Hajj
The days of Hajj (part 2 of 2)
If you haven’t read part 1 of this post, please read the previous one before continuing. The literal meaning of the days of Tashreek is The days of drying meat. It is the days of sacrifice, and the pelting of the…
The days of Hajj (part 1 of 2)
The end of 6 intense days. Exhausted, my right arm sore from pelting, my legs sore from walking, my shoulders in pain from carrying the backpack, my lower back sore too, my skin spotty and bumpy as a coping mechanism…
I have to leave you for a while
Yesterday was my birthday.It was the most special birthday I have ever had. The chance to show gratitude to Allah for everything I have been granted with, right at His house, the holy ka’bah, was surreal. Gratitude for good friends,…
When is the best time to tawaaf?
Tawaaf is the circumambulation of the ka’bah 7 times in anti-clockwise direction. It is an act of worship that cannot be done anywhere else but there, at Allah’s house, the Beit’ullah, the ka’bah. When is the best time to Tawaaf? …
A Tale of 2 Jumu’ahs
Most of the time I don’t know what day it is, which is wonderful. I’ve never experienced this in my life before. When I happen to check in on Twitter and see people complaining about their horrible Monday, I realise……
Arriving in Makkah – the Umrah
It has been quite a long time since I’ve last spoken about our journey, and once again I apologise for this. We left my beloved Madinah last Wednesday, 3rd October for the city of Allah’s house, the Holy Ka’bah. When…
Delay in posts
This is just a quick note to apologise for not posting anything in close to a week. We are in Makkah Al- Mukarramah now and I have LOADS to tell.But Makkah is also very tiring, so most of my free…
Badr
Today we went to Badr, the site of the Battle of Badr, the first battle in Islam. We were warned beforehand that it’s a trip of more than 200km from Madina, and that there is no guarantee that we would…
Rawdatul Jannah – The Garden of Paradise
As I ended off the previous post at the start of my story, I will start exactly there. There was a notice in the foyer that the men would be taken by the spiritual leader to go and ziyaret in…
Arrival in Al-Madina Monowarah
The pilot announces that we will be landing in Madina in a few minutes and that the temperature on the ground is 41 degrees. I hastily look out of the window to see if I can get a glimpse of…
The journey to Arabia
This is the second time I am writing this particular blog post. The first time I lost it. I wasn’t exactly impressed, as time here is precious and losing over an hours’ work is saddening. But anyway, enough about that.…
Almost time to leave
It’s almost time… we leave home for Hajj tomorrow. The buildup has been phenomenal. We are beyond excited and cannot wait to reach the Beitullah. My heart longs and yearns for it. Once again I am reminded of what an…