A trip to the holy cities of Makkah, Madinah

I looked around as I stood in front of the Kaabah, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, praying, speechless. The emotion on people’s faces, the thousands of hands raised in prayers and the smiles and looks of astonishment on their faces. Tears trickled down their lit-up eyes; some cried for forgiveness, some for ease, others for guidance, and others for a love they lost or a dream they hoped to realise. But in everyone’s face, there was an overwhelming awareness of Allah’s mercy.

People of every class, race, ethnic group, age, and gender, all brought together by our love for Allah, the Creator of the Universe.

My sister and I had been planning an Islamic pilgrimage for a while. The trip became even more necessary following the sudden death of our beloved mother last December. Although Hajj is the more well-known and common pilgrimage, we secured a visa for Umrah in February.

Umrah is a shorter and non-compulsory version of the Hajj. Unlike the Hajj, which is only five or six days in the Islamic calendar each year, Umrah can be completed at any time of the year.

We had been looking forward to the trip and planning out logistics for weeks. And soon enough, the day had come. On 17 March, we took a 6-hour flight from Kano to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The holy month, dedicated to prayer, self-reflection, and religious devotion, also traditionally marks the peak season to perform Umrah. Authorities recorded the highest number of attendance at the Grand Mosque this year, reaching over 4 million people on the 29th of Ramadan.

As soon as we landed in Jeddah, we proceeded on a 5-hour road trip to Madinah. I heard the views were amazing; I wouldn’t know, though, I slept through the whole trip. In Madinah, our first stop was the Ohud Plaza hotel, which was right across Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque).

Unsurprisingly calm and quiet, Madinah is a place where millions of Muslims feel safer than at home, their mind at peace than ever, as the overwhelming feeling of visiting the most beloved Prophet is above everything. It can’t be described.

At 5 a.m., we rushed to the mosque to pray Fajr, the prayer before sunrise. As we neared Masjid al-Nabawi, I saw people spilling out of the mosque’s doors, praying on the pavement outside. Shaykh Hussain Aal Shiekh was leading the prayers that morning. I had never seen such a gathering of people.

After it emptied out a bit, as the day broke, I entered the mosque, and my jaws dropped at the sight of its beauty. Its colourful domes, marble floors, glass-stained windows and iconic green carpets were more ravishing than I had previously imagined.

The doors, with rich gold-plated woodwork and every single column of the huge mosque with different designs (with Brass and Gold), were enough for my eyes for that day!

Thousands of pilgrims were there, walking, talking, and reciting the Quran, but very humbly, with a low voice, showing respect to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him). The mosque premises were surrounded by long pillars. After sunrise, those pillars became alive and spread into giant umbrellas.

Madinah’s beauty is omnipresent. As I walk through the streets of this peaceful city, being my first time, I feel a deep connection to the Prophet and companions who sacrificed everything for the sake of Islam. The streets were named after the wives of the Prophet, his household, companions and the pious predecessors.

There were street vendors with food from almost every country. In the same vein, commercial centres, gold shops, malls, fast food places and bazaars were everywhere you ventured.

After Zuhr, the afternoon prayers, I joined two friends, Mohammed and Kabiru Kiyawa, to visit the grave of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him). Specific times were maintained for both men and women to visit the prophet’s grave inside the mosque.

A part of the mosque, adjacent to the Rawdah (grave of the Prophet), is called Riyad ul Jannah, the Garden of Paradise. This place is demarcated with a green carpet, and the Prophet of Allah said that any prayer to Allah will be granted from here. So, it remains extremely crowded every moment. Pilgrims gather there to establish prayers. The mosque officials and security didn’t allow anyone to stay there for a long time, so that everyone could get a chance.

Then, adjacent to the mosque lies the graveyard known as Jannat-ul-Baki, where most of the family members, friends and followers of the Prophet are resting forever.

The major incidents in the life of the Prophet Muhammad happened in this city. Therefore, we went sightseeing the following day.

Madinah also holds some historical mosques, like Masjid Quba (the first mosque built by the Prophet. Today, with the expansion, it caters for more than 20,000 worshippers), Masjid Kiblatain (the mosque where the kiblah was changed to Kaabah from Jerusalem), Masjid Zhul Hulaifah (from where the Prophet started Ihram during Hajj-Umrah) and many others. We were fortunate to visit some of them to pray.

While the streets of Madinah and Masjid al-Nabawi had much to offer, it was time for the real thing – Makkah, one of the beautiful cities in the world. Our group got on the six-hour-long bus ride to the city.

Before Umrah begins, pilgrims enter a state of ritual purity called Ihram. To signify this, men wear two towel-length strips of unstitched white cotton cloth. One wraps around the waist, and the other crosses the torso. Women are free to wear whatever style of modest attire and headscarf they choose. This humble uniform obliterates wealth and class distinctions, and any inkling of the significance of self.

On the bus to Makkah, we read the ­Talbiya, a prayer that signals a pilgrim’s arrival in the holy land. “I am here at your service, O Allah, I am here at Your service. You have no partner, I am here at Your Service. Surely, all praise and blessings are Yours, and the dominion. You have no partner.” Our bus filled with prayer as night fell.

We arrived in Makkah, and it was indeed one of the most beautiful cities I had ever been in. Our hotel was a few minutes away from the Grand Mosque. Our group congregated in the hotel lobby and walked to Masjid al-Haram, the mosque surrounding the Kaabah.

It was finally time. We were about to perform Umrah, which consists of several rituals including Tawaf, where you walk around the Kaabah seven times; Sa’iy, walking between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times and lastly Taqsir, cutting a portion of your hair to complete your Umrah, all while simultaneously making duas (prayers).

We walked towards the Kaabah, and the melodic recitation of the Quran soothed my ears as Sheikh Walid Al Shamsaan led worshippers through the Tahajjud (night) prayers.

Soon, we were less than 40 feet away from the Kaabah, Wonderstruck. The Kaabah was magnificent beyond words. Its deep black, silky walls, rich golden borders and the clock tower above it, illuminating a striking green light. It was an image of perfection. It is much bigger than I had expected and also packed to the brim, but its comfy borders made me feel safe. All of our lives, we have looked up to this grand structure. Every single Muslim in the world faces it five times a day to pray, and I was standing right in front of it. Subhanallah!

We held our breath and slipped into the crowd to begin the first ritual of Umrah, the tawaf. Looking at the diversity of people during Umrah was beautiful to me. The sight of people crying while circling and touching the Kaabah was a reminder that every soul has a story.

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I loved seeing the affectionate look on the faces of families and seeing old men holding hands to make sure no one got lost.

Authorities provide golf carts and wheelchairs for the elderly, and those unable to walk can perform the tawaf, or circumambulation of the Kaabah, on the second floor of the mosque away from the crowds.

My Umrah trip was an amazing experience, not because of the luxurious hotels, malls, or delicious food, but because of the unique spirituality in Makkah and Madinah. It is spine-chilling to see leaders and the led, haves and have-nots, people of all races, genders, and nationalities, worship together and cry out to the same Lord for their needs.