After Miqat in the Mosque of Bir Ali and performing 2 rakaat of Solat Sunat Ihram, we already committed to the sacred state and prohibited in doing any of the violations including:
- Men must not wear tailored cloths;
- Men must not cover their head with anything;
- Women can wear normal clothes, but must not wear gloves or cover their face;
- Not using perfume;
- Don't trim/cut the hair and nails;
- Others, please consult your travel agent or muttawif if you're going.
Our journey to Makkah took us about 4 hours. Upon arrival, our immediate intentions was to get our luggage to the Dar El Eiman Hotel and perform the tawwaf and saie before ending our umrah with the tahallul (an act of cutting some of the hair to end the ihram sacred state). Ustaz Ramzi, a Siamese Tabung Haji Travel staff was at the hotel to assist us to our rooms. Then, we perform the wudhu and proceeded to Masjidil Harram, walking distance from our hotel.
From Safwa Towers entrance, staring at the magnificent, beautiful, superb, glorious, splendid, outstanding architecture of the Masjidil Harram Mosque, with the hot and windy weather, a very wonderful feeling struck me. My heart was pumping, anxious, wondering how I would feel to see the Kaaba. I started to peek through the structures looking for what have been my Qiblah of prayer throughout life. A feeling I have never felt before. Inexpressible through words. MashaAllah, MashaAllah, MashaAllah.
There it was, others consider it as nothing but a black box like building, but for Muslims, true Muslims, it is the path of prayer, the holiest building there is, one of the purpose in life among the five pillars in Islam(performing Hajj). I was touch by His hidayah. Some tears starts pouring from my eyes. I could not believe it, that I was there, I were there. The Baitullah was in the middle of the crowds. The flat ground around it was full with pilgrims performing the tawwaf. Praise be to Allah. Alhamdulillah.
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| This picture was taken right after the Imam's first takbir for Solat Maghrib |
Non-Muslims might ask, "Why do you pray to the Kaaba? Is your god inside there?" since they might not understand Islam. The answer is very simple, by substituting the question with someone talking on the hand phone, one may ask - "who are talking to? Is anybody inside the phone?" One may interact to someone but it doesn't mean that the person is there. The message is transferred through some kind of medium.
After reaching the wheel chair ramp to access the flat area around the Kaaba, we (Me, my father, my grandmother, and my father's other mother in law) encounter our first obstacle where we weren't allowed to pass by the police because the tawwaf area was too crowded and might not be safe for wheel chair users. I felt awkward of the situation, but some relief since there were about 5 other wheel chair users together within the situation. We waited for sometime and proceeded after about 45 minutes. Circling Baitullah 7 times anti-clock-wise, 2 rakaat solat sunat tawwaf, and we proceeded to perform the saie before finishing our first umrah with the tahallul. After some refreshment, we proceeded to Dar El Eiman to get some rest. We manage to do umrah 4 times throughout our stay there and visited many other places such as the camel farm..
Camel rides. (Felt a little bit like roller coaster ride, I had to hold on very tight)
and visiting famous hills in Makkah. In the picture is the four of us with our guide. Our mutawwif is behind the camera.
Our umrah or may I say vacation to Arab Saudi was the best visit ever. Although the activities weren't much, my heart, body and soul was full with satisfaction. The surrounding was very religious, thus He have given me His hidayah and guidance. Syukur Alhamdulillah.
For those who is planning to visit, don't put high hopes on the locals. Their culture might be different than us from the east, and they are quite rude, spoken and body language.No matter the culture, what I love the most about our visit is the atmosphere in Masjidil Harram. If we compare to our mosques, we won't often see them crowded except for Jumaat prayer and Eid. In Masjidil Harram, people spend their time at the mosque reciting quran, praying rather than loitering without any good reason.
Assalamualaikum w.b.t...
