MORNING IN MADINAH
Next morning, we woke up, unable to contain our happiness at being in
Madinah. We got up, had a humble breakfast of yoghurt, croissant, and banana,
and got ready for Zuhr. Our aim is to go to the Masjid at least 30-45mins
before the Azan to utilise our time there.
It was hard to fight the emotions whilst walking to the Masjid of
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam, a mere 4-minute walk from our hotel. We
crossed one small road and past a couple of hotels. There were some groceries
and a fast-food shop on the way which was handy.
Looking around the Masjid exterior bought back so many memories. It was
like we came back home. Wife went to the Women's section via the gate named
after Umar ibn Khattab RadhiaAllahu Anhu. I went through the Badr gate, which
was closest to my hotel but became my favourite.
The walk inside the Masjid was incredible. Peace and tranquillity filled
the Masjid as I made my way close to the front. Unfortunately, due to Covid,
the old part of the Masjid was out of bounds, except for Riyadhul Jannah visits,
Imams and Masjid officials.
It felt as though I never left the place, yet it felt surreal that I was
there. We both constantly thanked Allah for the opportunity to be there.
We went to the famous Bin Dawood to pick up some essentials for our room
such as plates, tea bags, coffee sachets etc. Although the hotel provided us
with basic items such as tea, sugar, kettle etc. We needed to buy a bit more.
We had our first lunch, we bought some cheese puff (like croissant
filled with cheese) and one called Pizza puff, along with some snacks.
After lunch I went off to Riyadhul Jannah. I had booked for the 2:30pm
slot.
RIYADHUL JANNAH
Am not a spontaneous person. I like to know where and what I'm doing. So, when it came to going to Riyadhul Jannah with the current system in place, I was a little worried. My brother in-law had told me how to easily get there, but I forgot his instructions. I literally walked around half of the Masjid perimeter to get to the green dome.
I walked into a fenced entrance and
realised it was the wrong way! This section led to the Salam area. I walked out
and a police officer kinda had a laugh. I'm not sure what he said but it was
like "make your mind up man!" I laughed and walked out.
I joined another queue. The actual one now. Upon walking along, some of
the officers were pointing towards me, but I don't know why.
Alhamdulillah, I walked into the Masjid. We had to walk in single file
to a section outside of Riyadhul Jannah. I prayed here. Then an officer stood
in the front and instructed everyone on what to do. Though in Arabic, I
understood what he was saying. Everyone was to go in single file and not rush.
Alhamdulillah, I got in and went near to the grave of Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam. I prayed two Rakah and made Dua here. We only had 7
minutes, due to the large numbers of people.
After leaving the Riyadh, I went to give my Salam to Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam. The reason we came to Madinah. It was hard to raise
my head towards his resting place. It was emotional. Even whilst typing this
I'm tearing up. Being so close to Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam was incredible.
I said salams to his companions, Abu Bakr and Umar RadhiAllahu Anhuma. What an
honour to be near these amazing and beloved men.
I exited and then went back to meet wife.
MEETING SHAYKH MUHAMMAD AND FRIENDS
I had received a message from a teacher at Masjid An-Nabawi, whom I
became quite close with since Hajj 2019. I used to read Qur'an to him in the
Masjid, as he knew a little English, I kept in touch. He wanted to meet me.
I walked into the Masjid to pray Maghrib. Wife and I planned to go as
early as possible to make the most of the time there. Then I got a call from
the teacher who said he was coming for Maghrib. I had got some gifts for him,
which was in my hotel room. So, I dashed to the hotel to pick it up. By the
time I came back, Maghrib had started, which was led by Shaykh Saleh al Budayr,
one of my favourite.
After Salah, Shaykh called
again and then I met him. It was a good reunion. We had a nice chat about different
things. He mentioned that he had couple of friends from UK and asked if I knew
them. I didn't recognise the name. Then one of them called him, so we went to
meet them.
SubhanAllah, I did know one of them! One of my teacher's younger
brothers whom I had met before on a few occasions. He was here with his brother
in-law. It was nice speaking to and spending time in the Masjid with
them.
Esha salah approached and we gave our salams and left. Shaykh did offer
to take us for dinner the next day, I politely declined due to my short days in
Madina.
After Esha me and wife had our dinner.
WALKING TO MASJID QUBA!
The next day we went for Tahajjud at Masjid An-Nabawi. It is common to
hear an Azan for Tahajjud and an hour later one for Fajr. Although Tahajjud
salah isn't done in congregation, people pray on their own. SubhanAllah a lot
of people were here at this time. I hadn’t seen such numbers before, mainly
consisting of our brothers and sisters from Central Asia and the Far East.
After Salah we went to sleep for a short time and woke up to have a
quick breakfast. Then we headed out to go to Masjid Quba. This is the first
Masjid built in Islam and was built by Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam
himself upon his entry into Quba after migration from Makkah.
I've always had the desire to walk it to the Masjid as was a Sunnah. One
of my teachers, Shaykh Taaha told me how he himself had walked it there with
his daughter. I took inspiration from him too. MashaAllah, recently the local
vice-Mayor had led a project to build a walkway from Masjid An-Nabawi to Masjid
Quba. It's a straight walk that can take around 45 minutes with only one road
to cross. We went over to the walkway which starts just after Masjid Ghamama.
It was a lovely walk. Most of the time we were quite alone. There were
shops and houses lined up along the walkway. We saw old buildings, rubbles, a
girls secondary school, gardens, a Masjid that seemed to be from the Ottoman
times, cats running around etc. We enjoyed it a lot as we were able to see parts
of Madina that we wouldn't have seen before. The weather was quite nice too.
We came across Masjid Jumuah, where Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam
led the first Jumuah when he left Quba to go into Madina. It was closed at this
time. I heard in a recent lecture by Imam Omar Suleiman that the Banu Salim had
asked Rasulullah Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam to pray here, so he did out of love
for the Ansar.
Masjid Quba was fast approaching. We went round the back, marvelling at
the architecture and Qur'anic ayats that speak about Masjid Quba.
Wife went to the Women's section, and I went to the men's side. Although
it was around an hour or so before Zuhr, there were people dotted around here
and there. I found a spot on the front line and prayed 2 Rak’ah, which gives
the reward of an accepted Umrah. Then I spent the time reading Qur'an etc.
MEETING HAFIZ ASHRAF
After Zuhr, we decided to leave. Wife found a shop that sells pretty
much everything from dates to clothes, perfumes etc. There was a part selling
fresh juices, so we bought a mixed fruit juice. It was refreshing and just what
we needed for the walk back.
The walk back was as nice too. We went over to the Ottoman looking
Masjid. It was called Rabi'ah ibn Malik (RH) Masjid. Upon approaching, we could
hear a recitation of the Qur'an. I thought it was from inside, but there was a
brother sitting outside reciting. It was beautiful mashaAllah.
That evening I got a message from Hafiz Ashraf, founder of Islamic Landmarks. He wanted to meet as he was
there in Madina too. So just before Maghrib, I went looking for him in the
Masjid. It took me a little bit of time to find him but at last I did.
Alhamdulillah it was nice to meet him in Madina. We had met once before in
London. Both of us have a passion for Hajj and Umrah.
We spoke about our projects and shared ideas. He shared some good tips
for Umrah and Madina in general. After Maghrib he had to leave, so I spent the
time in ibadah until Esha.
FEEDING CATS OF MADINAH
My friend, Irfan Ali aka Hajj Vlogger, shared an idea on one of
his vlogs which is to take some cat food and feed the cats of Madinah, which we
took with us. Anyone who has been to Madinah and Makkah, you will see cats all
around the Masjid.
It was a nice experience to feed the cats, therapeutic too. It is another
opportunity to gain rewards from Allah and closeness with Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alyhiwasallam.
Our prophet, Sallallahu Alyhiwasallam loved cats and one of his Sahabi, Abu Hurayrah RadhiaAllahu Anhu was known as the father of cats.
STREET CLEANERS
One of the things you see around the Masjid is street cleaners. Majority are from Bangladesh who have left their loved ones behind, to come to Madinah to earn a living. I got to speak to one of the cleaners, called Kamal Bai. I asked him how he is and he replied ''Alhamdulillah I am very happy.'' He told me how he earns roughly £100 a month and whatever donations people give. I asked him this as I wanted to know from him about his earnings.
Whilst we give donations to the cleaners inside and outside the Masjid, sadly some of them do come up to you when they see you giving to their colleagues. It could be desperation or a habit, who knows.
Comments
Post a Comment