Part 1

I begin in the name of Allah, The Most Beneficient, The Most Merciful

As I start to reflect upon the memories of our visit to the Holy Lands from the 25th March to 19th April 2009, I need to make clear at the outset that the purpose of this article is to encourage all readers to try & visit the Holy Lands as many times as possible, especially those brothers & sisters who have not yet visited. I also need to emphasise the fact that try as I might, words will do no justice to the feelings & emotions experienced on such a blessed journey, I request all readers to pray that our visit is accepted & that we are blessed again & again with an opportunity to visit the Holy Lands, Ameen.

As we were flying on Emirates Airlines, we changed into our Ihraam at Dubai. It was Wednesday 25th March 4:00pm local time and we were only 4 hours away from Jeddah. The feelings were amazing. Our group consisted of 2 families, 4 adults & 3 children & we just could not wait to reach Saudi Arabia.

Upon landing at Jeddah, the whole world had changed. The heat hit us as soon as we came out of the Airport Terminal. After a few formalities, our passports were returned to us & soon we were travelling on our way to Makkah Mukarramah in a 12 seater Toyota Hiace, all ready & set for an entrance into the Holiest City on earth. A point to remember here is don`t forget to take CD`s & cassettes of Naats & Nazams to enlighten your journey further. I had with me a set of Junaid Jamshid`s collection & this made the journey even more spiritual.

Travelling along, we soon crossed the Gateway to Makkah, a huge replica of the Holy Quraan in the form of a bridge. We surely were now in Makkah.

It was 11pm when we entered the Holy City & the feeling was incredible. It had been a long day & the heat had got to us so we decided to take a rest & perform Umrah nice & refreshed in the morning.

The first sight of the Holy Kaabah was truly magnificent. A sea of people were busy in Tawaaf & we joined the flow. It was amazing. Thousands of people from all over the globe with different nationalities moving in one direction. Truly fascinating. The seven circuits around the Holy Kaabah took about 30 minutes. After quenching our thirst with Zam Zam water we moved into the direction of Mount Safa to start the Sa`ee.

Starting at Mount Safa & finishing at Mount Marwa, the Sa`ee was completed in about 1 hour. The first Umrah was completed successfully Thanks to The Almighty.

We spent 14 days in Makkah. It was crowded & busy but not like the rush that takes place in Ramadhan & at the time of Haj. It wasn`t so difficult getting into the Mataaf for the 5 Salaahs. At night time, reaching the door of The Kaabah Sharif known as the Multazam was not so difficult & with a little bit of patience it was easy to perform a few rakaats within the Hateem.

It was a memorable 14 days, memories that all 7 of us will cherish for the rest of our lives. We managed to visit many historical places such as the Cave of Hira, where the first verses of the Quraan were revealed & the Cave of Thawr where our Prophet S.A.W. rested during His Hijrah to Madinah. We also passed by the Plains of Arafah, Muzdalifah, Mina & visited Jannatul Maa`la, the Blessed Graveyard of Makkah Mukarramah.

The Masjid-e-Haraam which houses the Holy Kaabah is a magnificent example of Islamic architecture. The size is just unbelievable. Many extensions have taken place & the final one by the late King Fahd, known as the Custodian of the 2 Holy Mosques is truly fascinating. There is work still taking place & credit must surely be given to the Saudi Government for maintaining the Masjid-e-Haraam with its full glory.
14 days passed at the speed of light & after performing Tawaf-e-Wida (Farewell Tawaf) it was time to leave Makkah for the Illuminated City of Madinah.
(Article presented by Moulana Hanif Dudhwala)


Part 2

We departed from Makkah on Wednesday 8th April at 3pm with mixed feelings. A feeling of sadness as we were leaving Makkah & a feeling of happiness as we were heading towards the Blessed City of Madinah, the final resting place of The Best of Creations, The Holy Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.)

En route to Madinah, the Hijrah (migration) of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) comes to mind again & again. Today we were travelling in luxury & comfort in an air conditioned vehicle, so different from the time when this journey was undertaken on camels in the scorching heat of the desert.

It was late evening when we arrived in Madinah Munawwarah, The Illuminated City. The calm & peaceful atmosphere of Madinah is just beyond imagination, for surely this is the place the dwellers of which invited the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) to be their guest, this is where He (S.A.W.) spent the last 10 years of His Blessed Life & this is the place where He (S.A.W.) will rest until the Day of Judgement.

Once again it had been a long day & therefore we decided to rest & present ourselves to the court of The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) nice & refreshed the following day.

It was a very emotional moment as we entered door no.1 known as Bab-us-Salam in order to present our salutations to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) & His 2 Companions, Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) & Hazrat Umar (R.A.). We walked along the gallery & soon we were within the sight of the resting place of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.). Words will do no justice to the feelings of that precise moment. Here we were, standing a few metres away from the Leader of the Prophets & Leader of the whole of mankind, the same Exalted Personality whose sacrifices had blessed us with this beautiful religion of Islam, we presented our Salams & the Salams of our near & dear ones who had made special requests.

Moving along a few paces, we were standing facing the Blessed Grave of our Prophet`s lifetime Companion Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) Once again, the sacrifices made by this First Khalifah of Islam comes to mind & as he was always by the side of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) during his lifetime, The Almighty has blessed him with a resting place right next to the Prophet (S.A.W.) After presenting our salams to Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) we moved a little further to face the Blessed Grave of Hazrat Umar (R.A.), the same Hazrat Umar(R.A.) whose coming into the fold of Islam strengthened the Muslims & whose courage & valour saw Islam flourish within a very short period. After presenting our Salam to Hazrat Umar (R.A.) we left the gallery through the door of `Baqi`.
Masjid-e- Nabawi, known as the Prophet`s Masjid, houses the Blessed Graves of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) & His 2 Companions. Upon the arrival of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) to Madinah over 1400 years ago, one of the first tasks to be completed was the construction of this Masjid. Over the centuries, many extensions have taken place & today the size is just unbelievable.

The most famous sign of Masjid-e-Nabawi is the Green Dome, this dome has been erected upon the chambers which house the Blessed Grave, it is part of the original Masjid which was present in the time of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)

The segregation facilities within the Masjid is remarkable. Totally separate designated entrances for Sisters with separate praying areas. The Masjid is now open 24 hours & there are 3 specific timings (morning, afternoon & night) when sisters are allowed to present their Salams.

The Blessed Grave of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) is situated at the front of the Masjid. The section between the grave & the Mimbar (Pulpit) from where the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) used to deliver His sermon is known as a Garden from the Gardens of Paradise, this particular section is always very crowded with thousands of worshippers. This section has many blessed areas including the Mehrab (place from where our Prophet (S.A.W.) led the Salaah) & specific spots where prayers & forgiveness is accepted, these are marked by pillars.

We were very fortunate to perform our Salaah a number of times within this Garden of Paradise, the feelings of tranquillity & peace here is just amazing.

We spent 11 truly memorable days in Madinah. We visited many historical sites such as Mount Uhud (where the battle of Uhud took place), Masjid-e-Quba (the first Masjid to be constructed), Masjid-e-Qiblatayn (where the Qiblah changed) & Jannatul Baqi (The Blessed Graveyard of Madinah Munawwarah).

As with all things in this world, our stay in the Holy Lands came to an end. We departed from Madinah on Sunday 19th April & en route to Jeddah requested the driver to take us through the plains of Badar, the place where the first battle of Islam took place. We offered our Zohar Salaah at Badar & after making a brief stop we moved on to Jeddah airport for an evening flight to Dubai & from there on to Birmingham.

In total we spent 25 days in the Holy Lands, each & every moment will be cherished by all of us for a very long time to come. I take this opportunity to request all readers to embark on this journey & make a humble request to remember us all in their duas during their visit.