Al Baqee

We were told that Jannat al Baqee is only open for men. Women were allowed up to the main gates from where they could only guess at what was inside. Okay, there is not much as in 'inside', what I meant was, you cant even get close enough to get any feeling about the place..

So the girls and I put Abdullah in the pram and off we went. We circled the whole area, going through construction sites and over alleys lined with pebbles, which made pushing the pram a herculean task! But the pram was a life-saver.. couldnt have carried him that much.



Finally, taking longer than we had thought we would, we arrived at the opposite side of the main entrance. From there the view was clear and open..



I said my prayers and just stood looking at it... an estimated 7 thousand Companions and then some ordinary Makkah dwellers are resting there.. Including the Mothers of the Believers, r.ahun., children of the Prophet, s.a.w., and his family members, may Allah be pleased with them all.



The map tells me that I was standing opposite to where the Mothers of the Believers are resting, r.ahun. The pictures are dark because it was after Maghrib time. My stay did not allow me to get there again. I have a picture from the net though which is very clear...



Jannat al Baqee used to have tombs and markings and shaded trees.. all grazed in the name of avoiding idolatry... here again I find myself unable to say what I feel and think...

The same is true of the first house the Prophet, s.a.w., lived in with his wife, Hazrat Khadija-tul-kubra, r.aha. The place where their children were born, where they lived through some early revelations of the Quran.. That place has been bulldozered.. and public toilets have been built on it!

I agree that idolatry must not be allowed to take root. I agree that people do the most impossible things - but cannot high fences and walls be built around such sacred sites? Why must they be defiled by filth? Public toilets, I ask you!!!

Sorry, but this just leaves me so distressed.. the thought - my beloved must have slept and walked and sat in that place.. the whoel area was his to roam and live in.. and now there are toilets above it... no.. the thought is too painful to continue with...