convenient. We probably got more than what
we paid for. We decided to relax for a bit and then... I fell asleep!
PERFORMING UMRAH
We had booked Umrah for 9pm but decided to go out slightly earlier to
locate the entrance gates for Umrah. We saw an entrance and walked in. Our app
got checked twice by workers. We were given a bottle of water each and walked
on. Another worker checked our permit as we entered King Fahd gate. Slowly we
walked towards the Ka'bah.
As I looked up, I had forgotten any Duas I wanted to make as the sheer
magnificence of the Ka'bah overtook my emotions. It felt like being in a dream
with the house of Allah right in front of me. Am I really here?
We began the Tawaf in parallel to the black stone. Alhamdulillah there
wasn't as many people here as usual. It
probably didn't take us a few minutes to do one round, so we decided to go at a
slower pace. We wanted to make use of every moment we have here.
Tawaf was great. There was no pushing or shoving, expect for the rare
moments. I think some people just like doing it despite there being so much
space to maneuver! The police were ushering people away who happened to
pray in the path of those doing Tawaf.
The atmosphere was beautiful. People praising Allah and submitting
themselves to Him. People from different parts of the world were doing Tawaf
together, with no distinction between the rich or the poor.
One thing that really hurt me was the constant use of mobile phones
during Tawaf. People taking pictures and videos and even video calling
relatives. I don't think someone sitting in their living room on the other side
of the world can do Tawaf via facetime! May Allah give us understanding,
Aameen.
After Tawaf we went and prayed 2 Rak’ah. I marvelled at the Ka'bah and
the surroundings. Just looking at the House of Allah brings blessings. We made
our way to the Masa'a area for Sa'ee, but before that we drank some Zamzam
water from the Zamzam barrels.
The Masa'a area was very busy. It usually takes longer than Tawaf.
Thousands of people were following the Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alyhiwasallam. Men were running between the green lights (and some women too!)
People glorifying Allah and others whispering words of praises. It was a
beautiful atmosphere much like the Tawaf.
Of course, you had the odd people who sat around in the path of those
doing Sa'ee. Must have been tired.
We finished Sa'ee and headed out. Remember the train workers who took
our scissors away? Well because of that we popped into Bin Dawood and bought a
new pair. Then I went to a barbers and got my head shaved as was the Sunnah of
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam whilst wife waited outside. Alhamdulillah I
was out of the Ihram restrictions.
In the hotel I helped wife with getting out of her restrictions and then
Alhamdulillah Umrah was complete.
It was late, but I was kind of peckish. We bought some Biryani and curry
from a local shop whose meat products are slaughtered and processed in Saudi
Arabia. We were both tired and with only a few hours to go for Fajr, I hit the
sack and immediately fell asleep. Wife was busy sorting stuff out in the room.
SHUTTLE BUS
The Tahajjud azan went off. There is a speaker in the hotel rooms which
plays the Azan from Masjid Al-Haram. One can adjust the volume if they want to.
We got out of the hotel and jumped on a shuttle bus which took us down
the Jabal Omar. It was a 1-2 minute ride. There were shuttle buses for other
hotels too. The drivers are very experienced and at times it felt like they
would bump into each other!
We made our way to Gate 84, near King Fahd gate and went upstairs to the
first floor. Only those doing Umrah can use the ground floor for Salah. Fajr
was led by Shaykh Bander Baleela, one of the senior Alims of the country. After
Salah we came back to sleep for a bit.
GRAVEYARD OF SHUBEYKA
Next to Masjid Al-Haram is a piece of empty land, amid the high rise hotels and roads. This is a graveyard, unknown to many. Probably the only piece of history from Seerah preserved and left as it is. This is a graveyard. Back in the Jahiliyyah times, the Makkan didn't have any regard for daughters; it affected their ego if a girl was born to them. So some, would bury their new born girls alive! And this was the spot we came to see.
Some say that even the first martyr of Islam, Sumayyah Radhi Allahu Anha is also buried here. As I mentioned, not many people know about this, otherwise I'm sure there would have been a lot of people here often.
MASJID AL-HARAM
Alhamdulillah our day went with going back and forth from the Masjid.
For Zuhr we entered a different entrance and found ourselves on the first
floor. We decided to do a Nafl Tawaf given we were very early for Zuhr. The
Tawaf on this floor takes longer to do. It took us 1 hour to perform it but it
was nice.
After we finished, we settled down to pray Zuhr. We then bought lunch
and took it back to the hotel. I had attained a blister on my right foot, so
it's been hurting and difficult to walk.
We prayed Maghrib and Esha in the new extension i.e., King Abdullah extension,
as the route we usually took was closed. I had taken some photos on wife's
phone (as hers is better than mine!)
I then put it in my pocket thinking I'll take a few more before she goes
to the Women's section. Then I forgot about it. Whilst in the men's section I
remembered that I had her phone but by this time she was already in the ladies
side, and I couldn't see her.
After Maghrib I looked up from the men's side and noticed her standing too. I waved and beckoned her to meet me outside. Somehow, we both had the intention to see each other despite not having a phone to make contact. Pretty cool MashaAllah! Both Maghrib and Esha were led by Shaykh Mahir Al-Muaiqely which was kind of a treat!
Look out for the next part of my Umrah blog coming soon
Comments
Post a Comment