Labbaikallah humma labbaik..... Madinah Part 2

Masjid Nabawi at night - illuminating, mesmerising and hauntingly welcoming...

 What else do I remember about Madinah? Just the cleanliness, calmness and very organised. The mosque closed at 11pm and reopened at 3am. Once we thought we'd go early and reached the gates at 2:30am. There were already pilgrims waiting at the door steps. They allocated different doors for men and women. Different exits for men and women. Most of the time I was with my room mates or on my own. Here, I didn't depend on Noor and vice versa.

I found doing simple deeds satisfying and gratifying as well as so humbling. I always chose to sit with the Turkish because they had left quite an impression upon me when they helped me to enter raudhah. Sometimes, as I sat among them, they would put biscuits into my hands and insisted I took them. We could not communicate in languages but in smiles and gestures. Actions speak louder than words. When I was reading the Quran, this Turkish lady pat me on the arm. She showed me the page I was reading and pointed her fingers to her mouth. I assumed she wanted me to read out loud. After I finished the page, she patted me on the arm again to stop me. Then she pointed to herself and her mouth. It was her turn to read. After that, we both smiled happily. Simple, humbling and oh...so satisfying. An easy feeling of companionship and a sense of togetherness brought us together from different nations of the world. Islam. Allah. Mohamad. SubhanAllah

Another  incident was the Quran. Allah sent his messages in startling ways. Just nudges as reminders. I went for my Haj without taking my handphone or camera with me. I went for Allah and I refused any distractions. Since our arrival, only Noor communicated and called home or the boys. I pushed them out of my mind. On the third day, I was reading the Quran and the three faces of the boys kept appearing in my Quran. So clear and defined. I was so shocked and suddenly remembered them. Allah's way of reminding me that I still had my obligations on this earth besides towards Him. My tears rolled in silent remorse. Omayah asked what was wrong. I showed the Quran but she saw nothing. When we went back to the hotel I asked Noor for the telephone card and called home. The boys had been waiting for my call. Even though their father had called them, they wanted to hear from me. I apologised and told them that I would not call often but they would always be on my mind. MasyAllah. Lembutnya cara Engkau menegur hambaMu yang lalai ini.

Soon, it was time to leave Madinah for Mekah. The bus ride would take 4 hours due to the checkpoint. I slept most of the way. Thus I felt that it was only 2 hours. I was looking forward to enter Mekah and be Allah's guest. Layanan sungguh istimewa sebaik sampai ke toll hendak memasuki Mekah. Makanan, air zam-zam dan buah-buahan menyambut kami dari toll lagi. When we reached the gates of Mekah we saw the notice - "Non-muslims up to this point only".