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Hajj 2016

Hajj 2016

Day 2 in Makkah – Mon. 5th Sept, 2016

Having completed our Umrah-e-Tamattu, the next few days in Makkah were for us to make the most of and schedule as we wish. We were only required to be at our group lectures that would prepare us for the upcoming Hajj, and so our routine, the one Asif and I had kind of unintentionally accustomed to, was going to be quite the same until Friday.

I woke up around 3:30am as we had planned to meet for 4am in the lobby and head to the Haram prior to Fajr prayers. Today, we decided to go all the way to the rooftop. The crowds were still not as much as people were still arriving in Makkah, and so we had a good chance of watching the Tawaf from above. We sat a while, prayed Fajr, and then made our way to the railings to see how beautiful the view of the Holy Ka’ba was from the top.Read more

23 March 2017
Hajj 2016

Umrah-e-Tamattu – Sun. 4th Sept, 2016

Trying to rest this morning was really difficult. I had butterflies in my stomach and I couldn’t seem to doze off even though I really need the sleep. I went to the lounge set aside for ladies and made myself some tea. I came back to the room and stayed awake until Fajr. My mind was all over the place. The Ka’ba was literally a 5 minute walk away from our hotel, yet I had not seen it yet. After praying Fajr in the room, I took a quick power nap before heading to the lobby. As part of the condition of Ihram, we could not look in the mirror, nor spray a fragrance, nor cover our faces even whilst sleeping. But because we would take these things for granted, it was difficult even though so simple. It taught us to be so much more aware of our every movement.

Walking downstairs, my legs were feeling jelly. The last time I had felt like this was when we were boarding at Heathrow airport, when I couldn’t believe that I was actually going for Hajj. And now, this was in anticipation of the climax of this whole journey. How would it be, seeing the Holy Ka’ba for the first time, ever?

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20 March 2017
Hajj 2016

Preparing for Makkah – Sat. 3rd Sept, 2016

11:10PM – This journal entry is being written as we are enroute to Makkah.

Today was our last day in Madinah. Bittersweet. I woke up at around 3:45am (it’s surprising how awake I felt after just one hour of sleep!) and made my way to the Haram with Asif. It was our last Fajr prayer in the Haram of the Holy Prophet (s), and we would be watching the sunrise behind the walls of Baqi for the final time. All this made me so sad, but Makkah awaited us, and that stirred different feelings. After Fajr prayers, we went to Jannatul Baqi to recite Ziyarat-e-Wida (Salutations bidding Farewell) of Baqi. Whilst we were walking back, we were talking of our anticipation and anxiety of Makkah and the Wajibat that we had to perform when we reached. We were fortunate to meet Akil Mama who was encouraging of our upcoming journey. The more we thought about it, the intense anxiety that was there a few days ago was not as much, and now I was (and still am), extremely excited to see the Holy Ka’ba.

Breakfast was the usual – Paratha with butter and honey and a strong cup of black tea. It was my standard breakfast since I had arrived, even though the aroma of Mince Curry and Paya was very tempting! I then headed to our room where my roommates were sorting out their bags, as we had only half an hour before we had to put them in the lobby, tagged with our group tags and details. The group accommodated us wonderfully. Male volunteers had stepped forward to gather the suitcases from each floor and then take them down to the lobby where a truck was waiting to take our bags to Makkah, well before we even departed. We were told to keep a few necessities with us as we would get our bags in Makkah, maybe even after we had performed Umrah-e-Tamattu.

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16 March 2017
Hajj 2016

Day 5 in Madinah – Fri. 2nd Sept, 2016

We were more awake in the odd hours of the night than in the daytime, but that was expected on this journey. I woke up around 3:30am feeling really well-rested! Asif and I met in the lobby and made our way to the Haram. It wasn’t any more packed than the usual!

I had a great experience this morning. As I was alone on the ladies side, I always ended up sitting next to people I had never met before, from different parts of the world. Today, besides me, were a group of ladies from Turkey. As there was time between Adhan and Iqamah of Fajr prayers, I took out a small card I had and began reciting Suratul-Jum’ah in a soft tone. One of the ladies turned my way and was intrigued. I felt her staring at me as I recited. She smiled when I turned towards her after I finished.

There was a communication barrier, but I didn’t want that to be the reason we couldn’t at least try to get to know each other. These were my Muslim sisters! I gave her the card, and with a lot of emphasis on signaling, I explained to her as best I could that this Surah was highly recommended to be recited on Fridays as it was Jum’ah. She smiled wider, and began to recite the Surah from the card. After completing, she asked me if she could keep the card to which I said yes, and then she passed it on to about 5-6 of her friends telling them all to recite the Surah one by one. Watching this, was remarkable, and made me smile.

I felt after Fajr that the lack of sleep was really catching up to me. We made our way back to the hotel and I skipped breakfast, just so I could get enough sleep. Undisturbed sleep from 6 am till 12 pm was much needed! When I woke up I felt reenergized and got ready for Dhuhrain Salah.

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13 March 2017
Hajj 2016

Day 4 in Madinah – Thurs. 1st Sept, 2016

We were looking forward to Thursday in Madinah from the time we arrived as we had been told that we would be going to the only Shi’a Mosque in the area for the Thursday evening program. In a small Shi’a village not too far from the Haram stood Masjid Shaykh Al-Amri.

My day began at 3:30am. I met Asif in the lobby and we made our way to the Haram for Fajr prayers. We had been told by others in our group that if we walked around to the left of Jannatul Baqi, there were small cracks in the wall coverings where we could see into the cemetery from. So a few of us walked around. We were so far away from the main entrance of Jannatul Baqi that we could not see the graves of the Holy Personalities, but just being able to see into the cemetery was something.

We recited Ziyarat of Baqi in peace Alhamdulillah. Many people had told us that if there was commotion in that area the guards would ask us to move away but it seemed as the crowds were less, we could stay for quite a while. Shortly after completing our Ziyarah we went back to the hotel for breakfast, and then I went to rest.

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13 March 2017
Hajj 2016

Day 3 in Madinah – Wed. 31st Aug, 2016

Fajr Salah was around 4:40am but today we made our way to the Haram exactly on time, and not earlier like we had the last two days. The reason being was that later today we were schedule to go for the outside Ziyarat in Madinah and as it was quite hot and the journey was going to be long, we were advised to make sure we had enough rest.

After Fajr Salah, I headed to Jannatul Baqi with the ladies of our group. I thought we would get much closer to Baqi but it turned out that the nearest we could get was a few meters away from the gate of the Haram facing Baqi. We could only see the large grid-like wall and not even into the actual cemetery. It was heartbreaking to think that this was the nearest we could go. In the distance, we saw hundreds of men lining up to enter the cemetery and pay their respects. We recited the salutations on the 4 Imams that were buried there. All the while, I had this urge to just be able to go much closer, but the guards were already watching us carefully.

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10 March 2017
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