Bismillah
ir-Rahman ir-Rahim
~*Aishah's Journey Continues...Madinah, Day
One*~
S-t-r-e-t-c-h!! Whew that was a long bus ride!! As the bus settled into a parking spot, our leader met us mid-aisle to announce that we were free for the day! Wahoo! The only instruction given to us was that we had to meet the bus after Isha.
Okay, mmm...what to do next? During the bus ride I had befriended some of the sisters, Nadia, who had been sitting in the isle seat beside me, and from the row of seats across the back of the bus, Aneela, Musarrat, and Naheed (the sister who had avidly read the books I offered throughout the trip), and Samera and her daughter, Ghedi, a/k/a "Shorty". But, as usual, I didn't have a particular plan for hanging out with anyone. However, Al-hamdulillah, as usual, Allah (swt) managed to facilitate my being "adopted" again, and as I stepped off the bus and stood pondering for a moment, my hand was suddenly swept up into one of Nadia's and she said, "Come on Aishah!" Quickly following behind us were Samera and Shorty. So, it would seem that we would find ourselves a foursome for the remainder of this journey, joined here and there throughout the weekend by Aneela, Musarrat and Naheed, as you'll read about later in the story.
But for now, my new "adopted" family members were Nadia, Samera and Shorty. First stop! Needless to say, the ladies room for relief and wudu, and then on into the mosque for dhuhr.
Wow...I was really surprised to note the lengths to which they have gone to provide such nice bathroom facilities! I can't speak on behalf of the men, of course. LOL!! The facilities are underground and you can take either the stairs or the escalator. My entourage chose the stairs and before passing through the doorway into the actual toilet and wudu area, there was a sister standing by double-checking with each person passing through the door to make sure they weren't carrying a Qu'ran in their bags. How nice, I thought...because I had surely forgotten about the pocket-sized Qu'ran in my own shoulder bag! There was a shelf attached to the wall beside the entry whereupon I placed my Qu'ran.
Upon entering a toilet and closing the door behind me, I was met by another surprise to find not only a toilet, but shower as well! The only thing I'm still having trouble getting accustomed to is the toilet-in-the floor deal vs. the western toilet I grew up with. I think as long as I am in KSA I will never run out of new experiences!
All tidied up and ready to go, my little foursome regrouped and headed up the stairs to embark upon our first visit in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah and the Prophet's Mosque.
This reminds me of a verse I read in the History of Madinah book, also referred to as one of the virtues of the Prophet's Mosque:
"Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy than you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure." [At-Taubah 9:108]
Another of the virtues of the Prophet's Mosque is stated as follows:
"Prayer in this Mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers in any other mosque, except the Sacred Mosque." [Al-Bukhari (1190) and Muslim 1394)]
I also learned from the History of Madinah book that there are general manners and customs required when visiting the Prophet's Mosque. Some of these manners are as follows:
To smarten oneself and to wear nice clothes and perfume (I think the perfume part pertains to the brothers...), for Allah the Most High says:
"O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes) while praying..." [Al-A'raf 7:31]
To make sure that one's body and garments are free from any bad odors, for the Prophet said:
"Whoever ate onion or garlic should stay away from our Mosque and remain in his house." [Al-Bukhari (855) and Muslim (564).
It is a Sunnah to enter the mosque with one's right foot and to say:
"Bismillahi was-salamu 'ala Rasulillahi. Allahummaftah li abwaba Rahmatik."
(In the Name of Allah and may the Peace of Allah be upon His Messenger. O Allah! Open for me the Gates of Your Mercy.")
I also found this:
When one reaches the Prophet’s Mosque, entry should be made first with the right foot and one should say,
"Bismillaah wa’l-salaatu wa’l-salaam ‘ala Rasoolillaah. Allaahumma ighfir li dhunoobi waftah li abwaab rahmatika. A’oodhu Billaah il-‘azeem wa bi wajhihi’l-kareem wa bi sultaanihi’l-qadeem min al-shaytaan il-rajeem."
(In the name of Allaah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah. O Allaah, forgive my sins and open to me the gates of Your mercy. I seek refuge in Allaah the Almighty and in His noble Face and in His eternal Power, from the accursed Shaytaan.)
One should not raise one's voice, whether in prayer, or when delivering salutations of peace, or when reciting the Qur'an.
It is highly recommended to pray two rakats as salutation to the Mosque in al-Rawdah (See attached photo, or visit this link: http://www.abunashaykh.com/Gallery/Madinah%20%281%29/PAGES/Rawdah%20%281%29_jpg.htm), which is the area between the minbar of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the room in which is his grave, because this area is one of the gardens of Paradise, but if one is not able to find a space there, one may pray the two rakats of greeting anyplace in the Mosque.
A person should not pray towards the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) because prayer must not be performed except towards the Qiblah, nor should one circumambulate the noble chamber, because circumambulation should not be made except of the Ka'bah.
It is also important to know, that from the time you leave your home with the intention to visit the Prophet's Mosque you are earning a reward until such time as you reach the Mosque, and when you reach the Mosque you again earn a reward. It was reported by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
"Verily, from the time one of you leaves his house to go to the mosque, his foot records a good deed and his (other) foot removes a sin from him." [Al-Bukhari (1189) and Muslim (1397)]
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that he heard Allah's Messenger (pbuh) saying:
"Whoever came to this mosque of mine intending only to learn something good or to teach it, he has the status of a Mujahid (one who strives in Allah's cause), in the path of Allah; and whoever came to it for another purpose, he has the status of a man who looks at the property of another." [Ibn Majah (227) and authenticated by Al-Albani]
And it is reported on the authority of Abu Umamah al-Bahili (RA) that he said:
"Whoever went out in the morning to the mosque, desiring naught but to learn something good or to teach it, he has a reward like the reward of a pilgrim who has completed his Hajj." [Majma'uz-Zawa'id (1/123)]
Okay, enough of the "lesson" - back to the story!
The external "courtyard" of the mosque, if you will, is deep and wide, the floor of which is completely laid out in white tile. However, unlike the under-ground, water-cooled tile flooring in Makkah, the tile floor outside of the Prophet's Mosque is hot, hot, hot! Those treading across the tiled path of the courtyard of the Prophet's Mosque in bare feet are either brave, brave souls, or have tough, tough soles!
It was awe inspiring to approach the front steps of the mosque for the very first time. We slipped off our sandles and joined the crowd waiting to pass through the brief security check (this is merely a slight investigation of any bags you are carrying).
I am not sure how to begin to describe the feeling that came over me as I entered the Mosque. A slight rush of cool air brushed my cheeks, and as the intricacies of the architecture fell upon my eyes...so did the tears. I inhaled deeply, trying to catch my breath, and within an instant I knew I had entered a most sacred place.
The one thing that I hope I never lose from the experience of having visited the Prophet's Mosque is the feeling that overcomes me each time I remember being there...each time I speak words in reference to being there...and even as I am typing these words...my breath is taken away and the tears are once again flowing from my eyes...and I am wishing I was there praying at this very moment.
It was just about time for the first adhan for dhuhr as my small group entered the Mosque, and we immediately set out to find a place to settle in for salat. We found a comfortable, not yet too crowded area and got ourselves situated. At this point Nadia, Samera, Shorty and I were joined by Aneela, Musarrat and Naheed, who had apparently not been too far behind us as we entered the mosque.
As the adhan began, Aneela dialed a number on her cell phone...she was calling home to Pakistan in hopes of getting her mother on the line so she could her the adhan from Madinah...Al-hamdulillah...but her mother was already praying! May Allah (swt) reward Aneela's good intention. Having put her phone away, Aneela and I, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, settled in and listened to the remainder of the adhan. Masha'Allah...the beautiful sounds echoed throughout the Mosque...
To my right sat Shorty. It seemed that she
had already decided she would not part company with me. Shorty first latched
onto me, grabbing my spare hand at the same time that Nadia took hold of the
other to guide me through the courtyard after we got off the bus. She would
remain my constant companion throught the remainder of the trip. Al-hamdulillah
that Allah (swt) entrusted me with her safe-keeping.
As it was just about time for salat, it happened that a woman from the row in front of us decided she wanted to chastise Samera for not having Shorty in an abaya and scarf. Shorty is a young 8-years of age, but does appear to be a little older. It had not been Samera's intention to leave home without an abaya for Shorty, however, in the rush of the moment to catch their ride to the hospital (they live off campus), it happened that the abaya was left behind. The woman arduously tried to pursuade Samera that she must leave the area with Shorty as she should not be praying in the mosque without being properly covered. Well, let me tell you, Samera would hear nothing of it, citing that she knew full well that at the age of 7 we were to begin teaching our children to pray, and that by age 10 we were to make sure they prayed. Samera just as adamantly set the argumentative sister straight explaining that her daughter was only 8. The woman gave up her argument, however, Samera and I were both a little taken aback by the confrontation. Gosh...you know...we were in the Prophet's Mosque for goodness sake...to make a polite inquiry or suggestion is one thing...but to be downright, for all intents and purposes, ugly about the matter was entirely unnecessary! However, I told Samera that the first thing we would do after salat would be to go out and find Shorty an abaya and scarf. This, of course, delighted Shorty!
Al-hamdulillah for the second adhan! All
rise!!! {{smile}} And despite her lack of abaya and scarf, Shorty fell into
salat beside me, watching and following my every move. Al-hamdulillah. My heart
just opened right up to her in that moment when I noticed her paying attention
and following the my movements...as I sat up from my first prostration, the
tears were already streaming, once again, from my eyes. Quietly sniffling
beside me to my left was Aneela. We would learn that this crying thing was
something she and I would share throughout the trip...and we both made sure we
had plenty of tissues in our handbags at all times! LOL!!! As we stood for the
second rakat I noticed Shorty had her left hand over her right instead of
vice-versa, so I reached over and gently corrected her. She didn't seem to
mind. Al-hamdulillah. And throughout the remainder of our visit and through
each salat that she prayed beside me...we continued the pattern of student and
teacher...subhan'Allah. Keeping in mind: "Whoever went out in the
morning to the mosque, desiring naught but to learn something good or to
teach it, he has a reward like the reward of a pilgrim who has completed his
Hajj." [Majma'uz-Zawa'id (1/123)]
After dhuhr there was a mad rush to form a horrible semblance of a line (I'm trying to be kind here...) as it seemed that the Rawdah area would be open for a short time.
Well, you just would not believe the literal stampede...oh, my goodness. And once a person is caught up in this...it is almost impossible to get out. With Shorty tucked snuggly into the front of me, we attempted to follow Nadia and Samera. With every second I was becoming more and more appalled...and every fiber of my being wanted to scream out, "Stop!!!" And to admonish the crowd saying, "Is this the way the Prophet (pbuh) would want us to behave?? Like starving animals flocking to a food trough?!?! NO!!!"
At just about the time I had had enough, a taller woman reached us, trying to fight her way out of the madness and carrying a obviously frightened and crying daughter. When Shorty saw the other little girl, I immediately noticed a change in her composure...it was clear that she was becoming overwhelmed as well. That decided it. I reached up with a free hand and touched Samera's shoulder. Leaning into her hear, and almost having to shout, I told her I was turning back. She tried to convince me not to, but I was not to be deterred. My mind was made up. I pointed to Shorty for Samera to notice that she was getting upset, and I told her not to worry, I was taking her out into the open area and she and I would wait for Samera and Nadia to finish their rakats. But before turning away, I couldn't help but notice how the sisters were pawing at and pushing one another...and how they were stepping all over each other as they attempted to pray within the area of the green carpet. All I could think at that moment was Astaghfirallah...and I turned with Shorty and about twenty minutes later we managed to inch our way out of the caos.
I was so relieved when we reached the open area again. Shorty was, too. She quickly ran to get us some water in small plastic cups and we found a place to sit down. I drank my water, and having come away from the horrific scene behind us so completely unnerved, I felt an immediate need to pray. I got Shorty's attention, and finding a place to settle down, we began a two rakat salat. And there they were...those darn tears again. There is just something about that mosque...
When Shorty and I finished praying, I reached in my pocketbook for my pocket-sized Qu'ran. Samera and Nadia had not yet arrived, so I just thought it would be a good idea to chill out and meditate a little bit. My little Qu'ran is the version containing the English translation with the Arabic text on the opposite side. Shorty had chilled out beside me, having retrieved a mosque copy of the Arabic Qu'ran and one of the small wooden stands to set it on.
As I was trying to read, I was filled with a sense of sadness for not being able to read the Arabic text...I wasn't sure where that was coming from...but I felt it all the same. Then, suddenly, a beautiful, melodious, barely audible sound reached my ear from the left...I sat frozen listening. And the tears began, once again, to stream uncontrollably from my eyes...and even though I could not read the Arabic text in the Qu'ran I held open in my hands, I found my fingers tracing the letters on the page and with the sound of the sweet voice of the teenage girl sitting not so far from my left side, just a row behind me, it seemed as though I was being lifted right out of myself and into another place. I was completely oblivious to anything else around me...and I remember just sitting there...gently rocking forward and back...my body flowing with the melody of the voice behind me. It was only a few minutes into this that I just felt the absolute need to be closer to the young girl...I wanted to hear clearly...I wanted to be right beside her...and there I was...scooching over next to her...re-crossing my legs, glancing her way momentarily with a quick smile, and then settling back in to listen...and listen...and listen...masha'Allah...the young girl's recitation was so beautiful... I thought to myself, "Oh, how I wish that was my voice! Oh, how I wish I could read the words of the Qu'ran in a way that moved people to tears..." I noticed the mother and the younger sister and brother further to the left. The mother was quietly reciting from her Qu'ran as well...and I thought again, how proud she must be of her daughter...and how blessed this small family seemed to be...subhan'Allah.
Samera and Nadia arrived and sat a few rows behind me. They seemed very much aware that I was in my own little world right then, and respectfully didn't bother me. Subhan'Allah. Shorty left my side and went to get water for Samera and Nadia. I could have sat there listening the whole day it seemed...but suddenly there appeared before us a niqab-clad sister...mosque security. It seemed that she was trying to tell the young girl and her mother that they could not recite their Qu'ran aloud...the argument being, I suppose, that if one person did it, then everyone would be doing it, and then the serenity of the mosque would be diminished. Well, wouldn't you know...Nadia would jump in to defend us! Allah (swt) bless her. She is a real trooper!
There she was spatting back in Arabic to
the security sister...fighting for the right of the young girl and her mother
to continue their quiet recitation...and for extra leverage, it seemed she went
ahead and threw into the conversation the fact that I was not able to speak or
read Arabic, that I was a "new" (albeit two-year-old) Muslim,
and American to boot! Well, the American part did the trick. Al-hamdulillah!
Suddenly the sister was kneeling down in front of me, introducing herself,
asking my name, and saying, "Welcome to Arabi Saudi, Aishah." I
was so relieved.
But then I became nervous as attention seemed to suddenly be drawn to myself, and the security sister was joined by another security sister and the first was explaining to the second that I was an American Muslim...and the welcome's started again. At this point I was becoming embarassed a little bit...but Al-hamdulillah, when the two security sisters walked away, it was with their blessings that my young friend continued her recitation of the Qu'ran, and I fell back to listening...and crying for about another 20 minutes. Al-hamdulillah.
As I sat recomposing myself to leave the company of the sweet little family I had stumbled upon, I suddenly felt overwhelmed to do something nice for them. I reached into my pocketbook for my wallet. I knew I had three 10 riyal bills, but when I found that I also had three 20 riyal bills, I left the 10's behind and took out the 20's. I stood up and noticed that the mother seemed to have disappeared momentarily. I thought to myself, "Good...she can't try to stop me..." hee hee hee I didn't want the teenage girl to think I was "paying" her for letting me listen to her recite Qu'ran, as that was most certainly NOT my intention...I simply wanted to do something nice for the children. I raised two daughters by myself...and I know what that is like...and I know how single moms suffer when they want to do things for their children but they can't. Now, I know it might be presumptious to think that this mother was without a husband, she could very well have had a husband, but something just made me feel otherwise, and so, there I was...finding myself walking over to the youngest of the three children and pressing a 20 riyal bill into her little hand and folding her fingers over it. I then did the same thing with the little boy, and lastly, I walked over to the young girl, smiled, bent down, and put the last bill into her hand. She immediately tried to give it back, and I shook my head, "No" - and smiled back at her again. I turned to walk away hoping she was able to accept my gesture simply as the gift from my heart that it was...
By this point it became clear that the crowd trying to push its way into the al-Rawdah area had diminished enough that Nadia and Samera insisted I revisit it for a second try to make my two rakats of welcome there. I semi-reluctantly consented (I truly did want to pray there, but not under duress!!!), and we made our way through the somewhat thinner crowd. Subhan'Allah...there my two new-found friends stood, forming a barrier around me so no one could break my sutra, or crush my fingers, making the way clear for me to pray. I prayed my two rakats, happy to have survived it, and standing back up, Samera insisted I pray some more. I looked helplessly between her and Nadia, and they insisted, in unison, that I "Pray some more!" So, I prayed some more! And when I finished two extra rakats, I stood, and once again was confronted with the command, "Pray some more!" And so, I prayed some more! LOL!!! What are you going to do with two bossy women standing there telling you to pray?!?! Gosh, you might as well pray! LOL!!! So I came away with six rakats in the al-Rawdah or "Garden", Al-hamdulillah.
Welcome to the Prophet's Mosque. Welcome to Madinah.
Once we made our way back out into the open area, Shorty hit her stride and dashed off for more water. Wow...it had certainly been an emotionally draining afternoon so far!!! I felt exhausted with my short two hours of sleep from the previous night. The water Shorty returned with was gone in a flash and she dashed off for refills. (If I could have tapped into her energy right about then I would have been doing good!!)
We finished drinking our water and wouldn't you know it, so much time had already passed that Asr was upon us!!! Winding our way back through the pillars in the vast interior of the Mosque, I found myself quite surprised at how far away from our original spot we had actually wandered! Deep in search of the number 19 (marking the spot where we had stashed our sandles), we somehow found our way back. Imagine my surprise to find sitting right beside the pillar/shoe storage marked "19", none other than the small family with the young teenage girl who had allowed me to listen to her recite from the Qu'ran! In all that huge, huge, mosque, amongst all those thousands of people...how it turned out that we were reunited is something I'll leave for the rest of you to figure out. Subhan'Allah. Shorty happily reunited with the little family, and in rapidly spoken Arabic, hands waving about in gesture, found herself entertained until the the second adhan for Asr.
I sniffled and sobbed my way through Asr, all the while discreetly coaching Shorty in her salat, and two or three tissues later, I was once again recomposing myself, and our little group decided to head back outside to see what else we could get into before Maghrib.
It was unanimously decided that we were all about to starve, or so it seemed! Having re-grouped, myself, Samera, Shorty, Nadia, Aneela, Musarrat, and Naheed, we all headed out in search of food. We ended up at a fast-food chicken place inside a nice cooly-airconditioned mall and embarassingly (albeit behind a partitioned booth) scarfed down fried chicken, french fries, and Pepsi while Samera sat quietly suffering beside me in the corner. It turned out that she had started the day fasting (it was, of course, Thursday...), and it would still be quite some time before Maghrib!!! May Allah reward her doubly for her suffering! Ameen!
After pigging out, we headed back into the heat of the mid-afternoon and somehow, at this point, our group seemed to divide itself. Myself, Nadia, Samera and Shorty formed one group, and Aneela, Musarrat and Naheed formed another; both heading in different directions.
First thing on our to-do list was to find an abaya and scarf for Shorty!! Which turned out to be no easy task! I decided straight-up that those velcro attaching models were out, as I don't even like them myself (the velcro always ends up scratching at the side of your neck and is just plain annoying). After breaking her heart a few times (having to force her out of an abaya that was too small that she "loved"), we finally found an "over-the-head" model that worked...except the scarf seemed to be for a two-year-old! Much too small...and when Shorty attempted to pull it around her head and tuck the end in at the front, it wasn't working too well. So, I reached inside the front area of my abaya and pulled out one of my trusty safety-pins that I am always teased about using to secure my hijab! Shorty's face lit up and we fastened her scarf with the pin. Al-hamdulillah, my little charge was finally properly attired! Whew!
In the meantime Nadia had also found a
pretty green jelbab that she purchased and was very pleased with, despite the
fact that I had tried to tell her to wait until she went back to Mecca (which
she was scheduled to do sometime in the next week or two) to do her more
serious shopping. We were seeing a lot of things to buy...but just not too much
in the way of quality for the price...and I had been in Mecca shopping and, for
myself personally, I felt like shopping in Mecca was a little better than
shopping in Madinah. I would later come to find out that this opinion would
likely have been different if we had been shopping in the right area! (I
would figure this out the next day on my solo adventure.)
Whoops! Time for Maghrib!!!
If you're getting a sense that this
journey is inclusive of plenty of praying, you are probably right!!!
Before we prayed Maghrib, we had sat together examining our purchases. It was during this time that Nadia noticed some major flaws in the fabric of the jelbab she had just purchased, and it became immediately apparent that after Maghrib we whould have to proceed, post-haste to return the dress. At that point, however, as we looked around us, we found our orientation completely out of kilter, and there was no determining for sure, off-hand, where we had found the dress! Oh, my goodness!
We prayed Maghrib outside the front of the
Mosque as by the time we got there the crowd was so deep that it just didn't
seem worth the hassle to try to squeeze our way inside, be forced to step over
and across people, and invariably end up separated, so we found a spot to fall
into line with other sisters sharing the same idea, and we prayed under the
early evening setting sun. Masha'Allah.
Afterwards, we started out to our right on exiting the mosque, deciding to work our way around until we found the dress shop to return Nadia's jelbab. Almost immediately Samera found some nice dates and nuts to purchase and much too quickly found herself carrying a few too-heavy bags.
In the meantime, Shorty and I were having our own little party. LOL! Much to Samera's dismay! As she tried to tell me to "Stop!" ~ I said to her, "Just pretend it's EID!!" hee hee hee I couldn't help myself...if Shorty wanted it...Shorty got it...plain and simple. Let me tell you...the girl likes pink! hahaha We had pink pocket books (yes, two), pink sandals, a pink bracelet, a beautiful sparkly green ring, and race-car-driver blue sun shades by the end of our tour down the outdoor block of what-not booths! LOL!!! Shorty was irrefuteably delighted! And secretly, so was I... I really had a lot of fun playing "Mom Aishah". {{smile}}
Working our way out of that area, we once
again resumed our search for the dress shop in order to return Nadia's jelbab.
Oh, my goodness. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked...until Samera
and I finally started cracking jokes about having made Umrah; we had walked so
much! LOL!!! I really and truly considered just paying Nadia for her dress and
calling it a night. For real!! But before it was all said and done, let
me tell you, we had walked the entire outer boundary of that huge mosque, and
hit just about every shopping area in the vicinity of it before Nadia decided
she knew exactly where to find the right one! It was a good thing too, because
Samera and I had been secretly plotting Nadia's assisination...just kidding!!!!
(We love you Nadia!!!)
At this point neither Samera nor I were in the mood to follow Nadia around anymore, so we urged her to go on ahead telling her that we would remain in the same area where she had left us until her return. Samera found a place to sit down almost immediately to rest her weary self (the bags of nuts and dates had become lead balls and chains!!), and Shorty and I proceeded to peruse through the nearby jewelry shops. Al-hamdulillah, there is gold in 'dem-dar hills! LOL!!! And more gold, and more gold! Oh, my goodness if you're shopping for gold, Madinah and Mecca is where you'll find it!! Caution: Just be sure to remember the real reason why you are making your journey... {smile}.
You would not believe how Shorty wrangled those jewelry salesmen! Oh, my goodness! All I had to do was point to something and she took over from there! For real!!! I could not believe my eyes or ears! You would have sworn she was a professional price negotiator! She had those guys eating right out of the palm of her hand and playing right along with her...it was clear they were just as surprised by her finesse as I was!!! All the while, Samera was sitting across the way on a step in front of another shop, silently watching us as we ventured in and out of one shop after another checking out the jewelry. I am sure the show was just as entertaining from afar as it was up close! And yes...I did eventually make a purchase...hee hee hee...a beautiful topaz and diamond anniversary type band set in white gold...nice and bling-blingy! LOL!!! White gold is my color of choice, so it is easy to shop for and spot inside the shops. And since it is not the color of choice for the rest of the general population, I can slip in and out of the shops relatively quickly, as the supply is generally much less than the selection of yellow gold, so I can zoom in on my target, quickly observe and be on my way in a jiffy!
Well, Nadia finally rejoined us, and Al-hamdulillah, she had found the shop and returned her jelbab! Allah Akbar!!! And just in time for Isha!! Whew!
Our day was coming to an end, at last! We prayed Isha and headed our weary bodies and numb minds to the bus. As I contemplated boarding the steep set of steps at the middle of the bus, the sister sitting in the seat at the top of the stairs looked at me as my foot hit the bottom step, and I looked back up at her and said in my best decrepid sounding voice, "One-hundred-years old woman!" as I pulled myself up.
Between all the trips up and down the stairs for the restroom facility, and all of the up and down motions for salat, added to that, all the walking, walking, and walking around the mosque that we had done...I had to wonder if I was going to be able to haul myself up those bus steps without the assistance of a crane!!!
It had surely been a long, exhausting day...but hold on...it wasn't over just yet...
The Roach Hotel.
Each one of the 45 sisters participating in this great adventure had paid 100 riyals for the privilege. To my dismay I learned that some of the sisters had already paid once for the trip, but when it was arbitrarily cancelled, due to no fault of their own, they were not offered refunds, or credits for the next scheduled event, they were charged a second time for the same trip!!! Astaghfirallah.
Now, you might consider that we were
thinking that with forty-five hundred riyals (approx. $1,200 USD), and
considering that our host was a government entity, that surely a satisfactory
discount could be arranged, and that this money would net us most suitable
accomodations in the general vicinity of the mosque. Much to our surprise...we
could not have been more wrong.
It turned out that a decision was made, unbeknownst to us, that we would be bunked for the night at another hosptial's housing facility about 30 miles or so away from the Mosque.
I have to tell you, it is sad, but true...what we found on our arrival made me feel ashamed.
Ashamed that a Muslim country would invite people from other countries to live here under conditions that you would not even allow your dog to live under...and at the same time turn around and try to give dawah to them...inviting them to Islam...and I am thinking these visitors are wanting to say back to us, "Are you nuts??"
I have no idea what the management of that facility has done with their budget, but from what I saw that night...whatever might have been alloted for the maintenance of the housing facility was clearly not being spent for that purpose, if such a budget existed at all.
There was so much filth and nastiness that I knew in a heartbeat if I were to telephone my husband and report to him where it was that I was expected to sleep for the night, that he would come and get me straight-away...but it was a six hour drive, and I was not about to put him through that.
As we followed a housing representative, we walked by horribly nasty smelling, overfilled trash cans adorned with mangy looking cats poised across the tops foraging for scraps of food; animals that looked like they might leap onto you in a second in an attempt to scratch your eyes out.
The entire interior area of the block-wall-fenced women's housing complex was, obviously, once-upon-a-time beautifully landscaped. However it was also clearly obvious that it had been quite some time since any of the trees and shrubbery had been paid any attention, and the growth of everything surrounding the buildings was either in a state of over-running vs. decorating, or was on the verge of being just plain dead.
And what once was clearly a magnificent
swimming pool, as we saw it on that night, it had become nothing short of a
death trap for the poor soul who might accidentally fall into it. The pool had
what appeared to be an unusually deep "deep end", however, there had
long since been any water in the pool, and the interior walls were blackened in
many places and the bottom was filled with abandoned debris. The whole scene
was just incredibly sad...
We followed our leader up a set of stairs to a second floor hallway. The latches on all the main entry-ways that we saw that night were oddly roped and taped in such a way so as to not allow for them to close securely or to lock. As we entered the main hall clothes lines criss-crossed the balconies where laundry was hung out to dry.
Immediately to our right, as we passed through the main entrance, the woman we had been following opened a door to what appeared to be a two-suite apartment with a shared bathroom area. There were three beds in each of the sleeping areas, divided by the bathroom area that had three showers, a few toilet areas, and a row of sinks with mirrors. It obvious that these rooms had not been lived in for what appeared to be quite some time. There was not the first thing "clean" about this apartment; excluding perhaps the sheets on the beds.
The carpet needed to be just plain ripped out. And the apartment's bathroom had not seen disinfectant in what would appear to have been years. Left-over trash and human hairs were everywhere, and it was all I could do to keep from throwing-up from the dank, musty odor that filled the entire apartment.
Add to that the wonderful selection of cockroaches that scurried along the bathroom's shower walls and floor and there you have it...The Roach Hotel.
It was 11:00 pm and we had been told before exiting the bus that we had to be back on board in order to return to the mosque for fajr, at 3:00 am sharp.
It has been a long, hot, sweaty day...I
wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a comfy pillow to rest my weary head
on...but the hospital could not even be bothered to go to the trouble of
providing us with towels!!
I was so flabbergasted...and yet so in need of a shower that I just decided to hold my breath and get in and out as quickly as possible, all the while being patiently observed by my friend Charlie the Cockroach, who sat seemingly staring at me with his beady little eyes mid-way up the wall to my left.
Suddenly another cockroach scurried down
the shower curtain, and yet another ran across the floor. I was completely
freaking out and at the same time stuck longer than I cared to be under the
miserably slow trickle of water coming from the shower head...this would have
been a great time for a much shorter hair cut!! Calgon take me away!!!!!!
Luckily I had packed a second cotton slip in my suitcase, and this is what I used to dry off after my shower.
I sat down on one of the beds to brush out my hair and take over the position of guarding our luggage while my roomie, Musarrat, went for her shower.
She didn't linger any longer than I had, and returned equally disgusted.
While Musarrat had been in the shower I chatted with our roomie, a pretty, young Philippino nurse. I was horrified to learn from her that when she came to KSA for her first position, she stayed in a place she termed as "worse" than the one we found ourselves in that night...and I said to her, "You must have cried every night..." To which she replied, "Yes, I did..."
In the meantime, the window unit airconditioner had been on a futile mission to cool the air, and during the course of an hour, managed to do nothing more than make noise and recirculate the musky, hot air already in the room.
Deciding that the room we had been thrust into was completely unbearable, we decided to try to find some of our commarades. Musarrat dialed Aneela from her mobile phone, to no avail. We dialed Nadia, and Samera, and could get no one to answer. Finally we got Aneela. Then we lost her. Then we got her again! LOL!!
Meeting us outside, Aneela led Musaratt and I up to the apartment she was sharing with Naheed. Subhan'Allah, the air conditioning worked! And the apartment, on initial sight, seemed quite a bit cleaner than the one Musarrat and I had originally been escorted to.
It was decided that the four of us would share Aneela and Naheed's apartment for the night.
Musarrat and I went back to the other room, and having discovered that the apartment next to us also had a few other Phillipino nurses in it, and noticing that the airconditioning seemed to be working much better in that room, we suggested to our other roommate that she might consider bunking with the girls next door, so she wouldn't be alone.
I felt guilty about leaving her, so I was relieved when she agreed to the idea and she went to talk to the other girls.
Musarrat and I gathered our luggage and returned to Aneela and Naheed's apartment. By this time it was about 12:30 am...two-and-one-half hours until time to reboard the bus. Sigh... It would be easy to predict that Friday would be a very loooooooong day, indeed.
I was so thirsty when we re-entered Aneela and Naheed's apartment that I went straight for a cold bottle of water that was offered to me and poured some into a plastic cup. As I finished pouring the water into the cup, I proceeded to completely flop down onto the bed, and when I did, little did I know...the mattress was not supported by a box-spring, and albeit a padded landing (lol), I virtually ended up flat on the floor, water from my cup flying everywhere!!!
At that point there was nothing left to do other than to break out into a hysterical fit of laughter...all four of us! It was truly a Kodak moment!!! We laughed and laughed until each of us couldn't laugh anymore because it flat out hurt too much!
As it happened, Aneela and Naheed had
already claimed the other bed (twin-size, mind you), and Musarrat and I were
left to share the box-spring-less bed (as they say, beggars can't be
choosers!!) (LOL!!). We ended up deciding to pull the mattress onto the floor
and just sleep there for the night...well...for about an hour-and-a-half!!!
Three o'clock am came much too soon, as you might imagine. S-t-r-e-t-c-h and Y-a-w-n!!! Rise and Shine! Back to the bus pilgrims!!
The sister sitting in the seat at the top of the steps again looked expectantly at me as I reached for the hand rail and lifted my foot to step up, and I said in my best decrepid voice, "Two-hundred years old woman!!" And she fell into a fit of giggles as I lugged myself up the steps and found my seat.
After the last of the stragglers (wouldn't you know it would be Nadia, Samera and Shorty!!!) boarded the bus, the engine revved up and we headed back to the Mosque for fajr. No sooner had the bus rolled out of the parking lot of The Roach Hotel, than almost every one of its passengers was already fast asleep.
You better believe that right at the top of my dua list for the morning you would find a request on behalf of the nurses that have to live each and every day in the apartments we had just "spent the night" in.
I had in mind also, to pray for those in the administrative positions of that hospital...that their hearts would be convicted and that they would "do the right thing" by those nurses, and clean up that facility...insha'allah.
Thus began Madinah, our final day...with one hour of sleep. Al-hamdulillah.
Next
Segment:
~*Aishah's Journey Continues...Madinah, Our Final Day*~
"Ash hadu an la ilaha illa Allah
wa ash hadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah."
("I declare
there is no god but Allah and I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah.")
The first part, “There is no true god
but God,” means that none has
the right to be worshipped but God
alone, and that God has neither partner nor son.
This testimony of faith is called the Shahada,
a simple formula that should be said
with
conviction in order to convert to Islam.
The testimony of faith is the most
important pillar of Islam.
If
I am right, it is from Allah; if wrong, it is from me.
I
ask Allah Almighty to protect you and me from errors
and
from all that displease Him.
"Al-Hamdu-lillahi
rabbil-alameen"