first time

"Mak nak bawak Wafi tengok Kaabah before fly pergi UK"

;)

And so my mum, my opah and I went for Umrah.

Dan atas saranan aisyah ismail dan ammar roslizar (sikit je), I present to you for the first time on my blog, a diary style post!

I also put the date on top of each entry because this post is quite long, so you might want to rest or get some snacks between the diary entries...

I dedicate this post especially to you, dear readers.

Day 1, 19th June 09

This day revolved around my stroll around KLIA while waiting for the flight - from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah through Abu Dhabi via Etihad Airways.

And so I received a lot of sms from my friends on that day. You might not know this but I was indeed happy when I got those text messages. And Nazam did call earlier on that day and Aizat Zahari did too a few days ago when they found out that I'll be going for umrah. I'm not sure why but I was surely elated to get those phone calls =)

At KLIA, I actually wandered around the place and I began to envisage the day that I will fly - Where will I be hovering around? Who will attend? Who will fly first? Am I going to be able to send my friends while I'm around in Malaysia?

Then, I decided to stop thinking about it and began to focus on this momentous trip.

Then, the time finally comes for me to check in and Irfan (my brother, the youngest) actually said "Eh, mane abang wafi nak pergi?". Haha, he didn't realize that I'll be going too. He's so jealous to know that I'll be travelling with my mum.

And before I board the plane and switch off my phone, I did send my last sms in Malaysia to the one person. Yeah, there're only a few more months before we're separated by the sea and mountains. (yeke mountains? entahla...) Different countries pulak tu! =(

The seating positions for me and my mum were quite afar. So, I ended up seating next to a Pakistani. And we did have a good conversation.

"Where are you flying to?"

"I'm flying to Makkah and Madinah for umrah"

"Umrah?! Masya Allah, you'll satisfy yourself"

And I was all smiles.

Day 2, 20th June 09

And then, we arrived at Jeddah airport at dawn and I got goosebumps.

We boarded the bus and our destination was Madinah. The journey took about 6 hours. Finally, we reached Madinah al-Munawwarah and checked in at the hotel.

It was Zuhur (around 12 pm) and for the first time, I'm going to Masjid Nabawi. I know that Masjid Nabawi has a green dome but I couldn't find it when I arrived.

The plan was to go to Raudhah first and then, go to Makam Rasulullah after prayer. And so, I didn't really know where Raudhah was but I know the carpet is light green in colour, the rest of the carpet in Masjid Nabawi is dark red. It's at the front and on the left side of Masjid Nabawi if you entered from the back (that is if you're facing the kiblat).

And then, I saw lots of people going to a certain place in a line and I decided to join them. I was in the line, walking slowly until I realized that Makam Rasulullah was actually on my left...exactly on my left. I was startled because I didn't know that this was the place and immediately delivered my salam because there were many people behind me. Right after that, I delivered my salam to Abu Bakar As-Siddiq and Umar Al-Khattab and then I found out I was out of Masjid Nabawi.

Azan pun berkumandang dan saya berazam untuk pergi ke Makam Rasulullah lagi...

Right after Zuhur, I got up and followed the crowd to go to Makam Rasulullah. And eventually, I found myself in a spot where there were a lot of people and I looked at the carpet - Light green! Raudhah!

Masya Allah! Allah benar-benar nak beri peluang kepada saya. Memang ramai orang di situ dan alhamdulillah, saya dapat menunaikan solat hajat di Raudhah. Entah mengapa, tiba-tiba menjadi sebak ketika berada di situ - mungkin terharu dan mungkin terlalu gembira.

After that, I decided to go to Makam Rasulullah once again. As I approach Makam Rasulullah, my heart was beating so fast, it was like riding a roller coaster (nope, definitely at a higher intensity). And this time, I managed to deliver my salam in a calmer way but I just can't deny that I was engulfed by my guilt yet I was so thankful that I was here.

Day 3, 21st June 09

This is the day where we went for ziarah around Madinah.

Masjid Quba'

Masjid Quba' merupakan masjid pertama yang dibina oleh Rasulullah dan para sahabat di Madinah dalam perjalanan hijrah dari Makkah. Rasulullah bersabda:

"Barangsiapa telah bersuci (berwudhu) di rumahnya, kemudian mendatangi Masjid Quba' lalu solat di dalamnya dua rakaat, maka baginya sama pahala dengan umrah."
(Sunan Ibn Majah, no. 1412)

Pasar Kurma

I actually laughed when the Ustaz who accompanied us said, "Ini dia pasar kurma. Boleh makan kurma banyak-banyak. Makan-makan sampai kenyang. Kemudian, minum teh di belakang."

Jabal Uhud dan Masjid Sayyid al-Syuhada

Rasulullah bersabda:
"Sesiapa yang mendirikan sembahyang jenazah, maka dia mendapatkan satu qirat (qirat adalah kinayah bagi ganjaran pahala yang sangat banyak). Jika dia menghadiri pengebumiannya maka dia mendapat dua qirat. Satu qirat adalah sama dengan bukit Uhud."
(Sahih Muslim, no. 1575)

Inilah rupa-rupanya Bukit Uhud yang sering didengar dalam sejarah Islam. Dan di Masjid Nabawi serta di Masjidil Haram, boleh dikatakan setiap kali selepas solat fardhu pasti akan diikuti oleh solat jenazah.

Jabal Rumat (Bukit al-Ainain)

Tempat ini dekat dengan Jabal Uhud. Kisahnya semasa Perang Uhud, Rasulullah mengarahkan 50 orang pemanah untuk berada di atas bukit itu dan baginda berkata, "Lindungilah pasukan kuda, jangan sampai mereka menembus masuk ke kita, dan tetaplah di tempatmu, kalah atau menang, jangan sampai mereka masuk di belakangmu."

Namun, apabila kemenangan kelihatan seperti berada di tangan kaum muslimin, para pemanah berteriak "Rampasan" dan mereka turun dari bukit itu (mereka terlupa akan pesanan Rasulullah). Kaum musyrikin melihat ada celah kosong dan mereka pun pusing ke arah belakang bukit dan mengepung kaum muslimin. Banyak sahabat yang gugur syahid dan termasuklah Saidina Hamzah Asadullah dan mendapat gelaran Sayyid al-Syuhada (Pemimpin para syuhada).

When I hear about Saidina Hamzah and the archers, suddenly my mind began to envision Nottingham =)

Kemudian, kami pergi ke kawasan Bukit Magnet.

This place is interesting because while we're in the bus and the engine is running, the bus actually accelerates on its own. It was moving really fast too, way faster than the speeding limit in Malaysia. Our last stop was the factory that produces Al-Quran, it was the largest if I'm not mistaken and I got a free Al-Quran at the end of the tour around the factory.

Day 4, 22nd June 09

Well, today was free from activity and so, I decided to take some pictures of the interior of Masjid Nabawi.




Actually, they don't really allow cameras to be brought into Masjid Nabawi, so you have to be sneaky.

Raudhah

"Antara rumahku dan mimbarku adalah taman (raudhah) dari taman-taman syurga."
(Sahih Bukhari, no. 1888)

And I managed to go to Raudhah and Makam Rasulullah for numerous times and it happens after I prayed or wished (berniat dalam hati) for it. Alhamdulillah.

Well, for me, I usually visit Makam Rasulullah before prayer and go to Raudhah after prayer as during this time the place is less crowded. Just some tips for fellow readers.

And truly, hati memang dapat merasakan ketenangan apabila berada di Raudhah...

Day 5, 23rd June 09

Akhirnya, dapat juga saya tangkap gambar kubah hijau yang sering dilihat dalam gambar setelah payung-payung automatik itu tutup selepas waktu Subuh (Subuh is around 3.30 - 4.00 am).

Masjid Nabawi

If you look at the picture closely, there are green circles on the wall with names written on them. The first one that I saw was Abu Hurairah (and the thought of lots of cats appeared on my mind). And then I saw Abu Bakar, Uthman and Ali. There were more of course.

"Oh, nama-nama best friend Rasulullah rupanya."

Sadly, it was the last day in Madinah and I do have to say, "Rasa macam sekejap je, kan best kalau ada kawan yang duduk kat Madinah...boleh duduk lama-lama sikit, dapat ziarah lagi banyak tempat."

And after Zuhur, I put on my kain ihram and my mum kept taking pictures of me.


Baru hari tu mengalami monolog dalaman, "Siapa la nak tangkap gambar Wafi kat sini?"...

Because usually (more like everytime), my camera would be in another person's hand and by the end of the day, there would be lots of pictures in it. Now, I know that my mum likes to take pictures of me.

1st, Niat di miqat.
Dan kami pun berangkat ke tempat miqat iaitu di Bir Ali (Dzulhulaifah)

And we began our journey in our air-conditioned bus from Madinah to Makkah.

Dan bacaan talbiah mula dilaungkan. Bacaan talbiah yang sering saya dengar di televisyen sewaktu musim haji...yang saya nyanyikan sewaktu kecil tetapi tak tahu maksudnya.

"Hamba-Mu datang menyahut panggilan-Mu Ya Allah, hamba-Mu datang menyahut panggilan-Mu;
Hamba-Mu datang menyahut panggilan-Mu Tuhan yang tidak ada sekutu bagi-Mu, hamba-Mu datang menyahut panggilan-Mu;
Sesungguhnya segala pujian dan ni'kmat serta kerajaan adalah kepunyaan-Mu, tidak ada sekutu bagi-Mu."

We arrived in Makkah and it was already dark outside so, I couldn't see much. Around 9 pm, we checked in at the hotel. After dinner, it was my first time to go to Masjidil Haram.

There are 95 gates (doors) of Masjidil Haram and we entered through Gate No. 1.

And I saw Kaabah for the first time!

I had goosebumps and not to forget, adrenaline rush. (Goosebumps and adrenaline rushes occur so frequently during this whole trip in Makkah and Madinah)

Simply undefined...

2nd, Tawaf

Dan tawaf buat pertama kali memang sangat bermakna.

I kept reminding myself that I'm doing it for Allah and I felt so blessed.

Disunatkan bagi lelaki untuk tawaf dalam keadaan idtiba' (ittiba'). Ustaz juga menceritakan Rasulullah dahulu melakukan tawaf dalam keadaan berikut untuk menunjukkan kekuatan umat Islam.

3rd, Sa'ie

I just learned that Safa and Marwah is very close to Kaabah and of course, the story of Siti Hajar flashed inside my mind...

4th, Tahallul

And this is a part of the doa,

"...maka jadikanlah tiap-tiap sehelai rambut itu cahaya bagiku pada hari kiamat dan ampunkanlah dosaku..."

And I shaved my head (well, the barber actually). It's been a while since I looked like this, the last time was in Standard 6. My mum said, "Macam Irfan!"...

5th, Tertib

I exploded with joy. Umrah telah selesai...

(Rasa macam nak sms je orang-orang kat Malaysia)

Day 6, 24th June 09

It was a whole new day and I had a stroll around the streets of Makkah with my mum. I really did enjoy it because the last time I had a walk with my mum was during the Liverpool interview. I was smiling the whole time...

We had doughnuts at the House of Donuts (the stores are everywhere, there's one on each floor in this one supermarket). It's sort of like Big Apple in Malaysia but they only have 3 types of donuts.

And I love the pigeons that were flying all around us...

Then, after Asar (around 3.30 pm), it was time for a visit to Ladang Unta, Hudaibiyah and Muzium (I'm not sure about the name).

Ladang Unta

I drank camel's milk for the first time. Fresh!

Masjid di Hudaibiyah

Di Hudaibiyah

Dan kisah tentang Perjanjian Hudaibiyah diceritakan oleh Ustaz.

And now we move on to the museum.





My mum called it "Lawatan muzium terpantas di dunia" because we had to move quickly during the tour as the museum authorities kept asking us to move on to the next section.

Day 7, 25th June 09

It's a great new day and my mum asked me to have a walk with her again =)

But before that, we went to Hijir Ismail for solat sunat.

Diriwayatkan oleh Abu Daud dari Aisyah r.a. yang bermaksud, Dari Aisyah r.a. katanya;

"Aku sangat ingin memasuki Kaabah untuk melakukan solat di dalamnya lalu Rasulullah memegang tanganku dan memasukkan aku ke dalam Hijir Ismail sambil berkata "Solatlah kamu di Hijir jika kamu ingin masuk ke dalam Kaabah kerana kaum engkau (orang Quraisy) telah meninggalkan bahagian ini di luar semasa mereka membina semula Kaabah"."

Hijir Ismail is a part of Kaabah.

Right after that, we went to Multazam...

Rasulullah SAW bersabda,

"Antara Rukun Hajar Aswad dan Pintu Ka'bah, yang disebut Multazam. Tidak seorangpun hamba Allah yang berdoa di tempat ini tanpa terkabul permintaannya."

And I keep on praying while I have the chance. And my eyes began to water...

"Mata ini begitu mudah untuk menangis bila berada di tanah suci"

Day 8, 26th June 09

It was Friday.

Memang ramai orang datang ke Masjidil Haram. You have to arrive really early for Solat Jumaat.

Later that evening, my mum told me a really good news. Alhamdulillah. Doa dimakbulkan Allah. Sebenarnya, memang banyak doa yang dimakbulkan Allah sepanjang masa di sini. Yelah, lebih-lebih lagi di tanah suci ni.

Lepas solat Maghrib (Maghrib is around 7 pm), beberapa Pak Arab datang dan duduk dekat dengan saya. Rupa-rupanya, mereka ada temu janji dengan Pak Arab yang duduk tepi saya.

So, I decided to get up and let them have some space when one of them asked me to join them. So, I just sit with them and they took out some bread and tea. Haha, so sweet. They're having a small picnic. I was thinking of telling my mum later, "Mak, tadi Wafi minum teh dengan orang Arab" but I decided not to because it seemed childish.

Well, sitting with them made me realized that I need to master Arabic because they didn't use English at all. And they were conversing in Arabic and I was like smiling all the time which I finally found out that 2 of them are from Bangladesh and one of them was from Afghanistan. Haha, ingatkan Arab. But still, they were very nice and the tea in Makkah and Madinah...delish!

Oh, one thing that I realized - the streets of Makkah are often occupied by beggars and some of them are handicapped. Whenever I see them, the image of Zaita from Lorong Midaq (Midaq Alley) appeared on my mind.

Harap-harap takdela orang macam tu...

Day 9, 27th June 09

This is the day where we went for a visit around Makkah. Most of the time, we had a bus tour meaning we didn't get out from the bus.

But we're allowed to go out at Arafah.

Jabal Rahmah (Bukit Kasih Sayang), Arafah

Struktur berwarna putih itu menandakan pertemuan Adam dan Hawa setelah mereka diturunkan dari syurga. Ustaz juga cakap yang orang selalu datang ke sini untuk berdoa agar dapat menemui jodoh.

And my mum kept reminding me to pray for that too. "Yelah mak, dah selalu doakan pon" (inner monologue). I wondered how she would react if I told her that at least 5 of my friends (lelaki la) are already engaged. Hurm...

When we got back to the hotel, we had a stroll again. Best betol...

Day 10, 28th June 09

Tomorrow's the last day...oh, sedihnya...

And I decided to take pictures around Makkah. There were so many pigeons too. I actually walk through the pigeons that were on the ground and let them fly all around me...you know, like when you see a host from a travelling TV programme who's trying to promote a place. It felt great actually.





Honestly, during my trip, I actually miss my friends.

"Kan best kalau dapat pergi dengan kawan"

Tapi Kaabah dah dekat depan mata...apa lagi?

So, I keep on praying...and praying...

I was also alone most of the time.

Yelah, bila dalam masjid, tempat solat lain dengan mak dan opah.

But thankfully, I know that Allah is always with me. And when I remember that, the feeling was so great - really inspired me and gave me the strength to carry on.

And for dinner, we had Mandi (an Arabic delicacy)...

Day 11, 29th June 09

Last day in Makkah =(

That morning, I prayed that I would have another chance to go to Multazam. And alhamdulillah, Allah gave me that chance again.

"...Maka hadapkanlah wajahmu ke arah Masjidilharam..."
(Al-Baqarah (2):144)

Actually, whenever I looked at Kaabah, the feeling is just surreal. Quite hard to describe the feeling but indeed, I'm grateful ;)

And most of the time, I would just stare at Kaabah and thank Allah for everything...

At about 10 am, it's time to board the bus and leave Makkah.

I flew home via the same connecting flight. I reached Abu Dhabi at about 9 pm and during the next 6 hours, I went for a walk with my mum around the airport and also surfed once I found out they have free internet - surfing through one blog after another. So, if you have Feedjit Live Traffic Feed and see the word Dubai, that's me!

The next flight was at about 3 am and it's a 7 hour flight O.o

Day 12, 30th June 09

It was about 2 pm and I was back in Malaysia.

And guess what? I bumped into Syakirah Zabidi (BWP from MRSM TGB). We were actually in the same plane and I only found out about this when we're at KLIA. I just messaged her the other day telling that I'm off for umrah. Then, I met Hafiz Yusof at the luggage section. It's been a while... :(

-END-

Well, that's it. It sure took me a long time to write this blog post.

Tiba-tiba rasa rindu pula...macam nak pergi balik.


Insya-Allah, Adlan Wafi...one day...