Pilgrimage period: 2nd August till 22nd September 2017 (1438 Hijrah year)
Hajj wasn't an easy task unlike any other task that I faced before in this life. That was what we wish to conclude and spread to all, hence everyone must by all mean take the ibadah seriously. Just imagine yourselves in an examination hall but the examiner is none other than the Almighty Himself, who had created you and watching your performance all these time. The ustaz once taught us that one will know whether their Hajj ibadah (means obedience, submission and humility) is accepted by Allah while they are at the wukuf day (the day of Arafah), that is on 9th of Dzulhijjah. There will be a "karamah" transferred between the pilgrim and Allah that tells whether their delivery of 5th pillar of Islam has been accepted. Karamah literally means something precious, superior, nice and generosity given by the Almighty. As an Islamic term, it means “a supernatural event which happens through a believing righteous person”.
Due to that, we both were very nervous before we physically adjourned to Arafah/Muzdaliffah and Mina for the 6 day pilgrimage. It was a peak of hajj. We arrived early in Mecca, i.e. 27 days prior to Hajj period. We use that period to mentally and physically prepare for the big day to arrive. That was the reason, the silver lining why Allah has planned that we had to depart on 2nd August though I submitted an appeal to Tabung Haji for a later flight. At least after I finish my exams, that was my thought. We walked quite a lot in a day since our hotel is more than a kilometre (1 way) to Masjidil Haram. Due to a hot weather encountered in Saudi during 2017 Hajj period, we were advised to go to the mosque only twice a day. We make use of our times in Masjidil Haram by finding a spot where we can face the Holy Ka'bah at each of our prayers. I'm sharing below my prayers schedule and in between I was reading Al-Quran:-
Morning prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat Qiyam - 8 rakaat;
4. Solat Tahajud - 8 rakaat;
5. Solat rawatib (before subuh prayer) - 2 rakaat;
6. Subuh prayer - 2 rakaat;
7. Solat Tasbih - 4 rakaat, 1 salam;
8. Solat Hajat - 2 rakaat (followed with sujud syukur)
9. Solat Dhuha - 8 rakaat
Noon prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat rawatib - 4 rakaat, 2 salam
4. Solat Zuhur - 4 rakaat;
5. Solat rawatib - 2 rakaat.
Afternoon prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat rawatib - 4 rakaat, 2 salam;
4. Solat Asar - 4 rakaat
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
We had a beautiful experiences in the Masjidil Haram or the Great Mosque (remind myself to finish the entry that I prepared long ago at this beautiful mosque.. definitely after this entry!). Hubby had a last minute preparation before our departure. One of the book that he read was Travelog Haji by Professor Dr Mohd Kamil. He kept a target in his heart to only pray while facing Ka'bah and due to that we had our chance, 98% of the time either at the Ka'bah square and/or a little bit inside of the mosque. If not, we forced our way inside towards the 3rd floor tawaf area where we still can face the Holy Ka'bah from above. We encountered a lot of beautiful experiences such as meeting good people .One of those moment was meeting the most kindest person in the universe, who made effort to serve the pilgrims tea and supper. Below was the photo that I snapped when hubby joined the group for the first time.
Before I pen off, I wish to remind myself to update the next 2 entries, one is about the Great Mosque @ Masjidil Haram which to my eyes even more beautiful than the Taj Mahal and second entry is about the hajj ritual at glance. You may refer to below chart shared from AlJazeera news about steps that we, Muslim follows during our pilgrimage. Till then, peace + love + compassion from me, a normal person who has been given a lot of blessing from the Almighty, and she, most of the time wondering what did she do in this life to receive this blissful fate. He tested me and He granted hidayah to show me a way back to Him. Sweet words, gratefulness, good deeds and prays are not enough to pay for what He had granted to me thus far and many more to come. I have my whole life to serve and be obedience only to Him.
Many of you may have guessed about my long disappearance from this platform. Yes, I've been chosen to be His guest for 52 days pilgrimage in Mecca and I wasn't alone. My better half was with me. All praise to Allah, we have successfully surpassed all challenges during that period of time. As a Muslim, we felt that we have delivered the 5th pillar of Islam (Hajj pilgrimage is obligated to do once in a lifetime). The feelings were surreal, even until now.
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| If this is not love, I don't know what else do you call it... |
Hajj wasn't an easy task unlike any other task that I faced before in this life. That was what we wish to conclude and spread to all, hence everyone must by all mean take the ibadah seriously. Just imagine yourselves in an examination hall but the examiner is none other than the Almighty Himself, who had created you and watching your performance all these time. The ustaz once taught us that one will know whether their Hajj ibadah (means obedience, submission and humility) is accepted by Allah while they are at the wukuf day (the day of Arafah), that is on 9th of Dzulhijjah. There will be a "karamah" transferred between the pilgrim and Allah that tells whether their delivery of 5th pillar of Islam has been accepted. Karamah literally means something precious, superior, nice and generosity given by the Almighty. As an Islamic term, it means “a supernatural event which happens through a believing righteous person”.
 |
| Our morning routine at where we chose to stay foot. We arrived as early as 2.30am and only left after dhuha's praye at around 8.30am |
Due to that, we both were very nervous before we physically adjourned to Arafah/Muzdaliffah and Mina for the 6 day pilgrimage. It was a peak of hajj. We arrived early in Mecca, i.e. 27 days prior to Hajj period. We use that period to mentally and physically prepare for the big day to arrive. That was the reason, the silver lining why Allah has planned that we had to depart on 2nd August though I submitted an appeal to Tabung Haji for a later flight. At least after I finish my exams, that was my thought. We walked quite a lot in a day since our hotel is more than a kilometre (1 way) to Masjidil Haram. Due to a hot weather encountered in Saudi during 2017 Hajj period, we were advised to go to the mosque only twice a day. We make use of our times in Masjidil Haram by finding a spot where we can face the Holy Ka'bah at each of our prayers. I'm sharing below my prayers schedule and in between I was reading Al-Quran:-
Morning prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat Qiyam - 8 rakaat;
4. Solat Tahajud - 8 rakaat;
5. Solat rawatib (before subuh prayer) - 2 rakaat;
6. Subuh prayer - 2 rakaat;
7. Solat Tasbih - 4 rakaat, 1 salam;
8. Solat Hajat - 2 rakaat (followed with sujud syukur)
9. Solat Dhuha - 8 rakaat
Noon prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat rawatib - 4 rakaat, 2 salam
4. Solat Zuhur - 4 rakaat;
5. Solat rawatib - 2 rakaat.
Afternoon prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;
2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat rawatib - 4 rakaat, 2 salam;
4. Solat Asar - 4 rakaat
Dawn prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat Maghrib - 3 rakaat;
4. Solat rawatib - 2 rakaat.
Night prayers:
1. Tawaf sunat @ sunnatul masjid - 2 rakaat;2. Solat Taubat - 2 rakaat;
3. Solat rawatib - 4 rakaat, 2 salam;
4. Solat Isha' - 4 rakaat;
5. Solat rawatib - 4 rakaat, 2 salam;
6. Solat tasbih - 4 rakaat, 2 salam;
7. Solat Witir - 1 rakaat
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| What we brought to the mosque everyday. The sling bag that fit in whatever we need including an empty bottle to fill the zamzam water and some snacks in case we got hungry. |
We had a beautiful experiences in the Masjidil Haram or the Great Mosque (remind myself to finish the entry that I prepared long ago at this beautiful mosque.. definitely after this entry!). Hubby had a last minute preparation before our departure. One of the book that he read was Travelog Haji by Professor Dr Mohd Kamil. He kept a target in his heart to only pray while facing Ka'bah and due to that we had our chance, 98% of the time either at the Ka'bah square and/or a little bit inside of the mosque. If not, we forced our way inside towards the 3rd floor tawaf area where we still can face the Holy Ka'bah from above. We encountered a lot of beautiful experiences such as meeting good people .One of those moment was meeting the most kindest person in the universe, who made effort to serve the pilgrims tea and supper. Below was the photo that I snapped when hubby joined the group for the first time.
 |
| That kind man is from China. He welcomes everyone including the mosque cleaner for his free breakfast. |
Before I pen off, I wish to remind myself to update the next 2 entries, one is about the Great Mosque @ Masjidil Haram which to my eyes even more beautiful than the Taj Mahal and second entry is about the hajj ritual at glance. You may refer to below chart shared from AlJazeera news about steps that we, Muslim follows during our pilgrimage. Till then, peace + love + compassion from me, a normal person who has been given a lot of blessing from the Almighty, and she, most of the time wondering what did she do in this life to receive this blissful fate. He tested me and He granted hidayah to show me a way back to Him. Sweet words, gratefulness, good deeds and prays are not enough to pay for what He had granted to me thus far and many more to come. I have my whole life to serve and be obedience only to Him.
