Umrah: Our Journey

1-12th March 2023. Dates to be remembered.

Alhamdulillah after 27 long years, me and Mama finally made it back to the sacred grounds, sacred mosques of Masjid Nabawi and Masjidil Haram. This time with Insan, whose presence brought much help and comfort to us both.

We took the trip with Azzuha, under the guidance of Ustaz Fathi Yakan and I couldn't praise the team more. Our hotels were comfortable and near, flights went without delay, and ground transportation were also very good.

1st March, Wednesday, KL to Madinah

Aiman, Wani and little Faqihah sent us three to the airport. Before that a breakfast trip with Izzul and Atiqah at Mcdonald's near Izzul's house. At the airport they waited until we had to go down the boarding gates - cue tears from me, having to be separated from precious niece. Flight was on time at 3.25pm, a chartered MAS plane exclusively for transporting umrah pilgrims to Medina. I was starving, it was way past my usual lunch time and luckily meals were served early. We landed late at night, and by the time we arrived at our hotel, we were exhausted. I couldn't think about eating, and just wanted to rest. Alhamdulillah our hotel, Movenpick Al Anwar was very comfortable and spacious and it was a restful sleep.

2nd March, Thursday, Madinah

Woke up extremely early, for Subuh prayer. The mosque entrance was a short distance from our hotel, but the women's praying area near us was crowded. We tried to go in but it was so full that we had to exit and pray at the prayer area outside. It was morning, and still cold with some breeze. You can hear crickets and when the azan was called out, it was goosebumps inducing. Here, typing and thinking about this, I just feel the need to cry. There was a short walking trip organized by our mutawwif, visiting nearby mosques that morning. It ended early so we walked back to our hotel room for another break.

For Zuhur we tried another door. Women's praying area inside the mosque from door 25 has lesser crowd, and we prayed comfortably here. Other times we tried the nearer door but almost always the area was crowded. So door 25 was mostly our choice eventhough it was a significant distance from our hotel. During Maghrib, praying area was crowded. I had to pray on the floor/not on the carpet. It was also full from people breaking their fasts. Alhamdulillah after Maghrib, some crowd left the mosque so me and Mama were able to move towards the carpeted area. Here we met Makcik Ramlah from Melaka, coincidentally from the same group as Amir and Anis (who went earlier, to Makkah first and was now in Madinah). She, like many people from Melaka was friendly, dan rajin bercerita. Among many people we met in this trip, I remember her the most.

3rd March, Friday, Madinah

We prayed Subuh as usual, and in the morning, Amir and Anis dropped by with breakfast food. It was so good to meet them here in Tanah Haram. We promised to go for Friday prayer early and to meet Anis inside door 25. We came very early, almost 2 hours before. We stayed, read some Quran, talked to Anis, rested, drank zamzam.. but here Mama's cough is becoming more noticeable. After the Friday prayer, we decided to sit and wait until the crowd is thinner. Suddenly I see bright lights coming from above. They opened the mosque's dome and I could hear crowds gasping (me included).

We decided to eat lunch together with Amir and Anis. Amir wanted to bring us to a restaurant nearby. But it was the beginning of 10 days school holiday in Saudi Arabia (plus it was Friday) and there were huge crowds everywhere. Roads were also closed making our trip so much more difficult and longer. When we reached the restaurant, there were so many customers, and we had to wait for an available room, and then wait for our order. Poor Amir had to literally go inside their kitchen to fight for our food. Mama's conditions were worsening, she was shivering inside the restaurant. By the time we made it back to our hotel, we decided to pray Maghrib & Asar inside our rooms as Mama was totally exhausted.

4th March, Saturday, Madinah

In the morning, Mama was still exhausted, so me and Mama prayed Subuh in our room. We also skipped the Masjid Quba', Ladang Kurma trip and sent Insan to represent us. Come Zuhur, Mama was still not well. I was in tears going to the mosque alone. I told our mutawwif about Mama's condition and he said he'll send a wheelchair to our room, because our Rawdhah slot was that night. By the time Asar came, Mama was still not feeling good, and I went alone again. I met Amir on the way to the mosque, he came from his hotel to look at Mama.

When I came back, Mama said Anis will help push her wheelchair for the Rawdhah slot. This will give Anis the chance to enter Rawdhah since she had to skip her slot previously. So that night, Anis went undercover, wearing Azzuha tag and pushing Mama while I queued with Anise and Hajar. It was such a challenge with people pushing and cutting queues. I brought a chair (paid by Insan) and in the rush and excitement of finally being in the holy area, I left the chair against one of the pillars. Niat sedekah la. I had so many mixed feelings, and so many sadness, and such deep longing and just didn't want to leave, and wanted to pray about so many things..

But, there were so many other people waiting their turns, so after a short 2 rakaah sunnah prayer I stood up and left the area. God is Great, I saw Anis, eventhough we took two separate entrances and it had been 2 hours since. So I went to her, and went to Mama and we exited together. Just right at the exit, we saw Amir, he had been waiting. They were supposed to pack their bags, and take the bus to airport that very night and so after pushing Mama near to our hotel, they left. 

5th March, Sunday, Madinah

This morning, Mama was feeling a bit better. So we decided to make our own way to Masjid Quba'. I told our mutawwif and he said, instead of using the Careem app, he'd nego a cab for us as it would be cheaper. We went early, already ready by 7.30 am. The cab took us to Masjid Quba', and waited until we were finished to take us back to our hotel, for 50 SAR. 

We then decided to do some shopping. On the way, we stopped in a pharmacy and I told the pharmacist how Mama has been coughing non-stop and the herbal cough medication we bought before didn't work. So apparently the stronger drugs need prescription so they set-up and online consultation with a doctor via their app. I described her conditions (in English) to the online doctor and finally Mama was given stronger cough meds, painkillers and antibiotics.

Inside the shopping mall, we didn't buy much. A prayer mat, a tasbih for Nenek, a jubah for Faqihah. That was the extend of our buying. We also had some kurmas ordered with Amir. Throughout this trip, most of the time Mama was not well, and with her conditions I didn't have any feeling to go browsing for merchandises. I spent most of my money on milk, yogurt drinks, chocolates and paying for scooters for tawaaf. And oh, a sejadah sandar. It was beneficial for the long iktikafs in masjid :)

6th March: Monday, Madinah to Makkah

We started our Subuh prayer near door 25, since Mama wanted for us to try the door 32 that they said can bring us close to Rawdhah afterwards. However after the prayer there were so many people that we decided to just go back. Then we did our Zuhur prayer near door 25 and we exited from 29. We went near the green dome to say goodbye to our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW.. and I cried and cried, grateful for given the chance to visit, sadness for having to leave. Oh Allah take us back, again and again until finally our end come and in the Hereafter allow us to meet and be with him, our beloved Nabi Muhammad.. amin..

We took a cab to Madinah train station for our Harramain Express speed train. Despite my love for aviation, high-speed rail is THE superior mode of transportation. The legroom was superior, seat so comfortable, and you could actually look outside and see scenery and not just white clouds. It took just 2 hours vs 6 hours by bus. At the train station, we took another cab to the hotel. The driver warned us that roads to the hotel were closed since it is Maghrib and our hotel is just next to the mosque. But when we arrived, the police guarding the road entrance (that was actually closed!) relented and opened the barrier just for our van. MashaAllah.. we were so blessed with so many help by Allah throughout this journey.

We arrived and people were in the middle of prayer right on the street. We waited until the bus group arrived and checked in to our room, Safwah Royale Orchid hotel. It was comfortable, not as excellent as our Madinah room but still very good. We only had a short time to prepare, and eat some kunafa and then we went down to start our umrah.

It was.. so many people. Later we only discovered it was Nisfu Shaaban. It was very very difficult at the mataaf area. People moving in group, people pushing, people doing live video calls (I really wanted to judge, really, but.. if it was just once in a lifetime opportunity, I can somewhat understand). I held on to Mama reallyyy tight, and inside my telekung, I actually had my elbow extended. I didn't want to but for those who pushed me, I actually pushed back. I had to take care of Mama. I was sweating through, and it was difficult to breathe. All thoughts of specific prayers left my head, I only thought about how to navigate around the crowd and keep Mama safe. Alhamdulillah for our Prophet teaching us the best doa. Rabbana atina fid dunya hasanah.. I keep reciting this over and over until my mouth became dry. 

When we finished doing the tawaf, finished the sunnah prayer and went to the zamzam station behind Maqaam Ibrahim, Mama couldn't stand any longer. She was flat out exhausted, and sat against the wall. We had to wait for the rest of the team, Anise, Hajar, Kak Ana and Insan. We were separated very early when doing tawaf, I tried as much as I could to follow the Azzuha group mates but it was short of impossible with the ocean of crowd pushing left, right, and behind. But Alhamdulillah we still managed to finish tawaf safely. The six of us decided to take scooter for sai'e. Mama who said she wanted to walk previously was in full agreement now. But even then, it was a challenge finding the way to the scooter place. Many entrances were closed of. Our poor mutawwif had to walk a long way to send us to the scooter office, and then return back to do his own sai'e by walking. Typing this, I looked back at our WhatsApp conversation, it took around 2 hours to finish tawaf, even at the Level 1 mataaf area.

Even at the scooter office, with the hefty price of 115 SAR per twin-seat scooter, there was a line. I queued while Mama and Insan waited outside. We decided that Mama will ride with Insan, me and Hajar, and Anise with Kak Ana. Payment and receipt process was straightforward but in the middle, when I was right in front of the counter, they suddenly stopped, saying they were waiting for more scooters. But it was just a short wait, and soon we were driving the scooter, which had a tad confusing braking mechanism (releasing the lever instead of squeezing). The driving was also a challenge, there was apparently no age limit for who can drive the scooter so you had young boys treating it as a racing track, zooming left and right, and banging cars from behind. Astaghfirullah.

In the end we finished saie, Alhamdulillah for the ease that was the scooter. Mama cut my hair for tahallul and we completed our umrah. This was the most exhausting and challenging day, finishing at around 2am, but even then it was filled by many blessings.

7th March: Tuesday, Makkah

We did Subuh at our room, totally exhausted from the night before. Breakfast was a banquet compared to the spread in Madinah, but there was no Malay dishes and we mostly ate eggs, sausages, meat.. I was happy looking at the cheese and olives options and would eat them almost everyday. We left for Zuhur early, not knowing where to go. We entered via the same entrance we used yesterday, (which apparently is restricted for those in ihram only. Being ladies it was no problem for us) and turned right. We walked and walked searching for ladies praying area and we found a ladies praying area that was blocked by Qur'an racks but was not carpeted. We sat next to three ladies from Malaysia and they've been there since a few days earlier. Eager for tips, I asked the very kind Farha many questions, and was given tips on where to find carpeted area for praying, place near Kaabah, how to go up the rooftop.. it was such helpful guidance. She said most Malaysians prefer the carpeted area near door 92, because it was cold and comfortable, but it doesn't have line-of-sight of Kaabah. 

Azzuha arranged a trip to Hudaibiyyah that day, but me, Mama and Insan decided not to go. We also sent some clothes to the 15 riyal-per-kg-laundry, we weighted our clothes first so that the prize won't be a surprise (so kiasu). Come Asar, Mama was feeling tired, so I went alone. I decided to try one of the places suggested by Farha, going down the escalator and going right. I saw a carpeted area for ladies but for whatever reason, it was closed for that time. So I ended praying just next to it, in full view of Kaabah :)

Mama was fresher for Maghrib and I wanted to try the door 92, but we left a bit late and the huge crowd in front of the hotel made me unable to orientate and find the door. So we used the same door 5, which was so full of people again, and had to walk very-very far. We finally managed to find a place near the Mas'aa (saie area). Even then, we prayed on the cold marble, but still within sights of Kaabah. We stayed and prayed there until Isya', and I met another lecturer from UiTM Puncak Alam doing her PHD. She gave some pep talks to me, motivating me to go for it. May Allah gives me the chance to start my PHD this year, Amin.

8th March: Wednesday, Makkah

Today, we did our Subuh prayer on the rooftop. It was calming, even with so many people.. being underneath the sky on mosque ground is.. indescribable. May Allah bless me with the chance to experience it again and again. 

There was another trip to Arafah and other places arranged by Azzuha but me and Mama decided to go for tawaf sunat instead. We sent Insan, me and Mama visited those places during our first umrah but this was Insan's first umrah. After Subuh, me and Mama made our way to the scooter place, already deciding to use scooter. We completed three sets of tawaf sunat on the scooter with the duration of 2 hours+. I joked that it was like driving from USJ to Jasin. We were so happy this time during the tawaaf. Mama kept on prompting: okay doa for KHO, doa for Malaysia, doa for Palestin... and I was the one who had to come out with all the doa ideas ahaha..

For Zuhur, we finally discovered the carpeted + cold praying area and there were so many Malaysians there. Ahh I'm with my people. Malaysians, we love our carpet + AC. Then we returned to our hotel, ate lunch, rested. We decided to stay at the mosque from Asar to Isya'. It was long, and even with the sejadah sandar, was a bit tiring. When we returned, Insan was botak. He did his second umrah that day.

9th March: Thursday, Makkah to Taif

That morning, we did our Subuh prayer at the hotel's musolla. Then we prepared for the trip to Taif. There wasn't much to be said about this trip. We visited a mosque, a rose 'factory', ate at a restaurant and visited another mosque for miqat. I think.. next time we'd just skip this trip. It took almost the whole day, was tiring, and I'd rather stay at Masjidil Haram instead. Mama's lethargy came back, her body has rashes all over and her cough came back with more intensity. The long journey to Taif really didn't help :(

10th March: Friday, Makkah

Me and Mama prayed Subuh at the mosque. The imam did sujud sajdah butttt we totally missed it ahhhh. We already discussed it before but when it happened it somehow slipped our minds. After Subuh we did another round of tawaf sunat, this time completing two sets.

Mama wasn't feeling well for solat Jumaat so I went alone with my sejadah sandar. I came early, but the usual praying area nearer to door 91 was full! I had to walk farrr but Alhamdulillah discovered another carpeted ladies area. I love this moment. I was comfortable with my sejadah sandar, my own Qur'an, enough zamzam water, I even fell asleep sitting down.. when I returned from solat Jumaat, Mama already cooked sardin sambal and it was perfect.

I accompanied Mama to do Asar at hotel's musolla because she was still tired, but we did Maghrib + Isya' at the mosque. Mama's lethargy was worsening. After Isya', she laid down on the sejadah, totally tired before we made our ways slowly back to the hotel room. Insan bought chicken and some al-Baik's nuggets but Mama had no appetite.

I started packing up, because our flight was tomorrow. The end of the journey nearer :(

11th March: Saturday, Makkah to Jedah

Mama was still extremely tired so we did our Subuh at the musolla. I started feeling that my menses was coming and was a little panicking because I didn't bring any pads and had no actifast stock left. Alhamdulillah the mini market near our hotel had pads so I stocked up with some chocolates and yogurt drinks. Hajar also had one whole papan of actifast. Life saviour.

Then my menses really did come, so I couldn't do my tawaf wida'. I couldn't believe I would not be able to enter the mosque again this trip :( Mama did her tawaf with Insan, but she was getting weaker. I was extremely worried but tried my best to keep cool.

We checked out around 2PM and made our way to the bus. Our flight was at 1.10 am so we had to kill some time. We were given packed dinner and we ate on a field near Jeddah floating mosque. Then we were told to do Maghrib + Isya' prayer at the mosque. This time, Mama was extremely tired, she couldn't even stand for prayer and was almost crying. I wanted to cry too, but I knew I must be strong. Mama now had rashes all over her body, her face was red and her fingers swollen. The piriton she took did not help and I know she must be injected to help ease her symptoms. I texted our mutawwif that we MUST go and see a doctor, and we need a wheelchair. He arranged it with the ground staff at the airport and once we arrived, there was a wheelchair ready. Alhamdulillah for Insan, he managed all our luggage while me, Mama, the ground staff and our mutawwif went to the airport's clinic. There, I explained to the doctor the chronology of Mama becoming weaker. They frowned at Mama's allergy reactions and decide to do steroid injections. There was no lady attendant so I accompanied Mama at the treatment room. I also asked cough medication for Mama and was given one. There was no payment required, and that was such a blessing. I already transferred RM500 to my BigPay in case we needed to pay.

At the checking gate, the queue was still very long. Insan was holding fort with our bags, not joining the queue yet since we needed to check in together. Mama waited at the side on her wheelchair while me and Insan finally joined the queue. At times I would go to Mama to push her nearer to where we were in the line. Finally at the check-in counter, I told the checking agent that Mama was on wheelchair and he assigned a worker to push Mama to the counter. He put a remark on Mama's boarding pass and then the worker (who spoke good Malay!) pushed Mama to the boarding gate with us following. After we arrived, I asked Insan to give him 20 SAR. Apparently it wasn't enough so I added more. Eh, we already received free medical treatment so this is somewhat fair.

Near the boarding gate, Mama was still very-very tired and wanted to lay down. So we went inside the prayer room and Mama laid down. It was cold and not carpeted so poor Mama :( We waited and when it was almost 30 minutes before departure time I had a hunch that I should go to the front of the gate pushing Mama's wheelchair. So I woke Mama up and pushed her to front. No one was queuing yet, and the agents were still chit-chatting with each other. I couldn't see if our flight had arrive but I wanted to be among the first to board the plane, as Mama was weak and it would be difficult for her to walk if there was already a crowd on the plane.

Seeing me and Mama on wheelchair right in front of their counter, the agent suddenly announced those on wheelchair should start queuing. Not long after that those on wheelchair were asked to board. Me and Mama were not seated next to each other, but she was just right behind me. I was a bit worried but soon Mama was asleep. It was after all almost 2AM when we departed, and I couldn't even finish the meal that was served soon after we departed. I spent most of the flight asleep, I realized late that eh, ada tenet. I replied to Aiman's message on WhatsApp in-flight and amazed him ahaha.

12th March: Sunday, Jeddah to KL

We landed at KLIA right on time at 3.10pm. We were told to wait on the plane by the cabin crew until the person with Mama's wheelchair has arrived. She helped to push Mama all through the immigration gate, the luggage collection, all the way to the airport's exit and waited until Amir and Anis arrived, Alhamdulillah. Amir and Anis drove us back home, and brought the kurma we ordered. Anis checked on Mama and said we should go to KK the next day and not GP. I made an appointment via MySJ for Mama at KK Puchong Batu 14 at 2PM the next day. We ordered Foodpanda for dinner and when we ate the food I said "tak tahulah deria rasa yang tak betul ke, atau makanan ni yang tak sedap". Famous last words.

13th March: Monday, USJ

I woke up late, it was almost 10AM. I reheated some food and cooked eggs for Mama. I went upstairs with food on tray and discovered Mama's condition was not improving at all, becoming worse. So eventhough her appointment was at 2PM, we decided to leave at 11.30AM.

When we arrived at the clinic, it was 12PM, the counter was close for break but I said Mama was really sick so we were pointed towards Emergency. I already had a chronology of Mama's being sick typed down in preparation and as per Anis' suggestion I started with 'we just came back from Umrah'. Immediately we were asked did we go to visit camels. It was a concern because of MERS-COV. The doctor decided to check for Covid and..

Yup, Mama was positive for Covid. Doctor said lethargy is one of the symptoms of Covid, and because Mama's heartbeat was elevated, and there was significant signs of infections in Mama's blood she needed to be warded. She was immediately put on drip, and moved to wait in isolation area. I went back home to USJ, packing stuffs for Mama and doing saliva Covid test. Both me and Insan received negative results. We both went back to KK, I stopped by Petronas to buy breads and food for Mama.

Once we arrived, it was 3PM and Mama was on her second drip bottle, and we still had to wait until the ambulance became available. I still didn't feel good so I asked for my own Covid test, done via nasal by the KK personnel and.. yup, I was positive too. The tiredness I was feeling was not only jetlag, but Covid-induced lethargy. 

By 4.30PM, the ambulance to take Mama to Hospital Serdang was ready. She left, so me and Insan made our way back. On the way home, we stopped so Insan can do his own nasal test and Alhamdulillah he was still negative. Izzul stopped by with oximeter for me and packs of Nasi Ayam. Alhamdulillah for him being near.

So, that was our Umrah journey. It was challenging, especially for Mama. But I'm sure there are great rewards for her, for she tried her hardest, even when her body was not cooperating. And while getting Covid was definitely something we both didn't want, it allowed me some more time to stay in USJ and by the time Mama was discharged I was available to pick her up from the hospital. It also allowed both me and Mama extra resting time. Allah in His infinite wisdom granted us blessings amidst some challenges. Verily, for every hardship there is relief.