The next day was the last day we were in Madinah, at 2 pm we start our journey by bus to Jeddah. It took nearly 7 hours and we stopped at a restaurant (above) for dinner.

Jeddah is a big city.It is the centre for businesses. And here, everything was very modern. by the way the pic above was a fountain ( follow the arrow) said to be the 2nd highest fountain in the world..nearly 120 metres high.

my parents and Jeddah city in the background

me in the city

at the back ground was a floating mosque and the Red sea. We were on our way to the airport.

Sayonara .. Selamat tinggal al-Haramain..

ila liqa' ....ma'a salamah

sehingga kita bertemu lagi..

The Battle of Uhud (Arabic: غزوة أحد) was fought on 23 March 625 (3 Shawwal 3 AH in the Islamic calendar) at Mount Uhud, in what is now north-western Arabia.[1] It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan from Mecca, the town from which many of the Muslims had previously emigrated (hijra). The Battle of Uhud was the second military encounter between the Meccans and the Muslims, preceded by the Battle of Badr in 624, where a small Muslim army had defeated the larger Meccan army. Marching out from Mecca towards Medina on 11 March 625, the Meccans desired to avenge their losses at Badr and strike back at Muhammad. The Muslims readied for war soon afterwards and the two armies fought on the slopes and plains of Uhud.

source :wiki

for more info n full story of the battle go to wikipedia..

kawasan yang berpagar itu merupakan kawasan perkuburan para syuhada termasuklah bapa saudara Rasulullah, Hamzah. Dalam peperangan ini, Orang-orang Islam hampir kalah kerana menyangkakan orang2 musyrikin telah mengalah ..terutama pasukan pemanah yang telah meninggalkan kedudukan mereka tanpa mengendahkan arahan Rasul.Tentera musyrikin meleihatkan keadaan itu telah dengan segera mengambil alih kedudukan pasukan pemanah tersebut dan menyerang tentera Islam. Ramai yang telah terkorban.

bukit pemanah ini berhadapan dengan jabal uhud di mana kedudukan pasukan pemanah islam yang kemudian telah meninggalkan kedudukan ini untuk mendapatkan rampasan perang sebelum di serang musyrikin Mekah.

Berdasarkan cerita ustaz.. beberapa ratus tahun selepas itu..atau 400 tahun dahulu( saya sudah terlupa..harap maaf) kawasan uhud ini pernah mengalami banjir besar dan dengan kuasa Allah, jasad2 3 sahabat nabi yang dikuburkan di sini telah terapung..dan masya Allah jasad-jasad itu kelihatan masih segar seolah-olah masih hidup. Sesudah banjir.. dikuburkan semula.wallahua'lam

At one point the direction of the qibla was toward Bayt al-Maqdis, Jerusalem (and it is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas). . In Islam, this only lasted for seventeen months, after which the qibla became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to accounts from the prophet Muhammad's companions, the change happened very suddenly during the noon prayer in Medina, in a mosque known as Masjid al-Qiblatain (Mosque of the Two Qiblas). Muhammad was leading the prayer when he received a revelation from Allah instructing him to take the Kaaba as the qibla (literally, "turn your face towards the Masjid al Haram"). According to the historical accounts, Muhammad, who had been facing Jerusalem, upon receiving this revelation, immediately turned around to face Mecca, and those praying behind him also did so.

ref: Wiki

These are qurma trees.. macam kelapa sawit aja.. mungkin keluarga yang sama kot.. eheh

qurma baik untuk kesihatan.. according to ustaz..sebaik-baik kurma adalah kurma ajwa atau ada yang panggil kurma nabi yang ditanam sendiri oleh Rasulullah dan paling disukai baginda.

Dari sa'ad ra, Rasullulah bersabda, "Barangsiapa yang memakan 7 butir kurma ajwa, maka dia tidak akan kena racun dan sihir pada hari itu." (HR Muslim)

Dari Aisyah ra,Rasulullah bersabda "Sesungguhnya pada kurma ajwa itu ubat yang mujarab.DAn ajwa merupakan buah daripada surga."(HR Tirmizi)

yang pentng kita mesti yakin..

break

I'm going away to Penang and Sabah consecutively this week..
daa

On the second day in Madinah, we had a tour in the morning. We went to Masjid Quba' which is the first mosque built by Rasulullah.We also went to Masjid Qiblatain, a dates (kurma) plantation and also the dates market.

We left Mekah at 2pm and arrived in Madinah nearllt at 9pm. After dinner, we hurried to the prophet's mosque (Masjid Nabawi) for jamak maghrib n isya' .The mosque was closed at 11 pm.

The next day was the last day we were in Mekah. After subuh and breakfast, we brought down all the luggages to the buses and went for a round in the town. After dzuhur we perform the tawaf wida' (farewell). As the ustaz was reciting the doa after the tawaf, I felt very sad.. I cried and cried..I couldn''t help crying while performing the solat sunat after.

Tuhan janganlah ziarah ini menjadi kali yang terakhir.. Limpahkan rahmat-Mu..Ampunkan dosaku.. Semoga aku dikurniakan rezeki dan sihat tubuh badan serta fikiran untuk kembali sujud di rumah-Mu ini.

amin.

Finally we arrived at masjid Jaaranah to wear ihram as we would perform our umrah again when we were back in Mekah.

On the way to Jaa'ranah after visiting Arafah, we passed the area of Mina, where the pilgrimage will gather stones to throw at Jamrahs. As you can see in the pic, the tents for hajj have already being put up. They are all ready to welcome Hajj end of this month. In the background is four new building(the brown building) under construction which are actually hotels and in 10 years time hotels will replace the usage of tents.

Padang Arafah

far as eyes can see..once before a desert ..now full of trees..

hajj season is just aroung the corner..For mass gathering will be here for sure..
all the people from all four courners of the world..

bagaimana agaknya di padang mahsyar nanti?

Jabal rahmah (means love, kasih sayang) is situated in Arafah. This hill and the monument was built to as rememberance of where adam and eve met after being overthrown from heaven.The ustaz said anyone who prays for Allah to give him or her a "teman hidup" here..insyaAllah(ehem) ..It was quite tiring mounting the steps up..but the view was breathtaking..

On the second day .. we had another tour right after breakfast.. We went to Jabat tsur, Arafah, Mina and Jaaranah Mosque for ihram.

Jabal tsur was situated not far from town.It was surrounded by buildings and houses.The cave was 500 metres up and it took about 2 hours to reach it. This is where The Prophet and his close companion, Abu Bakr went for hiding before Hijrah to Madinah. (The sun was so bright ,the pic wasn't very good..sorry).. Just imagine how Asmak the daughter of Abu Bakr went up and down the hill everyday to send food. And it was said that during the time, she was pregnant.. Subhanallah..

According to history, another miracle happened. When the enemies was in front of the cave, they found a spider web covering the cave and a pigeon nest with eggs at the side.The condition was as if no one had entered the cave for a long time.That shows how Allah will took care those He love, and those who pray to Him.

We had a tour after breakfast. We went to a camel breeding farm and the Hudaibiah village.The farm was about 45 minutes from the city. Out in the middle of the desert we could see the breeding farm.. So many camels( ter-excited plak..sadly my mum left the camera in her luggage ..fufu...but still i had a pic of me with baby camel using my bro's cam.) I even had a taste of camel's milk.. it was sold for 5 Riyals a bottle and it taste like coconut milk shake. eheh Those pakcik n makcik was impressed that me n my brother could drink it despite the smell of the Unta.. well it was nice and suppose to be good for health.haha..

Not far from the farm is the Hudaibiah village..not much to be seen though just houses. We stopped at the mosque to wear our ihram and pray. Behind the mosque is a ruined old building which was said to be where the treaty of Hudaibiah being held. The treaty was between Rasul and The Quraisy to end the war and enable the Muslims from Madinah to enter Mekah for hajj which happened on the year 6 A.H.

We finally arrived in Mekah at about 2 am saudi time. The view of the masjidil haram was so stunning.. and how happy we were knowing that the hotel was just about 100 metres from the mosque.. praises to Allah.

After all baggages have safely kept in respective rooms..we walked to the mosque to perform our first umrah. we went in through gate 62 which is called Bab al Umrah.. When we saw the Kaabah suddenlly there was silence. No one spoke a word as eyes was fix to the baitullah..saat itu juga hati bersyukur.. terima kasih tuhan..kerana sekali lagi memberi peluang hamba mu ini berdiri di depan baitullah..

When we completed all three rituals for umrah which were tawaf, saei and tahallul, it was already nearly 4 am but we went back to the hotel to freshen up before subuh prayer later, at 5.04am.We were exhausted but we won't missed the chance to perform jemaah prayer in front of the kaabah for anything.. the ustaz said performing solat in Masjidil Haram is 100 000 times better.. 100 000 kali lebih pahala.. woho who would want to miss that!

UMRAH RITUALS:

i. a tawaf, which consists of circling the Kaaba seven times in a counter-clockwise direction. Men are encouraged to do this three times at a hurried pace, followed by four times, more closely, at a leisurely pace.[1]

ii.Perform a sa'i, which means rapidly walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah. This is a re-enactment of Hagar's frantic search for water, before the Zamzam Well was revealed to her by Allah.

iii.Perform a halq or taqsir, meaning a cutting of the hair. A taqsir is a partial shortening of the hair, whereas a halq is a complete shave of the head.

These rituals complete the Umrah, and the pilgrim can choose to go out of ihram. Although not a part of the ritual, most pilgrims drink water from the Well of Zamzam.

These rituals ritual acts symbolic of the lives of the prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and his wife Hagar (Hajarah), and of solidarity with Muslims worldwide.

source : wikipedia :D

Arrived safely in Jeddah Airport. We immediately rushed to our buses which were already waiting at the airport and soon after we were on our way to Mekah Mukarramah, another 5-6 hrs journey....we chanted the talbiah silently all the way between sleep..hehe.. ngantuk beb

Invocation Mentioned During Talbiah

"O Allah! here I am at Your service, I respond to Your call, O Allah! here I am at Your service, I respond to Your call, You have no partner, here I am at Your service. All the praises and grace are due to You and all the sovereignty is (too) for You and You have no partners with You."

ps: from what i understand the Saudi government is promoting of using Mekah instead of Mecca since it has the closest pronunciation to Arabic sound of Mekah

We boarded the flight MH 150 at 3.00 sumthing pm on Saturday 3rd November. It was an 8 hrs journey. We had to wear our ihram when we were already halfway through the flight as it passed the miqat since we would immediatelly took the bus to Mekah from the airport.

ihram:

The Ihram garments for men consists of two pieces of white sheet. Wrap the larger sheet around your waist to cover your body from the navel to the ankles. Secure the Ihram either with a belt or by a strip of fabric torn from Ihram material. Drape the other sheet over the back and shoulders and wear a pair of stitched or unstitched sandals or shoes which do not cover the ankles. The head should not be covered, and no underwear should be used. The Ihram should preferably be white.Women are allowed to make Ihram in any dress they wish which fulfills the Islamic conditions of public dress, regardless of the color. Women's hands and face should be uncovered in Ihram. Their heads should be covered.

a Muhrim (someone who is in state of Ihram) must observe certain obligations and prohibitions. These are:
- Keep your head uncovered at all times. Women should keep their heads covered

- Do not shave, cut your hair, clip your nails, use perfume, or wear sewn clothes of any kind

- Do not perform marriage or get married yourself

- Do not kill an animal of any kind for any reason, unless it poses a danger to you and to the others.

- Do not enter into conjugal relations with your spouse. Avoid suggestive and provocative talk or gestures and remain focused on Hajj

back home

Saya sudah pulang ..alhamdulillah.. dengan selamat dan sihat walafiat..

When i opened my small office door this morning,i stepped on a few letters and memos.I received a course offer letter, another memo for a meeting an others. wahaha.and of course a bundle of files to settle by next week..isk..

I will try my best to write about my journey..slowly.. and with pictures too..ok?
I hope i still remember everything that the ustaz (our muttawif cum guide) told us ..the history.. the quranic verses and the hadis related to the place we visited..hopefully..i really want to share this with all..but in my own way -lah.. because i'm not that alim.. still learning and learning..:)

people say when we came back from The Haramain (2 tanah haram aka Mekah dan Madinah)..u will miss them..true.. the moment we were on the plane in Jeddah Airport..I was missing them already..still am..seperti wayang gambar ..setiap perkara masih terbayang di mata..silih berganti..

Being there..the feeling was overwhelming ..
bukan air mata sahaja yang mengalir..malah hati turut menangis..
malah mengenangnya sahaja terasa sebak..
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar

Awayy..

I'll be away for the whole week starting tommorrow..

just wanna share something i read from the Net..

In Arabic the word `Umrah is derived from I`timar which means a visit.
However, `Umrah technically means
paying a visit to Ka`bah,
performing Tawaf [Circumambulation] around it,
walking between Safa and Marwah seven times.

A performer of `Umrah puts off his Ihram by having his hair shaved or cut.

source:www.al-islam.com

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance

macy grey n joe black

Iryani bercerita fasal kucing montel di rumah jirannya.. teringat saya kepada kucing jiran kiterang,En. Amin (bukan nama sebenar) ..nama dia OREN.. eh bukan oren midesmides..ampun midesmides.. memang nama kucing tuh oren.. maaf zahir batin ye ..selamat hari raya.. :D

selalu petang-petang buleh dengar anak en.Amin (adik- bukan nama sebenar juga) memanggil-manggil si Oren yang memang berwarna celoreng-celoreng jinggapagi-pagi pun gitu...adik bagi kucing tu makan friskies barangkali .. letak dalam pinggan kat tepi pintu rumah.. sekali waktu pagi sebelum die pegi sekolah dan sekali waktu petang..

pernah pada suatu hari tidak lama dulu..aku kurang pasti tapi aku memang dengan tanpa hati perut menuduh kucing itu telah melepas di depan pagar rumah..dan tanpa aku sedari sewaktu pulang dari kerja aku telah memijaknya..dan terus masuk ke dalam kereta selepas membuka pintu pagar..arghhh berhari-hari semerbak di dalam kereta walaupun sudah dibasuh bersih.. dan berbulan-bulan juga aku tidak memakai selipar yang terkena itu..huhhsampai sekarang aku sensitif dengan bau itu..takde bau pun aku cakap ada bau..eheh..
memang aku suka suki menuduh kucing itu..walaupun mungkin kucing lain yg melepas.. arggh tak kira..hehe

pagi tadi..buka sahaja pintu rumah ..aku nampak die bermain-main dengan daun2 yang ditiup angin di depan pintu rumah.. adik aku cakap..oren tunggu nolee tuh..huhh..aku halau-halau dia..syuhh..syuhh.. takut masuk bawah kereta jer..aku nak keluar nih..bahaya..

hehe.. ntah kenapa aku boleh bercerita sal kucing itu pulak..deng..
dulu pun rumah aku ada kucing ..tak bela pun ..cuma kucing-kucing liar yang kebetulan selalu lepak kat pintu dapur.. ada macy grey(jantan-dah mati)..ada joe black (betina-dah pangkat moyang kot dengan kucing lain yang ada kat umah..asyik beranak sahaja..n hampir semua anak dia hitam..)ada si kembar ( 2 ekor..warna putih kelabu)..lupa dah nama.. anak macy and joe tapi aku tak tau dah derang pi mana.. sekarang nih ada sekor jer.. hitam.. and aku pun tak tau tuh joe black ke..atau cucu cicit die dah..haha