My Fardhu Umrah Journey 2013

15/4/13
Journey to Medina began, departed via Saudi Arlines SV 829 at 3.30 pm and was seated at 44H, with abah, ibu & anti Iza. Thanks to Pamandol, Sheli and Nabilla for sending us off at KLIA.

 
Plane was quite roomy, the stewardess was friendly and quite attentive but nothing beats MAS. 

 

I chose fish & pasta for dinner and was so surprised that there was no other meal thereafter - duh? Time on board was spent playing games, watching Tinkerbell and Beauty & The Beast, and of course SLEEP :) And I have discovered the survey on the screen which is my forte. Love it!!

We stopped over at Riyadh for approximately 45 minutes and took off for Medina with some of the flight attendants leaving us behind and I was wondering why? Arrived at Medina airport and after getting the passports stamped, we took bus no. 1090 at around 9.25 pm and headed to Al Ansar Golden Hotel.

Checked into room 1412, great place and the Mosque is just less than 20 steps away. Bought 2 Zain SIM Cards for SR 40 each : numbers 05-92500437 and 05-92500438. Performed Maghrib & Isya at the hotel and slept like a baby.

16/4/13
My first prayer at Masjid Nabawi - Subuh. Such an unforgettable moment. Subhanallah, never thought that one day I'll be able to perform my ibadah there. But then I dropped and lost the little sejadah ibu gave me and I have never told her about that till today. And that should be my little secret forever :P


I started reciting the Quran as I have targeted to khatam by the end of my umrah journey. Our morning was filled with Raudah visit, led by our Indonesian Ustazah. It was all packed and I did not have time to solat properly as there was this old lady standing just in front of me. May Allah forgives me for pushing her when needed to sujud. Went shopping for jubah, tasbih and perfume with Anti Iza. I love the people in Medina, they are just so friendly and most of the traders know Siti Nurhaliza well. It is always "Malaysia? Siti Nurhaliza cantik". Gosh! They should be complimenting Tun Mahathir instead. Before calling off the night, we met Ustaz Rizwan after dinner at the hotel.

I was admiring these two kids shopping with their mum

That is sure lots of scarves to be sold in a day! And colorful too

It is sure a shopping Heaven outside the Masjid

17/4/13
After breakfast, the group went to Masjid Quba with beautiful white domes. While on the bus, I have noticed that the Arabs are not that rich it seems but they are blessed to be living on the land which once upon a time was occupied by our Prophet Muhammad pbuh. I did see some sad looking  houses, thinking out loud, our PPRT looks much more better. Alhamdulillah, I am always thankful that I am living in Malaysia.

Captured from the roadside

Internal ruang solat at Masjid Quba

Solat di Masjid Quba sama pahala menunaikan umrah- excellent!

I was seriously trying to fight the heat and direct sun light. Not easy tho

Beautiful white minaret

Another session of menahan terik matahari

Ah, got kurma shop. Yummy! Hands look like Karam SIngh Walia in action

Gerai outside Masjid Quba

The better looking buildings

House of the less fortunates, I believe

 
Next, we headed to Bukit Uhud. Subhanallah, the visit has made me realise how challenging it was for our Prophet pbuh and his sahabat in spreading Islam in Medina and Mecca. The heat, the absence of trees and plants, the hilly and dusty surroundings could just kill you instantly. And I respect the sacrifice made by our Prophet as I don't think that I could go through such a difficult journey. We visited the graveyard of the sahabat. This was where Sayidina Hamzah was beheaded and I could not imagine how cruel were the Jahiliyahs.

The magnificient Bukit Uhud

 
After a real burning and hot trip at Bukit Uhud, the bus headed to Ladang Kurma. Sheli has told me that the food stuff at Ladang Kurma is more pricey than those at Pasar Kurma, so I decided not to buy anything except for loose chocolates - spent SR 40 nett. It is sedap though, not that sweet. And I love the kurma with bijan, yummy! Abah bought kurma Ajwa and prolly some other different types for people back home.

Haji mau berapa kilo? Sedap sedap, kurma Ajwa

My favourite section - CHOCOLATES! I kilo = SR 40

No language barrier. Everyone speaks Bahasa Melayu in KSA (I mean the traders, of course)

Kaya betul Pak Arab ni, buat bapak mertua bagus gak!

I don't understand how people can really shop here!

Despite all the shoppings done at Ladang Kurma, our mutawwif brought us to the Pasar Kurma where I purchased the chocolates that Sheli has requested. SR 10 for a box, sounds reasonable. And the loose chocolates, they only cost SR 20 per kilo. Half price cheaper? Such a rip off. So, another SR 20 out of the pocket, but it was worth it!

This is our PASAR KURMA where you can shop till you drop

Felt a bit uneasy during the Asar prayers at the mosque, so I performed my prayer at the hotel. Thank God, Maghrib and Isya were jiffy. And I had managed to sneak my Ixus camera into the mosque by putting it in my jubah's sleeves. It was not easy for me to do so, not for a person who hardly cheats :)

A few of the many Zam Zam water containers

Subhanallah! Just looking at the interior can make you feel so tranquil

These tensiles are really strong. The cleaners could actually stand on them and jet wash

I like to watch the husbands waiting for the wives outside the mosque - CANNOT BE FOUND IN MALAYSIA!

Anti Iza and myself decided since morning to visit the Raudah again since our first one was a real quick one.We waited and waited and waited and waited since 9.30 pm and were only released into Raudah at 11.30 pm. The mak guards actually let the Arabs in, quite a discrimination I think since we, from Asia did not make much noise and waited patiently. But was glad that I go to know an Indonesian girl who was once upon a time, a stewardess with Garuda and now has made her hijrah.

The anxious Asian group, law abiding citizens and get bullied by the Arabs

It is always direct translation all over the place.The KSA government should appoint someone to look into this

As usual, we were rushed out although being the longest waiting group. These Arabs need to be told off next time. We left Raudah approximately after midnight. I walked out with the Indonesian lady and bid farewell and wished her a blessed journey.

Workers collecting the empty tanks and replacing with full ones at 12.11 am

The jemaah leaving the mosque at midnight

When I reached the hotel, I saw abah and ibu walking up and down outside with frantic looks. OMG! What now? Apparently, both of them were panicked since we did not come back to the room after Isya and we did not tell them that we went to Raudah. Sorry abah & ibu, did not mean to make you super duper worry! Since ibu had taken away dinner for us (lots of them), we had to gobble our food and hit the sack at 1.30 am. Not healthy at all :P

18/4/13
Last Subuh at Nabawi Mosque. Quranic reading ends at page 100, Surah An Nisa ayat 130. Packed things and glad that all my washings have dried up. Last mission before leaving Medina was to patron the Starbucks outlet near the hotel. The coffee is not cheap though, even the dessert. It cost SR 15.00 for a tall latte and SR 17.00 for a tall mocha. I have to say that, the SB coffee in KL tastes better but it is the experience that counts :)

The little kiosk

Our lil customer drinking coffee? Gosh!

Teruja, dapat pose depan SB at Medina. Walawei

 

The SR 15 and SR 17 coffee

Toured around Dataran and took pictures with Anti Iza but I did not bring my camera along, so my not so canggih phone came handy PLUS Anti Iza's camera phone. Did not cover the whole Dataran, only managed to go around half of it nearer to Kubah Hijau. Subhanallah, beautiful. The rest of the Dataran is mysterious and I shall discover it during my next trip, insyaallah.

Kubah hijau where the body of Prophet Muhammad pbuh is laid and the silver dome is the mimbar

Up, close and personal. Magnificient

Good pose pakcik

We performed our solat Zuhur and Asar as jamak tamam and I had managed to continue my Quran recital until the third page of the third chapter. For the first time, I had ikan patin cooked in curry for lunch. Quite good though as I am not that particular about food that much.

We left the hotel at approximately at 2.45 pm and reached Bir Ali shortly after travelling for a distance of 7 kilometres.

Our journey begins

Bir Ali mosque signage

It was such a touching moment when the Talbiyah was read by the mutawwif. As I was looking out through the windows, I started thinking in disbelief as I could not imagine how difficult it was for the Prophet pbuh to perform the Haj, having to travel from Medina to Mecca, in such condition. The weather is extremely hot and dry, and there is nothing along the road except for the bare hills and dust. And just imagine the time required as the main transportation means was only Camel. Even being in an air-conditioned bus which takes only a couple of hours, we could not stand the challenge, what more riding on camels under the direct heat? I really thank the Prophet pbuh for all his determination in expanding the syiar in Islam. During our bus ride, I saw a policeman on his road block duty praying by the roadside, on the dusty surface of the Earth. Masyaallah, you can never find such a sight and a committed person back home, in Malaysia. 

We stopped over for our Maghrib and Isya' prayers at a place similar to those back home, called "R&R". It is obviously a desert area. Although it looks creepy but I think it is a good adventure. We had murtabak for snack although the place is packed with people from different walks of lives.

Murtabak stall

Anak beranak dah kenyang, abah ate the most

Muka jemaah dah kenyang!

I wonder what they sell here?

Ready to get on the bus

We arrived Mecca at about 10.30 pm and headed towards Masjidil Haram after checking in. I was nervous yet excited as this is going to be my first fardhu umrah and was praying that Allah will make my journey an easy one.

We placed our shoes outside, at the entrance of King Abdul Aziz. Subhanallah, it is always on the books or in the TV that I see Masjidil Haram but now, the beautiful, awesome and magnificient sacred building was here right in front of me. 

As I walked in, I remembered ibu saying that Kaklong had fell down the steps the moment she saw Kaabah for the first time. And, Subhanallah, I couldn't believe myself when I saw the Baitullah as I was approaching it. All these while, I will only see it on my prayer mat, but at last, it stood there, beautifully standing in the middle of the Dataran. Subhanallah, thank you Allah for accepting me as your pilgrim on this Tanah Haram despite my sins towards you.

The mutawif was walking so fast that I could not catch up with him, so abah asked me to follow him for tawaf and then we headed for Saie. We performed our Saie at Level 1 and finished at 2.30 am and took the opportunity to make doa at Multazam. There are so many lessons that I have learned from the umrah. The Saie for example, shows the determination and commitment of Siti Hajar when looking for water to feed her baby, Nabi Ismail. The distance is great but we just could not feel the hardship of it since the area is totally different from what Siti Hajar has experienced before.

 

 

Lampu hijau - this is where you are encouraged to ber"ramal"

Our lil haj in his loose ihram. Such a darling

The jemaah at Safa of Ground Floor

I left the mosque in disbelief. Just couldn't believe that I have performed my umrah -  the routines that I can only imagine during my kursus haji, now I have performed them on my own. Alhamdulillah. Abah lost his slippers, and so did the other pakcik in our group. So, I borrowed abah my slippers and I walked with my socks. I was exhausted and went to sleep at 3.30 am. 

19/4/13
Masyaallah, I was so tired that I have missed my Subuh prayers until Anti Iza returns at 6.30 am. I felt so bad, my first day in Mecca, and a sin has been committed. So, I had to perform a qadha' one. It was too late for breakfast, the main meal had been cleared, leaving us with bread. But Alhamdulillah, we still have something to eat.

I performed my first Jumaat prayers at Masjidil Haram, actually my first ever Solat Jumaat. We sat at the basement since we were not so familiar with the mosque. Despite the area being stuffy, I had enjoyed the whole exercise so much. The khutbah was beautifully recited in Arabic, although I did not even understand any of the words uttered by the khatib but towards the end of it, when the doa was read for the Palestinians, the khatib cried and it touched my heart.

The jemaah at the basement

The hajis were seated at the front

This girl was sandwiched in between the relatives

Our lil haji - he is so cute in ihram

Before we left the mosque, I had invited Anti Iza to follow me to the Multazam for a quick visit. We had lunch after our prayers and you have guessed right - I went to sleep and had missed my jemaah Asar prayers. But I was all geared up to perform my Maghrib & Isya to make up for the losses I have made.

20/4/13
I left the room at 3.00 am for tawaf sunat with Anti Iza. This time, I did it on my own and I enjoyed every second of it. When you perform tawaf, you get 60 rahmat. The sweetness of ibadah is felt in every step that I took. We prayed at the Dataran but later was asked to move into the prayer hall. That does not matter since we will still get 40 rahmat for prayers and 20 rahmat for looking at Kaabah.

Nasi lemak was the menu for breakfast. We left for ziarah at 7.20 am - Jabal Rahmah, Arafah and then to our miqat. I made doa for my friends who are still single for them to meet their soulmate soon, both soleh and solehah. One of the Pak Arabs who was distributing a pamphlet had me at HELLO :)

 

We passed by Jabal Nur where Gua Hira' was and also some graveyards in Mekah. Jemaah Zuhur & Asar prayers at Masjidil Haram. Anti Iza treated me to burger and kebab, can't comment more, still love our Ramli burger in Malaysia :) It cost SR 18 for 4 packs of food.
 

Our burger & kebab seller

The stall - Anti Iza waiting in line

Maghrib & Isya at the mosque and we were playing by ear to perform our tawaf & Saie after that.


21/4/13
Left our room at 2.30 am for tawaf, Saie & tahallul. Performed Subuh prayers at level 2. It was great to be able to see Pancur Emas from the top and the place was so spacious. Alhamdulillah, my body could detox all the toxins. Left for Zuhur at about 11.30 am. Finished another surah, alhamdulillah. Bought an ice cream at the shop downstairs, it was so yummy. First ever Arab ice cream for me and I love it.

22/4/13
It has not been a good day today since my tummy was not feeling well but had managed to perform a round of tawaf again. It is my third umrah for today and had completed it before the Subuh prayers, alhamdulillah.We went to Hudaibiyah for miqat and apparently it was discovered that many of the jemaah had food poisoning too. I stayed for Maghrib at the hotel and later went to the mosque to perform Isya' although having to do so on the marble floor. Before leaving the mosque, a lady passed kurma to the jemaah and that was the first sedeqah of kurma I had in Mecca. Alhamdulillah. Dinner was served with "kari kepala ikan", fantastic.

23/4/13
Some of the jemaah are still suffering from the food poisoning. I left for the mosque at 3.00 am. Was given an Arab delicacy by a lady there. Breakfast was lontong and kuah kacang. We went to Auntie Iza's relative house after Isya. It was a fantastic and delicious nasi mandi ayam. I met three beautiful and cute children - Yamim, Amam and Abdollah. After chatting, we finally made our way back to the hotel at 11.30 pm. It has been a tiring day but I have enjoyed meeting new people in the Holy Land.

24/4/13
Had finished reciting Yasin for Subuh. We had the best bihun goreng in town for breakfast. Despite being so tired and sleepy, I dragged my feet to the mosque to continue reciting the Quranic verses. A girl has suddenly popped up and passed me a glass of Zam Zam water when was finishing my recitals. It was such a beautiful moment that I will treasure.Left the mosque at around 11-ish and the weather was getting hot. Was given a pack of swiss roll during Maghrib prayers, free food again, alhamdulillah. However, there is this mysterious uninvited guest in the room since afternoon. A fly and it has been bugging me throughout my sleep. Who or what can it be? It is still a mystery............

25/4/13
I left for the mosque after 3.30 am. Performed my tawaf and stayed for a while until 5.45 am to continue reciting the Quran. That sweet young ustaz was at the cafe for breakfast, that had made my day plus the nasi goreng kampung was superb.The weather was extremely hot and was looking forward to the cold weather that we had a few days ago. Maghrib and Isya at the hotel, plus catching up on finishing my recitals. Alhamdulillah, managed to complete Quran recital today. There was a new group of jemaah who had arrived today when met at the lobby. Night activity was filled with shopping with Soleha and we finally made it home by midnight since many shops were then closed :)

26/4/13
I had discovered a new section of the mosque which is air-conditioned and cooler, so, I was there for Subuh till Isya. Spoilt with choice I must say :)  Started packing up instead of going iktikaf at the mosque, silly me! After Isya, I went to shop with Auntie Iza and bought this cute lil camel and was given a sejadah by Auntie Iza.

27/4/13
Went to the mosque for the 6 rounds of Tawaf Wida and Subuh prayers, only to notice that after breakfast, I could not complete the 7th round of my Tawaf. Allah knows the best for his creation. So, it was just a Ziarah Wida for me done slightly before Zuhur. I watched Baitullah from the outside with such a heavy heart. The Dataran was filled with many jemaah, mostly construction workers nearby. I watched as the jemaah performed their Zuhur prayers, all synchronised, representing the unity of the Muslim community despite the different backgrounds. It touches me so much to see the commitment portrayed and I pray that there will be more who reverts to Islam. I spent some time admiring the wonderful architecture of Masjidil Haram, masyaallah, to me it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. I knelt down and thanked Allah for all the nikmat he has bestowed upon me despite all the sins that I have committed. I wish that I could spent a longer time at the Dataran but since there was just too many jemaah and the weather was very hot, I decided to leave. On the way back, I saw some jemaah carrying some jenazah to the vans. I lost for words, it could be me being carried away. Soleha came to the hotel to pass us some fresh dates, I am gonna miss her so much. May Allah repays her for her kindness. The bus left the hotel for Jeddah with lots of lovely memories and tears were falling down my cheeks. I pray to be back to the Holy Lands soon, insyaallah and may Allah accepts all my ibadah and rewards me accordingly. Ameen

Alhamdulillah for a wonderful trip that made me nearer to Allah swt.

Baitullah

Al-Baqarah Ayat 196 : Dan sempurnakanlah Ibadah Haji dan Umrah kerana Allah Taala

The starting of the Kursus Haji back in 2012 had made me realised that I have been so ignorant that umrah is actually fardhu like haji, once in your lifetime. I was eager to visit the Baitullah early this year, although was a bit afraid that I was not prepared for the whole journey. When planning for the dates to travel, I was a bit hesitant to go early in April but since dad has some other engagement in May, we have then fixed the date to 15th April 2013 and return to KL on the 27th April 2013.Will post the journal detailing my journey soon! In the meantime, do not forget to thank God for every little thing that He has bestowed upon you. Amin!

A new life

It is so amazing to see how the orchid given by Mdm Kuan & Chon has flowered again after a year. And it all happened when least expected. Alhamdulillah, the new buds came out right before I left for umrah and the blooming activities took place after my return. The plant has given me a new life, just like the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Thank you Allah for all your nikmat, please make me a servant who is always thankful to you no matter what happens. Insyaallah, amin.

PRU13

Dear all, it is yet another season for voting. Thank God, I casted my vote at approximately 12.15 pm today at Sekolah Rendah Danau Kota. Not many people though since many of the voters were seen at the Secondary School. My hope is that may the best party win to lead us all in the country so that we stay peaceful and that the multi-racial uniqueness of Malaysia can be retained forever. To Dato' Shafei Abdullah, I wish you all the best for your victory over your Wangsa Maju constituency. Please ensure that the motto of Satu Malaysia is practised as the saying goes "Rakyat di dahulukan, pencapaian di utamakan!"

Love thy nature

It has always been my wish to carry out social works for the community. It has been ages since I last visited the orphans at Baitu Siti Khadijah, Gombak. Sometimes, the feeling of guilt creeps into me, being inconsistent with the aid does not help the orphanage much. But I hope that the orphans are well taken care of by the other generous donors. 2012 had started positively for me. Hopefully the blessings continue. I was called to perform my Haj with Pamandol and Auntie Iza. Still praying that the appeal to a bigger step in ibadah will materialise. Kursus Haji had kicked off in February 2012 at Masjid Ubaidiah, Taman Seri Rampai. We are now in our 5th class, Ustaz Hasnil is one entertaining lecturer.

Let's talk about the voluntary work which I have been engaged in. I was writing this piece of story while I was on my shift duty at the Girls' Camp at ABC Camp, Janda Baik at approximately 12.37 am. Wow, that's a lot of ATs :P  Apparently I thought that I would be on my own out here in the open until 2.00 am. All the creepy thoughts had flashed into my mind before I took a quick nap at 11 pm. Luckily we have the boys playing guitar and cards at the verandah and the lecturers working on their presentation for tomorrow's session. So glad to be here for the School Holiday Teenage Camp. Excited I was to know that just next door is Suria Hill Resort, the place where I had checked in 3 months ago with Sheli and Nenek Yam. Nothing much has changed since the last time I was here. The content of oxygen in the air is still the same, the vegetation remains, the water that flows along the river are still clean and clear. If this is KL, I may not be able to see everything intact as it is here.

At this moment, I wish that I could just buy a piece of land here, along the river and build a house and settle down. Unfortunately, none of it will materialise. First, I don't even have enough money to pay for my two monthly loan installments, what more another one? Secondly, even if I have the money to purchase a piece of land, even if it is only "sekangkang kera", it will take ages for me to be able to accumulate my wealth to build my wooden dream home on it. It would have been a perfect home with all the Malay architecture instilled in the design with the natural ventilation and lighting.

Well, that's just a dream and will always remain as one. Sigh! The piece of land will probably be a mini reptilian zoo with snakes, lizards and "God knows what" occupying my comfortable "lalanged" zone.

Nowadays, we hardly value the nature around us until it's gone. One day, there will be nothing left for us to appreciate except for the wealth that we have, which most of the time, consist of debts - houses and cars? The nature is a gift which no one cent is needed for us to enjoy it. Yet, it will be the least important item in our life since it doesn't carry any material value.

I pray that the future generation will change their way of thinking and will be able to balance the importance of both material and God's gift to them. The more developed we are, the more we tend to forget our own roots. And one fine day, there will be nothing for us to carry along in the future to proof how responsible we are in ensuring what can be retained forever, happily ever after!

Qurban 2011

As-salam, it is now 1433H and 2012. It has been long since I last log into my blog. I have tried disciplining myself to keep on writting in the blog so that I do not lost my skills of self expression. And with the beginning of the new year (almost 2 months now), I would have to start doing so and not produce any lame excuses to be lazy. Happy New Year everyone, Salam Maal Hijrah and Gong Xi Fa Chai! That is sure a lot of greetings in a go :)

I was copying some of the pictures I took in Cambodia back in November 2011, where myself and Sheli participated in the Qurban programme organised by Al-Ameen Holdings. Then only I realised that I did not post anything on the activity on my blog. So, here it goes.........

I personally am glad that I took the initiative to check on the programmes organised by some NGOs in helping poor Muslims in Cambodia. I always think that the poor in Malaysia is nowhere near the poors in Cambodia. Getting free qurban portion is nothing new for us in Malaysia, I always opt not to take it as I always think that there are more unfortunate people out there who deserves the meat more than me. So, I was eager to see how Qurban is celebrated in another part of the world, especially in a third world country like Cambodia. The search was over when I signed up myself and Sheli with Al-Ameen and we left Malaysia by MAS (my forever favourite airline) on 4th NOv 2011 in the morning. On the plane, there was another Malaysian, Dr Shikin with her two lovely children who were heading to the same place.

Upon our arrival at the Phnom Penh airport, we were greeted by a local, Savon. He is currently studying at one of the universities in PP, and doing part-time work as tourist guide. Great that he knows how to make some bucks, rather than just sitting around doing nothing. And he is not that bad looking at all, such a shame that I do not have a close-up of his face :)

We checked-in into New York Hotel located at Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh. The hotel is not bad though, it was comfortable. We were taken for lunch at one of the Muslim restaurants and then we headed to the Russian Market for a quick look around. There we made friends with Noch, a lovely Cambodian lady who operates her Cambodian Silk and Bag shop at lot 914. We ended up shopping on the first day of arrival, and it was a lot of shopping I must say! Dinner was at one of the restaurants in the man-made island where rampage took place back in 2010 (I think so).

So, there were a lot of visiting sites one of which was witnessing the gruesome experiences at Tuol Seng Genocide Museum. It was a great torture felt by the people of Cambodia

To be continued..................

Happy New Year 2013

Hey! It is the beginning of yet another year - 2013 and I have just turned 38 last December 16, 2012. Soon, I will be 40! How time flies, and it is so super duper fast! I am looking for a positive chapter in life for 2013. There will be so many episodes in life for this new year, and I hope that God will ease every step that I take through those episodes.

Never look back at what had happened in the past. Let bygones be bygones and most important is to move on with your head held up high. Always remember that there is always a silver lining behind the cloud and pray that God will always be with you to guide you through your life.

I wish to take this opportunity to wish everyone a successful year ahead and whatever happens, never regret upon it and always move on and keep walking towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Adios and cheerio! Lots of love, Baya