Wa Tell Tales

Al Madinah Al-Munawarah - the city of the prophet

8:58 AM

As-salam,

We meet again.

It's our last day after 4 nights stay at Mecca. I am really wishing that we can stay longer and being nothing secret

about it. I co-erced my husband into extending our stay at Mecca and he did give it some thought. Anyhow, since it will involved and effected many things like our hotel booking in Madinah and transportation, we had to leave Mecca as planned, with a heavy heart.

During our 5 days at Mecca, we decided not to go for any ziarah, at all. Not even Jeddah. This is mainly because we wanted to be at Masjidil Haram as long as we can and not wanting to missed any prayer in masjidil haram if possible. The interval time between prayer's time in Mecca was indeed short as we know it, leaving us just ample time for short rest and eat. We decided to do our ziarah on our last day.

We did our tawaf wida' ( goodbye tawaf) after breakfast and immediately checking out from hotel and off we go, leaving Mecca, heading towards Madinah. I am sad knowing and realizing the fact that this could be the last time we would see Baitullah with our own eyes, and thrilled at the same time to meet Madinah.

:: Checking out from hotel ::

:: Camel riding at Jabal Rahmah ::

We made a quick stop at Jabal Rahmah for ziarah. At the first sight of camels, we the parents were happy but the kids were happier. Anyhow, small hiccup after that spoiled the moods somehow. You see, we confirmed the price before agreeing on the ride and was told that one ride costs 10 saudi riyal and 1 polaroid photo costs 10 riyal. So we climbed up the camel and begin the ride. The camel owner took our photo and when we thought he's done, they kept snapping their pilaroid camera. My husband had to firmly telling them khalassss, khalasssss (enough, enough) few times and instead, we asked them to snap our photo using our own camera. After maybe 200 metre, the camel stopped and the owner asked us if we wanted to stepped down there near Jabal Rahmah or to be sent back where we started. Since the sun was soaring, the weather was pretty hot, and I'm lazy like that so we opted to be sent back to where we started. During paying time, the camel herder asked us for 80 riyal instead of 40 riyal. So my husband argued with him. Much to our suprise, he told us that the going ride is 10 riyal and since we requested to be sent back to our starting point, that'll be another 10 riyal. As for the photo, he took 2 pictures of us each, makes it 4 in total, before my husband stopped him so we had to pay for all 4 photos equivalent to 40 riyals.

--___________--

The blame was not totally on him. Partially is ours because we didn't checked properly for any hidden cost before agreed to the ride. We paid him full though and decided to leave it as it is. I didn't have any intention of badmouthing the camel herder, just a gentle reminder so other's won't get to experienced the same thing.

We then headed straight to Madinah, bypassed Mina. We didn't stop here because the camp and most area alikes was left empty and un utilized outside Hajj season.

:: We have to go through few police checkpoints like above on our way ::

We found Al-Baik in between our journey and decided to pack our lunch and stop to eat anywhere our driver deemed suitable. Al-Baik is like KFC Saudi version. The verdict..... No offense to any party as this is just based on my personal preference. Some people might feel the contrary but I found Al-Baik's fried chicken crispier and nicer. I wish they open more restaurant in Mecca and Medina, and even Kuwait because obviously, what they already have was not enough. The queue was madness and during peak hours, they can't help but to shooooo-ed you away because they can't managed the existing crowd already.

My husband went first into Al-Baik store to buy our lunch but went out shortly after, and asked me to buy at the ladies section instead. He said the counter guy told him to get the wife to buy because if he were to buy, we'll have to wait around 1 hour. Ladies section were much much faster service than that.. So I went to buy. Things were okay at first because the person who took the order spoke fluent english , plus there's an english menu provided. I started sense some problem when I heard the guy who called out the number in pickup counter calls it in Arabic. Lucky me, I done my 1st level Arabic class and we did learned about numbers so I am a little at ease. I take a quick peek at my ticket to see what number I've gotten and I saw number 473 .

I AM IN TROUBLE !!!

Cikgu kiter ajar sampai puluh puluh jek.. Ni nombor ratus ratus.. How larrrrr ?????

I sat silently at one corner and did my own translation and this is what I came up with.

4 = arba'a, 7 = Tissa'a and 3 = Thalatha..

Ahhh easy peasy! It should be Arba'a tissa'a thalatha. Man, I felt clever already hahahah... My Arabic teacher must be very proud of me. Then I was thinking, maybe it's wise to seek for a second opinion so I texted my husband whose waiting in a car.

Me : Pa, 473 cakap ape in Arabic?

Hubby : ARBA'A MIA THALATHA SABAIN !

Me : * bang head on wall repeatedly *

It's far cry from my version peeeepppssss... Huwaaaaaaa...

MUST.STUDY.NUMBERS.MORE !

:: Enjoying my Arba'a Mia Thalata Saba'in's fried chicken behind some lorries, under the hot scorching sun. My reaction is self explanatory on how delicious the chicken was. We couldn't find any suitable/closed rest area to eat and this bench is the next best thing ::

Arrived at Madinah after 5-6 hours journey, few minutes before Maghrib adzan, hence we just prayed at room, freshen up and went to Masjidil Nabawi for Isya'. Our hotel located around a minute walk from mosque and is very near to ladies entrance.

For Masjidil Haram, you can enter the mosque from any gate there is but there's also a few gates restricted for ladies only. Masjidil Nabawi on another hand, separate the entrance for ladies and gents. All ladies MUST go through bag inspection every time you entering the mosque because it is forbidden to take a photo inside ladies section. Therefore, they won't allowed you to bring any sorts of camera and even phone with embedded camera. There's a booth near the gate where you can drop your phone and collect it back when you're leaving the mosque. They also provide box by the entrance so you can drop you stuffs inside and redeemed it back on your way out. Same goes to Masjidil Haram, it is advisable to bring shoe bag or plastic bag so that you can always keep your shoes with you and at the same time, keeping the mosque clean.

Keep in mind, THE INSPECTION IS VERY THOROUGH! They'll even check and open your shoe bag and unzip every zips your bag own, so the thought of sneaking in camera is not a very wise one, albeit some were successfully doing it. They even do body search should you didn't bring any bag with you. So what I did, I left my phone in my room, or gave it to my husband to keep. My hotel was very near so we normally just headed back to our room after solat, separately, and meet at hotel lobby should we're going anywhere afterwards so I don't need my phone. However, I still need to bring my sling back with me to keep the quran, room key and the girls's belonging so my advise to make sure you had smooth inspection and not wasting too much time at the entrance is : Get your bag readily open and every compartments is unzip as you approaching the entrance. It'll make the officer's job easier and you can save a lot of time. Trust me, it is not worth being caught for a few pictures! Always and always be reminded of your sole purpose of coming to mosque in the first place. You sure wouldn't want to be stopped from getting into mosque for breaking the rules while other people had already started their ibadah inside. Plus, you can always get your husband or male relatives to take a photo for you at their section because the rules is different for the other side. It's the same interior after all..

As per the mosque, ermmm what can I say about the Masjidil Nabawi.. It's beyond words . It's grandeur and majestic. It's jaw dropping beauty and knowing the fact that you were so closed to Rasullullah s.a.w and blessed with the opportunity to actually pray in His mosque and visit his tomb, the feeling is indescribable.

:: Outside our hotel entrance. As can be seen, behind us is Masjidil Nabawi ::

:: Can you see the Qubbatul Khadhra (green dome)? Makam Rasullulah s.a.w and Raudhah placed underneath it ::

There's some interesting story ( at least to me) that I would like to share here. I neverrrrrrrr knew this before. My husband told me about this when we were at Madinah.

Did you know that there's a human remains on top of the Qubbatul Khadhra ( kubah ijau) until now? The body belonged to someone who climbed the kubah with evil intention to destroy makam Rasullullah s.a.w. Allah knows best and the man ended died after being striked by lightning. The body was failed to be removed ever since even after so many attempts, believed to be iktibar to future generation. Eventually they just buried/cement the body there and can be seen until now. Wallahualam. Allah the greatest and Kun Fa Ya Kun indeed.

Last but not least, to lighten up your day ..................

:: I couldn't decide whether the signage missing a letter H after C or ST after the second G :) . U decide ! ::

Makkah Al-Mukarramah - The Holy City

3:18 AM

As salam,

So I've been busy lately with chores and gathering and so forth, forgive me should I leave you hanging with my unfinished story about my Umrah trip recently. Anyway complacent is the word I've been searching for the past few days. When I was doing my last post, I did asked for protection from Allah s.w.t from "riak & takbur" but I couldn't register what was the english word for it, and am too lazy to google. My brain just failed me that day as I searched high and low and thinking hard, to no avail. I just could come up with word "too proud" but it doesn't sounded right. Only recently the word complacent came to mind. Aishhhhhh sudah tuaaaa lahhh..

To resume on my story, we reached Mecca at around 11:00 am with an empty stomach. We couldn't find any decent eating place in Taif along our route but one small bakala before we entering the main road to Mecca. It is pretty much norm here because Arabs don't take heavy breakfast so if you're dreaming of Mc D's Big Breakfast alike or Nasi Lemak sort, you may return to reality now. The bakala sells Arab's sandwiches and khubs ( arab's bread) so my husband bought 2 egg shawarma ( sort of kebab in Malaysia but using khubs) and 2 chicken liver shawarma for himself and our driver and off we go.

Our initial plan was, we'll headed to our hotel first in our ihram, check ourselves in or if we are too early, then we'll leave our bags at the hotel reception, maybe get a quick lunch and immediately perform Umrah. Anyway, Allah has other plan for us.

You see, Mecca was a very busy city so the roads gets congested all the time, even at night time. When we arrived, the tunnel heading to our hotel was closed, so the driver was contemplating whether to go further near to our hotel or not at that time worried that we might stuck for only Allah knows how long, and it's almost 11:00 am which means Zohor prayer time is nearing. After short and quick discussion, we requested for our driver to drop us off by the main road near Babus Salam entrance since it is preferred for pilgrims to enter Masjidil Haram for the 1st time using Babus Salam to collect the sunat reward. However, there is no harm to enter through some other gate if situation doesn't permit. So as decided, we would performed our Umrah first and do the check in later.

Previously, I always read or even heard firsthand from relatives or friends who came back from Mecca about how they cried the moment they saw Kaabah. I was in awed each time the story was told on to me and I trusted them with all my heart but honestly I don't get the feeling. The story just doesn't reach my deepest inner soul if you know what I meant. I was amazed and fascinated by the stories but I just don't know how to appreciate it so those stories, remained as "just another travelogue story I've heard/read". Under normal circumstances, I don't cry easily. I don't cry when my husband left for Kuwait and I don't even shed a tear when my father was strolled into O.T for his heart bypass operation many years ago while my sisters and mother had already cried a river. I wanted to but I just can't.

O Allah forgive me for my ignorance for if I realized of how many sins I've committed, and how I've been neglecting you and your commands, I should be crying non stop for as long I shall live and beg for Your mercy and Your kindness.

*sobs sobs sobs*

Anyway, once we entered Masjidil Haram, we did as we learned and using our Umrah guide book as reference, we recited recommended du'as (supplications), send salutations upon Rasullulah s.a.w and talbiyah.

*I shall not touch on the details as I might convey in-accurate info, or even worst, may Allah forbid Subhanallah, wrong info due to my lacking of knowledge and my incompetency, plus this post might get extra lengthy. It is better for you to refer on an trusted and qualified sources on full Umrah guide you can easily find either in printed guide books or alternatively from the internet. These sources can provide more details and accurate procedure plus all the recommended supplications better than I can ever be, and I am not better than any of you out there. As I mentioned in my previous post, I intended to share with you about some other things(other than details on ibadah) which is not less important from my point of view*

Back to track, after entering the Babus Salam, we got disoriented aka tercangang cangang. Since early Jan, I have been spending hours reading about Umrah and the history behind Hajj and Umrah. I Googled up blogs and read through people’s experiences. I also watched countless videos on Utube relating to the Umrah and Hajj. With each post or article that I read and with each video and DVD that I watch, my excitement grows. And so does my apprehension and I thought I was well prepared. Despite thinking I had covered every aspects, I still pretty much gotten confused and overwhelmed!

:: Infront our hotel. Behind me was King Abdul Aziz Gate ::

Firstly, because we didn't know where to put our shoes. We didn't bring any shoe bag with us as we were told that Masjidil Haram's management did provide disposable plastic bags at the entrance. Little that we know, there's no plastic bag provided at Babus Salam when we arrived ( or rather maybe it had finished for the day). Later of the day only we found that there is actually plastic provided at King Abdul Aziz Gate 1. There are shoe racks provided outside mosque but it's already full. We did saw a lot of peoples left their shoes everywhere, by the stairs, by the entrance, by the doors. In short, there's shoes everywhere so we followed suits. We left our shoes on some stairs right after the Babus Salam entrance and tawakkal that we would remember the locations after we're done.

Secondly, we didn't know where we need to head and what to do next. Most pilgrims comes in a group with experienced mutawwif to lead them so they will be guided by these experienced mutawwifs. We, who came by ourselves, inexperienced awal marra, with only high hopes for guidance from Allah s.w.t, and little help from our guide book, surely didn't have such luxury. We have no one to tell us of what to do next and where to go plus we got tangled and little distracted with our unnecessary shoes issue, we forgot that we were supposed to devote our utmost-undivided focus and minds humbly and submissively to worship and serve to Allah s.w.t and enter Masjidil Haram with constant repetition of Talbiyah, not busying ourselves with things like our shoes.

So, tips #number 1 : Prepare suitable shoe bag(s) to keep your shoes safe. It has to be big enough to fit your shoes and small enough so it won't takes up too much space and became burden. Advisable, bring your shoes together with you into mosque, especially for the first time because you still not familiar with the mosque layout and you're not necessarily going out of the mosque from the same door you entered. It is normal that you entered masjidil Haram from let's say Door 1, and find yourself praying at the opposite sides of that entrance because it's the only unoccupied space you can find. Keep in mind, there's sooooooo many doors and every door looked identical despite being numbered and every pillar and stairs looked the same so you (read:me) will tend to get confuse very very very easily. However, when you did your tawaf and saei, it's not very practical to carry your shoe bag with you so just carry your shoe bags inside the mosque and left the bags at the racks inside the mosque. Another tip : Pick a point that is easily to be remembered, for example, shoe racks near zamzam water stations or racks synchronized with Hajarul Aswad. Even better, memorized the shoe rack's number because every single things in Masjidil Haram has numbers on it, from shoe racks to door to even chandeliers. Pay attention to every single details because it will become handy later on. This is applicable for when you wanted to do tawaf umrah and saei or tawaf sunat. If you were just going to the mosque for prayer, then you can bring your shoe bags with you and placed it by your side while praying, as long as it doesn't caused inconveniences to other jemaah. This is why your shoe bags need to be suitable and fit your shoes well because you don't want to carry dirts into mosques should your shoes was not properly covered and ended up stained the mosque and prayer place.

:: Masjidil Haram's level 1 interior ::

Moving on, we go further into mosque by following the peoples flow and suddenly, in between other pilgrims head, I caught my first glance on Kaabah and everything turned blurred. At that very moment, everything, everyone around me dissolved into thin air. It just me and Kaabah, everything and everyone else just doesn't matter. I had my eyes fixed on Kaabah and Kaabah only and broken into tears.

:: Allah-o-Akbar La Ilaha Ilallah ::

Thank you Allah for inviting me into your Baitullah, accepting me, allow me to witness the greatness of your mighty home and I found myself sobbing as I moved towards Kaabah slowly. I felt sooo tiny, so humble, fear and so hopelessly weak infront Kaabah. How can you not feel tiny and nervous when you're standing before Your Creator's home? I felt as if there's some outer force pulling me towards Kaabah, like a magnet and as I approaching Kaabah, my chest felt tighten and swelled with gratitude and filled with regrets and remorse for not being a better muslimah and a better servant. I felt like I don't deserve to be forgiven but wanting so badly to be forgiven for all my sins but I have a lot of faith that Allah s.w.t is The Greatest, He is Ar-Rahman (loving) and Ar-Rahim ( forgiving).

I can't really explain what I felt then, as I kept myself repeating to everyone who asked me of how it's feel to stand before Kaabah, it is something that you had to experienced firsthand yourself and you just had to be there to believe and feel it.

After this experience, I want nothing but to be better, get better and know better( about my religion) because I believed in order to become a better wife, better daughter, better mother, better sister, and better friend, I, first need to be a better servant and muslimah. Hopefully, if someone reads this post, saw the pictures I shared in here terbuka hati to perform Umrah, then this post might have served it's just cause, Insya Allah. I had my life-changing moments and I prayed that you too, will have your moments and wanting to be better.

Then, we started our tawaf Umrah. We had to make 3 stops to let the kids and even myself rest. It was indeed hot, sunny and humid day and we were all sweats like mad. I got short of breath, feeling fatigue and started hyper-ventilating after 2nd round, plus the kids started to get cranky, kept bombarded us with How Many More Mummy? questions and at some point, they just unwilling to proceed further and demanded for water and to sit and so we stopped and fed them (and me) with zam zam water.

It is proven that empty stomach + hot humid weather + tiredness from 16 hours of journey + sleep deprived + physically unfit = complete recipe for a disaster.

For the rest of the tawaf, we did it by rotation. My husband went and completed his 7 rounds of tawaf and came to our pit stop to stay with the kids and performed solat sunat and so I can complete mine. The same goes for saei, we went together at first for few rounds, and when the kids got tired, one of us will go and the other half stayed with the girls.

:: The girls on the second day, in much much better shape and mood ::

For the tawaf itself, for the first time, we followed everything by the books. We recited every supplications recommended by the guide book but honestly, I can't really "menghayati"(deep concentration) the dua. Firstly, because it was quite long and written in Arabic. So, I didn't understand the meaning of the du'a I'm uttering hence, the feeling doesn't reach me. There's a Malay translation for it so I tried to read the Malay version instead, but still, I felt like it doesn't speak my heart, as if I was reading someone else du'a.

Secondly, there's a sea of pilgrims who were there to respond to Allah's call, pushing you from every angles. Just imagine, you had to drag and comfort your kids with you while trying to concentrate reading your du'a and holding the book upright at least to the level that you can see the wordings clearly so you'll get the tajwid right. Then while doing that, you need to make sure your left shoulder facing Kaabah, all the time and also taking care of your aurah and wudhu' so it won't expired. So many things you need to watch our for while trying to get khusyuk with your supplications all along. But in returns, for all the hardships and challenges, if you do it properly, you'll get a huge rewards from Allah s.w.t so you would want to do it properly and wholeheartedly.

So what I did is (this is just a recommendation from me based from my experiences. Other peoples experience may vary so do as what suits you best) I recite the supplications from the books only for the first few rounds and do my own azkar (plural for zikir), du'a, istighfar, du'a taubat, ayatul kursi and many more supplications that I used daily and am familiar with. There's so many simple azkar you can recite, even subhanallah is considered as azkar and in between all those du'a, you can say your own du'a of what you wishes for in your own words, du'a for parents, your family, friends, for your health, for your country and many more as long as it's for a good intention.

Do not get me wrong, please... The guide book did helped us like a lot in terms of the complete routines of Umrah, the dos and don'ts and so much more but when it comes to the dua's part, invocation in those supplications is 'Mustahab' (desirable), not necessarily you have to follow it word by word as there is no fixed du'a(s) to be recite during both tawaf or saei. In any case it is not memorized, or you have other du'a or wishes you had prepared beforehand, you may pray to Allah in your own words, your own languages for your good desires and to suits your needs as well. It doesn't matter as Allah s.w.t listened even to your most silence du'a and even slightest thoughts in your deepest mind.

:: Sea of people. What a great view don't you think? ::

Tips # Number 2 : Plan your ibadah and set a goal. Pahala for praying in Masjidil Haram is X 100000, in Masjid Al-Nabawi is X 1000 and in Masjid Al-Aqsa is x 500. Subhanallah, after hearing this, I certainly wouldn't want to miss a single prayer time in the mosque. Allah s.w.t is so generous and I am the one at lost if I didn't use this opportunity to gained as much rewards as I could. Plus, we were advised by friends and sisters to prioritized in our ibadah ( kinda sort the wajib and sunnah, so the wajib will come first in our list to do) so that our times there will be well spent. We had several talks and seek opinions from friends and Ustazs in Kuwait and most of them said pretty much the same thing. Only 1 Umrah (most likely the first one you performed) is counted as Umrah Wajib, and the rest of umrah(s) you made will be counted as sunnah . Hence, we determined to do as much as qada' solat as we can and followed by solat sunnah and reciting Quran, and if Allah permit, between prayer time we would do our tawaf sunat and tawaf umrah rotationally.

This ( the ibadah list) is important to me because I need something to keep me on my track. When I entered Masjidil Haram for the first time, I spent half of the time gawking and wow-ing at the magnificent structure of the mosque and kaabah and how spectacular it was. Plus, there's a sea of peoples around me with thousand of interesting activities so it is very easy for me to get distracted from my very reason being in the mosque in the first place. Among the goal I set for myself was, I wanted to khatam Quran in Mecca so in order to achieve this, I had planned on how much recitation I need to do every prayer time and sticks to it so I'll be more disciplined with my ibadah routine. Do bought pocket size Al-Quran so that you can marked the page you're currently reading, plus it is easier to carry it around.

I believed you always heard stories about ambitious pilgrims who went all out and tried to perform as many Umrah as they can. At times, 2 umrahs per day, Masya Allah. May Allah reward them with abundance of goodness. Unfortunately also, in the eagerness of doing ibadah, some tend to exert themselves to ibadah which does not follow the sunnah. Thus putting them at risk of wasting time and effort with ibadah that is rejected. And also, I find some doing things not in the sunnah leaving completely the wajib rite. Therefore, needless to say, one really need to arm oneself with knowledge particularly on how Rasullulah s.a.w did his Umrah and Hajj so your efforts will not be wasted.

Based on my reading, Rasullullah s.a.w performed 4 umrahs and only 1 Hajj pilgrimage. Taken from HERE :

Umrah 1: 6^th Hijri, after the Treaty of Hudaibiya. Although he was not allowed to visit the Kaaba by the polytheists of Makkah to perform Umrah, it is still counted as an Umrah. He came out of the Ehram, shaved his head, and sacrificed his ‘hadi’ (animal) and went back to Medina. The deal made with the polytheists, that he would return to Medina, and come back the next year for his Umrah.

Umrah 2: 7^th Hijri, as per the Treaty of Hudaibiyah.

Umrah 3. 8^thHijri, after returning from the Battle of Hunain.

Umrah 4: 10^th Hijri, along with the Hajj.

Tips # Number 3 : Tawaf is just like solat in almost every ascpects, except that you can talk in tawaf and not in solah. You need to have valid wudhu' and you have to cover your aurah, just like in solat. So, keep that in mind ( lucky me, I had a constant reminders from my husband) so that you won't be doing things that could tainted your tawaf quality eventhough you were tempted to such as taking pictures, taking video, doing unnecessary and wasted talking. You don't take pictures while you're praying I reckon! All of the photos we took was either during free time in between solat time or in the morning when we went to the mosque or after we perform tawaf and saei, never during !

Tips # Number 4 : Be prepared mentally and physically, especially physically! In order to focus on your ibadah and complete your Umrah, you need to be healthy and fit. Do a regular brisk walking months before you going for Umrah and take supplements if you must. Errrmmm brisk walking while shopping in the mall is not counted yeahh. It's proven to have no good effects on me :)

:: Erin,s Love shape "souvenirs" from Masjidil Haram. Might be terkena someone's handbags during tawaf ::

Tips #Number 5 : Plan your du'a and make a list of what you wanted to ask from Allah s.w.t so you won't forget. This is a chance of a lifetime, to pray before Baitullah. I'm sure you wouldn't want to left anything out. If you're going with your husband, then get him involve in preparing the list. That's what me and my husband did. We discussed of wishes we desire to ask Allah s.w.t while we are at Mecca.

:: Dataran Kaaba' ::

Tips #Number 6 : Try your best to protect your wudhu'. I just discovered of how much GAS I had when I was in Mecca. Like a LOT! Kah kah kah.. It doesn't help that there's no toilet in Masjidil Haram. All the hammam was located outside the mosque and you need to walk quite a distance. So there I am, just reach the mosque with freshly new wudhu' from hotel (which is so very near), securing my spot, and was about to perform solat tahiyatul Masjid when my wudhu' expired. There's ablution area provided outside, infront the King of Abdul Aziz gate but it was open area so you need to really cover your aurah while renewing your wudhu'. There's also one ablution area at first floor, also an open area. Therefore, another tip is, you can practice taking your wudhu' at home before going to Mecca using only a cup of water ( or minimal amount of water) because there'll be a moments when you need to renew your wudhu' and the only water source you had nearby was a cup of Zamzam water :).

:: Zamzam station at Saei area ::

:: Can you see the 2 green lights? Men were recommended to lari2 anak between those green marked area ::

Tips #Number 7 : Develop a system especially if you're having your small kids with you. Lucky for us, our kids were both very independent and doesn't give us much problem, alhamdullilah. They're among the main reason we could concentrate on our ibadah. Although being a kids, they were expected to act their age, they actually behave and did very well, far cry from what we expected them to act.

As I didn't have a clue of what our routine will be like while we were in Mecca & Madinah, we developed the system a day after we arrived. What we did was,

we'll left them in the room for Fajr prayer so they can get as much rest as they can. Then we'd bring them to the mosque after shower and stays there until Zohor. We went back to hotel for lunch and quick rest as interval time between Zohor ans Asar is very short. The girls will be taking their afternoon nap in the room, while both of us will went to mosque for Asar prayer. Then we came back to hotel for freshen up and getting ready for Maghrib.

We brought the girls to the mosque for Maghrib and stays until Isya' then have dinner and quick tour around bazar before going back to hotel OR if they did not want to follow, we'll take them for dinner or bought them dinner before Maghrib, and left them at room until Isya'.

Of course, we left one handphone with them all the time so they can call us should they need us. During the first few days, sometimes we received up to 13 calls from Alis but as days went by, and they got used to mummy and papa's mosque routine, they don't bother calling anymore ha ha ha.

If we need to bring them to the mosque, we'll make sure we brought together something that able to distract them for long period of time, so they won't get bored like drawing books and a lotttsssss of finger foods. Plus, rest assure, they'll brought back at least a half full plastic bag contained of sweets, candies, balloons, fruits or tamar from sadaqahs. Arabs like kids and they like to come pat the girls on the head, touch their faces, kissed their hands and give sadaqah.

:: Alis's favorite pastime activity at Masjidil Haram. Another favorite activity of hers was standing by the fence and stared at Kaabah. Erin on another hand, could only managed to color mostly 1 tree before got bored. She preferred sleeping more, exactly like her mummy kah kah kah ::

:: The lane where my husband standing was actually designated wheel chair lane for tawaf, located on the first floor of Masjidil Haram. I heard, it took 3 hours to complete 7 rounds of tawaf in this section. I didn't try though. ::

Between my husband and me, we would discuss a day earlier should we wanted to do tawaf sunat the next day because tawaf usually takes up longer time compared to normal prayer so we need to plan it wisely. Most of the time, my husband will do tawaf sunat after Zohor and I'll went back to hotel to stay with the girls. I'll go to the mosque for Asar by my own or with him if he managed to finished his tawaf before Asar. I will then perform my tawaf sunat after Maghrib ( because it's a lot cooler than Zohor :) ) and my husband will stayed with the girls. He then will leave them for Isya' prayer and we'll meet at hotel room later on for dinner.

Do take note that this system worked for us mainly because my girls were both very independence and toilet trained, and ohhhhh, there's an abundance of cheap 5 riyal toys involved too, as motivation :)

:: Cleaning schedule at Saei area. We all were diverted to wheel chair lane while they did the cleaning ::

:: Masjidil Haram's cleaning crew. Masya Allah they are so efficient and they come and go discreetly, you won't noticed them until they were there. May Allah bless them. Making sure Masjidil Haram is clean inside out 24*7, 365 days is no light task ::

:: Behind him is Bukit Safa ::

:: Camwhore infront hotel lift. My utmost favorite pastime activity ::

Tips # Number 8 : Learn how to perform Solat Jenazah/ Janaza(Funeral) Salah. Imam will summon everyone for solat jenazah almost after every prayer. It is not wajib but it's a fardhu kifayah. Honestly, I didn't know how to perform solat jenazah because I never did it in Malaysia. It's became culture in Malaysia that only men will involved in solat jenazah, while women will stayed at home. It's a very wrong culture because it is fardhu kifayah for every muslim.

Let me share with you basic Solat Jenaza :

How to Perform the Janazah (Funeral) Prayer

1. Stand facing the Qiblah with your chest.

2. Have the intention: “I intend to pray the Funeral prayer for this dead Muslim” while saying: Allahu akbar.

3. Recite the Fatihah softly, then say Allahu akbar.

4. Say Allahumma salli ^ ala Muhammad. It is better if you recite the whole Salatul-Ibrahimiyyah, then say Allahu akbar.

5. Make supplication for the dead Muslim Allahumma-ghfir lahu warhamh (u). It is better to include other Muslims and to say:

Allahumma-ghfir lihayyina wa mayyitina, wa shahidina wa gha’ibina wa saghirina wa kabirina, wa dhakarina wa unthana. Allahumma man ahyaytahu minna fa ahyihi ^alal-Islam, wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa tawaffahu ^alal-’iman.
This means: “0 Allah, forgive our dead and alive, our present and absent, our young and old, our male and female [Muslims]. 0 Allah, whomever among us You gave life, let him live with Islam. Whomever among us You took life from, let him die with Iman (Faith)”. Then say Allahu akbar.

6. It is recommended to say:

Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa la taftinna ba ^dah(u), which means: “0 Allah, do not deprive us of the reward of our praying for him, and do not test us after him”.

7. Say as-salamu ^ alaykum. It is recommended to say: assalamu ^alaykum wa rahmatullah while turning the head to the right, then to say it while turning to the left.
In Malay :

Cara Ringkas Solat @ Sembahyang Jenazah :

1. Angkat Takbir "Allahuakbar" & Niat dalam hati :
++ Sahaja aku solat jenazah terhadap mayat ini, 4 takbir, fardhu kifayah kerana Allah Ta’ala.
++ Jadi makmum? tambah "sebagai makmum kerana Allah Taala"
++ Baca Alfatihah hingga akhir

2. Angkat Takbir Kedua "Allahuakbar"
++ Baca : Allahumma solli a'la Muhammad wa a'la ali Muhammad
++ Pendek pun takpa, paling elok selawat ibrahimiah macam dalam tahiyyat akhir

3. Angkat Takbir Ketiga "Allahuakabar"
++ Baca doa (pendek pun takpa, panjang lagi bagus) contoh dibawah ni :
++ Allahummargh firlahu warhamhu (untuk mayat lelaki)
++ Allahummargh firlaha warhamha (untuk mayat perempuan)
++ Untuk mayat kanak-kanak yang belum baligh, tidak dibacakan doa ini kerana mereka masih tidak dikira dosa pahala oleh malaikat.
Imam will announced whether we will be praying for she or he by saying allahyarham or allahyarhamah. But since the iman said it in Arabic, you need to listen carefully.
4. Angkat Takbir Ke Empat "Allahuakbar"
++ "Assalamualaikum warahmatullah " Beri Salam kiri n kanan
++ Selesai

Jika jadi makmum, ikutlah di belakang imam, berdiri rapat rapat. dan ikutlah jugalah rukun di atas. Cukup rukun makalah sah lah solat tersebut. Semoga ia jadi penghormatan terbaik buat jenazah.

If you didn't know before this, now you know! It's very easy isn't it? You'll find it a bit tricky during your first time but keep consistently doing it and it'll getting easier. Don't worry if you didn't get it right for the first time because Allah s.w.t knows your nawaitu (intention). The first solat jenazah I performed, I only do it by imitation. I followed what others congregations doing and just recite Al-Fatihah after first takbir and I made du'a asking to Allah for the jenazah to be forgiven, in my heart, in Malay because I didn't know proper way of how to do it. After I done, I caught up a chat with a very nice Malaysian kakak beside me and I asked her to teach me how to perform Funeral Salah and she gladly taught me. But since she did it verbally and I didn't have pen or paper to jot down the supplications, I just listened first. Upon reaching hotel, I hooked up to internet and learned how to do it via google.

Tips # Number 9 : Brush up your skills on different type of solat there is. There's few solat that you never think of doing it but will come handy in future. For example, how to perform solat while you're in a moving vehicle, how to do solat when you're in fear and how to do Jama'. While learning the type of different solat then only I know than given certain situations, we can actually perform solat while walking. Did you know ?

Owh there's one more thing, do your revision on how to do, when to do and what to read during Sujud Sajadah! Normally Imam will read Surah Sajadah during Friday Subuh Prayer so if you were given the opportunity to perform Fajr (Subuh) prayer at Masjidil Haram or Masjid Nabawi on Friday, do watch out for word As-Sajadah. The moment Imam utter the word Sajadah, he will do Sujud Sajadah and read

In Arabic :

Sajada wajhill lazi khalaqahu

Wa shaqqa sham a huWa basara huBi hau li

hiWa qou wa ti hiFata barakkallahuAhk sannul qho likin “

Translation in English :

..bowing down kissing the floor is my face towards the greatness of Allah, the ENTITY that has created me, that has opened my ears to listen, my eyes to see with his sole permission only

Translation in Malay :

sujudlah wajahku kpd Allah, dzat yang menciptakannya,
Yang membuka pendengaran serta penglihatannya dengan daya dan kekuatannya.

.... got up and continue the rest of the prayer. When the Imam sujud, the makmum should follows. However, sujud sajadah falls under sunat muakad which is sunat that is highly recommended to do but it's not a sin should you not do it. Men congregations have advantage in this because they can see what Imam is doing and follow, but us ladies, we were at a disadvantage position because we cannot see the Imam. I was blessed with 2 Fridays in Holy Land, one at Mecca and another one is Madinah but I missed both Sujud Sajadah. First one ( in Mecca) because I didn't go to mosque for that particular Fajr prayer. Instead I pray at my room due to health issue, second one at Madinah, I was praying at the mosque but I let sleepiness got to me and I became un-alert when the Imam utter the word Sajadah and perform Sujud Sajadah. Instead I ( and almost 85 % of the congregations) rukuk. * bangs head on the wall *. I only realized that the Imam was doing Sujud Sajadah shortly after that. Lesson learned. I'll do better next time, Insya Allah.

:: In between prayer time, we would occasionally took the kids for short stroll around bazar area next to our hotel. This is our mandatory pitstop ::

:: We came with 2 other families from Q8. Kak Anis and Aza's family. However we arrived Mecca 2 days earlier than both of them. They only came couple of days later due to work and school commitment. Eventhough we came in a group of 3 families, as for prayer, I am more comfortable to go either with my husband or rather alone. Same goes when I perform tawaf Umrah or Tawaf sunat. We ( my husband and me) will start off together but we'll normally got separated in the massive crowd so normally I'll ended up doing it alone and I wouldn't mind it at all because I am actually more comfortable that way since I can catch up on my own phase and rhythm without having had to wait for someone else or having someone else waiting for me. Furthermore, i found it easy for me to focus on my ibadah when I'm by myself. We'll reunited for jalan jalan after Isya so the kids can meet up and enjoyed each other companions for few hours ::

:: Capal shop. I lost my shoes on my second day at Mecca. It is mind-boggling because our shoes were altogether inside one bag but only mine were taken. Anyway, I just redha and considered it as one of dugaan for me and halal kan the shoes. May the person who took it found comfort in those shoes and used it for good purposes. It became private joke later on because I teased my husband and interrogate him whether he was ikhlas or not when buying those shoes for me hehehe ::

:: Believed to be Rasullulah s.a.w's original birthplace site. Now, it was turned into library ::

:: Masjidil Haram's male security team ::

:: Infront Gate 1, the nearest gate from our hotel. Can you see the circle area with fans behind him? That is the abovementioned open ablution area::

:: My husband met his old colleague at Masjidil Haram. They haven't met for almost 5-6 years. His friend now stayed at Qatar and came to Mecca by bus. Sweet reunion indeed. Subhanallah ::

:: Mall underneath our hotel. This is our daily mosque route as we need to bypass all the outlets in order to go to mosque. The hotel entrance located at the most far end of this floor. Being a shopaholic, I was very worried upon knowing that there's actually a mall underneath our hotel with a very interesting line of outlets. I feared that I would spend most of my time at the mall than at the mosque. Alhamdullilah, Allah the Greatest because for all 4 nights we at Mecca, the urge and desire to shop was almost non existence. I believed this also applied to everyone. The temptation to be at the mosque was stronger than anywhere else and trust me, no matter how comfortable your hotel room will be, you would rather be at Masjidil Haram ::

Anyway, we were at the mall looking for bottled Air Zam Zam to brought back home when we suddenly saw a very familiar figure . Take a guess who we met at attar shop in Mecca ?

:: Datuk Fadhilah Kamsah! Assalamualaikum Datukkkkkkkkkk, I'm a fan :) he he he. Actually he did remembered my husband because he used to be a speaker in a talk organised by my husband company few year back ::

:: Clock Tower view from Masjidil Haram ::

I think that's all about it for now. I'll write more if I have something else to share and I'll be writing about Madinah too...

After been said and wrote, I still know too little so do forgive and corrected me should any of the info above was inaccurate. All the goodness comes from Allah s.w.t and all the error was on me.

Till then,

May Allah keeps my heart steadfast upon His Deen and that He calls me back to His House once again.

Ameen!