End of the Journey

I havent written since quite a while. Just got caught up in the business of living, day to day. There isnt much to say, after all that. We spent the last 2 days at peace in Makkah, drove back to Jeddah and took our flight back home. The most poignant moment for me, was Tawaf-e-Wida - the last tawaf I did before leaving the bounds of the Haram. I can only compare it to feelings I have when I am on leave, visiting my father and the time to come back home is upon me. I went through the same feelings - of having to leave behind a part of myself. I turned round, a few times, before we finally stepped out of the huge doors...

Its been so many months now, but reading through this blog today, I could feel myself put back in time - I could feel all those sensations and all those feelings.

I'd like to wrap this Journal up.. with the very strong prayer in my heart that I stand in line for that Invitation again, very soon. And with the prayer, that each Muslim be granted this Blessing.

For sure, there is nothing, no sight, no place, no scene, more worthy of being appreciated, and visited and yearned for, than the hills, plains, streets and corners, of Makkah Mua'zzama and Madina Munawwara.

Arafat

We had an evening where our friends from Jeddah came up. They took us on a sightseeing trip - that was a really enjoyable evening.. so many things I had only read about, seeing them with my own eyes was a treat.

The cave of Thor.. so very high on the mountain.. where the Prophet, s.a.w., and Hazrat Abu Bakr, r.a., hid, on their way to Madina. The place is marked right on the top by a white something... so as to have an idea of exactly where it is. Small shops sell snacks and postcards and prayer beads. They have huge signs in different languages, telling the people not to touch any stones and not to climb the mountain as it was forbidden to do so by the Prophet s.a.w.



Then off to the cave of Hira, in the Jabl e noor. This is where the first revelation came to the Prophet, s.a.w., and where he spent so much time in meditation and prayer. This too is extremely high up, though we saw people going up. Its all mountain terrain, people have built houses on the mountains as and where the place has been available.

Our car made the scary ride quite far up. They have small tea shops and sovernier shops.. we had some tea and I bought postcards from there..

We reached there by fading light and what with getting out of the car and balancing myself, I could not shoot pictures. Or rather, I did, but they are too dark.. nothing to be seen. But nevermind, I have the images in my mind... which is good enough.

What I find very fascinating is the fact that people build houses on the mountains and live happily at such high places..

I asked my friend how the Prophet s.a.w, managed that high climb? I cant imagine how long that would have taken, especially cave Thor.. and she gave a very reasonable answer:

We see Makkah as it is now, a city under construction. But fact is, most of the roads coming in or going out, are built through mountains. They have been bulldozered and roads carved out. Especially the tunnels. On our way in, we were practically ON a mountain, only on a road of tar. So she said, could be that in olden days it was just mountains all around. It would be very much easier to climb a succession of mountains, rather than just try and climb one very high one.

Makes sense... though I'd still have loved to see how they did it..

Off we went to the plains of Arafat... well actually, we were there before cave Hira..



I think I mentioned this in an earlier post. It was quite a dissapoinment to see.. the Jabal Rahmah looks dwarfed down by the surroundings... people have thrown litter all around, grafitti on the rocks... carpet sellers, with their wares surrounded all around them.. and added to that all the filth that comes with camels and horses...

It looked like a place for partying, rather than a sacred place. Jabal Rahmah is a sacred hill in the middle of the plains of Arafat. Riding his she camel near it, the Prophet, s.a.w., delivered his famous sermon on the occasion of the Farewell Hajj.



Right on top of it, there is a tall stone pillar, which was white sometime I think, but which has blackend around the lower part. I was told that this is the place where Hazrat Adam, ahs., and Hazrat Hawwa, ahus., met, after they had been sent down from the heavens in different places..
That place was marked and a piller erected.



I dont know how true that is - could be, could not be. But its a good thing to imagine when u're standing up there...

Here again, people were praying nafl, even though it was nigh on Maghrib time. .




Anyhows, spent some time there, lost in thought, lost in contemplation. I wondered what moved people to disrepect such places? Why did those, who threw rubbish - empty bottles, squeezed out juices, empty crisp packets - why didnt those people consider - this is the place where the Prophet, s.a.w., stood, walked, maybe rested.. maybe prayed and slept? Why has the spirit of the place been lost?

I came away in a slight depression - which lifted however, when on the way back I looked around and saw the view...




After that we drove to cave Hira, but I've already mentioned that...

Abdullah - Abd Allah?

I had prayed for a son, whom I could name Abdullah and bring up as Abd Allah.. and Allah Almighty granted my prayers... Alhamdolillah..

This incident lets me believe that He might have granted it in full, inshallah. I'd like to record it here.. so that I dont forget..

It was the first entry into the Sa'ee area. The others were busy with their Umrah rites and I was sitting in the Sa'ee area, on the first floor, with Abdullah. It was a hard job keeping him occupied. Just behind the Sa'ee area, are the praying encloves.. from where the Ka'ba is clearly seen.



So Abdullah and I, sitting there... and all of a sudden he lifts his hands above his head in his typical Allahu Akbar manner and says, "A'dullah abhi ata hai, acha? abhi Allah Akbar ata hai"... saying that he'll just be back in a minute, after doing his Allah akbar - by which he usually means doing Sajda. .



And he got up and ran off in his cute Ihram and entered the enclove... went up front as far as he could - I was behind him but did not stop him. He didnt stand around or anything, just got on the mat, and did a perfect sajda, directly infront of the Ka'ba... got up and came back running to me!

Typical mother, I started to cry and hugged him so hard... which he didnt like at all and grumbled at me for :) I regret not having taken a pic of him then, while he was doing it.. but I was too caught up in what he was doing to think of that..

But honestly, that incident makes me feel so good whenever I recall it...

Another Umrah

Our work done in Madina, we flew back to Jeddah. Since we were all in Ihram, it was wisest to go directly to Makkah. Which we did. Taxi fare is between a reasonable 80 Riyals to exorbitant 120.. but, what to do.

So we came back to the Haram. The girls took care of the little one and we both did our Umrah. It was a great experience.. doing the rituals together. And it was also needed.. I had a high fever and could not have managed the Sa'ee alone. So hubby held my hand and sort of pulled me up the hill..

I think I mentioned earlier that if you want to avoid very painful leg cramps, do some simple leg stretches after the Sa'ee. It will save you days of pain later on. That is, if you're as out of sport as I am :)

Our Umrah done, we left the girls to their devices and returned to the hotel room. On the way back I stopped at a pharmacy and asked what medicine I could take. On the advice of the pharmacist I took antibiotics and something to relieve the congestion. Which was just as well. I would advise taking antibiotics straight away. Hajj or Umrah are not the times for natural remedies.

Spent the night quite ill and was alright the next day. Which is when we did some sightseeing in Makkah..

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..

Some calrifications

I've had some feedback about the issue of perfumes and Ihram. So thought to clear that up, to the best of my knowledge.

This is what I know and understand:

1- Women are not supposed to use perfume when they visit Masajid, or for that matter, leave the house.

Source:

Narrated by Abu Mousa Al Ash’ari: Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him), said: “If a woman uses perfume and passes the people so that they may get its odour, she is so-and-so, meaning severe remarks.

2- For the Ihram, men and women may perfume themselves and wash with whatever they want. But once they have spoken the Intention of their Ihram and prayed the two nafl for it, from that time on to when they are free of Ihram's obligation, no perfume is allowed to them.

Source:

Ibn 'Umar reported: "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade women pilgrims from wearing gloves, veils, and clothes dyed with saffron or warse. (A sweet smelling plant that was used to dye clothes yellow) Besides these, they may wear anything else, any color, silk clothes, ornaments, trousers, or a shirt or shoes." (Reported by Abu Daw'ud, Al-Baihaqi and Al-Hakim, with a sound chain of authorities)

Al-Bukhari no. 1542, Muslim no. 1177 and Ahmed no. 2:59: He (the Muhrim) does not wear anything from the clothing that has been touched by saffron or Al-Wars

Bukhari reported that 'Aishah, r.anha, said: "A woman must neither wear a veil to cover her face, nor wear clothes that are dyed with saffron or other fragrant dyeing material."

Ibn 'Umar reported that 'Umar smelled the pleasant smell of perfume coming from Mu'awiyah while the latter was in the state of ihram. 'Umar commanded him: "Get back, and wash it off. I have heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying: 'A pilgrim must be unkempt and without any perfume." This is reported by Al-Bazzar with a sound chain.

I hope that clears the air? Any questions, please ask me. And I must add: I am no religious authority. What I write here is my own knowledge and experience. It may not be right according to you. This blog is just my travel document, it does not stand in place of religious guidance. So please, if in doubt, clear matters and ask someone who is an Alim.

As to touching the Ka'ba while in Ihram, well that is a case of piety. It is perfumed, but I have not read anything that forbids touching it. What I have heard is that its best to avoid that which is doubtful, rather than making a mistake.

Narrated by Tirmithi and Nasaee .On the authority of Al-Hasan bin Ali, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah, who said : I memorized from the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him), his saying

"Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt."


Hence my advice not to touch the Ka'ba while in Ihram, on account of its perfume. The rest, is your own decision.

About the tawaf

Just an info about the tawaf. If you should become tired and not be able to continue, there is no harm in stopping where you are and resting for a few seconds. Just dont turn back.. continue from where you stopped and your tawaf will continue. However, since there is such a sea of people who push you no end, you might end u p being pushed back.. so do consider that..

Secondly, what they do at prayer times is that they push the women back to the sheltered areas, holding that women are not allowed to pray on the main area surrounding the Ka'ba. So if you're in the middle of a tawaf and they send u back, no worries. Just come back after the prayers. If you stopped at round 5, start from there. Dont go back and start from round 4.. that would nullfiy your tawaf.

Its best to plan the tawaf away from the prayer times though.. but, it is always full. Its just the break that youre forced to make that spoils the whole effect.

Dont touch the Ka'ba while youre in Ihram. Its walls are perfumed and you are not allowed any perfume while in that state. So dont do that..

Also, when your'e praying the nafl of tawaf: in the first rak'a recite suran Al Kafiroon and in the second, surah Al Ikhlas.