Farewell Mekkah and Hello UK!

Asalam waliykum Sisters,

Alhamdulillah I am back in the UK and have had a few days of rest. I hope you are all well, in the best of health and iman inshallah. I would just like to mention that all the sisters who contacted me with Duas, they safely reached Mecca and Medina, may Allah accept them from me and may they be answered, ameen.

People like to describe the trip I took as a "Holiday". That can not be further from the truth. The journey I took was one of struggle and hardships and in itself a big test. Inshallah I passed the test and my umrah is accepted. Which is not what people would usually describe as a holiday. To me and most I know a holiday is about relaxing, resting, sleeping, eating and doing little else. My trip was not anything like that at all!

I hope to do a few posts on my travels while in Saudi arabia and what I got up to. I think its especially important to share what I have learnt and experienced with my sisters. One thing I can say straight away is when you go for hajj/umra, have no expectations at all... I mean none, zero, nada! Go there like an open book, with an open mind.

Secondly, in order to have a successful trip apart from knowing what rights you must perform, it is paramount you have SABR! I can not stress this enough. Without this, there is no point in going. Many think they will gain sabr from the trip, and if you think this way you are sure to fail. You must prepare before you leave and try to learn to have patience. While you are there, you need to implement this sabr you already have and it will be pushed to the limits, trust me. Two pieces of advice which are needed in order to succeed in your journey inshallah.

I have been asked lots since I been back, "So what was it like in the harram, seeing the Ka'aba". To be honest what I will say will not even begin to describe what it was like. The only thing I can say is that I felt like I was on another planet or something, that I was no longer on earth. When I first looked up at the Ka'aba it was a sight that I had never seen before, something you can not comprehend. Like most who see the Ka'aba for the first time, I was filled with emotion, sadness, happiness and tears I could not explain it. The closest thing that I can say which describes it, it is like when you meet a loved one you miss dearly and you have not seen in years.

The fact that we are all made of energy when you break us down to our basics, atoms are made of energy. In saying that you can feel such "Positive" energy in the Masjid harram, no negativity (not the people, but the atmosphere). It was truly a spiritual place, and while there all thoughts of dunya and things that are insignificant vacated my mind. All I could think of was Me and Allah, which reminds me of the event I went to a few months back, "Me, Myself and Allah". That's what it boils down to, what is the state of my relationship with Allah.

I am glad I went for 3 weeks, I spent 12days in Mekkah and exploring the area. Praying all the prayers I could in masjid Harram. Alhamdulillah I was fortunate enough to visit Medina for a couple nights and the remainder of my time I spent in Jeddah with my husbands family. A chance to experience Saudi life, a very different culture to my own and i got a chance to meet lots of different people. I am very grateful for having that opportunity, Alhamdulillah.  

In the up and coming posts inshallah I hope to post my photos of each place I visited, and inshallah do a post on tips and tricks; how to survive in Saudi Arabia. Some people may laugh at this but I have heard a lot of horror stories and I think its important as your sister in Islam to share this information with you so you can go a bit more prepared then I was.

Jazakallah khier for reading, please comment and do not forget to share :D

Wasalam -x-