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.”