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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).
We didn’t know where we were walking to….just that we were walking in the general direction of Mina. We had to be in Muzdalifa for a short time and also collect our pebbles, and whilst some of us (including myself) were feeling anxious at the change of plans, our leaders were quite calm, which meant things were okay.
Mustafa mama was leading the group of ladies towards Mina. A few minutes away from the gated area of Muzdalifa, we were told to stop on the side and begin to pick our pebbles. We were on a sidewalk of the main highway and at first I thought there was no way we would all find enough pebbles each in such a small place! However, all of us managed to fill our bags with 70 pebbles each, and some of us even had the Niyabat to collect pebbles for others who could not be there themselves. I remember thinking at that time, that the sheer amount of pebbles just on the sidewalk was quite a miracle in itself!