Midnight

Well this isn't strictly a part of my Umrah journey, but I was just thinking - how must it be, to live close enough to the Haram to go there whenever one wants? Ask me and I dont think any place is more desirable to me..

Anyway - so we dropped off our bags and freshend up. We had our Umrah to complete. But before that.. we were in Ihram and we hadn't seen the Ka'ba yet. So we still had that load of prayers which we were saving for the first look.. Each of us found a somewhat private corner.. Baby was with his dad and I leaned against a railing in the Sa'ee area.. held my eyes closed.. until I found I could go no further.. and then opened them.

SubhanAllah! What a sight!



No picture, no video, no written account in the world can ever convey what it is like to be seen with your own eyes. You forget yourself, your surroundings... no words, no prayers come to mind. I just wanted to stand and look.. I felt I could stand here all my life and yet still want some more time to see my fill... How grateful I was - how grateful I AM that I was given this chance! And how eagerly I await the next invitation!



Hmmmmm...

My husband did his Umrah first, then took the baby through, which wasnt hard work since he did his Sa'ee himself and even half the tawaf! The ladies then did their turn...








For me there were a couple of issues -primarily, the differences between the rites for men and women. Somehow all the books I had ever read only spoke of what the man was supposed to do..

Well for starters, there is no difference between the two.. excepting a thing or two..

So, you enter the Haram with the intention of your Umrah. Do your tawaf.. concentrate yourself on the act - what are you doing? For whom? On whose orders? What do you hope to get? Pray as much as you want. The only prescribed prayer is from the Yamani Corner to the end of that side.. otherwise, its all up to you.

Women are not supposed to run at any time during the tawaf.. men trott a bit faster during the first three turns..

Dont try and get to the Hajre Aswad.. time enough for that later.. and dont enter the Hateem while doing your tawaf. That area counts as the inside of the Ka'ba.. so your tawaf would be nullified if you did.

Tawaf done, you need to pray two raka's behind Muqam-e-Ibrahim. Thing is people, those two raka's can be prayed anywhere in the Haram! As it is, there is a mass of people who just start praying where they ended their tawaf - thereby causing great trouble to the ones who aren't done yet. The whole lane gets blocked, people get hurt, I myself almost fell twice!

So go back out of the way of the people doing their tawaf.. try be in line with the Muqam-e-Ibrahim as much as you can from far away. But if even that is not possible, then its not a tragedy! The thawab is NOT in pushing and shoving away people to do your individual good. Its behaving in such a manner that no one comes to harm for the sake of your thawab..

And keep in mind - if youre doing your tawaf after Asr prayers, NO SALAH between Asr and Maghrib prayer! The Haram is full of people praying nafl between Asr and Maghrib and directly after Fajr prayer.. I was extremely surprised that even the guards didnt stop people from praying at those times...

Supplicate as much as you can after that... and then drink Zamzam.. they have coolers placed at regular intervals.. drink the Zamzam standing up, facing the Ka'ba. Start with Bismillah, end with Alhamdolillah.

Come over to the sa'ee area.. start your sa'ee at the hill of Safa or Marwa. Not much hill left now, just a rise at the end... but its high enough. The hill of Safa has a special place in acceptance of prayers.. so dont miss that chance. 7 walks. There is a green light on the ceiling. Its not for you, ladies. Its supposed to tell the men when to run and when to walk. So you just walk...

Health tip: The first sa'ee I did, I ended up with legs that hurt even to touch. The second time I was wiser. Stretch a bit before you start the sa'ee.. and as soon as you finish, do one or two simple leg streches in any corner of the haram, while your body is still hot. I did that and Alhamdolillah, had no pain at all.

Its okay to drink water in between your rounds. I didnt the first time.. thinking, if Hazrat Hajrah, r.aha. could do it, so could I .. but the second time round I wasnt so full of myself and did stop a few minutes and drink two glasses of Zamzam. The going was a lot easier after that.

Complete your sa'ee and come back home or find a place where you can keep your parda intact.. and have somone snip off an inch of your hair. That opens your Ihram. It is Sunnah to shower after that... I did.. made me feel better..

Its always a good idea to have dettol wipes and some band aid, some ointment with you.. getting a nick, for men, is a fairly common thing. So better have something with you, to avoid an infection..

That is the way of doing Umrah.. no other complications. Whatever you do, try not to hurt anyone else.. no point in your Ibadat otherwise.. No matter what anyone tells you, there are no specific supplications for the sa'ee either. Except the Verse from the Quran about the hills of Safa and Marwa being the signs of Allah. I'm not quoting it exactly here.. but thats the only verse that has to be said.. the rest is up to you...