Journey of Great Discovery

Daqadus, Dakahlya

Last Monday on 16^th of July, I was joining a trip visiting mausoleums of Islāmic scholars and Ras el-Bar. Along with 40 fellows whom were joining as well, we started our journey at 8.30 am. Our first destination was Daqadus village in Mit Ghamr, Dakahlya governorate.

On our way there, we stopped for awhile at a peach farm. We were greeted by the owner of the farm whom was delightful to present us with a plastic bag of peaches - free of charge! We truly appreciated it. Then, we continued our journey to Daqadus to visit Sheikh Sha’rāwi Centre.

Sheikh Muhammad Mutawalli as-Sha’rāwi's mausoleum

Approximately at 9.15 am, we arrived at the Centre’s compound. The caretaker of the centre welcomed us and opened the mausoleum chamber of the late Sheikh Muhammad Mutawalli as-Sha’rāwi - one of the most famous Islamic scholar and Egyptian icon. We prayed for him near his tomb and small brief about the Sheikh’s background was given by Ust Hj Nazri. Later, he asked the caretaker’s permission to visit the Sheikh’s library but unfortunately, he had lost the key.

Mit Damsis, Dakahlya

Next, we head to Mit Damsis district visiting the mausoleum of the son of the most famous companion of Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as-Siddiq. He was one of Amru ibn ‘Asr knight during their mission to conquest Egypt and was martyred in a battle here. Upon burial, his tomb was marked with a large stone that was discovered later in 1950s. The mausoleum is located beneath Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as-Siddiq mosque which is located beside an Orthodox Coptic Church. According to Coptic legend, the 1600-year-old church was built upon a site which is believed to be a place where Mary and Jesus rest on their way to Jerusalem after making a visit to Egypt.

Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as-Siddiq’s mausoleum

Summer grapes…

Kafr el-Amir, Dakahlya

Then, we moved to Kafr el-Amir in Simbelawin district to visit ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām mausoleum. We stopped on our way at Kafr ‘Awad to visit a vineyard. It was an opportunity for us to see how grape trees are grown and of course, we Malaysians never see them because they aren’t grown in Malaysia. After 15 minutes later, we continued our journey. We arrived at ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām mosque at 12.15 pm. ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām was one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions. Formerly a Jew, he converted into Islām after satisfied with prophet’s answer to his questions regarding Islām. His mausoleum is just behind the mosque. We had our lunch at the mosque and waited for Zuhr. The ‘adzan here is quite different. The muezzin pronounced the word ‘Sayyidina’ before the Prophet Muhammad’s name in shahadah in the ‘adzan. Right after Zuhr prayer, we moved to Ras el-Bar in Damietta (Dumyat) governorate.

‘Abdullāh ibn Salām’s mausoleum

Qaryah al-Kamāl, Dakahlya

We stopped at Tel el-Rub’a, near Qaryah al-Kamāl to visit a historical site there - Djedet; which is believed to be an administration city of the eastern part of 29th Dynasty Empire during Ancient Egypt. According to legend, the city was vanished after being struck by a sandstorm. And now, it looks weird - like a desert surrounded by fertile land of Nile delta. Unfortunately for us, we weren’t allowed to enter the compound as we didn’t bring an official permit (tasrīh). We were asked to leave by the guards. However, we were able to see from far a broken statue, the Red Granite Naos and old inscription carved on a large stone. Then, we continue our 2-hour journey to Ras el-Bar.

Ras el-Bar, Damietta

We arrived at Ras el-Bar (Arabic: رأس البر) at 3.30 pm. It is where the 6695 km-long River Nile ends and meet with Mediterranean Sea. There’s a square here locating a lighthouse. To get here, you’ll need to pay nothing. It is a beautiful and clean town compared to other typical Egyptian towns and cities. After taking a few photographs, we had our ‘Asr prayer. We planned to go to a souq (market) to buy some seafood but our drivers discouraged us. They were afraid of being summoned by traffic policeman. But, we managed to stop at the other market - Souq el-‘Umumiyya. I bought a kilo of cuttlefishes for a cost of LE 25. We were told that the former market seafood is cheaper than the latter, but what else can we do? To get to there, we need to take a ride on a boat for a cost of 25 piastres because it is located at the right side of the Nile riverbank.

Where the River Nile ends into Mediterranean…

After that, we began to move to Batra, 20 km to the north of Al-Manṣūrah town to visit the late former Sheikh of al-Azhar as-Sharif’s mausoleum, Sheikh Jadul Haq Ali Jadul Haq. He was the Sheikh of al-Azhar before the current Sheikh, Imam Akbar Dr Muhammad Sayid Tantawi. We arrived at Sheikh Jadul Haq Mosque Complex during Maghreb. After praying, the imam of the mosque opened the mausoleum chamber for us and briefed us about the Sheikh’s background in pure Arabic. Beside the mosque, there’s a charity hospital which treat poor people free of charge. It is one of the Sheikh Jadul Haq’s contribution to his villagers after succeed as a renowned Islamic scholar around the world. He also received the King Faisal’s present but he donated the money for the sake of foreign students in al-Azhar institution. May Allāh be pleased with him.

Sheikh Jadul Haq Ali Jadul Haq’s mausoleum

We went back home after that. We arrived at Al-Manṣūrah during Isha’. It was a beautiful and wonderful journey though. Like a scholar said, “Visiting places to see the greatness of Allāh is sunnah, but to learn moral gained during the journey is a must.” God knows the best. Wallāhu a’lam.

Summertime Blues...

“Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do because there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues...”

-Rush

Exam is just ended and behold, the summer holiday is just started!

In front of Sultan Hassan’s mosque with Faris

At Sultan Hassan’s Square, with Faeid. Behind us is Saladin Citadel compound and Mosque of Mohamed Ali.

I went to Mugamma’ Tahrir to apply for re-entry visa. The clerk said my passport can be taken back at 2.30 pm. Since there was 5 hours to wait until 2.30 pm, so I went to Nasser Metro Station to get microbus to go to Malaysian Embassy at Mohandessin as told (read: misguided) by my friend in Mansoura. However, when I arrived there, there was no microbus to Mohandessin except to Kubbar and el-Amirah. I was so extremely mad. I then took a 357 bus, hopefully, it will go to Mohandessin, Giza.

During my journey, I felt strange as the bus wasn’t using the route to the Embassy. It used different route and took too much time to reach the ‘Embassy’. The journey ended at Great Pyramid of Giza station and I wasn’t intended to go there even though I was carrying my matric card and adequate amount to pay for entrace to the historical site of one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’. I need to go to the Embassy to take letter of support to perform Umrah in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah, that matters the most!

Feeling tired, grumpy and disappointed, I had to take the same bus to return to Tahrir. I stopped in the middle of the journey and visited my friends in Sayeda Zeinab. After spending 2 hours there, I went back to Mugamma’ to take my passport and then return to District 7 of Nasr City.

Window shopping at City Stars, Cairo. From right: Me, Azim, Faris & Shakir

All these happened on the 1^st of July year 2007, one of the hottest day in summer as the temperature nearly reached 40° Celsius in Cairo.

Qena & Luxor

On March 7^th 2007 - Wednesday, I had a trip to Qena and Luxor together with Ust Muhammad Abd Malik, Ust Suhaimi, Ust Wan Mohd Zubir and Ust Firdaus Taha. We followed Tareqah Jaafariyah Group to attend ‘hadrāt’ (plural for ‘hadrah’) at Qena and several places in Luxor (of course we're not visiting ruins and temples of the Ancient Egypt). I need to clarify here that I'm not joining any tareqah group; just observing some local culture.

I went to Cairo from Mansoura on 12.30 pm by taking a public van at Mahattah ad-Dawliyyah (Utubis Dawli). It was a smooth journey until Rod el-Farag, Cairo where the van had been stopped by traffic policemen for making a traffic offence. It was on 1.45 pm. The angry driver argued with the policemen and tried to defend himself but it was not a lucky day for him. Those policemen seized his macrobus and leaved the passengers including me out of nowhere!

I completely had no idea where I was. I tried to leave the place by stopping every public transport passing the road to but none of them go to Ramses Square. Most of them were heading to Tahrir Square. I had no choice, so I took a van to Tahrir. From Tahrir, I took Metro subway to Ramses and from Ramses to District 7 of Nasr City.

Tickets

At 9.30 pm, we began our journey and headed to Railway Station at Ramses Square. Together with the Tareqah Group, we departed from Cairo at 11.30 pm to Qena. The 10^th Coach was wholly filled by us! We arrived at Qena Station on 8.30 am on the next day. The Tareqah members from Qena were already at the station to welcome all of us. From the station, we went to Tareqah branch of Qena by taxis. We were having breakfast there with local delicacies and hot cup of tea before went to bed to take a nap in the guest house because we were already too tired being many hours on the train. We woke up before Zuhur prayer and prepared for the prayer. After Zuhur prayer, we attended the hadrah.

The hadrah began with the first ‘madah’ (poem and praise dedicated to Prophet Muhammad bpuh) recitation. The second recitation was conducted by Ust Abd Malik as an honor by the Group towards us. Approximately at 2.30 pm, the leader of Tareqah Jaafariyah Group, Sheikh Abd Ghani Soleh Jaafari arrived.

Waiting for 'Asr prayer calling.

The hadrah lasted until 4.30 pm. Then, we began to move to Luxor after visiting Sheikh Abd Rahim al-Qinai mausoleum. We arrived at al-Baghdadi village, Luxor on 7.30 pm. The hadrah at the village started after Maghrib prayer and lasted until 10.30 pm. We had our dinner at 9.15 pm. I still can remember the warm hospitality provided by the locals to make us as comfortable as possible. Just after the hadrah, some of the representatives from Aswan continued reciting the madaih and invited us to join them.

That night, we stayed at one of the local sheikh’s house. He was Sheikh Muhammad.

On next day, we did our breakfast provided by Sheikh Muhammad. The menu was fatir with cheese and strawberry jam. All five of us had it with Sheikh Farouk and his colleagues. Later after the breakfast while waiting for transport to al-Bayadiyyah, we spent some moment with the veteran sheikh listening to some of his experiences and thoughts.

We began moving to al-Bayadiyyah at 10.30 am. We took a rest at guest room on the ground floor of the mosque while waiting for Jumu’ah prayer. After that, the hadrah ceremony at the village began. The ceremony ended one hour after ‘Asr prayer. It was the last hadrah during this visit. Thanks to Sheikh Ashraf, we were given the opportunity to take a picture with Sheikh Abd Ghani Soleh Jaafari. We also did take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the locals for their hospitality. See you all again, by God’s will. I can never forget your warm hospitality and generosity.

In the midst of hadrah.

Just before the end of hadrah.

Picture time!

Taking a pic with Sheikh Abd Ghani Soleh al-Jaafari

After Maghrib prayer, we went to Luxor Railway Station. It was still early to wait for the train from Aswan to Cairo so we walked to the Abu’l Haggag Mosque to visit Sheikh Yousef Abu’l Haggag mausoleum, a Sufi and his two sons’ graves. Sheikh Yousef Abu’l Haggag was born in Baghdad, but he spent the latter half of his 90 years in Luxor. He died in year 1243. The mosque is located on the site of Temple of Luxor just behind the Pylon of the temple. The Temple of Luxor was built mainly by Amenhotep III and Ramses II.

In front of the Court of Amenophis III, Temple of Luxor

We departed from Luxor Railway Station at 8.00 pm heading to Cairo. We slept during the journey until 3.30 am when some of brothers from the Tareqah invited us to teach them Malay and even treated each of us with a cup of tea! As for the effect of the caffeine, we were unable to sleep again until we reached Cairo at 5.45 am.

It was a really enjoyable and interesting experience. I can see where the humanity and spirit of brotherhood were still alive at these remote areas. Their smile, their courtesy and their friendliness are something that creates a good memory. Hopefully, I can attend the hadrāt’ again.

Sinai, Here I Come!

On 6/2/2006 (First Day)

2.00 am
- Departed from el-Mansoura.
6.00 am
- Arrived at Suez City for Morning Prayer.
8.00 am
- Went under the Suez Canal tunnel.
- Had our breakfast before visited prophet Musa’s fountain at Oyun Musa.
- Visit once-an-Israeli Camp (Bar-Lev Line).
- Stopped at Pharaoh’s sauna (Hammam Firaun) at Moon Beach, Gulf of Suez, Red Sea.
2.00 pm
- Had our lunch near Abu Zneima. We also met Bedouin tribe and explored the oases & desert.
4.00 pm
- Arrived at St Catherine Protectorate and visited Prophet Saleh’s tomb. Later, we visited Wadi Muqaddas (refer al-Qurân, surah an-Nazi’at: 016) and walked to Wadi Arba’en. There is a stone which is mentioned in al-Qurân surah al-Baqarah: 60 and surah al-A’raf: 160. Some historian experts believe that the stone is the one mentioned in al-Qurân and some of them said it is referring to the fountain at Oyun Musa.

Prophet Saleh’s tomb

9.00 pm
- Took a rest at Fox Camp. Preparing for Mount Sinai climbing expedition.

On 7/2/2006 (Second Day)

2.00 am
- We climbed the snowcapped Mount Sinai (Jabal Musa - 2285m). It is the second highest peak in Egypt where prophet Musa (was believed) talked directly to Allah and received revelation (refer al-Qurân Surah Maryam: 52).

On the top of Mount Sinai - 2285 m above sea level

5.45 am
- Arrived on the peak during Fajr.
- Watched the beautiful sunrise.
- Took a nap inside the moque.
Note: There are a mosque and a Greek Orthodox church on the peak. Also, there is a place which is believed to be prophet Musa’s (Biblical: Moses) praying site beneath the mosque.
8.00 am
- Began to descend from the mountain.
9.00 am
- Stopped for while at prophet Ilyas’ (Biblical: Elijah) village. It is believed that this village was once where prophet Ilyas’ lived.
10.00 am
- Arrived St Catherine Monastery. Took a rest while waiting for the bus.
12.00 pm
- Had our lunch near Samiri’s calf (read the story in al-Qurân surah Ta-Ha 20:85-98) and prophet Harun’s (Biblical: Aaron) tomb. Visited both site.
4.00 pm
- Arrived at Dahab (situated at Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea).
10.00 pm
- Wandering around Dahab. Bought some souvenir. Ust Nazri treated us with firakh mashwee (roasted chicken).

On 8/2/2006 (Third Day)

1.00 am
- Sleeping time.
8.00 am
- Had our breakfast.
10.00 am
- Began our journey to Taba.
11.00 am
- Stopped for a while in Nuweiba (port to Jordan & Saudi Arabia)
12.30 pm
- Arrived at Taba.
- We took a look at Israel-Egypt border and Taba Hilton Hotel where it was being attacked by terrorists in October 7^th, 2004.

At Egypt (Taba) -Israel (Eilat) border

1.00 pm
- Went to Pharaoh Island to visit Salahuddin al-Ayubi’s Fort. Dated back during Ayyubid period, Salahuddin seized this fort from the crusaders during Seventh Crusade (Psst! I don’t really know whether this information is correct or not… Hah!). From this fort, we could see 3 countries from Egypt - Eilat at Israel, Aqaba at Jordan (if you have binocular, you might see a huge Jordanian flagpole) and Saudi Arabian mainland.

Fort of Salahuddin al-Ayubi

4.00 pm
- Returned to home.
- Passed through Tīh mountain range (refer al-Qurân , Sûrah Al-Mâ’idah 05:26).
5.00 pm
- Stopped at Mamalik’s Rock Inscription.
7.00 pm
- Prayed Jama’ at Dhoyuf ar-Rahmân Mosque at Nakhl. Had our dinner there.

On 9/2/2006

1.00 am
- Arrived at Zagazig.
2.00 am
- Finally, arrived at el-Mansoura.
2.30 am
- Sleep. Ready for a new day.