Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu!
To those of you
who have written anxiously awaiting the final installment of my journey to
Madinah, thanks for waiting so patiently!
My trip was June
17 and it is now July 21st...quite a stretch between chapters...but after writing
the first two looooong chapters...well...I just got sort of tired out! LOL!!!
Anyhow, here is
the final leg of the journey...many thanks to all who have written in response
to the previous chapters.
May Allah continue to guide and watch over us all; forgive our sins and protect us from the hellfire. Ameen.
Wa'Salaam Alaikum,
~Aishah
~*Aishah’s Journey Continues…Madinah – Our Last
Day*~
As
our very sleepy busload of sisters headed back out onto the road taking
returning us to the mosque for fajr, I couldn’t help but wonder how I would
make it through the long day ahead. For
the two days prior and coming into my third day, I found myself existing on a
total of about three-and-one-half hours sleep.
It would truly be a miracle if, somewhere during the remainder of the
day, I were not found somewhere literally asleep on my feet! I tried to get comfortable in my bus seat,
but could not. The only thing
comforting that I could think of was a steaming hot, Starbucks grande
latte. The toothpicks holding my
eyelids up finally snapped and I closed my eyes dreaming of the coffee’s aroma.
We
arrived back at the mosque and filed out of the bus. It was about 4 am. The
bus didn’t exactly leave at 3 am as scheduled…we were missing a few sister who
had over-slept…and wouldn’t you know the missing sisters were from my little
entourage!! (You know who you
are!! LOL!!!)
It
was such a wonderfully beautiful morning and as Nadia, Samera, Shorty and I
made our way across the white tiled courtyard to the entrance of the mosque,
the coolness of the air, and the quiet sound of birds flying overhead welcoming
us to the mosque, was so tranquil that it somehow made the feeling of
sleepiness vanish. Al-hamdulillah.
We
found our way to a spot for salat and, as instructed, we were to immediately
return to the bus. However, once we had
headed back to the parking area, I found myself noticing that a few food
vendors were opening and the longing for coffee returned. My dear Samera was so diligent in trying to
appease me in my quest for sustenance.
By now I was not only longing for my grande latte…I wanted I-Hop
pancakes, too! {{smile}} I couldn't help it, all I could think of as
we encountered one disappointing "menu" after another was,
"Doesn't anyone eat breakfast around here??" Well, I guess it depends on your definition
of 'breakfast'!
Something
else I have now grown more accustomed to is that much like newborn babies (back
home), the general population has its days and nights mixed up! LOL!!
Which accounts for how it is that 'breakfast' is not the most popular
meal of the day, because most people don't even wake up until time for dhuhr!!! Okay!
By then it is lunchtime!
LOL!! And you know…I even fell
into this pattern of sleeping and wakefulness for a while, but have since
re-corrected myself. I've always been a
"morning" person…after praying fajr, I like to start my day. I usually check for incoming email from the
Sisters4Dawah group I own/moderate online, see what kind of issues might be on
the sisters' minds for the day, address what I can, do a little reading and
research, and somewhere along the way, drink some tea or coffee and maybe eat
some scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and jam. Al-hamdulillah, it's a nice way to start the day…for me
anyway! {{smile}}
Anyhow,
on this particular Friday morning in Madinah, Mum Samera endeavored diligently
to find something to appease me. Yes…I
was in "baby" mode…wanting something, not happy with anything…lol…but
Al-hamdulillah, Mum Samera came through and in a last minute attempt to find us
something to eat, she dashed away from the group boarding the bus and quickly
returned with a bag full of munchies.
She's such a good mum!!
{{smile}}
The
bus headed out on the beginning of what was supposed to be a tour of the area's
historical mosques. It was very
interesting! And subhan'Allah, another
blessed morning full of salat! Yes,
indeed! For each mosque we visited
there was also the requisite number of rakats to be offered in greeting the
mosque, in addition to any other number of rakats you might chose to
offer. Little Shorty, my now constant
companion, was getting her share of salat lessons on this adventure, for sure!! {{smile}}
As
we perused around the grounds outside each mosque we found quite a variety of
vendors offering various things for sale to the traveling tourists. It will never cease to amaze me how a bus
can be so full with just its occupants and their luggage, and yet stop after
stop; it gets fuller with all of the items purchased along the way…and still
manages to roll! LOL!! This is something that blows my mind each
time I take the bus to "souk" or "shopping" with the nurses
in downtown Taif. You would absolutely,
not believe what goes onto the bus on the return trip to the hospital from one
of these shopping sprees!
I
picked up a few things here and there along the mosque-tour route, including a
variety of fresh nuts, dates, a few scarves, and, of course, a thing or two for
Shorty. I also bought some kind of
weird, dried-out weed looking thing that if you boil it in water and do
something else with it that I can't remember now, is suppose to help relieve
the pain of a woman in labor…(this for a nurse/friend back at the hospital who
was expecting any day). Samera assured
me that Ecram, also being from Egypt, would know exactly what to do with it…so
on the bus it went! LOL!!
Dear,
sweet Aneela presented me with a pretty, red bracelet and matching ring. It turned out that the bracelet and ring
were a perfect accessory for a red jelbab I purchased in the market after
Jummah.
By
the end of our mosque tour the mid-morning sun was high enough in the sky to
really make us begin feeling the heat of the day, and with hunger undeniable
pangs of hunger, we eagerly re-boarded the bus to return to the mosque. I felt like a two hundred year old
woman at this point!!!
After
returning from our after-fajr morning mosque tour, I took the last
hour-and-a-half before Jummah to excuse myself from the little group of sisters
I had been hanging out with in order to take some time for myself. (I'm
an independent little soul...but it is during these times that I also make such
wonderful discoveries...smile...)
I
ventured around and found myself in a previously undiscovered shopping area
where I happily found two jelbabs that I liked, one red, and one denim, both
with pretty cream colored embroidery around the neck, down the front, and
around the cuffs of the sleeves.
I
also spent a little time browsing through some of the jewelry shops…wow! I don't quite know that I have ever seen so
much gold! However, my personal
preference is for white gold, which is not nearly as plentiful, but very easy
to spot in the jewelry counters!
{{smile}} I ended up finding a
ring in a relatively small shop that was just perfect and looked so nice on my
finger…well…there you go…just gotta have it!
LOL!!! My helpful jeweler was
happy to try to sell it to me, and we bartered on the price a little (he spoke
English!) before I gave in and took out my debit card! {{smile}}
Pleased with my new acquisition, I was about to depart when my equally
happy jeweler said, "Is there anything else we can do for you today?" Typical enough as an offering from a
salesperson…maybe not so typical was my reply!
I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I sort of found myself
caught off guard by the question, and suddenly there I was in "baby"
mode, and I turned back to the jeweler and lamented, "I need
Starbucks!!" Well, what do you
know!!! Ask and ye shall
receive!!! My jeweler immediately
gestured with his arm towards a brother standing outside the front of the store
and motioned for him to come inside, whereupon the jeweler immediately
instructed the brother to take me to Starbucks, and readdressing me said,
"Follow him!"
Al-hamdulillah!!!! I could not
believe my good fortune! I was on my
way to Starbucks!!! In Madinah!!!! Subhan'Allah!!!! Thanking my jeweler profusely, I quickly exited to catch up with
the already departed brother that I had been instructed to follow.
Goodness! We walked and walked and walked before
finally entering a multi-level, nicely cooled building, and stepped onto an
escalator. Four floors up at the very
top of the escalator stairs, right in front of me was a sight for sore
eyes….STARBUCKS. My guide turned to
leave upon seeing that I was "home" and I offered a quick
"Shukran! Shukran! Shukran!" before he was out of
sight. I stepped inside the store and
it was just as I had remembered…and smelled the same, too!!! I immediately ordered a Vente Caramel
Frappachino (this is a frozen drink…it was a long, hot walk, so hot coffee by
then just wasn't the order of the day), and a sweet, strawberry treat from the
display case. As I turned from the
counter with my tray of goodies to find a seat, I could not help but to be
taken aback upon seeing from the huge picture window in the sitting area, a
full frontal view of the mosque.
Masha'Allah…it couldn't get much better than that…me, my caramel frap,
and the best view of the mosque right before my weary eyes. I sank down into a softly upholstered chair
barely able to believe my good fortune and took a long hard pull on the straw
standing in my frozen frappachino!
{{smile}} At that moment I felt
like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz…"There's no place like home, there's no
place like home!"
Sooner
than I had anticipated, I was hearing the sound of the first adhan announcing
Jummah. Knowing that the store would
have to close, I quickly finished my strawberry treat, tidied up my sitting
area, and returned the tray to the counter, whereupon I was met with a gentle,
but appreciative protest from the other side of the counter exclaiming,
"You didn't have to do that! But
thanks!" To which I replied,
"No, thank YOU!" {{smile}}
I
headed to the escalator thinking that the remaining half of my coffee drink
would just get me across the courtyard to the mosque before melting completely
in the hot afternoon sun. As I got to
the entrance of the courtyard the second adhan started, and I suddenly found
myself wanting to call Mustafa to let him hear the sound of the adhan from
Madinah. I reached for Samera's cell
phone in my shoulder bag (she had insisted I carry it with me when I separated
from the group), and dialed the apartment phone number. Alas, I was not able to reach him as I am
sure he was probably already at the mosque on the hospital campus for
Jummah…but you know what they say back home…"It's the thought that
counts!" Mmm…in Islam the same
holds true for our intentions doesn't it!
I
had so many wonderful and inspiring experiences on this trip to Madinah, but
one of the things I found myself coming away with in my heart and on mind was
how much I yearned for our Ummah to take the practice of offering
"Assalamu Alaikum" to one another more seriously. To that end, I conducted a
"survey" of sorts on Friday.
Finding
myself outside the confines of the cultural world-of-its-own known as Taif, in
Madinah I was surrounded by people from a wide variety of nationalities and in
all variations of Islamic dress. This
allowed me to feel free to leave behind the face veil in favor of my more
comfortable hijab. It is so much
easier to breathe in the hot summer heat without it!!!! However, I thus found myself throughout the
weekend to be somewhat an object of curiosity with my "American"
face...and yes...I searched and searched for another "American"
looking face...and only found one in passing (while in search of a restaurant
for a bite to eat Thursday afternoon).
I am quite sure this person was a worker for one of the construction
companies; I would guess Turner International.
Anyhow, when I saw him, I immediately knew, and thought to myself,
"Ah! Ha! There's one!!!" LOL!!!
Anyway,
I found it somewhat disturbing, as I would be going up and/or down the stairs
and/or escalator to use the women's bathroom facilities to notice the absolute
direct eye contact; flat-out staring! And what added to that disturbance
was the fact that each person (sister) doing the staring couldn't seem to
find it in their heart to even offer an "Assalamu Alaikum." - I mean,
if you are going to so obviously stare someone down, at least greet
them!!! You don't have to start up a conversation for goodness
sake! But it is incumbent upon us as Muslims to greet one another!
This
is what prompted my "test". For each unadulterated stare or
glare, I confronted that person (sisters only) with a bright smile and a
cheery, "Assalamu Alaikum!!"
And do you know that the replies returned to me were so sad in number,
i.e., out of at least 30 greetings, I received 3 in return.
There
are so many ways that Allah (swt) provides opportunities for us to perform good
deeds. And yet time and time again we
let them slip right by us. I was so
keenly aware of this in Madinah...and to that end, I will share just a few
things that I found I could do.
Upon
entering the mosque for Jummah, I searched and searched for a place to settle
down. Gosh...there were so many
people! Finally I noticed in between two sisters, what appeared to be a
small gap and I motioned with my hand in such a way as to indicate that I was
inquiring if the space was taken. The response was to welcome me to the
empty space. I sat down. I immediately noticed that the row of
sisters in which I had joined happened to be formed right after the carpeted
area ended. In front of us was a cold, white tiled floor, when suddenly
it occurred to me that in the shopping bag I was carrying contained a prayer
rug that I had bought for my husband! So, I took it out and laying it lengthwise,
offered it for sharing to the daughter and mother sitting beside me to the
right. I then learned that they were from Iran. The mother spoke no English at all but the daughter spoke a
little. Al-hamdulillah that "sign" language is universal!
And they understood my gesture; the daughter thanking me with a beautiful
smile. Masha'Allah.
Then,
a few minutes later, as I was listening to the kutbah, I noticed that to my
left there was what appeared to be another daughter and mother. I noticed
that the mother was using a napkin in an attempt to wipe up some water from the
floor that someone nearby had spilled, and that she didn't have enough napkin
to sufficiently finish the job. This little "mess" happened to
also be directly in the area where she would be praying. I said to
myself, "Okay! This just won't do!!" And I reached once
again for my shopping bag wherein I had a second purchase...a denim jelbab that
I had bought for myself. I took the garment out of the bag and spread the
length of it from the left of the prayer rug I had already laid out until it
reached the column beside where the mother was sitting. The mother smiled
and thanked me. Al-hamdulillah, she spoke English and I learned that she
and her daughter were from Pakistan! So there we were...all five of
us...me in the middle of two daughters and two mothers...and I somehow felt we
were joined in that moment in time as we shared those precious moments
in prayer.
After
salat I went to get some zam zam water. As I stood from filling my little
white plastic cup, I turned and saw a sister standing in the middle of the isle
where she had been sitting during Jummah. She was beginning what I
assumed was a sunnah prayer, and as she stood in the first rakat, I noticed
that she was praying on the bare floor. So, while she was still standing,
and without crossing in front of her, I stood to the side as she prayed, with
her eyes closed, and quickly and quietly laid out the prayer rug I had
purchased for my husband.
I turned
away while she finished her prayer and knelt down to drink my water. When
the sister finished praying, she picked up the rug and returned it to me with a
smile and a "Shukran, Sister!"
Nary
a minute later, as I decided to re-fill my cup of water, I again spotted something
that seemed peculiar. There was an elderly woman sitting in a wheel
chair, again, believe it or not, in the middle of the isle! There did not
even appear to be anyone from her party nearby...she just sat there
quietly...alone. And I thought to myself, "She needs some zam zam
water!" So I set my cup and bag down on the ledge of the base on a
pillar and went to get a cup of water. I walked over to the sister in the
wheel chair and with a bright smile and cheery "Assalamu Alaikum!" I
presented her with the zam zam water. You should have seen her
face...masha'Allah.
No
sooner did I return to the pillar to retrieve my own cup of zam zam water and
shopping bag, did I encounter a sister coming around the corner who was
suddenly overtaken by a big sneeze! "Oh, no!" I thought to
myself! "She needs a tissue!" Teary person that I had
found myself to be while in Madinah, I had made sure to have plenty of tissue
in my purse!! So, I swiftly snatched a tissue out of the front, outside
pocket of my small shoulder bag and immediately presented it to her before
she could get past me. She very happily took the tissue with a smile and said,
"Shukran!!"
Wow...as
I finished my zam zam water I was just over-whelmed by what had taken place in
such a short span of time...how awesome to have been presented with these
wonderful opportunities to practice my religion...what a
blessing...Al-hamdulillah.
Do
you see how easy Allah (swt) makes it for us to seize the opportunity for good
deeds? Sometimes we are so busy and caught up in the things of this world
that we let opportunities like these pass right by us. If we just take the blinders off for even a
few minutes each day...the blessings and rewards that Allah (swt) offers to us
are oftentimes staring us right in the face...all we have to do is embrace
them.
I've
already been asked, since I have now been twice to Mecca for Umrah and now
to Madinah, which of the two I like better.
Gosh,
that is an impossible question to answer.
Of course, I love them both...and had very moving experiences while
visiting each...but in answering I would say, I love Mecca. But I have to say...Madinah left a mark on
my heart, mind and soul that I will never, ever forget...and even when I think
about my experiences there...tears still readily well up in my
eyes...Al-hamdulillah, it was a very blessed weekend.
On a final note, little did I know at the time, but
I found out afterwards that prior to departing on our journey to Madinah, none
of the sisters in my group had previously known one another…this astounded
me!! I had, in fact, assumed by the
familiarity of this group of sisters, that they were already friends. But it is my constant belief that everything
happens for a reason…and Allah (swt), the perfect Planner and Facilitator, knew,
of course, exactly what would happen in the end, and through our adventures,
and yes, even misadventures…we all became, and remain to this day, the best of
friends. Subhan'Allah. Al-Hamdulillah. Allah Akbar.
The testimony of faith is saying with
conviction,
"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"
SISTER
AISHAH'S ISLAMIC JOURNEY