OUR HAJJ EXPERIENCE
HAJJ, THE FIFTH AND LAST PILLAR OF ISLAM!!!!!!
Hajj, 5th
pillar of Islam, is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the
holiest city for Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must
be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are
physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support
their family during their absence.
HAJJ, a word we have started to hear ever since we have known ourselves, we know it is the 5th pillar of Islam since a very young age. Growing up it used to be a trip for the elderly as it was deemed something one does closer to the end . Alhamdulillah nowadays Hajj has broken the age barrier and lots of young people and even children go for Hajj.
Decision to go for Hajj
In my household Alhamdulillah everyone had been to Mecca/Medina already and I was the only one left. Nazlee and I had been thinking about it since 2015 or so. We got serious in 2016 and wanted to go in for Hajj 2017. But unfortunately the timing was not good for us as it would coincide with start of school year here in Canada. There was a good group going in 2017 (Ruhomaully and Poonah). However we had already made up our mind to go in 2018 and the fact that the Dustagheer family (Shehnaz and Shorab) was also planning to go provided us more incentive to go. Beginning of December we had already started assessing the groups and because the Dustagheer family was going to Mauritius at the end of the year we wanted to at least choose our group before they left.
Sara International Travel (SIT) and the months leading to Hajj departure
Dar-el-Salam and Falcon were the two established groups around here and while there are other smaller groups, I was pretty much resigned to using one of those 2 groups. However Shehnaz wanted the opportunity to spend 9 days in Medina AFTER Hajj further caused some problems as none of those groups had a program to fit her needs. She found out about SARA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL (SIT) and IMAAM ZAMEER was willing to change a program to accommodate her needs. We did some homework on the group and spoke to some folks who had used the group in the past and by the end of December we said Bismillah and proceeded with Sara International 1B package which was the DELUXE package and NOT the VIP. With VIP you get to stay close to Jamaraat and have some additional perks but for $2000 more per person we decided it was not worth it and later on you will see that this was a very good decision.
Our dealing with SIT went very well and brother Nizam was a godsend for us. He would be very helpful throughout the process and took his time to explain things to us. Those who have dealt with me know that I can be very demanding person and those who know Shehnaz know that she can be worst than me (lol). The one thing I would guard against SIT is that they tend to wait till last minutes for a lot of things and at one point I had the feeling that Canadian Travelers are somehow being neglected. For example they promise a Hajj package and they waited till the last week to send it to us. Even for the passport and ticket I had to hound them a lot. They did not listen to my advice on plane tickets and in the end scrambled to get us our flights which were not to our liking (but again this worked in our favor). We were not concerned about Visa because they had assured us everything would be fine, however their contact in Toronto was useless.
In February, brother Yusuff Khadaroo indicated to me their intention to go for Hajj and I encouraged them to come with us with SIT, which they agreed to after doing their homework.
For the airlines we had requested to travel in Muslim airlines (Emirates, Saudi, Turkish Airlines or even Egypt) and I kept telling them to book our flights much earlier however they waited till late and in the end could not get any of those airlines. Eventually Imam Zameer called me to inform me about some deals they are working with Turkish but nothing guaranteed. That same afternoon, brother Zaheer called me to inform me that they are thinking of booking us with Air Canada/Saudi but we had to travel through MANCHESTER UK .. (yucks I am a Liverpool supporter !!!). This did not go down too well but eventually we realized that other than traveling through Manchester everything else looked good with the flight arrangements, so we agreed.
Eventually we got our visa and I must tell you that it was a surreal feeling to have that visa in my hands because this virtually gives me the rights to go for Hajj Allah s will.
Between December and August, we got so many good advices and feedback from people who had been for Hajj recently. My cousin Eshan and his wife Waheeda sent us a lot of goodies to use over there and we are so grateful to them. Naseem and Reza Ruhomaully also gave us a lot of good advice (How can I forget the ORGANO OIL). They prepared us very well indeed Maasha Allah.
Last but not least, all my family members who had been to Hajj gave us lots of advice and taught us what we can expect over there. I was very lucky to have my brothers Anwar and Rashid visit us
Hajj Preparation
My advice to anyone going for Hajj: PREPARE VERY WELL FOR IT. Preparation is probably 50% of performing Hajj. I started preparing for Hajj as soon as I booked the group. Hajj books, YouTube videos, seminars (both by your group and those on YouTube) and internet research. This preparation also strengthens our imaan which is key to performing Hajj. My cousin Eshan gave me the best definition of performing Hajj
HAJJ IS A TEST OF YOUR IMAAN
HAJJ IS A TEST OF YOUR PATIENCE
HAJJ IS A TEST OF YOUR STRENGTH
HAJJ IS A TEST OF YOUR ENDURANCE
As you continue to read through this write-up, you will see these 4 things being tested time and time. You cannot wait to go to Mecca to strengthen your imaan or to magically think that you will overcome all 4 of those. In fact you will notice that Mecca is NOT the place where you will start performing salaat with Khushu; if anything over there you will probably perform salaat with less khushu as you will be so busy with other ibaadats. So my advice is to start strengthening the Imaan and exercise patience, build your strength and endurance before you leave. How to achieve those:
Imaan: Pray all your salaats on time, read on Islam, watch videos about scholars of Islam and know all the steps of Hajj. There are lots of resources on Hajj on YouTube. There is a Vlog (Video blog on YouTube that is very informative- search for Hajj Vlogger)
Patience: When in traffic or waiting for the bus, instead of cursing and getting angry, just relax and think about what you will be going through in a few months. Be nice to people even if they are not nice to you. Take everything in stride and don t let anything bother or make you angry.
Strength and endurance: WALK WALK and WALK for long hours in the heat. Practice walking and you will thank me and Allah when you have to walk for over 10kms on some days in the heat in Mecca. One thing you need to understand is that HAJJ IS THE ONLY TIME WHEN YOU GET THAWAABS FOR WALKING (Tawaafs, Safa Marwa, walking to Jamaraat and so on).
A very important step in Hajj preparation is the MAAFI step To make amends with everybody and clear the heart. Nowadays this a bit easier to do what with social media and easy communication means. However it is always better to do it in person face to face, especially to those you feel you have had previous run-ins or altercations with. It is a very hard step and sometimes it takes lots of guts and courage to approach certain people and make amends.
Before going for Hajj lots of people will ask you to make duah for them, some of them will ask you to make specific duah, know that this is a DEBT that you need to fulfill when you are there. So please write down all the names and what duah they have asked you to make for them, this will come in handy on Mount Arafat.
There were also lots of dinner invitation at close families and my besties Naushad and Aneza even prepared a going for Hajj party for us where we got to meet all our close friends and relatives. This was very nice of them indeed. We are very thankful to them for this great gathering which somewhat eased our departure.
Normally people would be sad and worried about leaving Children behind, while there were some of that too in our case; however the fact that my brother Anwar and sister Nazli were coming here to stay with the children made it so much easier for us. We knew that Mama and the children were in good hands.
Leaving our home and
heading to the sacred land
August 13th
we departed for Jeddah. It was a day of anticipation, anxiety and happiness.
Emotional in that we were leaving all the children behind. I read in one of the
Hajj books that departing for Hajj should be treated as if you will never come
back and thinking that yes there may be the possibility that I may never come
back was quite hard but at the same time the happiness that we are indeed
taking out first steps to travel to Mecca and Medina was surreal. Suitcases packed, ready to hit the road.
First I had to pick up my brother Anwar who was coming here to stay with my
family. My sister Nazli came the day before.
Let me point out that I felt extremely blessed that during my absence
the family was well taken care of by the heads of our family Alhumdullilah.
Ready for the biggest trip of our life
The 3
families travelling together met at the airport and we said our goodbyes, which
were quite emotional especially with my son Yasir, but I was able to contain
myself (surprisingly). We were traveling through Manchester England of all
places and did not have to wear Ihram in Toronto. As we were boarding the
flight we noticed another couple who looked like they were also going for Hajj.
I also remembered that we were expecting a couple from Alberta. Indeed we met Afzal Kudoos and his wife
Zubeida in Manchester airport and they were in our group, same package.
Air Canada Flight 1930 to Manchester UK
After a
quick lunch and Zohar Salaat at the airport we got into Ihram. We decided to
wear the ihram bottom at the airport and the juba on top, then an hour before Meeqaat
to get into full ihram and proclaim the niyat for Umrah. Now based on everything I heard about Jeddah
and the HAJJ TERMINAL, I was prepared to spend 6 hours in the terminal itself.
By my calculation, we would get to Jeddah at midnight on the 14th,
so I was expecting to leave the airport around 6 am on the 15th. I
added about 3 to 5 hours ride from Jeddah to our hotel including the Mutawif
office for passport control. So according to my plan we would reach our hotel
by 11 am. What I also heard was that hotel check ins are usually after 3 pm, so
I was prepared to NOT have a room right away. So we would have to do Umrah in
the meantime. My only concern was where do we put our luggage and valuables?
We did
reach Jeddah on time shortly after midnight and we had to take stairs from the
airplane like the good old days. Then take a very crowded bus as shown here:
Jeddah arrival - Bus ride to terminal
We were
taken to the terminal and I was a bit surprised to see that things were moving
fast there and it was nothing like I was told about the Hajj Terminal. I
immediately told Shorab that I did not believe we were in the Hajj
Terminal. Soon enough my suspicion
turned into reality when we cleared immigration like in 45 minutes and the
ladies had already found our suitcases and we were ready to go. However our
group leader was waiting for us at the Hajj terminal and there were some
confusion, I even had to ask someone there what terminal we were in and indeed
we were in the Saudi regular terminal. The group leader told us to go to a specific
area, take any bus and they will take us to the hotel. Again I was a bit
confused because I thought how can we go to the hotel without anyone from the group?
Soon I realized that Transportation is handled by Saudi Government and already
paid for, group has nothing to do with it. So, we were given a small bus and
people from 3 different groups were loaded in there and off we went. The driver
seemed lost and he was waiting for the big buses to go by so he could follow,
his drive was a bit scary at times and he was suggesting that he would take us
to Mutawwif office then another bus would take us to
the hotel. That did not sound too good
because we would have to unload our luggage and reload. Again we were blessed as
the Mutawif officer came into the bus and asked the driver to DRIVE (in Arabic)
and he started the passport processing in the bus itself. Speaking about
passport, it is quite scary to see how they handled our passports, one would
fear that one would never see the passport again but eventually we all did, it
is quite amazing indeed.
On the way,
we stopped and 3 guys came into the bus and it looks like they were the experts
the way they were talking and indeed they got things moving by getting people
into their respective hotels. I asked
one of the guys if they worked for the Government, I was very surprised when he
said they were just volunteers who help Hujjajs and they take leave from their
day job for 2 months. So I thought he must have a good job to be able to afford
2 months off, again negative. He was doing odd jobs and was quite hard to make
a living, his family was back in Bangladesh, yet they do take this time off to
get the thawaabs of helping Hujjajs, May Allah accept all their good deeds and
protect them and their families AAMEEN.
WE WERE
BLESSED TO NOT GO THROUGH THE HAJJ TERMINALS AND NOT SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME AT
THE MUTAWIF OFFICE THAT WE GOT TO OUR HOTEL AROUND 8 AM. And as I forecasted our room was not ready
yet and the group leaders told us around noon, although I did not believe that.
Fortunately the hotel gave us a room to keep our luggage, a safe to put our
valuables and breakfast, it was around 9:30, and we headed for Umrah at around
10 am.
Our first Umrah
Our Umrah
had started the moment we prayed the 2 rakaats and made the verbal niyat
Labbayk
Allhuma Umrah Oh Allah I intend to perform Umrah and this should be
verbally expressed.
The next step is to enter Masjid
Haram and perform Tawaafs.
Now let s take a moment of reflection, here. We are about to see the
KAABA SHAREEF. The most important place for any Muslim, the place we have
visualized many many times, we have seen in photos
and videos, the place we always turn to for every salaat. As we were walking
towards masjid Haram with the group scout, I cannot describe what was going
through my mind. First of all it did not
feel real at all, felt surreal. Are we really here? Are we about to see the
Kaaba Shareef WOW? I was prepping myself as to what Duah I will ask and I was
advised by many to make this duah first:
OH ALLAH FROM NOW ON PLEASE ACCEPT ALL DUAHS I
WILL MAKE
They say
that the very first time one sees the Kaaba; one s duah is accepted, so why not
make a duah that will be recursive in nature in that every duah I will ask will
get accepted makes sense.
We went
through Door #70 which was closest to our hotel and within a few minutes and going
down the escalator, there was the amazingly indescribable KAABA SHAREEF and
indeed it felt surreal, I took a moment to gather myself and we raised our
hands facing the Kaaba and making our duahs, the one above first then my
personal duahs. No photos no videos no
phone. This was our moment with the Kaaba and our lord. After making duahs we
made the niyat for Tawaaf e Umrah and started Tawaaf. And what a feeling to
walk around Kaaba, just looking at it filled my heart. I must say the first few
cycles I was in Awe, holding on to Nazlee in front and following our group
lead.
A word of caution for those doing
Tawaaf with parents, wife or children, it is better to put the weaker ones in
front and hold on to their shoulder, this way during the push and shove, they
can be better protected.
Soon enough
we lost track of the group lead, and we lost Shenaz and Shorab as well as Afzal
and Zubeida. So Yusuff and I decided that at the end of Tawaaf we will meet at
the Green Light (which is right at Haj e aswad (Black Stone) which is where
Tawaaf begins and end. Few observations,
tawaaf gets harder around the black stone, there is a lot of pushing that goes
on. And also, around there the pushing is all the way to the Maakaame Ibrahim
and beyond. This is because Tawaaf begins and ends there and there are 3 types
of pushing:
Pushing
around the black stone to kiss it
Pushing
of people who are trying to get in to start Tawaaf
Pushing
of people who are trying to get out after completing tawaaf.
It can be
very dangerous and intimidating at times, especially first Tawaafs. But rest
assured you will get used to it and will know how to manage your Tawaafs.
NOTE:
Tawaafs can be done more easily on the first second and 3rd
floors where it is in the shade, hardly any pushing and much easier, but it
does take much longer as the circumference is much bigger. But from my own experience, the feeling of
doing the tawaaf closer to Kaaba Shareef is way way better.
Alhumdullilah we perform ALL our Tawaafs on the ground floor
When we
were done Tawaaf I had lost Yusuff and Hazima as well but I remember the
meeting point. It was a struggle to get out of the Kaaba area and I mentioned
the pushing around Maakaame Ibrahim. As we were coming out, Nazlee was behind
me and with the pushing she fell down and that is when I decided that she
ALWAYS has to be in front of me.
The next step
was to perform 2 rakaats behind the Maakaame Ibrahim and as we were trying to
find a spot there is a huge crowd of people around the zamzam area coming
TOWARDS US and that got scary. My quick thinking I turned Nazlee around and
said WALK WITH THE CROWD and this took us towards the back. We found a small
spot where I protected her as she performed the 2 rakaats and I did 2 of my
own.
I was
getting worried that I have lost the 3 couples and the group scout what do I do
next and right at that time I was at the SAFA MARWA entrance and there was
Yusuff and Hazima and I was extremely happy to see them. We looked for a zamzam
area where we had our first drinks (also part of Umrah) and the water was so
good. We just performed tawaaf in the sun at 11 am, tired from the heat and the
pushing that zamzam water felt so good, I must have had 4 glasses or more.
The 4 of us
then proceeded to perform SAFA MARWA walk/jog. Since Yusuff and Hazima had
already performed Umrah before they helped us a lot with the SAFA MARWA as to
where to go, how to do the niyat and duah and how to perform the 7 circuits. We
were quite surprised with SAFA/MARWA actually I thought it would be way more
rough and difficult, but it is all indoors, tiled floors air conditioned and
very comfortably. The Jog distance is small and manageable.
As we were
about to finish SAFA MARWA, the group scout tracked us down and indicated to us
where they will be waiting for us. We met there, performed Zohar and went back
to the hotel. As expected the room was
not available yet, so the men went for the head shaving (actually not
completely bald).
Umrah Completed - Waiting for hotel room
Eventually
we got our room baad Assr (we performed Assr in the hotel itself that day, the
hotel has a masjid area that broadcasts the Haram salaat).
Now let s
take a moment to reflect, we travelled over 2 nights, with not much sleep,
performed Umrah during the day without any issues Alhumdullilah and did not
feel that tired. We could not understand where that energy came from. And it is
not that we got into our room and slept. No, we showered and got ready for Maghrib,
also prayed Esha and then came back for dinner. Sleep time was between 11 pm
and midnight and the plan was to wake up at 4 am for Tahajud. Maghrib was an
amazing scene in the masjid, as it is the busiest salaat. So many people show
up and I believe we prayed all Maghrib salaats outdoors. So basically you walk
towards Haram and lay your mat anywhere and pray, men, women intermingled. The
only thing we need to ensure is that a woman can only besides another woman or
a Mehram.
That was
DAY1 of out wonderful Hajj journey.
Days in Mecca leading to Hajj
Few advices
given to me before leaving for Hajj was to NOT overdo it before the 5 days of Hajj.
I was reminded time and time that Hajj is about the 5 days in
Mina/Arafat/Muzdalifa and Jamaraat and that we need to try and be as fit as we
can for those 5 days. After Umrah, we
had to spend 3 days in Mecca before going to Mina we spend all our time between
the hotel and masjid Haram and to be honest we did not feel the need to go
anywhere else. The other advice given to
me was to NOT drink the COLD zamzam, but I could not resist, every time we were
in the masjid there I was gulping multiple cups of the blessed water.
First Night - touring Masjid Haram
On day 2,
Nazlee and I were a bit late getting up but we did make it for Tahajud close to
5 am. During Hajj period there is an Azaan for Tahajud (4:40 am) exactly 1 hour
before Fajr time (5:40 am). I made sure Nazlee was in a lady s section and I
found a spot close by. We did manage to
make it to the Kaaba floor (all Fajr Salaats we performed in Haram were on the
Kaaba floor and close to the Kaaba Alhumdullilah).
After Fajr Nazlee and I performed Tawaaf and
then we headed back to the hotel and slept. The rest of the day we took it
easy, some light shopping and salaats.
That night between Maghrib and Esha we explored masjid Haram more and we
went to the first floor Mataaf where they perform Tawaaf on the first
floor. The view of the Kaaba from up
there was spectacular and this was the busiest time for tawaaf as the sun had
gone down and it was more comfortable.
The
Scene at Maghrib time is amazing outside Haram, lots of people and we pray
outside
Day 3 was
going to be a very busy day as it was our first Jummah in Haram. Again we were
advised to go very early in order to secure a spot, so after our usual big breakfast;
we got to the masjid around 10 am.
Ready for first Jummah in Mecca
The walk
from our hotel to the masjid was about 5 minutes, very convenient indeed. We
settled the ladies in a convenient lady s section on the ground floor and
Shorab made me do the tawaaf of a lifetime.
Tawaafs during Hajj is extremely crowded and getting anywhere close to
the Kaaba is practically impossible unless you are willing to fight your way
through. And this is exactly what we did.
It was very hot around 11 am and we performed tawaaf where I had the
chance to pray 2 rakaats inside the Hateem, touch the Kaaba Shareef and was inches
away from touching the black stone. What an experience that was and by the time
I was done my juba was wet. I must have drank about 5 glasses of cold zamzam and
I made my way to the first floor Mataaf area where I performed fake tawaafs (just
walked with those doing tawaaf on the first floor) just to be able to get a
front row seat for Jummah prayer. I did manage to get a good seat right in
front of Kaaba with a very good view of the imam performing the Jummah khutbah.
Once thing I noticed was that both the khutbah and the Jummah salaat tend to be
shorter, I guess it is because there are lots of people in front of Kaaba
sitting in the heat. After Jummah Nazlee and Shehnaz did tawaafs on their own
and I met my cousin Adam Oozeerally after about 30 years or so. He came from UK
to perform Hajj with his wife. We did
manage to do some shopping while we prayed Assr and Maghrib.
Here are
some photos of Safa Marwa area:
Mount Safa
Walk-Run from Safa to Marwa
Our hotel view from Haram
I also
managed to meet my cousin Adam Oozeerally from Trou Deau Douce after about 30 years.
He lives in UK now and was performing Hajj with his wife.
Adam Oozeerally and wife
Day 4 was
the day before Hajj and again we decided to take it easy. We performed Tawaaf
early again after Fajr, and did some light shopping and we also attended a Hajj
seminar by our group between Assr and Maghrib.
At this
point, it is worth mentioning that as soon as I set foot in Jeddah, I had cut
down on my social media interaction with the world. I removed facebook and
messenger from my phone and only used whatsapp with our immediate family
members and close friends. I was in constant communication with my brother
Anwar who has performed Hajj many times and he was giving me very good advice
on what to expect and what comes next as well as sending me important duahs. This communication with the families with
photos of where we were, made them feel they were also part of the trip,
Alhumdullilah.
One more
remark before I get into the days of Manasik, I always heard that when we go
for Hajj we forget about everything else that s happening back home, children,
work, issues etc and indeed this is the case. It is like we are on a mission
and only this mission counts. There was really no reason to worry about back
home as my mum and children were well guarded with my elder siblings around to
take care of them Maasha Allah.
Here are
some amazing views of the Kaaba and the crowd.
Kaaba View from the top floor
Hajj Day 1 Mina
Finally,
the big day was here, the most anticipated time of our trip, the beginning of
days of Manasik as depicted in the guide above. While Day 1 is a Sunnah to go
to Mina, it is highly recommended to do so, because first it is a resting day in
Mina before the big day in Arafat early next morning. All the groups would make
sure they bring the pilgrims to Mina on that day. Ideally we should perform Zohar/Assr/Maghrib/Esha
and Fajr in Mina before departing for Arafat.
We were told that we should be ready in Ihram any time after 9 am.
However our group told us would be a bit later. So we decided to NOT do tawaaf
on that day, again to keep ourselves fresh for Hajj. After Fajr we took a nap, and then set out
for breakfast. After breakfast we showered, ghusl then got into ihram clothes
but we did not do the Hajj niyat until later on, when we were about to leave
the room. It was a day of great anticipation,
some fear and some excitement as well. Over time we had heard a lot of strange
things about Mina, from the toilet facilities to the sleeping facilities and
the past accidents that happened over there.
I believe we left our room around noon having done the Hajj intention just
before leaving.
However we
were made to wait downstairs for a while and at one point I did go back up to
use the bathroom and accidentally used the scented soap ..
oops.. So I had to give sadaqa for that mistake, which
I did later on in Mina (lots of poor people line up there to collect MAAFI
sadaqa).
READY FOR HAJJ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSSS
At last we
got our bus to Mina and we were the last ones to get there from our group.
Hajj brings a special kind on happiness
Our tent
was very close to the street, Mutawif #35 and easily accessible. The ladies
were made to go around at the back. As we walked in, it was quite overwhelming
scene to see so many people all lying around, some sitting some sleeping and it
was the first time I we really saw how big our group was. I would say, there
were about 300 men in that tent. And the space we got was no more than a KABAR
size. And because we came late, we did not get good spots and I was right by
the door. It was worse on the ladies side and there were not enough beds for
the 4 ladies in our group. And it took them a while to get things sorted out as
some of the women in there did not want to move. It was much better on the guy s
side.
Once
settled in, we prayed Zohar, Assr then Maghrib, the group gave a talk about
what to expect for the next 5 days of Manasik and the plan for the big day was
explained. At one point, the group scouts came into the tent and advised
everyone to stay indoors as there are heavy winds and sand storm. We had no
idea how bad it was until we started feeling the heavy wind and heard the rain
(yes RAIN in Mina). The storm seemed to strengthen with time and was starting
to sound scary. After Esha, they served us dinner and I must say that the food
service in Mina was excellent. We were getting boxed meals but they were very
good meals, hot and lots of it. Shortly
after dinner, it seemed that the storm was over and I ventured outside to use
the toilet. As I was in there I heard strong wind and an extremely loud noise
outside. People were screaming, and I felt the whole washroom shaking. I must
say I got really scared, I thought the thing was crashing down. When I came out I realised there were some
heavy metal doors that came down crashing making the loud noise and that there
were air conditioning units that had come down. Later on, we walked outside to
assess the damages and indeed there were lots of water on the ground and heavy
winds.
After the storm in Mina
We had no
idea what had happened in Mecca, the wind was so strong that the Kiswa came off
Kaaba shareef.
Storm in Mecca (from internet)
I was
having problems connecting my phone so I could not alert the folks back home
that we were ok, but I did not know the severity of the storm and how much
would be on the news. That night I did
not sleep well at all, as I was by the door and every time someone would come
in or go out, that would disturb my sleep. Finally woke up around 4 am, used
the washroom and took a shower (only shower I took in Mina). One thing to note
is the lineups at the washroom facilities, one should be prepared to wait half
an hour or more. The Asian style toilets are better actually as they are clean
and pretty much SELF CLEAN with the shower right above. The European style
toilets not so much, I would not sit on those. But overall toilet facilities
are NOT that bad, just takes some getting used to.
After Fajr
I was able to connect my phone and then realised that the news of the storm was
all over the place. So I called back home to assure them we were ok. I also
found out that my relative Anwar Paurobally s dad had passed away (inna illahi wa
inna ilaihi rajeoun). I made
sure I called him before heading to Arafat.
Day of Arafat
We have
been thinking about Hajj for a long time, started to get serious about 3 years
ago and started preparing for this trip since December 2017, for this day the
biggest day of all, the DAY OF ARAFAT. The most important day of our trip. My
thoughts of the day of Arafat was that it was going to be the toughest day as
well. First and foremost this is the day that will make us feel whether our Hajj
is accepted or not. This is the day where our rab will come down and listen to
our duahs and in shaa Allah accept our duahs. I remember Rashid telling me to
make the most of this day as EVERYTHING gets accepted on the day of Arafat. I was fearing this day that few days before I even did a
practice duah (Wuqoof) session in front of Kaaba standing up. Fortunately
Brother Anwar had sent me a very long list of duahs which made it very easy for
me. Also before going for Hajj, people
will ask you to make special duah for them, make sure you write down all their
names and what they requested because this is the day to pay back this debt.
We were
told that we would be leaving for Arafat around 9 am as the draw put us 3rd
in line I think. What happens is that all the groups in the American tents are
drawn to generate the order in which each group would leave Mina for Arafat.
Again we were lucky to be drawn 3rd and not 1st
.. yes this sounds odd but since 6 am I saw the
group #1 line up and their bus did not come till like 8 am. We did not have to
line up that much and we got to Arafat at a very decent time, before 11
am. My first impression of Arafat was
far from what I had imagined; this place looked like a RESORT. My dream of
seeing people in white climbing Mount Arafat like ants ..
well that will remain a dream for now. The mountain was nowhere to be found
because our Group tent was far from it but still in Arafat. One thing to point
out is that ARAFAT is MANDATORY for Hajj and if one is not within the
boundaries of Arafat then one Hajj is not complete. This is why Saudi provides
all kind of facilities to ensure sick people do make it to Arafat briefly on
the 9th of Dhul Hijja. I have even seen HELICOPTER there.
Luxurious tents in Arafat
As we
walked into our tents, ladies separated obviously. I saw many rolled up mats
laid down on the floor and soon enough we were told by the Imam to NOT use them
as they were for Muzdalifa. The day of Arafat is NOT a day to sleep or rest but
one should make the most of it. Having
said that I was extremely sleepy at midday. Remember I did not have a good
night sleep in Mina and I am sure Shaitaan was working extra hard to keep me
away from the good deeds. But I persisted with it by drinking lots of coffee
and walking outside in the heat. We prayed Zohar and there was a khutbah by
our imam and then had a huge lunch .. Briyani .. possibly Camel meat !!!!
Or Lamb but it was very delicious. Then I started praying and asking duah. I
started to feel it and the sleepiness was gone and I felt like I was on top of
the world. Pouring it out, sobbing, crying and making my duahs with very good
intention and sincerity. It was very hot but there were trees and shades all
over the place and when I felt tired I went into the tent to rest a bit. It was
sad to see that many people in our group were sleeping the whole afternoon,
this is the day we paid so much for , we planned so
much for, we wanted so much for ourselves and some people were wasting it, Allah
knows best. Note that Zohar and Assr are
prayed together on Arafat day to free the afternoon for duahs.
Entrance to our area in Arafat Looks like a resort
Listening to the talk/khutbah in Arafat
Amazing Lunch in Arafat
As the
afternoon sets and we get closer to sunset, you can feel the intensity of
people around you praying and crying. I took a moment to look around and see
the Muslim Ummah old and young, women and children all conversing with their
rab and asking for forgiveness, asking duah for their loved ones, asking duahs
for the sick, for those in need it really hits me that this is indeed what we
came here for. I remember vividly that my brother Rashid told me to make the
most of Arafat as ALL DUAHS GET ACCEPTED.
And I can tell you that some folks who asked me to make duah for their
issues told me while I was still in Hajj that my duahs were being accepted. And
the very first thing I had asked in front of Kaaba and on mount Arafat was
accepted the very Friday of that same week, ALLAHU AKBAR!!!
Closer to
Sunset, the group imams did a collective duah but I decided to be outside and
do my own because I was told the best time in Arafat is before sunset. I was
close to the highway and facing the sun and making the last minutes duahs and
the sun was setting and folks, this was an amazing few minutes, I poured myself
out so much that I really felt DRAINED afterwards. I do not think I can ever
ask for duah the same way I did on my first day of Arafat and in shaa Allah
more to come. This in indeed what Hajj is about. After sunset I went back to
the tent and the collective duah was still going on and I joined in, was an
excellent duah.
We were
told that we would be leaving Arafat a bit late but again we got lucky as we
were drawn #2 and it did not take us too long to catch the bus. We were given
combined meal for dinner and breakfast in a big box and off we went with our
mattress in hand. Destination Muzdalifa!!!!
The Night of Muzdalifa
When my
cousin Eshan came back from Hajj a year before, he mentioned to me that the hardest
part was the night of Muzdalifa. So once again I was a bit anxious about this
night. I also heard that when one is in Muzdalifa one will know whether one s Hajj
has been accepted or not, or rather that one will feel a successful Hajj or
not.
We reached
Muzdalifa quite early, around 9:30 pm and immediately our group marked an area
for all SIT pilgrims. Our area was quite well lit and there was a nice view of
a mountain close by.
It was not
as intimidating as originally thought.
We prayed Maghrib and Esha there in SIT Jamaat. There was some confusion
as to whether families should sleep together (Mehram of course). But we heard
from the group that ladies would be at the back and men in front. So we settled
the ladies in a ladies area and went to sleep in front, however we found that
there were some ladies in the so called men section and they would not
move. This created some conflict
initially but then there were some spots around the SIT executive areas and the
3 of us moved to that area, which was a bit further from the ladies. The mattress provided by SIT was very good
and we did not even have to open our sleeping bags. Only 1 problem where I was
sleeping there were a LOT of pebbles and lots of people were coming to come
collect their pebbles by my head. This
was a bit distracting. As the night grew, lots and lots of groups kept coming
and I think people came all the way till 2 am. There were also some minor
arguments and fights when people were trying to cross around sleeping folks
who were being disturbed. Eventually we
did get to sleep for a few hours and that was a very good sleep indeed. There were also some folks who climbed up the
mountain and slept there. I did feel very good in Muzdalifa, however the
thought of the next day started to creep in, as it was going to be the busiest
day of all. Tawaaf crowd, Heat, long walks etc were occupying my mind.
Early in
the morning I started hearing Nazlee and Shehnaz voices as they had gone to
make wudhu for Tahajud
and Fajr. Eventually we woke up and went to make wudhu, as expected long lineups
for the washrooms, so we did not use the washroom. We prayed Fajr and set off for Jamaraat.
NOTE: The
group gave us 2 options for that day (10th Dhul Hijja)
1. Go to Mina, then Jamaraat and come
back to Mina and stay in Mina till 11 pm and there would be TENTATIVE
transportation to take us to Mecca for Tawaaf and Saee.
2. Go to Jamaraat , then find our own
transportation to Mecca, perform Tawaaf, Saee and rest in the hotel and come
back to Mina during the night, again our own transportation.
We opted
for number 2 as per my original schedule. Fortunately the group led by Imam
Hassan Shibly accompanied us to Jamaraat.
Of note here, the group did not give us time
for the Muzdalifa Wuqoof which is also optional. It is yet another opportunity
to make duah after Fajr in Muzdalifa.
10th Dhul Hijja
The much
anticipated 10th of Dhul Hijja was here and we were nearly there, I
would say 50% of Hajj is completed by now, but this would be by far the most
tiring day.
We left Muzdalifa
around 6 am, shortly after Fajr and we decided to WALK all the way to
Jamaraat. Taking the bus in the morning
is more time-consuming and walking after Fajr is very nice and easy indeed. And
wow it was an amazing walk. Lots of people walking over the bridge on the
street, through Mina, we made some water stops, cool air in the morning we did
not feel it at all. After getting lost a
couple of times, we managed to make it on to the TUNNEL to Jamaraat. The scene
was AMAZING with so many people walking towards Jamaraat. On this day we
supposed to pelt the BIG Jamaraat only and then proceed to Mecca. As we walked
through the tunnels, the excitement grew and also the fear of the Jamaraat,
past accidents there on our minds but we knew that things had improved a lot
now. When we got there we were on the 3rd floor and the building
juts opened up into a very huge area with the 3 jamaraats and lots of walking
space on either side. I quickly realised that the probability of any stampede
is nest to none here with the police moving the crowd quickly. We threw our 7
stones at the big Jamaraat and moved on to the other side as quickly as
possible, direction Mecca.
Imaam
Shibly walked with us to where we could get a cab/bus to Mecca and then told us
that we would be on our own from there. So we started looking for
transportation and the prices we heard were exorbitant, ranging from 100 Riyals
to 300 riyals. Finally, we managed to get a bus who charged us 50 riyals per
person and that was quite cheap for the day. The bus was loaded with people and
there was no room to walk with people sitting in the middle walking
corridor. However as soon as the bus had
a view of Haram the driver wanted us to walk from there if it was not for some
people who could speak Arabic who managed to convince the driver to drive
further in the city. Eventually the bus
took us quite close to Haram.
Of note
here, I was expecting big festivities as it was Eid day in Mecca but the place
was quite deserted if not for Haajees going to masjid Haram for tawaaf. It did took us a
while to get to our hotel and after enjoying a nice KFC lunch, it was Zohar
time and we went to the masjid to complete the remaining Hajj rites of the 10th.
We
performed the Tawaaf right in the heat baad Zohar and I must say that it was
one of the best times as the crowd was very manageable. Yes the heat was
sometimes unbearable but we were running on emotions at this time. Tried to use the umbrella but it was more
painful. Both Nazlee and I had bouts of cramps at various times during the
tawaaf but we managed to complete it successfully. After a few glasses of
zamzam we were ready for another set of Saee and this went fairly well. After
Saee we received message that the Qurbani was completed which was great timing
as we were ready for the head shave and getting out of ihram.
The good thing
of having your hotel during the days of Manaasik is
that you get to freshen up in the hotel after getting out of ihram, chill out a
bit and make calls to families as it would normally be Eid day everywhere else
in the world (although in our case that was not the case as Eid was celebrated
the day after in most places outside Saudi).
I was still a bit concerned as to how to get back to Mina and Anwar had
advised me to walk all the way. Taxies can be very unreliable. However another
blessing from SIT where they went above and beyond is that they informed us all
that they would be arranging for a bus to take us all back to Mina.
In the
afternoon after Esha Salaat, we enjoyed a nice burger meal from FIVE GUYS
(courtesy of Dustagheer), chilled out a bit and then the bus took us back to
Mina.
Eid Day Dinner FIVE GUYS Burgers
We reached Mina to an almost empty tent
because remember most of our group had opted to go Mecca that night and spend
the night in the hotel. And as I expected their transportation did not show up,
so they had to find alternate means.
Mina Day 4 11th
Dhul Hijja
Often after
the 10th of Dhul Hijja, Haajees feel that the Hajj is complete;
however we still have to stay in Mina for 2 or 3 more days and pelt all 3
jamaraats each day. These days in Mina were quite fun actually. We got used
to the environment, feels more like a picnic there with all the good food they
were feeding us. On day 11, after Fajr
there was a talk and after that I had a very good sleep, probably the best
sleep I had in days. I think I woke up
around 11 a.m.
Each tent
area is given specific times that we can leave for Jamaraat and the tent cops
will not let us leave before that. We
had lunch: 
Sweets and Goodies inside the tent area in Mina
Eventually
we left for the Jamaraat shortly after Zohar. And what a trip that was!!
The walk to
the Jamaraat took about 45 minutes and we had to walk through 3 tunnels and
partly outdoors. The tunnels were for pedestrians only and were only 1 way,
with huge lanes, like 6 of them. There were police managing the crowd and also
spraying us with much needed cold water.
Remember
initially I talked about the decision we made to NOT take the VIP package that
would have put us across from Jamaraat. Well this walk to Jamaraat was one of
the most wonderful experiences. We walked with the crowd in a very orderly
fashion; we got to mingle with other groups with people reading loudly. We did
not feel the walk at all. It was as if we got therein no time.
We entered
the 3rd floor of Jamaraat and again the crowd is very properly
managed. However some people still do not get it. For the first Jamaraat,
Nazlee and I found a spot right in front fairly easily; we approached it and
pelted the small Jamaraat. However, as soon as we turned, there was a small
crowd of people coming fiercely at us, as if they were going after the real
Shaitaan. These people need to realize that pelting the Shaitaan is symbolic as
if we are taking Shaitaan out of our lives.
After
pelting the first 2 Jamaraats, we need to face the Qibla and make duah. After
the 3rd one, there is no duah; just make our way back through a different set
of tunnels.
The rest of
the day in Mina is fairly relaxing, lots of people sleep. I found it very
distracting to do ibaadats or read Quran as there is noise all over the place.
After Maghrib
we had briyani dinner again and we slept early. This was going to be our last
night in Mina and we were now debating how to get back to Mecca, again 2 choices:
(1) Walk or transportation from Jamaraat
after the 3rd day of pelting.
(2) Come back from Jamaraat and wait for
our bus.
Since we
had brought so much stuff to Mina needlessly, option 1 was going to be hard for
us as we would have to walk all the way with our luggage. So we opted for
Option 2.
12th of Dhul
Hijja, last day in Mina
This was a
truly amazing day for the following reasons:
We
were going to complete Hajj
We
were looking forward to the final trip to Jamaraat
We
are going to leave Mina and looking forward to Mecca and then Medina.
Note that
one can choose to stay another night in Mina and pelt the Jamaraat once more on
the 13th, this is also highly recommended. However, since that would
fall on a Friday we decided to go back to Mecca and perform Jummah in haram. The group was also leaving Mina on the 12th
anyway.
After lunch
and Zohar we enjoyed that walk to Jamaraat again and what a pleasure that was.
After we pelted the 3rd Jamaraat, I could feel a sense of relief and
I saw that on Nazlee s face as well.
Once again,
I witnessed something incredible on the way back from Jamaraat. There was a man
who had difficulties walking but he chose to walk the few Kms and with his
difficulties, I could not keep up with him. Amazing what people can do during
Hajj, you come across all kinds of handicapped people doing their best to
fulfill the Hajj rites.
Inside Jamaraat 3rd and biggest Jamaraat
Back to
Mina, we sat by the door, watching many happy faces coming back from Jamaraat
with a sense of relief and happiness. Words are not enough to describe those
feelings. I will let the pictures do the talking.
Happiness after 3rd day of pelting Jamaraat
Hajj is now completed Maasha Allah
The bus
could not take us all the way to the hotel and we had to walk a short distance
carrying our load !!!
ONCE AGAIN
FOLKS THERE IS NO NEED TO BRING A LOT OF THINGS TO MINA. YOU WILL NOT USE THEM
ALL.
That evening back in Mecca, we felt so good and relived that Hajj went
so well by the mercy of Allah. We did not really face any difficulties and we
had been blessed with good health, lots of courage and patience and ease by
Allah s mercy. Baad Esha we enjoyed a
nice buffet meal in the hotel and strategized what to do next.
I had promised Shehnaz and
Shorab that I would do anything they request AFTER Hajj but before we need to
conserve energy and health. They
indicated that they would like to go for another Umrah through Masjid e Aisha
and we planned it out on the dinner table. We were a bit too tired to do that
overnight so I proposed to them that we should go at 3 am before tahajjud.
We woke up at 3 am, got into
ihram and took a cab to masjid e Aisha that was bout 20 minutes drive. We
performed the 2 rakaats and came back to Mecca in the same cab. After Fajr
salaat we performed Tawaafs and completed the Umrah shortly after. Both Nazlee
and I made the intention of performing this Umrah for our dads alhumdullilah.
A word of caution here, opinions are
divided as to whetehr Masjid e Aisha is a true Meeqaat or not. My understading
is that it is a Meeqaat foe Mecca RESIDENTS only. However after we got out of
Ihram first time, we do become a resident of Mecca until we leave. So in that sense it is OK to use it as a
Meeqaat point. However another school of thought is totally against this. In
any case, Allah knows best and May Allah accept our second Umrah.
Praying On top
of MARWA
We came
back to the hotel and got out of Ihram, then got ready for Jummah after
breakfast. We got there a bit late this
time, around 10 am and the masjid was already quite full. This is when I witnessed how efficient the Army
was in controlling the crowd who were trying to push through a barrier to get
into the masjid. We had to go on the
upper level and there were a lot of pushing to get to the top, but we
eventually got there.
Again
Shorab and I did some fake tawaafs and we managed to get a good spot for our
last Jummah in Mecca.
Baad
Jummah, we took the opportunity to do out last shopping in Mecca and there are
so many places to shop right around Haram. The shopping centres are like flea
markets and one needs to bargain a lot.
We had to
rush back and forth between hotel, shopping centre and masjid to perform the
regular salaats.
Nazlee and
I had to pray Esha on the topmost level of Haram and the view from there was
truly amazing. This was going to be our last night in Mecca and we took some
time to appreciate the masjid before heading back to the hotel for dinner.
Final Night in Mecca Mixed feeling
The group
had alerted us that we would be leaving for Medina around 10 am and this was
very good news as we would get to Medina on Saturday itself in the
afternoon/evening. So we planned our Tawaaf e Wida for after Fajr.
Last day In Mecca
This was
going to be another tearful day for us as we would be leaving the holiest place
on earth for Medina. My mum told me that when she went for Hajj, she felt very
sad after the last tawaaf.
Nazlee and
I performed Tawaaf e Wida after Fajr as planned and indeed it was a very sad
feeling, we completed the tawaaf in a fairly reasonable time and again we took
some time to admire the Kaaba and make special duah. The main duah for me was
to THNAK Allah for bringing us to this holy place, for making it easy for us to
perform Hajj WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS, for keeping our health and I also made duahs
for the children and families in need one last time in front of Kaaba. When we
turned to go back to the hotel, could not stop the tears.
As we were
having breakfast, we got news that one bus in our group would be leaving around
4 pm and with the exception of the Kudoos family, we were on that 4 pm bus. We
were not too happy about it but SABAR !!! We pretty
much had another half day in Mecca. We were supposed to leave our room by 1 pm, however the group was managing what time we do so. The 10 am bus left around noon and Afzal kept
sending us updates that they were waiting at the Mutawif office. I ventured out
for some more shopping and on my way back I went for another ZAMZAM drink and
another peek at the wonderful KAABA.
Back in the
hotel it was moving day :
Some
people moving to Medina
Some
people were going to Jeddah to go back home
Some
people were moving from Azizia back to the hotel.
It was
quite chaotic in the lobby.
We prayed Zohar
in the masjid (our last prayer there) and we were waiting patiently in the room
as to when we should go to the lobby, but that call never came. The SABR that I have been referring to since
the first day, we needed a lot of it that day. I have to admit we had been very
lucky till that day, but we did need a lot of sabr
during that trip to Medina.
Around 3
pm, the hotel folks started to hound us to leave the room, but I insisted that
our group had not indicated us to do so. There always had to be someone in the
room because the card would no longer work. Around 5 pm, I ran to KFC to buy
some dinner because I knew we were going to be there for a while. At 6 pm the
Hotel manager called me and gave me crap for not having left the room. I could
have argued with him but then I decided to just follow his orders and leave. So
we left at 6 pm to go down to the lobby.
The Jeddah folks were still there, the Azizia
folks were coming in. It was a zoo down there.
Waiting for the bus to Medina
We had to
pray Maghrib and Esha in the hotel itself as we could not move from the lobby,
in case our bus showed up.
The folks,
who left at noon, were already in Medina and we were still in the hotel!
Eventually around 11 pm our bus came, only 2 of us in a big coach. The good
news is that we DID NOT have to go get passports from the Mutawif office as
Imam Zameer had already done that. So we were excited that we finally get to
leave. The bus left around 11:40 pm.
As soon as
the bus took off, we slept and while I was hearing the engine roaring and the
bus moving, it felt as if we were more stopped than moving. Few hours in, I
heard some commotion in the bus and as I opened my eyes I saw Imam Zameer in
the bus addressing to us. I could not get much what he was saying all I
remember is that he mentioned we will go to a masjid nearby pray Fajr then
continue our journey. Checked my watch, we were like 4 hours into the trip, so
I said to myself great, we must be like half way there. However, I was asking
myself, how Imam Zameer got into the bus as he was not in the bus when we left
Mecca. As the bus turned and continued,
I saw the CLOCK TOWER, for a second I thought that maybe there is another
similar one close to Medina. When the bus hit the highway, I noticed signs to
TAIF/MUZDALIFA, then I said to myself that cannot be
true, are we still in Mecca? I asked Yusuff and he confirmed my fear. He said
you would not believe that we only travelled about an hour, for 90 minutes we
were stuck on the border of Mecca, and they would let the bus go. Apparently,
busses cannot cross the border after midnight, unless there is 1 passenger with
a plane ticket to fly out of Medina. WOW.
So we
pretty much travelled for 4 hours to NOWHERE!!! lol
The bus
took us to a masjid close to Mecca and we prayed Fajr, and then took us to a
breakfast place.
Masjid where we prayed Fajr on the way to Medina
Funny story
here, we were getting sandwiches with eggs, meat kheema or fish. One guy from
our group asked the server (who was Indian or Pakistani) whether the meat was HALAAL.
The guy looked at him in awe and said AAP SAUDI MEIN HEIN BHAI, SAB KUCH
HALAAL HAIN . The guy then asked well I want to know if it was slaughtered by
HANDS. The server, more annoyed said to him that these types of questions are
only asked in your America, not here. He then added a KICKER, he said EAT EGGS,
I SLAUGHTERED IT WITH MY HANDS lol. That made my day!!!
We
restarted our journey around 8 am towards Medina. As usual I was in constant
conversation with my siblings throughout the trip and Rashida reminded me to
reflect on this journey and think about how our Rasullulah SAW did this on
camel, in the heat for many days. This is when it hits home, the hardship that
Pyare Nabi SAW had to go through to bring us Islam.
This is the only time
that the credibility of SIT and Imam Zameer came into question. Not so much
that it took us so long to get to Medina, but the fact that most of the group
left in the morning and only 23 people were left stranded. The fact that we
left close to midnight when he knew we would not be able to go through.
Something sounded fishy and Allah knows best. However I would not even consider
this a DIFFICULTY, juts nuisance maybe. We were all cool about it and we had a
very good sleep in the very comfortable bus.
Around Zohar
time we stopped at a rest area and prayed Zohar, freshened up a bit and had a nice
cuppa tea. The place looks like a DHAABA ! 
We finally
got to Medina around 4 pm and the first glimpse at Masjid-an-Nabawi I was in
Awe again. Our hotel was at gate #21 to 25, which gave easy access to both Men
and Women section. We were welcomed by
the group in the lobby and a nice Pizza lunch was given to us, courtesy of the
Kudoos family, Jazaak Allah. After a
quick shower and change of clothes we went to the masjid right away.
Medina Munawwara Second
Holiest City
Visiting Medina
is not a MUST DO for Hajj, however very highly recommended. I have always heard
that when in Mecca one feels the hardship of what Rasullulah (SAW) had to
endure and when in Medina one feels the calmness.
My first
thought when I saw Masjid-an-Nabawi (more commonly known as the PROPHET s
MOSQUE) can be summed up in two words:
EXTREME BEAUTY!!
Very
spectacular and the very first thing we witnessed was the closing of the
Umbrellas outside that turn into Columns.
It was very
hot in Medina the day we arrived, around 43 degrees and the tiles outside felt
very hot. However, inside the masjid, it was very cool, clean, and extremely
clean, the carpet had no smell whatsoever and the masjid architecture, one has
to really see this.
GATE 21 MEN ENTRANCE TO THE MASJI, LADIES ENTRANCE DATE 25 WAS SLIGHHTLY TO THE LEFT
Inside Masjid Nabawi
Day 1 in Medina
Day 1 was
cut short for us as we reached around 4 p.m. but we did make the most of it.
Our hotel, SHAZAA MEDINA looked very nice and the best part is that it is a few
minutes walk from the masjid with easy access to ladies entrance as well.
The group
had informed us the men would be going to make salaam to Rasullulah grave
around 10 p.m.
We had a
nice buffet dinner and I must say that the food variety here was a bit better
than at the Hilton. The ladies went to the masjid while the guys got together
to go visit the graves (Pyare Nabi (SAW), Abu Bakr Siddique (RA) and Umar Ibn
Khattab (RA).
Heading to make our first Salaams
This visit
was ONLY to convey our salaam and NOT to pray on the Rawdaah (Green Carpet
Jannat ka Tukra). Fortunately the crowd was not too bad and we managed to
convey our salaams very peacefully.
First set of Doors No one buried in there yet
Second door, Rasullulah SAW
Third Door Abu Bakr Siddique (RA) and Umar Ibn
Khattab (RA)
From the outside of the Salaam area the Green Dome
When we
came back to the hotel and met with the ladies, they informed us that they
managed to pray on the Rawdaah already. This was excellent news because Nazlee
and I had only 2 more nights in Medina and the ladies section to pray on the
Rawdaah can be quite brutal. It was good that they got it out of the way on the
first night.
The group
informed that the bus would leave around 8 a.m. for Ziyaarat.
Day 2 in Medina
Day 2
stated with Tahajud and Fajr salaat and then Shorab and I visited Jannat-ul-Baaqi, the cemetery right
besides the masjid where lots of Sahaabas had been buried. Unfortunately ladies are not allowed in there
but they would get to catch a glimpse of it from the Ziyaarat bus.
Jannat-Ul-Baaqui
After
breakfast we boarded the bus and set out for the usual Medina Ziyaarat:
Masjid-E-Quba,
believed to be the very first masjid in Islam. During the Hijra, Rasullulah SAW
performed salaat there first before reaching the crowd in Medina. Performing 2
rakaats nafil in masjid-e-Quba is equivalent to
performing an Umrah.
Masjid-E-Quba
Masjid-E-Qiblatain
This is the masjid where the direction of Qibla was switched from direction
of Jerusalem to Kaaba Shareef. The only masjid known to have 2 qiblahs.
Masjid-E-Qiblatain
Mount
Uhud
Mount Uhud
Top of the Uhud hill
SAYIDINAH
HAMZA KABAR IN MOUNT UHUD WHERE HE WAS SHAHEED
My cousin
Asia Naaz (Fifi) and her husband, Bhye Raffick, were also performing hajj but
we could not meet in Mecca. On my way to Medina she called me to inform me that
she got very sick and fainted while doing tawaaf e Wida. I was compelled to meet with them in Medina
before leaving. After Ziyaarat and before Zohar we were able to go to their
hotel which was also close to the prophet s mosque, but on the other side from
our hotel. It was quite an emotional meeting as she had been very sick and it
could have been worse. I reckon seeing tears in Bhye Raffick eyes when he was
relating the incident to me. We spent
about an hour there before heading back to the Haram for Zohar salaat.
The only
things left for me to do in Medina was to pray 2 rakaats on the Rawdaah and
also buy the famous Medina Dates for families and I had 1 day and 2 nights left
for this. We were told that the best time to go to Rawdaah was around 11 pm and
my plan was to do just that on Monday night. However after Maghrib salaat, I
had some time before Esha and I told Shorab, to come with me to check out the
crowd at Rawdaah. To our surprise we
kept walking in and while there was a crowd, it was quite tame and the crowd
was like carrying us through.
AS we were
moving through I already located the area where we would be doing our 2 rakaats
nafils, right at the bottom behind the mimbar. However, I noticed that the
crowd was moving towards the exit ( I am guessing they
had no idea where to stop). We stopped and started creating space for others to
pray so we can also. I noticed a very good spot where a couple of people were
about to leave. I called Shorab to come with me inside and we managed to pray
on the Rawdaah, not once but twice, took some photos and then left. We could
have stayed there more but it was better to let others have their opportunity
there.
RAWDAAH
RAWDAAH
We were
quite surprised how easy it was for us to do this, again blessings from Allah
to make everything easy for us. After that we walked by the graves again and
conveyed salaam to Rasullulah SAW, Abu Bakr Siddique RA and Umar Ibn Khattab
RA. This time we were much closer to the doors.
It was a big relief to have finally completed everything we intended to
do in Medina.
The
remaining day and a half, we spent our time shopping, date shopping and chill
out with the families. After Assr Salaat
we took another trip to Masjid-E-Quba to hopefully achieve another Umrah In Shaa Allah. I met
my cousin Adam again for the last Maghrib salaat.
Last Maghrib Salaat in Medina with ADAM
This is where they keep Bodies for Mayat
Entrance to make Salaams
Last Time trying to convey Salaams
We also
spent some time finishing our packing and the time had come for us to leave
these marvellous places to go home. After a very successful Hajj trip, the time
had come to say goodbye.
Leaving Medina
Yusuff
family and my family were departing on Wednesday morning baad Fajr, our flight
was around 11 am, Medina to Jeddah (business class), then Jeddah to Dubai and
finally Dubai to Toronto. The only worry was OUR PASSPORTS. What hoops did we
have to jump to get our passports?
We said our
goodbyes to our troop:
I was handed a form to submit to the office at
the airport for the passport with instruction on where to go. As I was reading
the form I saw a time of 8:30 A.M. on it.
We reached the airport around 7:15 am and I made my way to that office.
Fortunately there were only 2 people ahead of us; however the officer would not
hand me the passport and said to come at, you guessed it, 8:30 AM. Weird that
they had the passport and we are about to leave the country but they would have
some form of deadline to hand over the passport. We managed to get 4 sets of
Zamzam water (1 each) and I went around 8:15 A.M. to get the passports. They
did give me the 4 passports and we proceeded to go for check in. Even though
our flight was only an hour, one would think it is no big deal to have a
BUSINESS CLASS TICKET for 1 hour. WRONG.
We got to check in at the FIRST CLASS booth and there was NO crowd at
all. The person at the counter was very nice and while he said he cannot let us
bring the zamzam water separately, he did show us how we could check them in,
as Yusuff had one less piece. We complied and were able to check in all the
zamzam water and one more.
Another
benefit of this short business class ticket was that we got to enjoy the first
class lounge with a very nice breakfast.
And the leg room was not too bad either
Jeddah
Airport is probably the worst airport I have ever been to, however on reaching
there I quickly felt like home:
Canadians feel like home again!!!
After
praying Zohar/Assr, We enjoyed a nice cup of Timmies
coffee and sandwich and waited about 2 hours to catch our flight to Dubai. No
more business class now and was a mad rush to get to the plane.
We reached
Dubai safely; quite a short trip and we had a few hours to kill before boarding
the long flight back to Toronto (14 hours flying time). Although I wanted to do
some shopping in Dubai, we were not into it at all, so we decided to eat again,
this time McDonalds and then boarded our flight. We made one mistake we did not
ask whether our luggage had made it!
Before the
flight took off, the pilot did announce that some luggage did not make it and
little did we know at the time, it was our luggage, in fact most people from
Saudi airlines did not their luggage transferred into the Air Canada flight. We
found that out at the airport on Toronto.
We were so
tired that we slept most of the 14 hours. We did not even know when food was
being served.
We reached Toronto in the wee hours of the
morning and lots of families and friends came to pick us up. Due to the luggage
issues, we were held up inside to put through our claims. Some families had to
leave for work. At long last we got out and were extremely happy to be reunited
with our families.
After a few
days, many phones calls and few trips to the suitcase courier company we
managed to get our entire luggage Alhumdullilah.
The very next day, after we came back, my
brother Anwar left for England. I cannot thank him enough for everything he has
done for me in life and once again he being here was a blessing for us. Big
thank you to big brother and May Allah reward him by giving him good health and
provide Baraka in his wealth and in his business AAMEEN.
Meanwhile I
have been in constant communication with Shehnaz and Afzal as they were still
in Medina and we were really missing the places, the people and the feeling was
quite weird. What were they up to there?
A few days
later we went to pick up Shehnaz and Shorab who had completed their 40 salaats
in Medina before coming back.
Last but
not least, my Sister Nazlee left us to be with her daughter Aneesah
in Houston. Again I cannot thank her enough for being here, being with mum and
the children and help out with all the house chores. We were blessed indeed.
Conclusion
This was
our Hajj story, our Hajj experience and hopefully this motivates and helps
future Hajjees. If you read other Hajj
stories I am sure each one is unique in its own way. Once thing for sure Hajj
is not as hard and difficult as it used to be. Over the years the Saudi
Government has improved in many areas, maybe from pas bad experiences and has
invested in a lot of infrastructure and security to ensure Hajj goes fairly
smoothly nowadays. There are still some difficulties and managing 2.5 million
people in one place is not that easy.
Other difficulties may come from incompetence of your group and others
may come naturally (storm as we witnessed).
Once you
contemplate going for Hajj, then make a strong Niyat and start planning. Read
about Hajj, watch YouTube videos and listen to podcasts, familiarize yourself
with the places and the Hajj activities, In Shaa Allah you will benefit from it
all to make your Hajj experience as good as or better than ours.
Hajj is not
something to be feared about, but rather something to embrace and take it step
by step. Things may look or feel difficult, but once you are in it, you will
realize that it is not that bad. Take care of your health before, during and
after Hajj as you are bound to come back with the Hajj cough that will last
about a month.
MAY ALLAH
ACCEPT OUR HAJJ AND FOR GIVE OUR SHORTCOMINGS. MAY ALLAH ACCEPT THE HAJJ OF
EVERYONE WHO HAS PERFORMED HAJJ IN THE PAST. AAMEEN
MAY ALLAH MAKE
GIVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ALL MUSLIMS TO ONE DAY GO FOR HAJJ AND MAKE IT EASY
FOR US. AAMEEN.
Hope you
enjoyed this experience of ours and May Allah bless
you all.
LABBAYK
ALLAHUMMA LABBAYK