Roza-e-Rasool, s.a.w.

Well, back to the story then..

After fajr prayers I strolled over to gate 25 - thats the gate you need to enter through when you want to do Ziyarat.

Keep in mind that if you are very obviously a Pakistani, you will be told to sit farthest away from the main doors leading up to Ziyarat. So, you enter in and see before you a huge area behind a sort of semi-opening. They have half opened doors beyond which is the waiting area.

You must imagine it like a huge hall, with doors leading to the insides of the Masjid, which are locked. It is infront of these doors that you must wait, trying to guess which door will be opened ..

I had been warned about this discrimination - right at the front are usually the Turks and Iranians, then Indonesians, and then a mix of various nationalities. Right at the end and farthest away from the front, are the Pakistanis.

So keeping that in mind, when I entered, the guard asked me, nationality? And I said, German.. Well, that wasn't a lie, because had she asked, I had my passport with me.. and practically I am a German na..

I've thought about this long and hard. And I dont feel that I did wrong. It is a fact that they treat Pakistanis as second rate humans.. which is mostly their own fault, but still..

So she pointed me right up front - with the Iranians. I edged my way up - I was starting to get high fever and was very drained. So off I trudged and came upon this huge mass of women..



Oh yes, they check bags at the entry. If you have a mobile, they'll send u to another room to give it up and give ur nationality and particulars. You can collect it on the way back again.I had mine in the bag, but the guard didnt notice it.. and I forgot all about it. But since I had no intention of taking any pictures inside - which is forbidden, I wasn't too bothered..



A lot of women were busy praying nawafil, which, seeing as it was hardly 15 minutes after fajr prayer, was totally wrong. But..

There was a guard who stood up and told them off for that, and also told them to behave once the door was opened..

See, once they open one of two doors, I was told I would have to RUN.. run run run.. otherwise I would not get to the Riyad-ul-Jannah and would find the area full and not get a chance to pray inside it..

What they've done is, they have made as sort of winding pathway, from the entry door, right up to where Rasool Allah, s.a.w.,'s mimbar stands. That whole area is normally open for me, its just us gentler folks they partition it for. So in the end, all you get to see are white boards and then, all of a sudden, the carpet changes from red, to green and you know you are in that blessed place. And all around you is just white boards.. and high up above you can see ornamental gold net.. indicating that this is THE place..

Which is not entirely true.. because the place you want is to the left.. which is also completely covered usually.. and women rush up to the white boards infront and rub themselves and various other things over it. I dont get the sense of that.. but there it is..

Well, I didnt want to run.. it didnt seem appropriate that I run where the Prophet, s.a.w., was resting. So I sat there the whole time and just prayed earnestly. That I get to do Ziyarat, and that I get to pray my nafl and yet do all of this with dignity..

So the magical moment arrived. The women had been getting restless, getting up, peering through the doors.. and all of a sudden you could see men coming up and reaching for the handles on the door, on the other side..

Women stood up and then it was go! I too stood up when the others did.. and then they started running... there was a religious man standing at the corner, telling the women off for running and repeating, "ehteram"... not that it made much difference.. and while they all picked up their abayas and ran for their lives, I walked at a normal fast pace..

And Allah the Almighty was Gracious to me - I entered the Riyad-ul-Jannah with half the area still empty, despite so many women having pushed and shoved themselves all around me..

I didnt enter the main area, rather decided to stand with my back pressed against a pillar. Which was a wise decision. This way, I had support behind me and something to hold on to when I got pulled..

So I stood there, did my neeyat and prayed my nafl. All the while women were falling over themselves, pushing and shoving.. and I had this small area infront of me which seemed to be invisibly cordoned off.. no one entered into it. I prayed with ease and with dignity. SubhanAllah! Alhamdolillah!

That done, I stood up and looked around.. and to my left, the side that is usually closed, the side which is the side of the Roza Mubarik, was open! Well.. what to say.. I felt specially blessed..

Said my salaams, recited durood. Then looked ahead again and prayed to Allah. It is important you do that, so you focus - you are praying to Allah, not to His Messenger, s.a.w, ..

That done, I eased out of the area, and looked back to see women falling in all over the place where I had stood..

The winding path leads you back out of the same gate you entered in from. But if you stop a little and look back, rising on your toes you can see the Jali again.. and pray in peace in the masjid if you feel like it. I did..

You can also see the Green Dome.. and realise that it is under that Dome that our beloved Prophet, s.a.w., lies..



Came out and checked on where my husband was.. he was waiting in the masjid, after having giving his salaams way before me..

Lucky men, they can go past after every prayer. No one stops them and nothing blocks their view. It does seem an injustice.. but then, seeing how women behave, I dont think I can entirely blame them.. BUT...



Anyway. Last time I was there it was night time and I had taken pictures of the Dome. This time, though it was day and I could've take great pictures, I was shivering with high fever and just could not manage it again. So went back to the hotel and slept it through...

We had to be at the airport at 2, and get through our Meqaat again before that. So time was short. I reasoned some rest for the journey is more important than the pictures, because otherwise I was sure to collapse on the way...

So came back to the hotel room and fell into a fever-induced sleep, with the visions of my Ziyarat still upon my eyes...and prayer of thanks in my mind..