I am the author of this blog. Expressing myself through journaling and writing poetry has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my life.
Read moreWhen the Imām (ʿaj) reappears I hope he will look at me and call me by my name
Read more
Do you grieve at the thought of ‘Ābid (a) bound in chains,
Or is it that you envision Zaynab (a)’s head uncovered?
Do you cry because you see a lost orphaned child,
Or is it that you visualize Husayn’s head severed?
Yes, this is why I grieve.
But ask Mahdi (atfs) of his grief:
Our days in the Holy Lands were coming to an end, and the emotions were high. We woke up at 3:30am to go to the Haram for our Fajr Prayers. Quietly, Asif and I walked to the Haram. Tomorrow, we would not be here, not so close to the House of God.
We prayed on the 1st floor instead of going to the rooftop, as we wanted to get as close to the Ka’ba as we could after Fajr in order to perform Tawaf Al-Wida, the Tawaf of Farewell.
Tired is an understatement! This morning Asif and I decided to meet around 3:30am to go for Fajr prayers, but I overslept and woke to the sound of the phone ringing constantly at 4:00am. It was Asif calling from the lobby to ask if I was awake, as he was waiting downstairs.
I guess climbing Mt. Hira yesterday took a toll physicall, though to be honest, I was still quite chuffed that I made it to the top!
Despite such little sleep and such busy days, I was still going quite strong. The only thing was a nagging cough that I had caught in Madinah. It had decided to be my companion throughout the journey!
At 3:30am this morning we made our way to the Haram for Prayers. Though I did not want to think about it, we only had a few days left before we would be heading back to our hometowns. I was going to miss this routine, the amazing view and the inner peace so much! I just wanted to savour every moment.
Today was undoubtedly the day I feared would be most difficult. We left our tents in Mina at around 11:30pm last night and began walking towards the outskirts. We left the boundaries of Mina at around midnight, having fulfilled the requirement of staying there for a part of the night.
We had not been not allocated any specific bus to get on to, but there were 5 for our group parked on a part of the highway. After 40 minutes of walking, we just wanted to sit on any bus that had space. Asif and I didn’t look back and got one of the buses together.
Today was our second day in Mina.
Here, the idea was to spend time getting to know others, asking about affairs back home in each other’s hometowns, and also taking a little time to reflect on the journey, the purpose, and the goals we were setting for ourselves. We were not in the state of Ihram anymore but certain restrictions were still in place until we completed the remaining mandatory rituals (that would be tomorrow).
