Part 2: Ziyaarat of out Nabi (P.B.U.H)

Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Rasulullah

(sallallahu alayhi wasallam)

said: "My Shafa'at (intercession on the Day of Qiyaamah) is Waajib (on me) for the one who visits my grave."

(Right: Door to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) Resting place)

One morning after Fajr prayers we waited for the doors to the Ziyaarat area to open, and much to my delight, the ladies were actually being grouped according to where they came from. The Lady Shurta were holding up boards of different countries so you could easy join the appropriate group. I thought this is good, maybe we won't get squeezed in the Rawda this time round.

Once organized and the doors opened we went in one group at a time towards the old mosque which was built joining the house that hazrat Fatima Radiallahu anhuma lived in, this is also the same place where Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (Father of Hazrat Aisha Radiallhu Anhuma) and Hazrat Omar al Farooq (The 2nd Caliph) are buried.

We entered the doors of the old mosque and with just the side of the raudha showing we sat down again waiting for the other groups that were inside to finish their ziyaarat and come out. While waiting we read some nafl salaah, and as many Salaam as we could while we waited.

We inched slowly forward as groups came out, coming ever closer to the raudha, constantly reciting the Salaams and duaas (to Allah SWT).

Finally our group was taken inside, but it was already packed with people we were not even in front of the raudha yet, just then another group entered into the already packed space, and pushed with all their might, making some ladies fall down while others were squashed. It appeared that the Turkish group had not waited for us to finish and came rushing and PUSHING in!!! what's worse is that they don't care who's infront of them they just PUSH!

I was squashed between a fat Turkish lady and another thin lady in front, and for a few seconds I could not breathe, I had to push myself sideways through the crowd and away from the raudha in order to breath again. I stood a distance away from the Raudha, not being able to see it properly, but read my Salaam, wanting to read my Nafl Salaah on the Green carpet which is said to be a piece of Jannah on the earth, but there was no space. Ladies were doing their sajidas on the backs or between the feet on the ladies in front, because there was just no space!

Luckily i found a corner that i went and stood in and the kind, big,Egyptian lady who was next to me gave me enough space to read my two Nafl. She spotected me so no-one fell on me. May Allah Bless her with all thats good, she really made me very happy that although there are people that will harm you there are always people that will protect you also. Just as i finished my Duaa, the lady shurta came and began to tell me to go out if I had finished. i then left the area and entered into another section of the mosque that had a few people in it. I sat there for a while reading more salaam and a few more rakaats of nafl Salah, and then walked back towards the ladies area, and back to the hotel till zohr Salaah.

Below is a picture of Jannatul Baqi (the graveyard adjacent to Masjid al Nabwi)

This cemetery contains many of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam)'s relatives and companions. Its name means "The Garden of Heaven". Many traditions relate Muhammad issuing a prayer every time he passed the cemetery. Prior to the twentieth century, many of the graves were covered with domes or other structures.

After the city of Medina was taken by King Ibn Saud, many of these tombs, originally intended to identify famous companions of Muhammad, were destroyed in 1925 in order to prevent people from visiting them in order to seek a means of approach to Allāh (a request for blessings, in this world or for intercessions in the hereafter). This, (tawassul), along with reading chapters from Islam's holy book, The Qur'an, is considered by some as being Shirk, the sin of idolatry. Namely the governors of two, of the three, of Islam's holy places consider these kinds of visits as Shirk, and therefore it should be eradicated in all forms. This is the reason why there exists a threat to the House where the Prophet of Islam was born, and other such places that some consider sacred.^{[citation needed]}

Taken from here

Trip to Makkah Coming soon Inshallah ....

Part 1: The trip to Madinah, the Prophet Muhammah, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam's city

Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,



Firstly I must apologize for taking so long to do this post. There have been many many things going on with work that have not allowed me enough time to publish this post.

Today I will just be talking of the first part of my trip to Madinah, yet i fear my words cannot do justice with the feeling of being there,but i shall try my best to describe them and imagining myself as being there with Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.

Our arrival at Madinah was just after the Asar Salaah, The weather was absolutely wonderful being overcast and cloudy, reducing some of the heat (up to 48 degrees) that had been the norm for the days prior to our arrival. It was as if Allah (SWT) was gently allowing us to acclimatize to the heat, as it was end of winter when we left home, with temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius, it was almost a thirty degree difference.

We rested for a while then headed off to the Masjid-e-Nabvi for Magrib prayers. The mosque was already full of people when we arrived, but Alhamdo Lillah we found a good place right at the front of the ladies section, and then iftaari time came closer young girls began to spread out long lines of plastics on which they were going to serve dates, yoghurt (laban), water, two varieties of large breads, Dugga, and wonderful smelling Kahwa .... it was Such a wonderful feeling being there at that moment in time. Just then the chandeliers above us lit up and it felt like we were in some castle at a great banquet, it was simply wonderful.

The sad things is i couldn't take pics because they didn't allow me to take my phone in as it had a camera, and apparently (in the ladies section) they don't allow it.
Yet there were ladies who had brought it in, and i was wondering how they managed? Anyhow, i still enjoyed every bit of it.
We read Quraan Until Magrib. As the Azaan was given everyone started eating Iftaari, 10 minutes later the plastics on which the food was served were quickly rolled up and all the disposable plates thrown away in large refuse bags, and the whole place was clean in a matter of minutes, then we all prayed magrib, after which some people left and some stayed till Esha time.

We read Quraan again till esha time, and there were days like our first day there that the Imaam would get so emotional reading some parts of the Quraan, that his voice would quiver, and it was as if he was speaking to Allah (SWT) Subhanallah it was so moving,touching, once you understand what was being read. This really inspired me to learn Arabic, so that i can also understand. I do understand words here and there, but sometimes it's not enough to understand an entire passage.

After Taraweeh we'd go and have dinner, which was usually Schwarma (YUMMMM) and once we were invited by a very nice family staying in Madinah who insisted many days that we have dinner with them, and one night we agreed. I'm glad that we did, the food was great :)

After dinner we'd sleep for about an hour and it would be time for Tahajjud, after which we'd do sehri, read Fajr in the mosque, and come back to the hotel room if we didn't go to the Raodha Mubarak.

This was our routine for the next six days, and Mashallah what lovely six days they were indeed. There is a lot more that is embedded in my memory, and inshallah as I remember it I will post it.

The Visit to the Raudha (Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) burial place.... & Jummah Salaah To be Continued soon Inshallah