Saturday, September 17, 2011

My Umrah Trip - Part 3


Meal Times

After performing the Umrah, I remembered that we still had another 7 days to go before taking the flight back home from Jeddah. In Mecca, we made sure that we did not miss any of the five (5) Solat Fardhu Berjemaah. We were late for the Solat Jemaah on one or two occasions, but other than that, we were always in the mosque ahead of time before the azan was called.

All our meals were arranged to be had after the Solat time - breakfast after Solat Suboh, lunch after Solat Zuhur and dinner after Solat Ishaq. Any visit to historical places was carried out in the morning after breakfast and after finishing all the visits, the bus would take us back to our hotel in preparation for our Solat Zuhur. We never missed our meals at the hotel because my wife and I agreed that it was so easy to get hungry there :-). The meals were quite delicious and we enjoyed them. Normally after lunch, we would get some rest in our hotel room and get ready to go to the mosque before Solat 'Asar. We decided not to go back to the hotel room after each Solat Asar, preferring to stay back in the mosque, either to read the Quran, perform the Solat Sunat or Tawaf Sunat around the Kaabah.


Standing in front of the Masjidil Haram leading to King Abdul Aziz Gate (Gate No.1). We always used this gate to enter the mosque and exit from it.


Kissing the Hajarul Aswad


Every time we did the Tawaf, we always observed the situation at the Hajarul Aswad. No matter what time of the day, it was always occupied with Muslim men and women attempting to kiss the Stone from Heaven. We also felt like doing so but was discouraged by the sight of the pilgrims struggling at each other to reach the Hajarul Aswad to kiss it. However, we managed to reach and touch the Kaabah walls and also found a space at Hijir Ismail to perform the Solat Sunat. It is said that if we wish to get rich and prosperous in this world, the Hijir Ismail is the place to ask for such requests from Allah SWT.

Salmiah was more determined to kiss the Hajarul Aswad than me. One fine day after Solat Asar, we performed the Tawaf Sunat and after that she said she wanted to attempt to reach the Multazam, which is the Kaabah wall located between the Kaabah's door and Hajarul Aswad. It is the place where we request from Allah SWT to be exempted from Hell.

I would have discouraged Salmiah at that time if she had said that she wanted to try to kiss the Hajarul Aswad. She didn't tell me and so I left her there and went back to the mosque to perform Solat Sunat Tasbih and another two (2) Tawaf Sunat before Maghrib time. We did not meet each other again until we had finished performing the Solat Ishaq Berjemaah. Our meeting place was the Shoe Rack No.8 at Gate No.1 (there are 93 gates altogether).

When we met after Solat Ishaq on the way back to the hotel for dinner, only then did she excitedly narrate to me that she managed to successfully kiss the Hajarul Aswad single handedly (without my help, of course). She said, "Moving into the corner from the Multazam was quite easy for me, where the guard on duty assisted by asking the other pilgrims to make way for the "Hajah".

"After I managed to kiss the Hajarul Aswad, coming out from the corner was one big battle." she said. "Being pushed and squeezed from all directions, I really could not get my way out. I even reached out my hand for the guard to pull me out but he just ignored me."

She said that being squeezed from all directions made it very difficult for her to breathe and desperately she prayed for Allah SWT to help her get out from there. Suddenly her feet felt something solid at the bottom of the Kaabah. Reaching down, she grabbed the steel ring and slowly pushed her way along the wall until she managed to free herself from the struggling crowd.

She said that she had performed the Solat Hajat earlier on to ask for the help of Allah SWT to facilitate or make it easier for her (mempermudahkan) to kiss the Hajarul Aswad.

Standing on the Balcony of the Masjidil Haram with the Kaabah in the background

My wife's success in kissing the Hajarul Aswad inspired me to attempt to kiss it too. I also Solat Hajat the next morning requesting the help of Allah SWT to make it easy for me to approach and kiss the Hajarul Aswad. I said to myself that surely there must be something significance or beneficial in being able to kiss the Hajarul Aswad. Otherwise, there won't be so many Muslims making such attempts to kiss it.

After that, even though I did a few rounds of the Tawaf, I still could not find enough courage to attempt to kiss the Hajarul Aswad. However on Thursday, 7th August 08 after Salmiah and I completed the Tawaf Sunat, I decided to try it. We also Puasa Sunat (optional fast) that day. With my wife's help (she was embracing me from behind with both her hands around my waist), we slowly made our way to the Hajarul Aswad. We were pushed from behind, front and the sides, but we maintained our course, always striving forward, as if there was a force helping us to go through. Suddenly, I found myself directly in front of the Hajarul Aswad, with a woman who was kissing the Stone from Heaven. I set myself in readiness and immediately after the woman left, I found myself standing right in front of the Hajarul Aswad. Without much hesitation, I kissed the Stone from Heaven, uttering "Subhanallah walhamdulillah walaila haillallah huwallah huakbar" so many times. It was difficult to leave that position and I felt like staying there forever, but the thought of giving the others the chance to kiss it too, made me slowly withdrew from Hajarul Aswad.

I was surprised that my withdrawal from Hajarul Aswad was made so easy without being pressed and squeezed. I can't describe to you the happiness inside me knowing that Allah SWT has granted my wish and made it so easy for me to kiss the Hajarul Aswad. Syukor Alhamdulillah.......

ZAM-ZAM Water

Without the Zam-Zam water, which is always available not only in Masjidil Haram but also in Masjidil Nabawi, in Medinah, life there could be quite unbearable. The mosque workers always made sure that the Zam-Zam water was available for fellow Muslims to drink to quench their thirst and also to refill their small or large bottles to bring back. The mosque workers also make a good job of maintaining the cleanliness of the area in and around the mosque as well as the compound around the Kaabah. Congratulations to the management of the two mosques for doing a great job and making it pleasant for the pilgrims to perform their Umrah.

What the Prophet (Prayers and Peace Be Upon Him) said about the Zam-Zam water was, "The Zam-Zam water is the antidote for the purpose that it is drank for. It is also a food that can satisfy the hunger and a medicine that will cure."

Inside Masjidil Haram on the 1st Floor. The Zam-Zam water are kept in plastic containers as can be seen on the right side of the photo. Disposal plastic cups are also provided and whenever the containers are empty, they will be replaced with new containers full of Zam-Zam water. Both cool and lukewarm Zam-Zam water were provided.

Medicinal Effect of Zam-Zam water

I didn't know the true medicinal value of the Zam-Zam water until I myself had an unbelievable experience to proof it. One or two days after we arrived in Mecca, I developed a blister on the sole of my right foot. Maybe it was due to my attempt to walk barefooted after I lost my slippers at Masjidil Nabawi in Medinah a few days back or maybe it was due to not getting used to wearing new slippers there. The blister got worst as I was doing a lot of walking there. It reached a stage where I was limping as I walked to and from the mosque. I applied the balm ointment, which we brought along with us together with other medicines from Malaysia, but it never got better. Then one night before going to sleep, Salmiah suggested that I applied the Zam-Zam water to the blister. So I filled a few drops of the Zam-Zam water into a cup and after praying to Allah SWT for His help to cure it, I applied the water on the blister area. At that time I also applied the water at both my right and left ankles because since at Medinah, my skin at both ankles had developed some kind of itchiness, which was very irritating. When I woke up the next morning, not only the blisters had gone, the itchiness too was gone and I was able to walk normally to the mosque without limping. Subhanallah...... If they say miracle happen in Mecca, that was the miracle that happened to me:-).

Salmiah helping herself to the Zam Zam water

I was a diabetic and brought along an instrument from Malaysia to measure the glucose level in my blood. A diabetic is discouraged to consume carbohydrate food like rice and flour for they get converted into sugar after the food is digested. However, in Mecca and Medinah, I did not control the consumption of carbohydrate food. I ate as much rice and bread that I could consume as if I was not a diabetic person. When I checked the sugar level in my blood, it was giving a normal sugar level reading. Maybe it was due to the exercise from walking to and from the mosque (Wallahu'alam), but every time before I drank the Zam-Zam water I preyed that I be cured of all kinds of disease and to clean my heart and mind from any dirty or negative feelings and thoughts. That Zam-Zam water by the Grace of Allah SWT really helped to control the sugar level in my blood but whether I was totally cured of my diabetes for good, only time will tell. But so far, the sugar level in my blood is giving a normal reading. All Praise be to Allah SWT......
Facing the Kaabah, I requested from Allah SWT for good health before sipping the ZamZam water

Our Mutawwir also relayed to us cases of pilgrims who had benefited from the curing or medicinal effect of taking the Zam Zam water. He was telling us about a Muslim who had a kidney problem and had difficulty in urinating. He went to see a doctor who advised him to undergo an operation. He referred the matter to his religious teacher, who advised him to drink the Zam-Zam water. He consumed the Zam-Zam water, each time filling up half his stomach. Alhamdulillah, he got well and there was no need for him to go for operation.

Another case happened during Prophet Muhammad's time (PBUH), when an Arab by the name of Abu Zhar, who for two weeks went without food. He drank only Zam Zam water and he gained weight instead. This happened before he became a Muslim.

Another thing which I forgot to mention earlier, was that there was no need to rush to go to the toilet for urination after taking much Zam Zam water in Masjidil Haram. However in Malaysia, I had to rush quickly to the toilet after consuming much of the local water here. :)

End of Part 3
Click here for Part 4

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