Flash back to Mekkah

Asalam waliykum,

Flash back to a wonderful month in Saudia Arabia. Subhanallah this time last year I was in Mecca, praying in the Masjid Harram day and night. Above was my first night in Masjid Harram after completing Umrah. Click HERE to read and see more of my trip and also HERE. 

This was after Taraweeh, everyone was exiting the Masjid and heading back to their hotels or to go eat. When I look at this photo it is as if I am there again. Truly miss the place there is no place on earth like Mecca. Regardless of the political and social issues, this is a special spiritual place.

The ugly eye soar that is the Clock tower. You can see this when approaching Mecca from 10 km away, horrible looking towering over the Harram. Filled with American based shops and VIP hotel suites of the likes of Hilton. Really defeats the purpose of visiting this spiritual and sacred land. To get back to the basics, to be humble and try gain piety. I strongly believe this should be removed and plain, simple, humble clean accommodation is built in its place. No VIP, no special treatment. Everyone treated fairly. All you need is a clean bed, a shower, and basic Air con. Thats it. You don't need a TV and a leather sofa and views over the kaba. Subhanallah, the meaning of Umrah and Hajj has been lost and hijacked by American companies, only wanting to turn mecca into Las Vegas for Muslims. 

Cute cat hanging out with us after Salaht ul-fajr. Just came near to us and sat chilling watching the world go by. He refused my food because in the Harram animals are spoiled and given food, because you get rewarded for feeding the animals. Even the pigeons are well fed and looked after, something you would not see in London. 

Beautiful sight, the kaba is such a statement building and has an energy emitting from it you can only feel from being there. Not so beautiful, the ugly clock tower. You can see what I mean when I say it is an eye soar. While making tawaf you see this looming over you, both distracting and disturbing. During the last 10 nights the top of the clock tower has a beam emitting from it into the sky supposedly pointing to the moon, and on the last night many beams of light are aimed into space. Pretty, but distracting and not the right place. 

I took shelter under the cover near the kaba, making dua and watching the people make tawaf. The kaba is so mesmerising you can spend hours sitting and staring at it and not feel the time go by.  Also there is a blessing in looking at the Kaba. 

In the midday sun, the heat was unbearable even in the shade next to a fan. While making tawaf imagine the reward you are getting for having sabr with the elements and committing yourself to fulfilling the rights of umrah. Takes a lot of will power and dedication. 

I would say that you can't go to Saudia Arabia unprepared. There are so many tests, one being controlling your anger and emotions. You need to prepare before you leave. Some think they will go and come back saints. This is the wrong way to think. If anything Mecca is the biggest test of your sabr and if you have not trained yourself you will fail even before you get out the airport, let alone while in the Masjid Harram. 

Looking at this photo, I remember making tawaf and having women punch me in the head, having people push me away from my husband, I remember men touching me. All tests for me, that inside I wanted to react back and shout at them, tell the men to back off and leave me alone. You can't do that though. And if you have trained yourself before you arrive you will be able to hold your tongue and your fist. Unfortunately very few pilgrims master this before arriving and you often see horrific scenes in the Masjid and outside. I have forgiven those who have hurt me, and I hope Allah forgives them to. 

This is the last photo I took of the Kaba, when I completed Tawaf Al-wida/ farewell tawaf. I headed up to the 1st floor and looked down over the swirling crowd forming around the kaba. 

If you look carefully near the bottom left of the photo you can see some people dressed in Teal, they are the cleaners, they corner off a section and clean, then move on and they do this all night. May Allah reward them. Although, some would think little of them, they have one of the best jobs in the Harram, maintaining it and keeping it clean and safe for pilgrims and worshipers, mashallah. 

Leaving was extremely sad, once you completed farewell Tawaf you must leave and not return. So we prolonged our stay and left the final tawaf until midnight. In Sha Allah I get to see it again, next time for Hajj. 

During the morning we went on a tour of the area surrounding Mecca, We went to Minna and the Jamarat where the hajj pilgrims stone the 3 pillars, and then Mount Al-Rahmah. The mountain of mercy, where the pilgrims stand on for the day of Arafat. When we went it was empty, Alhamdulillah.

Ascending the mountain to the top of Al Rahma. Beautiful, serene and peaceful, the first time I felt a cool breeze while in Mecca, Mashallah. Unfortunately, the area was messy, people left trash and graffitied the rocks. Beautiful views across mecca, perfect timing as the sun started to set. 

This Mountain is at the edge of Arafat. It is believed that this is where Adam and Eve were re-united on earth. However, the Prophet SAW visited this place only once in his life and Saheeh hadith state he SAW and the righteous sahaba never climbed the mountain, and on the day of Arafat only stood at the base near the rocks. So by saying this, when we visit for Hajj we should not climb the mountain and Graffiti it like you see here, above. We should follow the sunnah and stay at the base and make dua there. While descending I heard a mature lady say "I want to put my name on the rocks". They think they will get baraka by graffiting the area, Authobillahi. Made me angry, but people are ignorant and their leaders, imams and scholars are not educating them so many are to blame for their ignorance. Some of the things that were on the pillar were not appropriate, such as hearts with lovers names in it etc. Really what such ignorance. They really should seal the whole mountain so no one can ascend it and vandalise it anymore. 

The last place I visited, was Mount Hira or Cave Hira. This is as close as I got. We wanted to climb up to the cave but was told it takes 1 hour and 30 mins to climb and Maghrib was quickly approaching. But In Sha Allah I would like to next time and plan time to go, again the cave and the rocks at the top are vandalised by ignorant individuals who think they will gain baraka from writing silly things.
I look at this in awe, that the Prophet (SAW) climbed this, that his wife Khadejah frequently climbed this to take food to him. Subhanallah, what a strong woman she was (RA). It is a good 15 mins from the Masjid Haram by car, so imagine walking to and from this in the blazing heat, subhanallah. I can only describe the heat in Saudia Arabia as dry, and the breeze is like that of when opening a fan assisted oven. a very difficult climate to adjust to and live in. 

These are all the photos from Mecca and my time there. In Sha Allah the next post will be about my time in Medina, where I spent Eid. So keep your eyes peeled for that, should be up in the next few days.

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did and seeing my photos, looking back at that journey brings back so many emotions and makes me miss that place so much. I hope the photos only give you another perspective on this beautiful place. Nothing beats being there though, and photos really do not do it any justice. 

Jazakallah khier, I hope we can all go visit soon, and Allah invites us to visit his house again, Ameen. 

Wasalam -x-