Makkah Stories – Part 3: Andai Ku Tahu….

The call for this special solat would come almost immediately after any one of the five compulsory daily prayers. As I stood in line with the rest of the jemaahs, I just couldn’t help but wonder who it was out there, laying motionless, unable to respond to the world around him. Yes, I am referring to solat jenazah which is performed after solat waktu in Masjidil Haram.

With the hundreds of thousands present in the Holy City, death is imminent. It was every where – the sick, the healthy, young or old, age does not matter. When your time is up, that’s it. Others bid their farewell to you and hopefully you’ll be missed and remembered.

It was Mom who taught us to perform solat jenazah. She guided me at my first umrah and during this trip, Farah was under her tutelage. Mom said pahala banyak if we did the solat jenazah for the dead and it is an ibadah that we should at any time try to do.

As I concluded the solat, these thoughts kept coming to me. What if the dead was one of us? It could be me, could be Farah, could also be dear Mom and it could also be all there of us. Tears would well up in my eyes, as I visualize the grief of my family when receiving the news. I pray to Allah, to have mercy on us, to allow us still breathe his air and am able to worship Him still. Ya Allah, panjangkan usia kami agar masih kami dapat menghambakan diri pada Mu.

Although this trip did not pose much alarm on our health, I didn’t want to take any risks. One day Farah came home from solat and complained that her throat hurt so bad. I started her on antibiotics, just as our family doctor advised before we left. There were also times when Mom looked exhausted. Immediately, I had to change our ibadah plans – reducing the strenuous ones, only concentrating on the main solats.

When I was a little girl, I used to listen to my Grandmother’s Haj stories. Of the many she told us, I’d always remember the ones about those who died on board their kapal haji during the journey to the Holyland. With her distinct sound effect she’d describe how the body was let out to sea. “Bushhh…. bunyi eh bilo mayat orang meningga tu, dilopeh eh kek dalam laut, ” and I’d gasp for breath in suspense every time the story was told.

If listening to stories was enough to freak me out, this other incident remains fresh in my thoughts still. It happened during my Haj in 2005. We were on our way from Arafah to Mina. Although the distance between the two places was not far, the movement of the millions that night dragged our travel time, resulting stress amongst the jemaahs in the bus. One pak cik who was seated two seats in front of us, suddenly fell ill and started to have breathing difficulties. Most of us panicked when we heard the wife screaming during the otherwise calm and still journey. I didn’t think the pak cik was going to make it. Alhamdullilah, he recovered and made it back to Mina and later to Makkah to complete his Haj.

All these that I had witnessed and heard are my reminder that our mortality is REAL and that holding onto to things of utmost importance is the key to life. Death is inevitable, and everything except the Almighty God of course, will perish.

Allah SWT berfirman: “Hai orang-orang yang beriman, bertakwalah kepada Allah dan hendaklah setiap diri memperhatikan apa yang telah diperbuatnya untuk hari esok (akhirat), dan bertakwalah kepada Allah, sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui apa yang kamu kerjakan” (QS Al-Hasyr [59]: 18).

Andai Ku Tahu

Heard this piece on the radio while I was driving to work this morning.....

Ungu - Andai Ku Tahu

Andai Ku tahu
Kapan tiba ajalku
Ku akan memohon
Tuhan tolong panjangkan umurku

Andai Ku tahu
Kapan tiba masaku
Ku akan memohon
Tuhan jangan kau ambil nyawaku

Chorus:
Aku takut
Akan semua dosa-dosa ku
Aku takut
Dosa yang terus membayangiku

Mungkin tahu
MalaikatMu kan menjemputku
Izinkan aku
Mengucap kata tobat PadaMu

Ampuni aku
Dari segala dosa2 ku
Ampuni aku
Menangis minta tobat PadaMu

Aku manusia
Yang takut neraka
Namun aku juga
Tak pantas di surga

Andai Ku tahu
Kapan tiba ajalku
Izinkan aku
Mengucap kata tobat PadaMu

Makkah Stories - Part 2: Solat Jumaat

If back home I never bothered about Friday prayers, in Makkah it was something I looked forward to. In fact, one would be able to sense that holy day - Friday was nearing as crowd grew in the Holy Mosque. Mom said that folks from the areas near Makkah would throng the valley to take part in the Friday prayers.

Everyday we cut across the SATCO bus terminal to get to the Haram ....macam lalu Puduraya pun ada jugak :)

That morning after our Subuh prayers, I mentioned to Mom that we should try do tawaf sunat at Baitullah. Words of encouragement from Mom got Farah so “fired” at doing her ibadah. Mom shared with us some tories of her first Haj way back in 1975. She was 35 then. She said during that Haj time, she and my late father, did more than 50 times of tawaf sunat!!! Apparently, arwah Abah had even written a journal about each one of their tawaf. Wooo….that got both Farah and I, gasping for air and a hard knock on my head at how determined were my parents at doing their ibadah. If only I could have a fraction of that determination they had….ummppp.

Our tawaf was calm and very peaceful. I managed to inch my way into Hijir Ismail and did a couple of solats there. Farah was luckier than me as she somehow got a spot right under the pancuran emas. Occasionally, as I glanced at her, I saw her doing her solats and doas. Alhamdullillah….

Never mess with the local police

When going to "ibadah significant" areas in the mosque, time is essence and one has to be really fast when performing an ibadah. Spending too long in one place may just end you up being shooed away by the guards. I must say that we Malaysians are such a disciplined lot. We abide to all the rules and regulations. The moment the guards asked us to leave, we’d go nicely, sans any disobedience. Other jemaahs may not give the same cooperation to the guards as we Malaysians do. You'd see them cling on to the cover cloth of the Kaabah, as they weep endlessly. Memang bukan senang to get the opportunity to be at this holy place, but I believe one should always be considerate of others.

So that Friday afternoon as we sat at our solat place, when other lady jemaahs came asking if they could squeeze in between, we couldn't possibly say no. In the end, when we did our Friday solat, the space that we had earlier secured became so small, barely allowing us to sujud. But that’s how things are in the Holy Mosque. Mutual understanding has it that we share with our fellow brothers and sisters.

Although the Imam’s khutbah was in Arabic, one could sense that he asked to preserve unity in Islam, and staying away from evil - amar makruf nahi mungkar. In his prayers after wards, he prayed for the well being of mankind, and asking for the sufferings in Palestine, Afghanistan and else where to stop. Syahdu, sungguh syahdu….

Leaving the mosque after that gave me that feeling as if it was Haj time, just by looking at the movement of the massive crowd. Lunch was obviously on most of everyone’s minds as they headed to the eateries near by. For us, lunch that day was briyani. Yummmmssss…what a treat!!

Acara ke Bin Dawood pada sebelah malam hari :)
Yang ni uztaz kata....tak perlu mutawiff hantar. Orang M'sia cukup pandai melakukan acara "tawaf kidai" ni.

Makkah Stories - Part 1: First Umrah

It was midday when we arrived in Makkah after traveling almost 5 hours on the bus from Madinah. We had earlier done our miqat at Bir Ali, a mosque complex where one would stop for solat and niat umrah before proceeding towards Makkah to perform the umrah.

Kioks selling umrah peripherals at Bir Ali

Midway between Madinah and Makkah where we stopped for lunch and solat

When the bus came to a halt right across the street of our hotel, Makkah Madwaddah, the three of us, Mom, Farah and I got down and were ushered into the building by our mutawiff. The cool breeze from the air conditioning was blissfully welcoming. I believed the temperature that afternoon was way above 45 degrees Celsius, the air was thin and the humidity level was low. No matter how frequent I moisturize, my skin still felt dry and flaky. Time and time again I reminded Farah, whilst I made a mental note to myself, not to scratch our already dry complexion. We were in ihram, thus we were to seriously adhere to the pantang larang.

Our hotel - Makkah Mawaddah

Room 714 - our home for 9 days in Makkah

The hotel check-in process was fast. There were about 30 of us housed at Makkah Mawaddah. The remaining jemaahs were putting up at another hotel, one which was just down the road. Our room, 714 was just around the corner and very close to the elevator. As we went up to our rooms, we couldn’t help but smile when we stepped into the all so famous “Pak Arab’s elevator”. “Pak Arab’s elevator” was merely a term I coined to describe the “uniqueness” of elevators in buildings in Makkah - especially in the not so new buildings. To operate the lift, one would have to pull or slide the door closed. So very unlike, the elevator doors that we have here, where they automatically open and close on their own. It took us a while to coach the mak ciks and pak ciks in our group and at times we’d amuse ourselves cracking jokes about these Pak Arab’s elevators.

Inside Pak Arab's elevator...

The first obvious concern after we arrived in Makkah was to complete our umrah. It was nearing asar and we really wanted to get it over and done with. According to our mutawiff, he’d only be taking the group after isyak. I thought that would be too long of a wait for the three of us. Mom said we’d better go and finish our umrah on our own. Since I wasn’t too familiar with the Makkah Mawaddah area, I told Mom to stay in the room first while Farah and I checked our way around the area.

Route we took to the Haram everyday

Alhamdullilah, when I reeced the place, it was not at all a stranger to me. Makkah Hilton was located behind our hotel and the Intercontinental was on its right. As we walked, we could already see Al-Haram. Syukur…syukur…we were placed not far from the Holy mosque, about 100 meters from King Fahd door.

Back at the hotel, Mom was all geared to get herself going to complete the umrah. We took our wuduk and then headed straight to the mosque. Before we stepped out from the hotel, Mom reminded us to say a short doa, “Rabbi Yassir wala tu-‘assir. Rabbi tham-mim bil hayr. Rabbi zidni ‘ilman war-zuqni fahman.”

Dear God, make things easier for me, do not make things difficult for me. Ya Allah, let my affairs end with goodness, increase my knowledge and grant me understanding.

The feeling was great and I was very anxious to be in the Holy mosque again.

The moment I stepped into the great place, and when I looked straight, the Kaabah was so clear in sight. Subahanallah…..

I almost chocked on my words when I explained to Farah the rituals upon seeing the Kaabah and what was to be done when in the Haram. I mumbled some words and I could see Farah too was mesmerized by the sight of the Kaabah and the Haram.

After my tawaf

Alhamdullilah….syukur pada yang Maha Kuasa. We proceeded to perform our tawaf. The seven rounds were completed pretty fast as there were not many jemaahs. During each of the tawaf round, I recited the doa from my umrah guide book. Since my jawi was nothing to shout about, and attempting to do so, would create the unnecessary stress in me, I opted to read all the doas in BM. Some groups that came with their own mutawiff, recited the doas aloud, an act that at times caused distractions to the rest of us who were saying our doas dalam hati.

We then moved on to do our saie. Mom opted to go on the wheel chair as she was not that strong to walk up and down Safa and Marwah. I was with Farah and we did our walk 7 times up the two significant hills. There were times when Farah walked way ahead of me, I let her be as I slowly caught up with her.

It was almost Maghrib when we completed our saie. We did the last of the umrah ritual – the tahalul, snipping of the hair. Once done, we were free of all the pantang larang in ihram.

Completed her 7 rounds of tawaf

Alhamdullillah…we managed to complete our first umrah with minimal constraints. All so exhausted, that night after dinner, we hit the sack in no time. The only thing that was on my mind was to get enough rest, so that we could be up early to be at the Haram for our next day early morning ibadah.

Exam Treat

School can be cruel at times. I received a call from Nissa when I was away in Kota Tinggi, saying that she came out second last in class!!! She was upset and I was frantic. Since I was away, I didn't want to make matters worst. No point screaming on the other end. Told her to calm down and we would talk when I came home.

When I came home a few days later, apparently she had gotten over her lousy spirits and was her jovial self again. Me the "kancheong" Mama, obviously wanted to know why was her performance so bad. After the "probe" session, she revealed that two of her papers were not taken into account. They were English and Pengajian Islam. Remember that day when she fell sick and missed these two papers? I thought her teacher had allowed her to sit for the exam on the next day. Well, she DID take the exam but they were NOT counted towards her total marks, even when there was a legit MC for her absence from school. The exclusion of the two papers pulled her percentage and positioning her second last in the class.

Knowing this upset me further. I had these two questions for her class teacher. One, why get her to sit for the papers when teacher wasn't going to include the marks. And two, if teacher wasn't going to include the marks, why can't the cummulative marks be divided by the number of papers Nissa took in the exam. Adding the two papers and giving zero mark would surely pull her grades!!! Adeiii...cikgu ni pun...for heaven's sake....ni baru Tahun Dua lah. Bukan college pun lagi!!! Even in college ader tolak ansur nya.

Anyway, cut the story short, memang tak de tolak ansur. Maka termaktub lah Nissa as the second last girl in class. Sakit hati tak??? Nissa wasn't at all bothered. She said she scored 97% and 92% for English and Agama respectively. Tak dapat number satu pun tak pe lah, yang penting she did well. That was her stand. I felt sorry for her, but on the other hand, I was proud that my girl stood tall even after being "victimised" in such a manner.

So...itu cerita sekolah kebangsaan. Nak marah lebih-lebih tak boleh. Everyday she still goes to the same class, being taught by the same teacher jugak. So....Mama ni pasrah & redha.

Then last week when I was in Kuala Telemong, another call came from her, telling me that she got first in class at sekolah agama. She was extremely overjoyed and so was Mama. Told her we would celebrate and treat her over the weekend when I got home from my trip.

The real test on me came this morning. I woke up with a horrible headache!!! I felt it coming last night and was hoping it would clear by today. It was so bad, by breakfast I felt like I wanted to knock my head on the wall. Took Actifast and nothing happened. In the end, I resorted to gulping down 2 ponstant and prayed that it would clear, still pening..but the throbbing wasn't as severe.

Ohh...Nissa's treat, what was it? When asked, she said she wanted to go watch Ice Age 3. Okay...that was easy to fulfill and told her we would go watch the movie today. A friend told me that I should go watch in in 3D. When I asked where, he said, "Pavillion". Gosh, that's like in town, jauhhh nya......

Lexus anyone?? At Pavillion Concourse

A promise is a promise lah kan, headache or no headache. By the time we got to Pavillion, my head felt clear a bit. Guess the drugs had begun to take effect. And that Coke I slurped down at lunch finally did the trick, must have been the caffeine. Folks...DO NOT try this crazy act of intoxicating oneself!! I was left with no choice, a real desperate case.

Dah keluar kedai...muka happy je

I'm glad the day turned out well. Nissa loved the movie. Farah wasn't too excited, guess she had passed the Disney phase. But too bad lah, she was dragged along. Her glum face wasn't for long. The retail therapy after the movie made up for the laborious two hours of watching a herd of warm-blooded mammals up against some long lost dinosours.

These must words running on his mind,"Hai...sihat dah tuh...dah boleh masuk keluar kedai!!"

Much too my surprise, my headache had disappeared. ABE, who was concerned over my suffering earlier, was able to sigh relief the moment he saw me heading towards Parkson and TANGS, all geared for RT (shhhyyyy...retail therapy that is..heh..heh).

To My Daddy

Hi my name is Nissa Maisarah. I don’t have a blog yet. So I am using my Mama’s blog to wish my Daddy a wonderful birthday.

His birthday was yesterday 10th July. I didn’t get the chance to write this earlier because Mama came home late from work. She got a cake for Daddy and it was delicious.

These two songs are for you Daddy.
Enjoy “Happy Birthday” and “My First Waltz” on the piano by me.

My First Waltz

Short but SWEET

photo courtesy frankmoosmann.de

I posted in my blog that after my return from Terengganu, I was to make my way down south to Malacca. The trip was purely business and the plan was to meet the client at where the event took place - the Av*****n Leg*** Hotel in Jalan Hang Tuah. Purely business??? Heh..heh....read on folks :)

Just the night before, Kak Ezza (yess THE Kak Ezza - this GREAT lady, the MCB talian hayat) texted me Ms Hart's number. Pelik kan, dok berbalas-balas comments in Blogland but I didn't have Ms Hart's number. Haa...sebab tu gunakan talian hayat :) Then somewhere nearing KL during my return journey from KT, Ms Hart texted me asking if I was coming to Malacca. A few text messages went her way and my way, but there was no definite conclusion if we could actually meet.

We'll see how things develop, I told myself. But dalam hati I was really hoping I could meet up with Ms Hart.

The moment I got to the hotel, work conquered my time. It wasn't until after lunch that I managed to text Ms Hart to inform her that my assignment was done and we could meet. As the hotel was just opposite Ms Hart's work place, before I knew it she was already knocking on the door!! Wahhh sepantas kilat, you Ms Hart !!!

So there we were in Room 932, chatting our lungs out. Cerita macam-macam....kids, family, Kak Ezza's trip to her place and banyak lagi lah, all in that short while.

It was really, really GREAT meeting up with Ms Hart again. And memang she lives to the true qualities of orang Melaka, so berbudi bahasa, so beradap sopan and so pemurah. Mana tak nya, siap membekalkan satu bag of goodies for me to carry home.

Thank you..thank you Ms Hart....muahhhhh!!!

Short it was our meeting, as I had to be back in KL by 5.30pm. Rasa macam tak puas sembang dengan Ms Hart. But tak pelah, InshaAllah, kita buat repeat visit yah :)

To Ms Hart, this dedication is especially for you.

It's a Wrap

Work is almost done here in Kuala Telemong, Hulu Terengganu. We'll be heading towards Kuala Terengganu after this. Ahhh...can't wait for that comfy room already waiting for us in GrandCon. Err..don't get me wrong, Hulu Terengganu is fine, just fine. No complaints about this place. Folks are friendly, food is great...what more could one ask for.

Venue of this morning launch

Kids, say....Yeah!!!

Free prepaid....WE want!!!!

I received a phone call from Mak Lang of "Dari Teratak Mak Lang" last night. Ohhh...she had so much warmth in her, even as we spoke, I felt like I have known her for ages. To Mak Lang, thanks, thanks for calling. We'll see how we progress tomorrow yah. If we are able to drop by, I'll give you a buzz :) (For this I must thank Kak Ezza kerana meng-catalyst-kan jejak kasih makcik-makcik blogger di Blogland ni)

Tomorrow, after the much anticipated RT at Pasar Payang and jalang-jalang, we will travel back to KL. Am hoping for a smooth journey home and hoping that I won't be too tired as I'd be heading to Malacca on the next day. Ohhh.. la la....makan besau lagi lepas ni ek?

Gannu Kita

Greetings from Kuala Telemong, Hulu Terengganu.

View of Pantai Rantau Abang

Yess...I'm here in Hulu Terengganu on work assignment. Arrived here late last night after the long drive from KL. The place is not too bad lah. Green all around, kampung environment where folks are so relaxed and contented with life.

The program with the kids will start this afternoon - about 30 of them from the nearby school. My team is already excited to get themselves going.

Kopi susu, roti bakar and BB - perfect combination :)

Highly recommended...kepok lekor panas from Kelulut.

Ummpp..what else is interesting here? Yes the food, of course!! On the way here yesterday, we stopped at Dungun and lepak at Dungun Kopitiam for roti bakar and coffee. Then, somewhere near Marang we gate crashed at this keropok lekor joint - Keropok Lekor Kelulut. Fuhh..terangkat bila makan kepok panas-panas tuh!! Much to our surprise, the kepok is all ikan. Unlike the ones found in KL, all flour - keras boleh baling kat dinding!

Steady je brother ni at work

We went to a batik factory this morning and were shown the batik making process. Though I have seen similar batik works before, this one was unique in many ways. Why?? Well, we got to buy the batik sarong fresh from the MokCik's storage - the makeshift shelves located in the kitchen. Mahal tu...and she was so kind to give us discounts for the batik sarong that we got. All in we borong like more than 30 pieces. One for Mom, one for my sisters and one for everyone back home!!! Even the boys in my team got into the spirit of buying batik sarong. Beli untuk Mak, adik kakok and girlfriend sepasang dua..heh..heh.


We'll be here in Kuala Telemong till tomorrow. Am staying in a homestay - not as grand as the last one I was at. Boleh lahhh.....

Wednesday night we will move to Kuala Terengganu (yeahhh...back to town!!). And Thursday will be jalan-jalan day for all of us. We girls are already planning to do damage at Pasar Payang and we must go get kepok lekor from that join in Seberang Takir to bring home.

Till then, ciao from Gannu :)

Makkah Al Mukarramah

Completing my travel journal and capturing significant moments of the Umrah trip have been a laborious task than I had earlier imagined. It would have been a lot easier (and faster too) if I did a pass through write up of the entire trip in one or two postings. But I do want to capture the significant moments, for my later reminiscing and more so for my children’s (and my readers out there too) read and understanding of how beautiful our religion is and it’s only through our inner submission and appreciation to our Creator, we are able to increase our knowledge. And in the same time drives us closer to God, and blesses us with happiness, success, and contentment. InshaAllah.

Thus, if my postings trickle their way out, please bear with me. I’ll try my best to have them completed, that’s a promise.

If my days in Madinah were enlightened by the beauty, ambience and serenity of ibadahs at Masjidil Nabawi, Makkah al Mukaramah presented solemn moments that led to my better internalization of the religion. I could only say this about our nine days in Makkah, “Thank you God, thank you for your guidance, protection and blessings upon not only us, but to the rest of the jemaahs in our group too.”

Streets of Makkah

Makkah, a modern city of 1.2 million people, lies hidden in the mountains of Saudi Arabia 50 miles from the Red Sea. Masjidil Haram, where the Kaabah stands in significance - the focal point of Islamic unity, is an incredible place where swarms of people organize seamlessly into neat rows, and bow and prostrate in unison. To walk around the block in Makkah is like walking around the world. As I stepped out of the hotel, I was with the groups of Indonesians. After solats I’d walk side by side with jemaahs from Turkiye, me to my hotel, them to their awaiting busses. Queuing next door at the international telephone centres, were the Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, waiting patiently in line to speak to loved ones back home.

Makkah, how noble it is. No arguments, no violence. Everyone is drawn together by the call of an idea, by the oneness of God.

Qabul....InshaAllah

The heat from the Madinah summer sun could weary just about anyone - young or old. The short walks from hotel to the mosque at zohor and asar times were the most challenging. I’d usually place the prayer mat on my head to take cover from the intense blaze. Terfikir juga ini baru panas di dunia, di akhirat nanti entah bagaimana lah agaknya.

Masjid Quba'

Mom had this bamboo framed, red floral cloth hat on her head every time when she made her way to the mosque. Worn on top of the telekung, it added color to the otherwise plain white outfit. Obviously she had put good use to this purchase from Bangkok (Mom was in Bangkok two weeks before our Umrah trip) and undoubtedly the red hat received compliments from many. I liked the red hat because it made it easy for me to spot Mom from the rest of the jemaah in the crowd.

Farah on the other hand chosed to cover herself from head to toe. She got herself the one layer face niqab, leaving only her eyes visible. Frankly speaking, I was surprised that she liked it.



Tok Sheikh selling nuts and raisins in the compounds of Masjid Quba'

We had earlier spent the day visiting historical sites in Madinah. It was like repeat visits for both Mom and I, but it was the first for Farah. Most of the time Mom opted to stay on the bus for she didn’t want to exert herself too much, only making her way for solats at the Quba’ and Qiblatain Mosques. In many ways I admire her determination at doing ibadat. Though she’s 70, her determination could easily supersede others who are younger than her…err like me for example. Isshhh…malu gak at times.

Managed to get these shots with BB. Punya lah usaha...BB siap kepit celah ketiak!!

That night at Maghrib I told Mom that I wanted to try do another ziarah to the Prophet’s (pbuh) Makam. She said, if I was up to it, I should go but she wanted to get some rest as the next day was going to be another long day for all of us. We’d be traveling to Makkah, a trip of about 5 – 6 hours long.

So after dinner on that last night in Madinah, both Farah and I made out way to the mosque again, with these hopes – to be able to visit the Prophet’s (pbuh) Makam and to do our prayers at Raudah one more time.

Alhamdulillah, this time our effort was easier that the previous day. We sat in the designated group for us Asians - jemaahs from Indonesia, Singapore and not forgetting Malaysia. When we were asked to enter the Makam area, I told Farah to stand infront of me. As the crowd moved in, we did too. The experience from the first visit had thought Farah to look for possible ways to go all the way to the front. She got squeezed in the crowd for some seconds but she managed to free herself and then moved right to the very front. So front that there was a guard right in front of her. The guard told her to solah and she did. I was just next to her and I quickly did the same.

There was no rushing, a bit of pushing, bearable anyhow, but we managed to do our solat in Raudah. Surprisingly the guard did not shoo us away. As I prayed, tears just rolled away and at the final sujud, I talked my troubles away and asked for forgiveness from my Creator. Upon the salam, I felt light as if my troubles had been lifted. The guard was still standing in front of both Farah and I. When I got up, she smiled at us. I went closer to her and offered my hand to say thanks to her. In the end we ended hugging each other. She held me tight and uttered, “InshaAllah Qabul, InshaAllah Qabul.” Tears were already blinding my vision and more rolled when she put her hands on me and repeated the same words. I grab hold of Farah and asked her to offer her thanks to the lady. They too ended up hugging each other. There were more tears by then. This time all three of us were in tears, especially when she asked me, “Ante..mama??” I nodded my head. And she repeated the same words “InshaAllah Qabul” again.

We didn’t want to hold the spot too long as there were many others waiting to experience the same feeling that we had. So we walked out and again like the last time I told Farah that we should pray at the open area not far from Raudah.

I did a few solats there, but my most difficult was the sujud during my solat hajat. Once done, I felt so at peace with myself, so in accord with the surroundings within me. Entah lah…that night, I felt different. My body felt light and my thoughts were clear. It was the exact same feeling that I had when I was doing my haj – after the wukuf.

Our hearts felt heavy as we left the Makam area. We didn’t want to leave, if only we could stay longer.

Ya Rasulullah Ya Habiballah
Tak pernah kutatap wajahmu
Ya Rasulullah Ya Habiballah

Allahumma Solli Ala Muhammad
Ya Rabbi Solli Alaihi Wasallim

However, that was not possible for the area would be closed in a little while. As I placed my footings heading out, I had this one silent prayer, “Ya Allah…make others feel the same way as I did tonight. You make it possible for my friends and relatives to be in this great place, please Ya Razzaq, Ya Kareem, Ya Raheem.”