Madina again

Husband and I dropped the children off at our friends, Allah bless them for being the great people they are, and took a flight to Madina from Jeddah again.

Reason was, I was unable to do my Ziyarat the last time we were there and so wanted to get that. Also, we had planned on another Umrah and even though the option of Masjid-e-Ayesha was open to us, we wanted to do it from Madina since that is masnoon.

Makkah does not have an airport. Which is fine by me. They have enough commercialism as it is. And driving 8 hours was not an option. So we flew over Jeddah. The flight connection is good enough and when you consider that the taxi takes 400 and a return ticket costs 280ish, well its not a bad option. Of course, you get a lot more people in a taxi...

But this was a good enough option. So we flew out with the Saudi Arlines at around 1 in the night. Got there and were faced by a horde of taxi drivers all very anxious to take us.

Dont opt for the chaps standing inside the airport, they're private persons with their own cars and they'll charge you the moon. Better option are the normal taxis standing outside. We got one of those and off we were..






Stayed at the same Al Ansar hotel. Smaller room this time. Dumped our bags, had a shower and off we were for the fajr prayers. After that, I got in line for Ziyarat. More on that in the next post. For now, a word about prayers:

They have namaz-e-janaza after every farz prayer in Madina and Makkah. Do learn the proper way of praying and do pray. Its a source of thawab and it serves as a reminder of what is yet to come to us...

Ihram and its demands

Just in case someone is wondering, I forgot to add Al Baqee in the Madina section..

Well. What is Ihram? Clearly, for men it is also the clothes they wear. But for us women? We have no prescribed dress code..

Ihram is a state of body and mind. It is not what you wear, or how often you change it.. its why you wear it and how you behave with it.

It is perfectly alright and allowed to change the dress/abaya/coat that you are wearing. Moreover, for those who wear the face veil - that face covering is not allowed during Ihram. Nothing that is stitched should touch your face. I have seen ladies wear an extra long-shaded cap and hang their niqab over it. But it does touch the face. I have seen it myself. So, dont be more pious than you are specifically told to be. Ditch the veil for that short period. You wear it, because Allah ordered you to. You should take it off, because that too is His command.

Have a shower by all means. Just dont use shampoos and gels.. simple warm water is great anytime. And dont brush your hair so as to break it. No perfumes and no ornaments. Thats all. Reason for no shampoo is that it also contains perfumes which we're supposed to avoid while in ihram. If you can find one that is without, go ahead, use it.

The reason, besides avoiding fitna is that you are not supposed to be spening ur energies and your attention on beautification. Its a time you have given up especially for Allah. Then keep it that way. And even if you dont agree with these reasons, you've been told to do it this way. By the Almighty. So no discussions.

Keep your relationship with Allah foremost in your mind. Supplicate to Him and remember, where you are sitting - in the Haram - if your prayers wont be answered there, where then? I tell you I have personal experience of that...

The best Ibadat you can do there is tawaf.. of course prayers and reading the Quran are great worship. But face it, you can do that at home too. Its just the tawaf you can do no where else...

Dont demand your rights and dont exert your authority.. you are as much a slave of Allah as the rest of the people there. Keep that in mind and youre on the right road...

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...

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...

The Road to Makkah

Having spent our time in Madina for now, we hired a taxi for Makkah. Thats around a 4 hour drive with a good car. The route is the same. We could have taken a longer route, which would have taken us through the Badr battlegrounds. But the taxi driver didnt give us that option.. I would have loved to go that way. That would also have taken us through the route which our Prophet s.a.w. took, while migrating. But, there it is. Next time, we might choose to travel that road.

Well before we got on the road we stopped at the Miqaat for Madina dwellers. We women had showered and changed into our Ihram clothes at the hotel. There isnt a prescribed dress for women for their Ihram like it is with men. Yet we chose white scarves for ourselves and a different Abaya than we usually wear. Just gave the whole situation a formal touch. My husband showered at the Hotel too, but re-did his wudhu at the Meeqat and changed into his Ihram. We changed Abdullah too, and a right cute sight that was :)

So we prayed our two nafl of Intention. Prayed and got back in the car. In case someone forgets to bring something, everything from Ihrams to shoes are available there.

So. The surrounding areas on the road to Makkah are as barren and as uninhabited, save a few camels and horses, as from Jeddah to Madina. With the exception that the Makkah road is decorated with mountains. The nearer we came to Makkah, the more the mountains were covered with black rocks ... like so much snow on the mountain tops. We were told that these rocks have been laid there by the government, to avoid sandstorms wrecking too much damage.

Well, the more realistic answer was that Saudia is volcanic region. Those rocks were not just placed there, they were the result of seismic activity and volcanic eruptions. It really is a beautiful sight actually. So many mountains, such beautiful rock formations.. different colours.. there were mountains with red and golden stipes in the rocks.

I couldnt take pictures, the driver didnt want to stop. Stopped for a while at a small restaurant. Prayed, had some food. They had a good variety, but we opted for vegetables. I rather liked the mixed vegetables..

We entered into Makkah and then through different tunnels and over high roads carved through mountains. It is really fascinating. People have built homes on the mountains, all across. One feels one is actually just riding over mountains. Lovely.

Checked into the Al Ka'aki Hotel on Ijyad Road. Directly in-line with the Haram. The main gate, the Gate King Abdul Aziz, was the nearest for us.

Here too a 4-bed room cost us 300 the night. Same situation - they dont set much standard by cealing the room themselves. But call them in and they'll do it well enough.. one just has to stand by and watch.

So we dropped off our stuff...

Masjid Quba and Masjid Qiblatain

Masjid Qiblatain.

I dont think any one needs to be told the story of this masjid. Still, a short summary:
Muslims initially prayed towards the Bait-ul-muqaddis, in Jerusalem. This was a source of ridicule towards the Muslims from the Jews who criticised the Muslims of boasting of an individual religion, yet not having their own Qibla to pray to, rather of praying in the same direction as the Jews themselves.

This fact greatly troubled the Prophet, s.a.w, who longed to face the Ka'ba. He prayed intensively and thereupon this verse was revealed:

"Verily! We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven; surely we shall turn you to a prayer direction (Qibla) that shall please you.."[surah al-Baqarah; 2:144]

It was while the noon prayer was in its second raka'ah, that Allah commanded the Prophet s.a.w, to turn his direction. He turned, and with him the congregation too. That is why this masjid is called Qiblatain - the one with the 2 qiblas.








Masjid Quba
The sign says it all:




Two rak'ah prayers hold the merit of an accepted Umrah here. The first ever and oldest masjid in Saudia Arabia. Its foundation stones were laid by the Prophet, s.a.w.

Another date garden and another well

Opposite to Hazrat Salman Farsi, r.a.'s well and home area is a vast date garden. The pictures were not clear enough so havent posted them but did want to add this information. That date garden was planted by the Prophet s.a.w., himself. Since Hazrat Salman, r.a. was a slave, the Jew who was his master demanded that a date garden be planted. When the trees bore fruit, he would release him. The Prophet s.a.w., planted the seeds himself, yet in the dark of the night the man removed those seeds. However the morning showed a full grown garden of palm trees. That was a miracle of the Prophet, s.a.w.


Then we have here the Beer-e-gharas



Madina needed a sweet water well. This was dug by the Prophet, s.a.w. The water did spring forth but was bitter. The Prophet s.a.w. touched his saliva to it and the water turned sweet. The water from this well was used to give the Prophet, s.a.w., his last bath.

The well is still active but a boundry has been built around it to stop people. I pushed my hands through this hole in the boundry, holding on to my camera for dear life! The original stones can be seen, though not very visible in the picture. The bricks were set later to give hold to the walls.

Place of Khandaq Battle and other places

The original trenches that survived through the ages were covered up and now all we see is a parking lot over the area. What remain, though how long no one knows, are 3 out of the 7 masajid where the Prophet s.a.w., and his companions erected their tents. There they waited for 40 days on the advice of Hazrat Salman Farsi. The logic behind it was that these trenches were an innovation in Arabia. No one had ever done it that way before. The suggestion was of Hazrat Salman Farsi. This proved to be the winning move in this battle and the Muslims defended themselves and their territory with ease.

Of the 7 initial masajid built at the places where the tents stood, only those built at the places of the Prophet, s.a.w., Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Ali, r.a., remain. The rest have been brought down. Again, apparently in an attempt to stem the unislamic practices held there...

This here is the Masjid Fatah. The place of the tent of the Prophet, s.a.w.


The Garden of Hazrat Uthman, r.a.



There was only one sweet water well in Madina, which was under the control of a Jew. Hazrat Uthman Ghani, r.a., bought half the well from him. They decided on set days and on the days of Hazrat Uthman r.a., there was long line of people waiting to fill water and somehow the water was also full to the brim of the well. Moreover, the filling of water was free of cost for all people of all religions. The days of the Jew saw the water receding to the bottom and not a soul in sight, to use it..
The area is now within a boundry and hold the well, which we are told still bubbles, the residential area of Hazrat Uthman, r.a., his masjid and his date garden. The whole area is off limits to the public.

Khaaq-e-shifa'a



This area hides beneath it a sacred sand. It was during one of the battles that the wounded Companions were wounded and the bleeding could not be stopped, nor the wounds healed. The Prophet s.a.w., took a handful of this sand and told them to cover their wounds with it. The wounds healed completely...

Here again, the authorities have seen it their duty to cover the place with normal sand and, to be absolutely sure that no one gets any benefit from it, have created gutters and filth water pipelines...

I dont think I want to say anything else on the matter...


The Well and Housing of Hazrat Salma Farsi



Here too the area has been wired in and rubbish thrown in... However the well is quite clearly to be seen..

Uhud pictures

This is the rock where the Prophet, s.a.w., was, when he was attacked and as a result of which his tooth was broken..



The arrow marks the place where he rested his hand while in pain - legend has it that the rock disintegrated - the dent in the rock can be seen. However the local authorities have taken great pain to eliminate any signs of the original impression. Visiting this area is deemed an offence - which makes it all the more a place to be seen. The locals have knowledge of all such places, being handed down through generations.



Here we see a split in the mountain flank - the Prophet was wounded and needed a place where he could be hidden, all the while with the enemy on his track. Allah ordered this mountain to split its self - thereby creating this opening where he could be hidden and healed. The opening is only just broad enough for a man to squeeze through.. Here too, people have left the marks of their disrespect. The area is cordoned off and a wall built. That wall keeps being broken down by visitors and is regularly rebuilt.



The mount of Uhud..
















The archers' cleft - initially a lot higher than this..

26th May

Since we were free between fajr and zohar, we decided to use this time and do some visiting of historical sites. Found us a good Urdu speaking driver, which I would advise anyhow because there is no sense in visiting any place if you cant understand what you're supposed to be seeing. Before that we thought it wise to have a good breakfast.. Down by Pakistan House, across the road, a ten minute walk almost, you'll find Pakistani restaurants. They serve a good enough omelette and paratha. Just do remind them that you like your eggs salty :)

So, after that filling food, we set off in the car and let our guide take us around. I'll list it, with pictures and as much history as he told us.

1- Masjid Ziratain
This is the Masjid where the Prophet, s.a.w., wore the Zira'a, the armour, for two historical battles - the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of Khandak, or, the Trenches. Dont know how much who knows about which, so I'll add just a very short summary when I come to the Uhud Mountain.
















2- Masjid Musta'rah
The Prophet s.a.w., stopped here every Wednesday on his way to visit his Uncle Hazrat Hamzah. He spent time here, slept, prayed and continued his journey. The whole surrounding area is known as a resting place. The Masjid is opened at prayer times only.

25th May

What I forgot to mention about the ride was, there are toilets on the way, just be careful u have a change of clothing with you for Madina and your own wet/dry tissues..

So, in Madina then. The ride in to the city was melancholic - this is the city of my beloved! A very different feeling.. Though the initial impression of the city is a bit of a let down - lots of construction work going on, many high rise buildings - well, not as high as we have here but too high for the city of the Prophet s.a.w.

We had initially planned on staying at the Pakistan House. Don't know how it was because we cancelled that plan seeing that we'd have had to cross a busy main road to get across. This hotel, the New Al Ansar was good enough. Close by and their rates are not bad. 300 a night for a 4-bed room. Bring your own stuff for making tea though.

So, we had some food, which we'd bought with us, and a cuppa, and off we went to the Haram for Asr prayers.

You enter into the Haram area via huge green/gold gates. The ground is all smooth and cool marble.. Though you can actually roam around with your shoes on, yet the whole place is prayer ground, so I prefered taking mine off. Bring a bag, stuff the shoes in and hold it.. or, say a little prayer and place them in an easy place. Both things work.

Well, what to say. The sense of calm and quiet that prevails the city despite its construction work and busy roads is intensified here. Everything is quiet and calm. At least I had no inclination to chat or laugh around.. I was too aware of what grounds I was treading on.

Acceptedly, the area has changed a lot. Yet it was all the vicinity of the initial Masjid-e-Nabwi, s.a.w. Who knows, where I was standing? He might have stood at the same place at some point.. Hmmm..
















Spent some time there, got information about Ziyarat times and came back to the hotel to rest. It had been a long day and we were all drained. We did go back for prayers though, that was not to be missed.

Food was not such a great issue. We had some with us, courtesy our friends, and there are enough shops around. Amazingly, food rituals, that form a basic part of our life here are home, were so unimportant.. though yet again I cannot stress enough the importance of a good cup of tea

A dream come true!

I had been dreaming of going for my Umrah since ages and ages.. and somehow, the plan kept on shifting. But of course, the Invitation has to come from the Almighty - such matters cannot be rushed and suited to oneself.. Finally, it happened. But first things first..

We had applied through an agent, applying just for the visa since we had planned on driving. We ditched that plan though and bought tickets for Nas Air. Which, if you are flying from the UAE, is an excellent option. The fare is cheap, the seats comfortable and the flying good. They dont serve food, rather offer it at a price. Which is fine by me. We had sandwiches with us and just bought a cup of tea from them and that was good enough.

Took the flight in the afternoon, and arrived in Jeddah around Maghrib time. We had friends in Jeddah so it was easy to spend the night - I'd advise anyone else too to spend a night in Jeddah and then head for whereever it is that youre heading. In our case, it was to Madina first.

You get all sorts of Taxis for Madina - but 99 out of 100 they are Arabs. Nothing wrong with that if you can speak Arabic of course :) Otherwise it becomes a game of sign language and good guessing.

The route to Madina is mostly barren land. Bring enough water with you and some light snacks. And be sure to choose a taxi that is well airconditioned..

As I was saying, mostly barren lands, dusty and dry. They dont have any special eateries or fancy petrol stations like we are used to seeing here in the UAE between say Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I guess thats all a well thought out plan. The obvious object is to get from place A to place B without any loitering inbetween. I must say I agree with the thought. It helps you to keep the destination in sight.

We stayed at the New Al Ansar Palace. Long name, good enough location. I could see the Haram from our window, if I leaned out a bit. They dont set much store by toilet paper or tissue though.. :)

So - time to sign out.. will continue tomorrow Inshallah :)