عن أبي هريرة رضي ٱلله عنه؛ عن رسول ٱلله صلى ٱلله عليه وسلم قال، "لا تشد ٱلرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجد: ٱلمسجد ٱلحرام ومسجدي هذا وٱلمسجد الأقصى"
Narrated from Abu Hurairah; from The Messenger of Allāh (blessings and peace be upon him) saying, “do not prepare yourself for a journey except to three mosques: al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, this Mosque of mine and al-Aqsa Mosque.”
When I read other people’s blog about their Umrah (off-seasonal pilgrimage) trip, I wonder how lucky they are compared to myself. Even though my journey to reach the blessed valley of Makkah al-Mukarramah and The Illuminated City of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah was full of obstacles; of course they tasted bitter… but I did not consider myself unlucky to be the guest of God, at last.
June 23rd, 2007: Today was when my trip began… I went to Local Health Office to get vaccination required by Saudi Immigration in order to obtain Umrah Visa. The office was suggested by my lecturer, Yaser el-Bastawisy, MB BCh, PhD - several days before.
June 30th, 2007: I submitted all documents required for Umrah participation to Brother Khairul Anwar – the organizer. I was expected to go to Tahrir to apply for Re-Entry Visa, but I had to call it off.
July 1st, 2007: I had my Re-Entry Visa done today at Mugamma, Tahrir. The clerk said my passport can be taken back at 2.30 pm. Since there were five hours to wait until 2.30 pm, I went to the next destination: Malaysian Embassy to get Support Letter for Performing Umrah. I moved to Nasser Metro Station to get microbus to go to Malaysian Embassy at Mohandessin. But instead of taking microbus, I took a 357 bus at Nasser Station; hopefully, it will go to Mohandessin, Giza. The air-conditioned bus did go to Mohandessin, but not to where embassy is located.
During my journey, I felt unfamiliar with the route the bus had taken. The bus took too much time to reach the ‘Embassy’. The journey ended at Great Pyramids of Giza station and I wasn’t intended to go there (until now, I still haven’t reached the Great Pyramids of Giza! Soon, maybe…). Feeling tired, grumpy and disappointed, I had to take the same bus to return to Tahrir. The temperature was 40°C - extremely hot. I stopped at Mouniera and visited my friends who lived there. After two hours, I went back to Mugamma’ to take my passport and then return to 7th District of Nasr City.
July 2nd, 2007: Finally, I managed to get Support Letter for Performing Umrah from Embassy.
To my dismay, the organizer had the date of departure postponed twice. And the second time they changed the date, it was several days before I had to re-seat for my exam. As a result, that was my first attempt to perform umrah before I cancelled it.
January 20th, 2008: This time, I planned to go for Umrah on 25th of January. So, after getting prepared once again, together with my two companions, I went to Royal Saudi Arabian Consulate-General at Garden City, Cairo applying for visa. At the consulate, only me was allowed to enter while my friends have to stay outside. But when I got inside, the clerk refused to accept our applications because he said in an Arabic slang I didn’t recognize (perhaps Saudi slang), “you need an invitation letter.” We have to include the required letter, otherwise, no visa. On next day, we gonna have Histology exam. So, we need to return to Al-Manṣūrah first.
January 22nd, 2008: We returned again to Cairo and arrived at Turgomān, or, al-Qallily Station at 10.30 am after two-hour journey from Al-Manṣūrah. Again, problems occurred at the consulate. First, the guys at cyber-café said they didn’t know what kinda visa we’re applying, so, they just refused to register us. I was pretty upset (but I didn’t physically express my anger) and urged him to register us. So, he registered us. It was raining during that time and temperature dropped until 4°C (note that on my first attempt was during summer, but this time, it was during mid-winter period). After registration completed, we headed to consulate. To our surprise, our visa application was simply denied and the excuse given was, “your invitation letter need to be verified first by our Ministry of Exterior.” Simply put, we had to cancel our Umrah once again. Frustrated and almost frozen, we walked to Tahrir in vain to cancel our flight tickets. After praying Zuhr at ‘Ibad ur-Rahmān Mosque nearby, a local guy accused my fellas for making two separate jama’ah in the mosque. I had to interfere and explain to him that there was a misunderstanding and it wasn’t their fault. He understood and apologized for everything. Then, we headed home.
March 15th, 2008: It was a custom for Saudi Arabian Government to open for free Umrah visa application to all Muslims worldwide on Hijri month of Safar every year. This time, Faris and Syafiq bin Hamdani (Damak) agreed to go performing Umrah at Makkah with me. Today, I renewed my residence visa (iqāmah) in Egypt. It is one of the requirements for foreigner to apply Umrah visa within Egypt. I planned to take my iqāmah on 23rd of March, go to embassy to get Support Letter for Performing Umrah on 26th and settle everything with travel agency on 29th. Unfortunately, instead of having iqāmah, I was given Visa for Tourism Purpose that was valid until April 18th, 2008! (Iqāmah is valid for one year) So, I have to apply for my visa again and cancelled everything I planned beforehand.
April 19th, 2008: I resubmitted my iqāmah application. Without waiting any longer, I went to Cairo. We visit Kuwait-Arab Travel Agency. Nonetheless, the clerk at the travel agency said, “Saudi Arabian Government has made some amendment about Umrah regulation. Please come next 10 days after we confirm with the Consulate.” At that time, I needed to return to Al-Manṣūrah. So I left my documents with Faris and asked him to settle everything for me.
June 6th, 2008: At last, I got my iqāmah! Thank God. How delightful…
June 8th, 2008: Once again, I went to Kuwait-Arab Travel Agency alone after making appointment with Mr Mo’men. After getting my document from Faris, I got everything done so I could focus on my next examination: Anatomy.
My Umrah Visa
June 24th, 2008: We got our passport back, with Umrah Visa in it. We’re set for summer Umrah trip on 29th of June. And the participants were:
1. Me, myself and I
2. Abdul Rahman bin Nik Mazian
3. Ahmad Faiz bin Muhamad Sabri
4. Mohamad Faqih bin Mohamad Puzi
5. Mohd Faris bin Mohd Husin
6. Mohd Nasrullah bin Nik Ab. Kadir
7. Muhammad Adam bin Zainuddin
8. Muhammad Akram bin Abdul Kadir
9. Muhammad Hanif bin Khairudin
10. Muhammad Husaini bin Saleh
11. Muhammad Ikmal bin Mohamad Kamil
12. Muhammad Najib bin Hasan@Ahmad
13. Muhammad Salman
14. Muhammad Syafiq bin Mat Noor
15. Syafiq bin Hamdani
Part I: Makkah al-Mukarramah (مكة ٱلمكرمة)
June 30th, 2008: Our journey to perform Umrah (off-seasonal pilgrimage) and visiting holy places in Makkah al-Mukarramah and al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah began here. All Umrah participants were required to assemble in front of Kuwait-Arab Travel Agency (now the company is known as Cairo Travel. We were waiting for the bus at 11.00 pm but it only arrived at 12.25 am. We stopped at Cafeteria Aziziyah en route to Safaga at 4.45 am to pray Fajr. We arrived at Safaga at 8.00 am and waited for our turn to enter the port. Some of us left the bus and got their breakfast in Safaga town, while the rest tried to get some nap.
10.30 am - We checked-in inside the immigration hall. When my baggage went through the scanning machine, the officer just let it went through. But, Damak’s was stopped for further investigation. Each of our baggage contains sixty boxes of black lentils/black seeds/habbatussawda capsules. But the immigration officer suspected that those were illegal drugs. They heavily questioned Damak and asked him to retrieve my bag. So, I brought my bag to him and tried to explain that there was no problem in bringing habbatus sawda out of Egyptian main airports, and I think there would be no problem at the port too. Besides, they were not illegal drugs - they’re just capsules of natural plant-origin oil, mentioned in Prophetic Medicine Book. At first, they refuse to release our baggage. They then made a call to their high-ranked officials and after the call, they just let those capsules and our baggage passed.
Ready to cross the Red Sea
12.00 pm - We boarded Wadi Alneel ship. The ship left the port on 4.15 pm. During the voyage, we were greeted by friendly fellow Umrah pilgrims from Sohag and Qena. We also met another pilgrimage group from Malaysia led by Mr Ridzuan.
Egyptian women hymned out loud on the ship
July 1st, 2008: 7.45 am - As we were on the ship deck, we saw exocoetidaes (or flying pisces) and Spinner Dolphins. I saw two pods of Spinner Dolphins swimming near to our ship. On the ship, some Egyptian women congregated and then hymned - praising Allāh and Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him). We arrived at Yanbu al-Bahr Commercial Port (ميناء ينبع ٱلتجاري) at 12.20 pm. We left the ship on 2.10 pm and had to pass through five Saudi immigration checkpoints. After the first checkpoint, I greeted Mr Ridzuan. He told his side of story of hardship. He was about visit Makkah and al-Madīnah by airplane but due to travel agency’s problem, he had no choice but to come to Saudi Arabia by ship.
2.30 pm - When I was at third checkpoint, my baggage containing habbatus sawda was stopped once again. Luckily, they didn’t confiscate them but it costs me a long lecture from the custom officer saying that as an Umrah pilgrim, I should behave like one. He told me that I shouldn’t bring any medicines into the country, saying that it was like ‘smuggling’. He also asked me why did I bring the medicine. I told him those habbatus sawda capsules are hard to be found in Saudi Arabia and they were requested by my colleague in Jeddah. Then, he asked his boss' either to release the capsules, confiscate it or charge them with taxes. His boss said, “Malaysia is good” (something like that, I couldn’t focus at that time because I was quite nervous) and he said habbatus sawda capsules are not in the list of prohibited goods. He permitted me to bring along with those capsules entering Saudi Arabia land. Phew!
After giving my passport to my mushrif - Sheikh Haji Muhammad Hussein, I headed to our bus. The bus left the port at 4.00 o’clock. To my amusement, Saudi Arabia is very much different from Egypt. From inside the bus, I could see a smooth traffic flow, drivers obeying traffic laws and no honking. Egypt? There’s never smooth traffic. Traffic lights in Egypt is non-existant except blinking yellow traffic lights. Even if there is, nobody in Egypt would follow it. Ask any Egyptian; they don’t even know the color of traffic lights. And Egyptian drivers are so annoying because they love to honk without any purpose. As a result, Egyptian cities suffer from sound pollution.
Our mīqāt makani at Juhfah
Back to the topic. Our mīqāt was at Juhfah, near Rabigh. We arrived at the mīqāt mosque in Juhfah at 6.15 pm to assume ihrām. After everything’s ready, we left the mīqāt site to go to Makkah al-Mukarramah and began to recite talbiyah inside the bus led by our mushrif. The interesting part during our journey from Jeddah to Makkah al-Mukarramah was its highway - free without any toll charge. Furthermore, it’s broad – four lanes on each side. Shame on Malaysia. Small highways but the toll fares aregod damned expensive! And we could see along the way many huge commercial premises. Here, there is nothing small.
Approximately at 9 o’clock, we entered the Ḥaram area. As we descend from Shubaika area on the Jabal al-Kaabah Street, the glimpse of magnificent structure of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām appeared from behind the local buildings. We checked-in the Garden Narjis Hotel at Khaled bin al-Waleed Street, just next to Khaled bin al-Waleed Mosque at 11.00 pm. Then, Sheikh Muhammad told us that he’d bring us to perform Umrah at 12.00 am. So we had an hour before going to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. We went out for dinner, since we hadn’t eaten anything after being in state of ihrām.
The Sacred House of Kaabah
July 2nd, 2008: 12.00 am - That midnight, we performed our Umrah ritual. It was my first Umrah. I couldn’t describe my feeling when I saw the Kaabah for the first time and it made me feel that how lucky I was to be there as a guest of God. Allāh still wanted me to be in the holiest place in spite of my sinful being. I felt ashamed with myself and I quickly asked for His forgiveness.
We performed the second rukun of umrah: the tawāf (circumambulation of the Kaabah). It was smooth as there weren’t many faithful performing the ritual. After tawāf, we drank zamzam water before praying. Nothing much happened; just helped an old man performing sai’e with Damak.
After Zuhr prayer, I with Damak, Faris and Faqih explored the Masjidil Ḥarām Street on the north of Marwah. Known as al-Ghazzah, the area is one of the famous spots for shopping in Makkah al-Mukarramah. We were only doing window shopping, did not buy anything yet. Then we returned to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām for ‘Asr prayer. After prayer, I performed tawāf sunnah and got a chance to pray inside the Hijr Ismāīl with Damak. Then, we prayed near Baitullah between Shāmī Corner and Yamanī Corner.
Suddenly, Damak disappeared. Anxiously, I searched for him in every part and every corner of the Mosque but it’s all in vain. My slippers were with him and I couldn’t step out of the mosque without’em. So, I waited for him until Maghreb at King Fahd Gate. Luckily, I met him at last.
Expansion Project of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām
July 3rd 2008: 8.00 am - I with Damak, Faris, Adam, Ikmal, Najib, Rahman and Faiz went for shopping spree at al-Ghazzah Area, Masjidil Ḥarām Street. To reach there, we walked through al-Shāmiah (ٱلشامية) and al-Qarārah (ٱلقرارة) hills; where these places are under The Expansion Project of the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām by The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques. We stopped for a while to take some photos to commemorate our presence here before the expansion project is done. After photo taking, I suggested them to go down the hill and visit Maktabah Makkah al-Mukarramah.
8.15 am - We visited Maktabah Makkah al-Mukarramah, (مكتبة مكة ٱلمكرمة, which means: Library of Makkah al-Mukarramah) where Prophet Muhammad was born. Luckily, it was safe from demolition for the Sacred Mosque expansion project. However, it was closed. After picture taking, we had our breakfast at al-Sidana Restaurant nearby. We ate roti nan - SR 7 per set, but enough for two individuals.
8.45 am - Our shopping spree started. Most of us bought jalabiyyah/jubah - a traditional Arabian cloak. The most exclusive brand is al-Daffah (ٱلدفة) followed by al-Asīl (ٱلأصيل) and al-Haramain (ٱلحرمين). I also bought one CASIO Prayer Compass Watch for SR 190. After we got everything we wanted, I went to دارة ٱلقهوة - The Coffee House for hot cappuccino tasting with Damak. It was so good...
I, Faris and Faiz after ihrām in Ā’ishah Mosque, Taneem.
I performed Umrah once again after ‘Asr prayer with Faiz, Faris and Damak. This time, we took our mīqāt at Ā’ishah Mosque at Taneem. After we did our Umrah, al-Masjid al-Ḥarām suddenly flocked by masses of people. It was difficult to walk to inside the mosque and we needed to hurry to find a place to pray Maghreb. After azan (calling for prayer), I still couldn’t find any place to pray. Deep in my heart, I asked Allāh to provide me a space to pray inside the mosque and have mercy on me. Alhamdulillah, Allāh did grant my wish. It’s almost impossible to find a space fit for a person to pray at that time. But then, when I was on the ground floor of the mosque, there’s two Arab left their saf during iqāmah. So, without wasting any more time, I went there and pray comfortably. Alhamdulillah, thank God.
The azan of Isha’ prayer delivered by famous muezzin - Sheikh Ali Ahmed Mullah. After Isha’ prayer, I went to zamzam water station at al-Qarārah, near to al-Fath and Quraish Gates of the Sacred Mosque to collect zamzam water.
July 4th, 2008: Friday. I performed Umrah after Fajr prayer in the morning. And after Umrah, I got a chance to pray behind Maqām Ibrāhīm without any disturbance. As for Jumu’ah prayer, we planned to go to the Sacred Mosque on 11 o’clock to avoid mass of worshippers but due to human cause, we reached the mosque at noon. Somehow, I desired to perform non-obligatory tawāf. So, I did perform my tawāf on black Malay shirt under the ferocious heat of the sun at temperature 42°C! The mosque was overwhelmed with worshippers and luckily I managed to secure a space to pray on the second floor of the mosque during which weekly Jumu’ah sermon was delivered at the time. Phew! The sermon was delivered by Sheikh Osama Khayyat.
After ‘Asr prayer, I went near Kaabah and tried to kiss Hajarul Aswad but failed. But I manage to pray at Multazam. Alhamdulillah. Then, I went to shop at Makkah Hilton Shopping Mall.
The Ottoman interior of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām
July 5th, 2008: As usual, I performed Umrah after Fajr prayer. After finished my rituals, I headed to hotel. On my way exit from Umrah Gate, I could see a group of students (secondary school students, perhaps) was taking exam inside the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām by sitting on the floor.
Near Umrah Gate, usually mosque officers distribute free al-Quran everyday starting from 7.30 am until the reserved stock for the day is finished.
At night, I handed over my habbatus sawda to Mohd Lotfi bin Lokman, a Malaysian student from Umm al-Qura University, Makkah al-Mukarramah. He’s studying Arabic Language and Literature and blessed with a cute son named Waseem.
Plain of Arafāt: On the top of Jabal Rahmah (Mount of Mercy)
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The Three Jamarāt. Still under construction.
July 6th, 2008: Ziyāratul Mazārāt (visiting holy places). 6.55 am - First, we went to visit the Plain of Arafāt. We climbed the Jabal Rahmah (Mount of Mercy) and prayed on the top of it. It is believed that the place is the meeting point of Adam and Hawā (Eve) after being separated for a hundred years after being sent down to the world from Heaven. There are also ATV and camel riding services. Of course you have to pay for those. Then, we moved tro visit Muzdalifah, Mash’aril Ḥarām, Mina, The Three Jamarāt and al-Khaif Mosque. After that, we went to Jabal Nūr but did not climb it as our group was also consisted of baby boomers and Hirā Cave is located very high on the mount.
The Exhibition of The Two Holy Mosques Architecture
10.30 am - We went out to visit The Exhibition of The Two Holy Mosques Architecture (معرض عمارة ٱلحرمين ٱلشريفين) and Kiswah Factory (مصنع كسوة ٱلكعبة ٱلمشرفة) at Umm al-Jude, located at the old Makkah-Jeddah Road. For this purpose, we hired a taxi for SR 25. Meet its driver: Turki - a friendly local Meccan. Unfortunately, The Two Holy Mosques Architecture Exhibition is only opened to public after Maghreb prayer and no individual visit is allowed to Kiswah Factory; only permitted group of visitors is allowed. It’s quite frustrating.
Next, we moved to the next destination: Museum of Makkah Antiquities and Heritage (متحف مكة للآثار و ٱلتراث) at al-Madinah al-Munawarah Street. On the way there, Turki stopped to fill his car’s gas tank. When I asked him the price of the petrol sold in Saudi Arabia per liter, he answered, “nusf riyal” (half a Riyal or 50 halalah or cents) – pretty much cheaper compared to a can of carbonated drink or a bottle of mineral water (SR 1)! Petrol in Malaysia at the time cost RM 2.70 per liter. No need to pay for the museum’s entrance. We went back to hotel by taking Saudi Arabian Public Transport Corporation (SAPTCO) Bus No. 2. The fare was SR 2. We arrived at al-Masjid al-Ḥarām during Zuhr azan.
And during our stay in Makkah al-Mukarramah, usually our prayers in al-Masjid al-Ḥarām were led by Sheikh Abdullah Awwad al-Juhni, Sheikh Salih Āli Talib and Sheikh Khalil al-Ghamidi. Both Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Aziz as-Sudais an-Najdi and Sheikh Dr Abu Ibrahim Sa’ud ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad as-Shuraim were on their leave.
Part II: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah (ٱلمدينة ٱلمنورة)
July 7th, 2008: It’s time to leave Makkah to visit al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah. We performed tawāf widā’ (valedictory circumambulation of the Sacred House of Kaabah) after Fajr prayer and grabbed this chance to take a few photos inside the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām.
3.10 pm - Left The Holy City of Makkah al-Mukarramah. We went to al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah through Road No. 15.
6.30 pm - We Stopped at a R&R to catch some rest. We looked for something to eat at a grocery nearby. That was my first time to see goods’ manufacturing and expiry date written in Hijri calendar. Plus, these products' prices are just same with other places. Compared to Egypt, the prices of goods depend on where they are sold. In other words, a pack of potato chips sold in a grocery usually LE 3. But if the same product is to be sold at a tourist’s attraction spots, it can be as high as LE 10, sometimes even LE50!
We arrived at Gawharet al-Abrar Hotel at 9.15 pm. After check-in process, we visited al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque) and performed our prayer on the Mosque’s compound because the Mosque is closed one hour after Isha’ prayer except for Raudhah (it means The Garden of Paradise - area between Prophet’s pulpit and his house) and al-Maqsūrah (the Mosque’s gallery). After prayer, we met with a group of newly-arrived Malaysians asking about place to pray. Then, we went to greet Prophet Muhammad and both of his companions at Raudhah. After that, we returned to hotel to have some rest.
al-Masjid an-Nabawi ash-Sharīf
July 8th, 2008: I prayed Zuhr near the Raudhah. Before the prayer, I met with a Sudanese named Badawi. I chatted with him in standard Arabic (though my knowledge in this language is limited) and we discussed about the current situation in Darfur. After Zuhr prayer, I headed to Jannah al-Baqī’ (جنة ٱلبقيع) with Faqih but the graveyard is usually opened only after Fajr and ‘Asr prayers. Then, we decided to go to Dates Market (ٱلسوق ٱلمركزي للتمور) located on the southwest of al-Masjid an-Nabawi and searched for shop no. 95. At the market, we met with an Indonesian worker and asked about the shop no. 95 location. He told us the shop’s whereabout and without being asked, he told us the tips for buying ‘Ajwah - the prophet’s dates. And the tips given by him was:
Dates Market of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
This time, we didn’t buy any dates. Just window shopping.
There is also free al-Quran distribution made in al-Masjid an-Nabawi but it is not for individual. The al-Quran copies are endowed by The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King of Saudi Arabia for the uses of mosques around the world. Any mosque needs al-Quran copies can request for them by handing over an official request letter to the office near Gate Umar al-Khattab (Gate No. 18 of al-Masjid an-Nabawi) beginning 9.00 am until 11.00 pm. Pick the al-Quran by thyself. Usually, the al-Quran copies are packed in boxes. (P/S: I forget whether the distribution is made everyday or only on certain days. Please check...)
Qubā’ Mosque
July 9th, 2008: Ziyāratul Mazārāt. First, visiting Masjid Qubā’. Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) was quoted saying,
عن سهل بن حنيف رضي ٱلله عنه قال، قال رسول ٱلله عليه ٱلصلاة وٱلسلام، "من تطهر في بيته ثم أتى مسجد قباء فصلى فيه كان له كأجر عمرة."
Means: He who makes ablution at home and comes to Masjid Qubā’ to pray, he will have the reward of an Umrah.
Next, we visited Uhud Battlefield. We climbed Jabal ar-Rumāh (جبل ٱلرماة) or Jabal ‘Aynaīn, where Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) had ordered the archers to remain on the hill during Uhud Battle. Then, we visited Shuhadā’ Uhud which hosts the Hamzah bin Abdul Mutalib, Anas bin Jabir, Mus’ab bin ‘Umair and other Uhud martyrs (may Allāh be pleased with them) mausoleums. Coincidently, I saw a glimpse of Ust Nasruddin Haji Hassan, the Deputy Chief of PAS Youth Assembly. However, he soon disappeared.
We (Malaysian students) were spending too much time at Uhud. Luckily, the Egyptians of our group didn't turn cranky. After everybody got on the bus, we headed to East to visit King Fahd Complex for the Printing of The Holy Qur’ān (مجمع ٱلملك فهد لطباعة ٱلمصحف ٱلشريف). Along the journey to the complex, I felt just like being in some elite area in California or Florida as I could see many modern residences and commercial complexes during the journey. At King Fahd Complex, we had a chance to greet Ust Nasruddin Haji Hassan and Ustazah Nuridah, Chief of PAS Women Assembly, with her husband. Unfortunately, King Fahd Complex was had to be closed for two weeks for maintenance purpose. Thus, we couldn’t have any al-Qurān gifts, but I managed to buy a pocket-size al-Quran for SR 12.
Tomb of Saiyidina Uthman (may Allāh be pleased with him)
After ‘Asr prayer, I went to Jannah al-Baqī’ again to visit Prophet’s family members, his companions and the residents of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah city's cemeteries.
July 10th, 2008: After ‘Asr prayer, I went again to Dates Market together with Damak, Ikmal, Faiz and Copuk to buy some dates. Since I didn’t have much money, I opted to buy al-Barni dates and a packet of pistachios while others preferred to buy ‘Ajwah. Al-Barni dates was much, much cheaper - SR 5 per kilo. Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) was quoted saying,
"خيرُ تمراتِكمُ ٱلبَرني، يُذهبُ ٱلداءَ ولا داء فيه."
Means: Your best dates is al-Barni. It eliminates disease and do not cause disease. (Fathul Bari 4: 572, al-Jami’ as-Soghīr: 3303)
On the way to hotel, I bought a souvenir book: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah - History and Monuments published by al-Madīnah Research & Studies Centre and a copy of Translation Meaning of al-Quran in Indonesian Language.
Jannah al-Baqī’
July 11th, 2008: Friday. Learnt from personal experience during Jumu’ah congregation in Makkah al-Mukarramah, I went to the Prophet’s Mosque early. After ‘Asr prayer, I went to visit Jannah al-Baqī’ once again. Then, together with Damak and Copuk, we went shopping at BinDawood Super Stores.
July 12th, 2008: At 5.30 am, the sliding domes of the Prophet’s Mosque were opened and the electronic giant umbrellas were closed for an hour. Fantastic!
With Damak in front of the Prophet's Mosque
When I headed to the mosque for Maghreb prayer with Damak and Faris, we stopped for a while and took a picture of al-Masjid an-Nabawi (above). Simultaneously, a sheikh passed by and tell us to go praying instead of photographing. “Solah, solah (pray, pray)!,” he said. But, the picture was worth it - our photo with the spectacular scenery of dusk was very amazing.
After the prayer, we took pictures outside al-Maqsūrah area and we could see a ‘professional and well-clothed’ beggar in action trying to get some money out of passers-by at the Mosque’s compound by giving ‘I come to Saudi Arabia to work and then I lost my passport and money’ type of excuse. Beware. I was ‘confronted’ by a Pakistani-looked beggar also then, after Isha’ prayer but refused to give any money. When you encounter these people, you can either help them out or spit these words out: “contact your embassy.” Or, maybe Allāh sent one of His angels down in human disguise just to test me... There's no way I could have known.
I returned to al-Masjid an-Nabawi and managed to secure a place for praying in Raudhah. Alhamdulillah, thank God.
Yanbu (ينبع)
July 13th, 2008: It was our last in al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah. We leave the ‘Dome of Islam’ at 10.30 am and headed to Yanbu al-Bahr by through Road No. 50. An hour later, our bus driver stopped the bus because its air-condition was out-of-duty. The driver tried to repair it but it was just can’t be fixed. We have no choice but to continued our journey half an hour later without air-conditioning while the temperature at the time was as high as 40°C! Fortunately, the window at the rear seats can be opened, but for those sitting in the front part of the bus have to deal with the heat and sweat like hell.
1.00 pm - Our arrival at Yanbu al-Bahr. We could see Saudi Aramco Oil Refinery and foul smell of petroleum struck our noses. We took a rest before entering the ship and prepared for immigration requirements.
2.00 pm - The drama began. After passing all immigration processes, we headed to Wadi Alneel Ship. For unknown reason, we were denied from boarding the ship. The ship’s officers ordered us to step aside to allow Egyptians to board the ship. After waiting too long and all Egyptians had managed to board the ship, the ship officials just simply said that we couldn’t board the ship because the ship was overbooked. What? Our Umrah visa was stamped ‘EXIT’ and our baggage has been put inside the cargo. Then, who’s gonna pick them once they arrive at Egypt? We demanded an explanation but they just ignored us. Egyptians and their discrimination… Being treated like jerks, who wouldn't become furious and angry?
We were denied to board the ship. Frustration can be clearly seen on Najib's face.
4.00 pm - After being helped out by a Saudi immigration officer, only six of us (Eckm, Damak, Najib, Faiz, Copuk and Salman) could board the ship and the rest had to be left stranded for five days in Yanbu. Time to split. Those six survivors left Yanbu and the rest entered the immigration hall and all their passports were taken (including mine) to lift the cancelled visas status.
7.00 pm - We were sent to an apartment (ٱلسلام بلازا للأجنحة و ٱلشقق ٱلمفروشة) at Omar bin al-Khattab Street, al-Saaydah, Yanbu by Samir, Sultan Badr and one of their friend. One of them gave us SR 150, just in case anything should happen. Luckily, 300-channel TV was ready to get rid of our boredom.
Yanbu may not be a legendary town, but where else in the world you’d find a town like it? It’s just like a desolated town - lived only by workers. People leave to work in the morning and only come back at night. There are not many shops open during daylight. Buildings were built far from each other. So, if you wanna go from one place to another, it’s best if you have a vehicle. No life. The town is facilitated with 3-lanes wide of each side of the road but not many vehicles found on its traffic. Here, traffic jam is non-existant. Taxis are barely seen.
July 16th, 2008: - On our way to restaurant for lunch, a group of Malaysian engineers whom are working at Yanbu National Petrochemical Company saw us. They stopped their car and asked us to go for lunch with them at Al-Rihab Restaurant. Special thanks to Mr Ghazali Abd Aziz for his treat. He told us that these engineers run for 3M: Makkah, Madīnah and Money. Their salary is three times more compared to what the get in Malaysia and it’s tax free. And many more…
First Attempt
June 23rd, 2007: Today was when my trip began… I went to Local Health Office to get vaccination required by Saudi Immigration in order to obtain Umrah Visa. The office was suggested by my lecturer, Yaser el-Bastawisy, MB BCh, PhD - several days before.
June 30th, 2007: I submitted all documents required for Umrah participation to Brother Khairul Anwar – the organizer. I was expected to go to Tahrir to apply for Re-Entry Visa, but I had to call it off.
July 1st, 2007: I had my Re-Entry Visa done today at Mugamma, Tahrir. The clerk said my passport can be taken back at 2.30 pm. Since there were five hours to wait until 2.30 pm, I went to the next destination: Malaysian Embassy to get Support Letter for Performing Umrah. I moved to Nasser Metro Station to get microbus to go to Malaysian Embassy at Mohandessin. But instead of taking microbus, I took a 357 bus at Nasser Station; hopefully, it will go to Mohandessin, Giza. The air-conditioned bus did go to Mohandessin, but not to where embassy is located.
During my journey, I felt unfamiliar with the route the bus had taken. The bus took too much time to reach the ‘Embassy’. The journey ended at Great Pyramids of Giza station and I wasn’t intended to go there (until now, I still haven’t reached the Great Pyramids of Giza! Soon, maybe…). Feeling tired, grumpy and disappointed, I had to take the same bus to return to Tahrir. The temperature was 40°C - extremely hot. I stopped at Mouniera and visited my friends who lived there. After two hours, I went back to Mugamma’ to take my passport and then return to 7th District of Nasr City.
July 2nd, 2007: Finally, I managed to get Support Letter for Performing Umrah from Embassy.
To my dismay, the organizer had the date of departure postponed twice. And the second time they changed the date, it was several days before I had to re-seat for my exam. As a result, that was my first attempt to perform umrah before I cancelled it.
Second Attempt
January 20th, 2008: This time, I planned to go for Umrah on 25th of January. So, after getting prepared once again, together with my two companions, I went to Royal Saudi Arabian Consulate-General at Garden City, Cairo applying for visa. At the consulate, only me was allowed to enter while my friends have to stay outside. But when I got inside, the clerk refused to accept our applications because he said in an Arabic slang I didn’t recognize (perhaps Saudi slang), “you need an invitation letter.” We have to include the required letter, otherwise, no visa. On next day, we gonna have Histology exam. So, we need to return to Al-Manṣūrah first.
January 22nd, 2008: We returned again to Cairo and arrived at Turgomān, or, al-Qallily Station at 10.30 am after two-hour journey from Al-Manṣūrah. Again, problems occurred at the consulate. First, the guys at cyber-café said they didn’t know what kinda visa we’re applying, so, they just refused to register us. I was pretty upset (but I didn’t physically express my anger) and urged him to register us. So, he registered us. It was raining during that time and temperature dropped until 4°C (note that on my first attempt was during summer, but this time, it was during mid-winter period). After registration completed, we headed to consulate. To our surprise, our visa application was simply denied and the excuse given was, “your invitation letter need to be verified first by our Ministry of Exterior.” Simply put, we had to cancel our Umrah once again. Frustrated and almost frozen, we walked to Tahrir in vain to cancel our flight tickets. After praying Zuhr at ‘Ibad ur-Rahmān Mosque nearby, a local guy accused my fellas for making two separate jama’ah in the mosque. I had to interfere and explain to him that there was a misunderstanding and it wasn’t their fault. He understood and apologized for everything. Then, we headed home.
Third attempt
March 15th, 2008: It was a custom for Saudi Arabian Government to open for free Umrah visa application to all Muslims worldwide on Hijri month of Safar every year. This time, Faris and Syafiq bin Hamdani (Damak) agreed to go performing Umrah at Makkah with me. Today, I renewed my residence visa (iqāmah) in Egypt. It is one of the requirements for foreigner to apply Umrah visa within Egypt. I planned to take my iqāmah on 23rd of March, go to embassy to get Support Letter for Performing Umrah on 26th and settle everything with travel agency on 29th. Unfortunately, instead of having iqāmah, I was given Visa for Tourism Purpose that was valid until April 18th, 2008! (Iqāmah is valid for one year) So, I have to apply for my visa again and cancelled everything I planned beforehand.
April 19th, 2008: I resubmitted my iqāmah application. Without waiting any longer, I went to Cairo. We visit Kuwait-Arab Travel Agency. Nonetheless, the clerk at the travel agency said, “Saudi Arabian Government has made some amendment about Umrah regulation. Please come next 10 days after we confirm with the Consulate.” At that time, I needed to return to Al-Manṣūrah. So I left my documents with Faris and asked him to settle everything for me.
June 6th, 2008: At last, I got my iqāmah! Thank God. How delightful…
June 8th, 2008: Once again, I went to Kuwait-Arab Travel Agency alone after making appointment with Mr Mo’men. After getting my document from Faris, I got everything done so I could focus on my next examination: Anatomy.
My Umrah VisaJune 24th, 2008: We got our passport back, with Umrah Visa in it. We’re set for summer Umrah trip on 29th of June. And the participants were:
1. Me, myself and I
2. Abdul Rahman bin Nik Mazian
3. Ahmad Faiz bin Muhamad Sabri
4. Mohamad Faqih bin Mohamad Puzi
5. Mohd Faris bin Mohd Husin
6. Mohd Nasrullah bin Nik Ab. Kadir
7. Muhammad Adam bin Zainuddin
8. Muhammad Akram bin Abdul Kadir
9. Muhammad Hanif bin Khairudin
10. Muhammad Husaini bin Saleh
11. Muhammad Ikmal bin Mohamad Kamil
12. Muhammad Najib bin Hasan@Ahmad
13. Muhammad Salman
14. Muhammad Syafiq bin Mat Noor
15. Syafiq bin Hamdani
Part I: Makkah al-Mukarramah (مكة ٱلمكرمة)June 30th, 2008: Our journey to perform Umrah (off-seasonal pilgrimage) and visiting holy places in Makkah al-Mukarramah and al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah began here. All Umrah participants were required to assemble in front of Kuwait-Arab Travel Agency (now the company is known as Cairo Travel. We were waiting for the bus at 11.00 pm but it only arrived at 12.25 am. We stopped at Cafeteria Aziziyah en route to Safaga at 4.45 am to pray Fajr. We arrived at Safaga at 8.00 am and waited for our turn to enter the port. Some of us left the bus and got their breakfast in Safaga town, while the rest tried to get some nap.
10.30 am - We checked-in inside the immigration hall. When my baggage went through the scanning machine, the officer just let it went through. But, Damak’s was stopped for further investigation. Each of our baggage contains sixty boxes of black lentils/black seeds/habbatussawda capsules. But the immigration officer suspected that those were illegal drugs. They heavily questioned Damak and asked him to retrieve my bag. So, I brought my bag to him and tried to explain that there was no problem in bringing habbatus sawda out of Egyptian main airports, and I think there would be no problem at the port too. Besides, they were not illegal drugs - they’re just capsules of natural plant-origin oil, mentioned in Prophetic Medicine Book. At first, they refuse to release our baggage. They then made a call to their high-ranked officials and after the call, they just let those capsules and our baggage passed.
Ready to cross the Red Sea 12.00 pm - We boarded Wadi Alneel ship. The ship left the port on 4.15 pm. During the voyage, we were greeted by friendly fellow Umrah pilgrims from Sohag and Qena. We also met another pilgrimage group from Malaysia led by Mr Ridzuan.
Egyptian women hymned out loud on the shipJuly 1st, 2008: 7.45 am - As we were on the ship deck, we saw exocoetidaes (or flying pisces) and Spinner Dolphins. I saw two pods of Spinner Dolphins swimming near to our ship. On the ship, some Egyptian women congregated and then hymned - praising Allāh and Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him). We arrived at Yanbu al-Bahr Commercial Port (ميناء ينبع ٱلتجاري) at 12.20 pm. We left the ship on 2.10 pm and had to pass through five Saudi immigration checkpoints. After the first checkpoint, I greeted Mr Ridzuan. He told his side of story of hardship. He was about visit Makkah and al-Madīnah by airplane but due to travel agency’s problem, he had no choice but to come to Saudi Arabia by ship.
2.30 pm - When I was at third checkpoint, my baggage containing habbatus sawda was stopped once again. Luckily, they didn’t confiscate them but it costs me a long lecture from the custom officer saying that as an Umrah pilgrim, I should behave like one. He told me that I shouldn’t bring any medicines into the country, saying that it was like ‘smuggling’. He also asked me why did I bring the medicine. I told him those habbatus sawda capsules are hard to be found in Saudi Arabia and they were requested by my colleague in Jeddah. Then, he asked his boss' either to release the capsules, confiscate it or charge them with taxes. His boss said, “Malaysia is good” (something like that, I couldn’t focus at that time because I was quite nervous) and he said habbatus sawda capsules are not in the list of prohibited goods. He permitted me to bring along with those capsules entering Saudi Arabia land. Phew!
After giving my passport to my mushrif - Sheikh Haji Muhammad Hussein, I headed to our bus. The bus left the port at 4.00 o’clock. To my amusement, Saudi Arabia is very much different from Egypt. From inside the bus, I could see a smooth traffic flow, drivers obeying traffic laws and no honking. Egypt? There’s never smooth traffic. Traffic lights in Egypt is non-existant except blinking yellow traffic lights. Even if there is, nobody in Egypt would follow it. Ask any Egyptian; they don’t even know the color of traffic lights. And Egyptian drivers are so annoying because they love to honk without any purpose. As a result, Egyptian cities suffer from sound pollution.
Our mīqāt makani at JuhfahBack to the topic. Our mīqāt was at Juhfah, near Rabigh. We arrived at the mīqāt mosque in Juhfah at 6.15 pm to assume ihrām. After everything’s ready, we left the mīqāt site to go to Makkah al-Mukarramah and began to recite talbiyah inside the bus led by our mushrif. The interesting part during our journey from Jeddah to Makkah al-Mukarramah was its highway - free without any toll charge. Furthermore, it’s broad – four lanes on each side. Shame on Malaysia. Small highways but the toll fares are
Approximately at 9 o’clock, we entered the Ḥaram area. As we descend from Shubaika area on the Jabal al-Kaabah Street, the glimpse of magnificent structure of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām appeared from behind the local buildings. We checked-in the Garden Narjis Hotel at Khaled bin al-Waleed Street, just next to Khaled bin al-Waleed Mosque at 11.00 pm. Then, Sheikh Muhammad told us that he’d bring us to perform Umrah at 12.00 am. So we had an hour before going to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. We went out for dinner, since we hadn’t eaten anything after being in state of ihrām.
The Sacred House of KaabahJuly 2nd, 2008: 12.00 am - That midnight, we performed our Umrah ritual. It was my first Umrah. I couldn’t describe my feeling when I saw the Kaabah for the first time and it made me feel that how lucky I was to be there as a guest of God. Allāh still wanted me to be in the holiest place in spite of my sinful being. I felt ashamed with myself and I quickly asked for His forgiveness.
We performed the second rukun of umrah: the tawāf (circumambulation of the Kaabah). It was smooth as there weren’t many faithful performing the ritual. After tawāf, we drank zamzam water before praying. Nothing much happened; just helped an old man performing sai’e with Damak.
After Zuhr prayer, I with Damak, Faris and Faqih explored the Masjidil Ḥarām Street on the north of Marwah. Known as al-Ghazzah, the area is one of the famous spots for shopping in Makkah al-Mukarramah. We were only doing window shopping, did not buy anything yet. Then we returned to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām for ‘Asr prayer. After prayer, I performed tawāf sunnah and got a chance to pray inside the Hijr Ismāīl with Damak. Then, we prayed near Baitullah between Shāmī Corner and Yamanī Corner.
Suddenly, Damak disappeared. Anxiously, I searched for him in every part and every corner of the Mosque but it’s all in vain. My slippers were with him and I couldn’t step out of the mosque without’em. So, I waited for him until Maghreb at King Fahd Gate. Luckily, I met him at last.
Expansion Project of al-Masjid al-ḤarāmJuly 3rd 2008: 8.00 am - I with Damak, Faris, Adam, Ikmal, Najib, Rahman and Faiz went for shopping spree at al-Ghazzah Area, Masjidil Ḥarām Street. To reach there, we walked through al-Shāmiah (ٱلشامية) and al-Qarārah (ٱلقرارة) hills; where these places are under The Expansion Project of the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām by The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques. We stopped for a while to take some photos to commemorate our presence here before the expansion project is done. After photo taking, I suggested them to go down the hill and visit Maktabah Makkah al-Mukarramah.
8.15 am - We visited Maktabah Makkah al-Mukarramah, (مكتبة مكة ٱلمكرمة, which means: Library of Makkah al-Mukarramah) where Prophet Muhammad was born. Luckily, it was safe from demolition for the Sacred Mosque expansion project. However, it was closed. After picture taking, we had our breakfast at al-Sidana Restaurant nearby. We ate roti nan - SR 7 per set, but enough for two individuals.
8.45 am - Our shopping spree started. Most of us bought jalabiyyah/jubah - a traditional Arabian cloak. The most exclusive brand is al-Daffah (ٱلدفة) followed by al-Asīl (ٱلأصيل) and al-Haramain (ٱلحرمين). I also bought one CASIO Prayer Compass Watch for SR 190. After we got everything we wanted, I went to دارة ٱلقهوة - The Coffee House for hot cappuccino tasting with Damak. It was so good...
I, Faris and Faiz after ihrām in Ā’ishah Mosque, Taneem.I performed Umrah once again after ‘Asr prayer with Faiz, Faris and Damak. This time, we took our mīqāt at Ā’ishah Mosque at Taneem. After we did our Umrah, al-Masjid al-Ḥarām suddenly flocked by masses of people. It was difficult to walk to inside the mosque and we needed to hurry to find a place to pray Maghreb. After azan (calling for prayer), I still couldn’t find any place to pray. Deep in my heart, I asked Allāh to provide me a space to pray inside the mosque and have mercy on me. Alhamdulillah, Allāh did grant my wish. It’s almost impossible to find a space fit for a person to pray at that time. But then, when I was on the ground floor of the mosque, there’s two Arab left their saf during iqāmah. So, without wasting any more time, I went there and pray comfortably. Alhamdulillah, thank God.
The azan of Isha’ prayer delivered by famous muezzin - Sheikh Ali Ahmed Mullah. After Isha’ prayer, I went to zamzam water station at al-Qarārah, near to al-Fath and Quraish Gates of the Sacred Mosque to collect zamzam water.
July 4th, 2008: Friday. I performed Umrah after Fajr prayer in the morning. And after Umrah, I got a chance to pray behind Maqām Ibrāhīm without any disturbance. As for Jumu’ah prayer, we planned to go to the Sacred Mosque on 11 o’clock to avoid mass of worshippers but due to human cause, we reached the mosque at noon. Somehow, I desired to perform non-obligatory tawāf. So, I did perform my tawāf on black Malay shirt under the ferocious heat of the sun at temperature 42°C! The mosque was overwhelmed with worshippers and luckily I managed to secure a space to pray on the second floor of the mosque during which weekly Jumu’ah sermon was delivered at the time. Phew! The sermon was delivered by Sheikh Osama Khayyat.
After ‘Asr prayer, I went near Kaabah and tried to kiss Hajarul Aswad but failed. But I manage to pray at Multazam. Alhamdulillah. Then, I went to shop at Makkah Hilton Shopping Mall.
The Ottoman interior of al-Masjid al-ḤarāmJuly 5th, 2008: As usual, I performed Umrah after Fajr prayer. After finished my rituals, I headed to hotel. On my way exit from Umrah Gate, I could see a group of students (secondary school students, perhaps) was taking exam inside the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām by sitting on the floor.
Near Umrah Gate, usually mosque officers distribute free al-Quran everyday starting from 7.30 am until the reserved stock for the day is finished.
At night, I handed over my habbatus sawda to Mohd Lotfi bin Lokman, a Malaysian student from Umm al-Qura University, Makkah al-Mukarramah. He’s studying Arabic Language and Literature and blessed with a cute son named Waseem.
Plain of Arafāt: On the top of Jabal Rahmah (Mount of Mercy).jpg)
The Three Jamarāt. Still under construction.July 6th, 2008: Ziyāratul Mazārāt (visiting holy places). 6.55 am - First, we went to visit the Plain of Arafāt. We climbed the Jabal Rahmah (Mount of Mercy) and prayed on the top of it. It is believed that the place is the meeting point of Adam and Hawā (Eve) after being separated for a hundred years after being sent down to the world from Heaven. There are also ATV and camel riding services. Of course you have to pay for those. Then, we moved tro visit Muzdalifah, Mash’aril Ḥarām, Mina, The Three Jamarāt and al-Khaif Mosque. After that, we went to Jabal Nūr but did not climb it as our group was also consisted of baby boomers and Hirā Cave is located very high on the mount.
The Exhibition of The Two Holy Mosques Architecture10.30 am - We went out to visit The Exhibition of The Two Holy Mosques Architecture (معرض عمارة ٱلحرمين ٱلشريفين) and Kiswah Factory (مصنع كسوة ٱلكعبة ٱلمشرفة) at Umm al-Jude, located at the old Makkah-Jeddah Road. For this purpose, we hired a taxi for SR 25. Meet its driver: Turki - a friendly local Meccan. Unfortunately, The Two Holy Mosques Architecture Exhibition is only opened to public after Maghreb prayer and no individual visit is allowed to Kiswah Factory; only permitted group of visitors is allowed. It’s quite frustrating.
Next, we moved to the next destination: Museum of Makkah Antiquities and Heritage (متحف مكة للآثار و ٱلتراث) at al-Madinah al-Munawarah Street. On the way there, Turki stopped to fill his car’s gas tank. When I asked him the price of the petrol sold in Saudi Arabia per liter, he answered, “nusf riyal” (half a Riyal or 50 halalah or cents) – pretty much cheaper compared to a can of carbonated drink or a bottle of mineral water (SR 1)! Petrol in Malaysia at the time cost RM 2.70 per liter. No need to pay for the museum’s entrance. We went back to hotel by taking Saudi Arabian Public Transport Corporation (SAPTCO) Bus No. 2. The fare was SR 2. We arrived at al-Masjid al-Ḥarām during Zuhr azan.
And during our stay in Makkah al-Mukarramah, usually our prayers in al-Masjid al-Ḥarām were led by Sheikh Abdullah Awwad al-Juhni, Sheikh Salih Āli Talib and Sheikh Khalil al-Ghamidi. Both Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Aziz as-Sudais an-Najdi and Sheikh Dr Abu Ibrahim Sa’ud ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad as-Shuraim were on their leave.
Part II: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah (ٱلمدينة ٱلمنورة)July 7th, 2008: It’s time to leave Makkah to visit al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah. We performed tawāf widā’ (valedictory circumambulation of the Sacred House of Kaabah) after Fajr prayer and grabbed this chance to take a few photos inside the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām.
3.10 pm - Left The Holy City of Makkah al-Mukarramah. We went to al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah through Road No. 15.
6.30 pm - We Stopped at a R&R to catch some rest. We looked for something to eat at a grocery nearby. That was my first time to see goods’ manufacturing and expiry date written in Hijri calendar. Plus, these products' prices are just same with other places. Compared to Egypt, the prices of goods depend on where they are sold. In other words, a pack of potato chips sold in a grocery usually LE 3. But if the same product is to be sold at a tourist’s attraction spots, it can be as high as LE 10, sometimes even LE50!
We arrived at Gawharet al-Abrar Hotel at 9.15 pm. After check-in process, we visited al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque) and performed our prayer on the Mosque’s compound because the Mosque is closed one hour after Isha’ prayer except for Raudhah (it means The Garden of Paradise - area between Prophet’s pulpit and his house) and al-Maqsūrah (the Mosque’s gallery). After prayer, we met with a group of newly-arrived Malaysians asking about place to pray. Then, we went to greet Prophet Muhammad and both of his companions at Raudhah. After that, we returned to hotel to have some rest.
al-Masjid an-Nabawi ash-SharīfJuly 8th, 2008: I prayed Zuhr near the Raudhah. Before the prayer, I met with a Sudanese named Badawi. I chatted with him in standard Arabic (though my knowledge in this language is limited) and we discussed about the current situation in Darfur. After Zuhr prayer, I headed to Jannah al-Baqī’ (جنة ٱلبقيع) with Faqih but the graveyard is usually opened only after Fajr and ‘Asr prayers. Then, we decided to go to Dates Market (ٱلسوق ٱلمركزي للتمور) located on the southwest of al-Masjid an-Nabawi and searched for shop no. 95. At the market, we met with an Indonesian worker and asked about the shop no. 95 location. He told us the shop’s whereabout and without being asked, he told us the tips for buying ‘Ajwah - the prophet’s dates. And the tips given by him was:
- When you are buying ‘Ajwah, do not mention “Tamar ‘Ajwah.” If you did the shopkeeper will know that you are maybe just an inexperienced customer in buying dates, or maybe an outsider. Enough with just saying that you want ‘Ajwah,
- Avoid going out shopping for dates in group. Better you go shopping alone or split from your group members. If you go in a group, the shopkeeper will know that you are not local residents. So, it’s easy for them to ‘choke’ you with high price.
- There a many types of ‘Ajwah: egg-shaped, the hard-type and the long-type. Egg-shaped Ajwah's texture is soft and believed to be the real ‘Ajwah as mentioned in Hadith. The long-type ‘Ajwah is believed to be a type of dates that have been cloned.
- You can haggle for price ranging from SR 50 to SR 60 (during which this post is written) depend on the dates' type. Egg-shaped ‘Ajwah is the expensive one whilst the long-type is much cheaper.
Dates Market of al-Madīnah al-MunawwarahThis time, we didn’t buy any dates. Just window shopping.
There is also free al-Quran distribution made in al-Masjid an-Nabawi but it is not for individual. The al-Quran copies are endowed by The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King of Saudi Arabia for the uses of mosques around the world. Any mosque needs al-Quran copies can request for them by handing over an official request letter to the office near Gate Umar al-Khattab (Gate No. 18 of al-Masjid an-Nabawi) beginning 9.00 am until 11.00 pm. Pick the al-Quran by thyself. Usually, the al-Quran copies are packed in boxes. (P/S: I forget whether the distribution is made everyday or only on certain days. Please check...)
Qubā’ MosqueJuly 9th, 2008: Ziyāratul Mazārāt. First, visiting Masjid Qubā’. Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) was quoted saying,
عن سهل بن حنيف رضي ٱلله عنه قال، قال رسول ٱلله عليه ٱلصلاة وٱلسلام، "من تطهر في بيته ثم أتى مسجد قباء فصلى فيه كان له كأجر عمرة."
Means: He who makes ablution at home and comes to Masjid Qubā’ to pray, he will have the reward of an Umrah.
Next, we visited Uhud Battlefield. We climbed Jabal ar-Rumāh (جبل ٱلرماة) or Jabal ‘Aynaīn, where Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) had ordered the archers to remain on the hill during Uhud Battle. Then, we visited Shuhadā’ Uhud which hosts the Hamzah bin Abdul Mutalib, Anas bin Jabir, Mus’ab bin ‘Umair and other Uhud martyrs (may Allāh be pleased with them) mausoleums. Coincidently, I saw a glimpse of Ust Nasruddin Haji Hassan, the Deputy Chief of PAS Youth Assembly. However, he soon disappeared.
We (Malaysian students) were spending too much time at Uhud. Luckily, the Egyptians of our group didn't turn cranky. After everybody got on the bus, we headed to East to visit King Fahd Complex for the Printing of The Holy Qur’ān (مجمع ٱلملك فهد لطباعة ٱلمصحف ٱلشريف). Along the journey to the complex, I felt just like being in some elite area in California or Florida as I could see many modern residences and commercial complexes during the journey. At King Fahd Complex, we had a chance to greet Ust Nasruddin Haji Hassan and Ustazah Nuridah, Chief of PAS Women Assembly, with her husband. Unfortunately, King Fahd Complex was had to be closed for two weeks for maintenance purpose. Thus, we couldn’t have any al-Qurān gifts, but I managed to buy a pocket-size al-Quran for SR 12.
Tomb of Saiyidina Uthman (may Allāh be pleased with him)After ‘Asr prayer, I went to Jannah al-Baqī’ again to visit Prophet’s family members, his companions and the residents of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah city's cemeteries.
July 10th, 2008: After ‘Asr prayer, I went again to Dates Market together with Damak, Ikmal, Faiz and Copuk to buy some dates. Since I didn’t have much money, I opted to buy al-Barni dates and a packet of pistachios while others preferred to buy ‘Ajwah. Al-Barni dates was much, much cheaper - SR 5 per kilo. Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) was quoted saying,
"خيرُ تمراتِكمُ ٱلبَرني، يُذهبُ ٱلداءَ ولا داء فيه."
Means: Your best dates is al-Barni. It eliminates disease and do not cause disease. (Fathul Bari 4: 572, al-Jami’ as-Soghīr: 3303)
On the way to hotel, I bought a souvenir book: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah - History and Monuments published by al-Madīnah Research & Studies Centre and a copy of Translation Meaning of al-Quran in Indonesian Language.
Jannah al-Baqī’July 11th, 2008: Friday. Learnt from personal experience during Jumu’ah congregation in Makkah al-Mukarramah, I went to the Prophet’s Mosque early. After ‘Asr prayer, I went to visit Jannah al-Baqī’ once again. Then, together with Damak and Copuk, we went shopping at BinDawood Super Stores.
July 12th, 2008: At 5.30 am, the sliding domes of the Prophet’s Mosque were opened and the electronic giant umbrellas were closed for an hour. Fantastic!
With Damak in front of the Prophet's MosqueWhen I headed to the mosque for Maghreb prayer with Damak and Faris, we stopped for a while and took a picture of al-Masjid an-Nabawi (above). Simultaneously, a sheikh passed by and tell us to go praying instead of photographing. “Solah, solah (pray, pray)!,” he said. But, the picture was worth it - our photo with the spectacular scenery of dusk was very amazing.
After the prayer, we took pictures outside al-Maqsūrah area and we could see a ‘professional and well-clothed’ beggar in action trying to get some money out of passers-by at the Mosque’s compound by giving ‘I come to Saudi Arabia to work and then I lost my passport and money’ type of excuse. Beware. I was ‘confronted’ by a Pakistani-looked beggar also then, after Isha’ prayer but refused to give any money. When you encounter these people, you can either help them out or spit these words out: “contact your embassy.” Or, maybe Allāh sent one of His angels down in human disguise just to test me... There's no way I could have known.
I returned to al-Masjid an-Nabawi and managed to secure a place for praying in Raudhah. Alhamdulillah, thank God.
Yanbu (ينبع)July 13th, 2008: It was our last in al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah. We leave the ‘Dome of Islam’ at 10.30 am and headed to Yanbu al-Bahr by through Road No. 50. An hour later, our bus driver stopped the bus because its air-condition was out-of-duty. The driver tried to repair it but it was just can’t be fixed. We have no choice but to continued our journey half an hour later without air-conditioning while the temperature at the time was as high as 40°C! Fortunately, the window at the rear seats can be opened, but for those sitting in the front part of the bus have to deal with the heat and sweat like hell.
1.00 pm - Our arrival at Yanbu al-Bahr. We could see Saudi Aramco Oil Refinery and foul smell of petroleum struck our noses. We took a rest before entering the ship and prepared for immigration requirements.
2.00 pm - The drama began. After passing all immigration processes, we headed to Wadi Alneel Ship. For unknown reason, we were denied from boarding the ship. The ship’s officers ordered us to step aside to allow Egyptians to board the ship. After waiting too long and all Egyptians had managed to board the ship, the ship officials just simply said that we couldn’t board the ship because the ship was overbooked. What? Our Umrah visa was stamped ‘EXIT’ and our baggage has been put inside the cargo. Then, who’s gonna pick them once they arrive at Egypt? We demanded an explanation but they just ignored us. Egyptians and their discrimination… Being treated like jerks, who wouldn't become furious and angry?
We were denied to board the ship. Frustration can be clearly seen on Najib's face.4.00 pm - After being helped out by a Saudi immigration officer, only six of us (Eckm, Damak, Najib, Faiz, Copuk and Salman) could board the ship and the rest had to be left stranded for five days in Yanbu. Time to split. Those six survivors left Yanbu and the rest entered the immigration hall and all their passports were taken (including mine) to lift the cancelled visas status.
7.00 pm - We were sent to an apartment (ٱلسلام بلازا للأجنحة و ٱلشقق ٱلمفروشة) at Omar bin al-Khattab Street, al-Saaydah, Yanbu by Samir, Sultan Badr and one of their friend. One of them gave us SR 150, just in case anything should happen. Luckily, 300-channel TV was ready to get rid of our boredom.
Yanbu may not be a legendary town, but where else in the world you’d find a town like it? It’s just like a desolated town - lived only by workers. People leave to work in the morning and only come back at night. There are not many shops open during daylight. Buildings were built far from each other. So, if you wanna go from one place to another, it’s best if you have a vehicle. No life. The town is facilitated with 3-lanes wide of each side of the road but not many vehicles found on its traffic. Here, traffic jam is non-existant. Taxis are barely seen.
July 16th, 2008: - On our way to restaurant for lunch, a group of Malaysian engineers whom are working at Yanbu National Petrochemical Company saw us. They stopped their car and asked us to go for lunch with them at Al-Rihab Restaurant. Special thanks to Mr Ghazali Abd Aziz for his treat. He told us that these engineers run for 3M: Makkah, Madīnah and Money. Their salary is three times more compared to what the get in Malaysia and it’s tax free. And many more…
July 17th, 2008: Downpour had wetted Yanbu this morning and to our surprise, the satellite TV was confiscated. But it’s okay since it’s our time to leave Saudi Arabia today for good. We left our apartment at 2.30 pm and headed to the port earlier other Egyptians who were on their way to Yanbu from either Makkah or al-Madīnah. It was very easy this time and we made it on the ship without much trouble.
July 18th, 2008: Our first Jumu’ah on ship. The muezzin called for azan at 12.45 pm, followed by sermon and prayer. It was so quick that our prayer finished by 1.00 pm! It’s once in a blue moon experience.
3.00 pm - Arrive at Safaga, Egypt. We left the ship on 5.00 pm and looked for transport to Cairo. After dealt with a coaster driver, we agreed for LE 70 fare each to Cairo. Unfortunately, it was an unpleasant journey with a group of not-really-good Egyptians riding the same coaster. There are a lot of smokers including an old woman who smoked as well. We only left Safaga on 9.00 pm after too much hassles caused by driver himself. We made it to Cairo only at 6.00 am on the next day. At least, we arrived without very serious problem, thank God.
July 18th, 2008: Our first Jumu’ah on ship. The muezzin called for azan at 12.45 pm, followed by sermon and prayer. It was so quick that our prayer finished by 1.00 pm! It’s once in a blue moon experience.
3.00 pm - Arrive at Safaga, Egypt. We left the ship on 5.00 pm and looked for transport to Cairo. After dealt with a coaster driver, we agreed for LE 70 fare each to Cairo. Unfortunately, it was an unpleasant journey with a group of not-really-good Egyptians riding the same coaster. There are a lot of smokers including an old woman who smoked as well. We only left Safaga on 9.00 pm after too much hassles caused by driver himself. We made it to Cairo only at 6.00 am on the next day. At least, we arrived without very serious problem, thank God.
thumbs up!
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