Sunday 26 May 2013

36 hours to a journey of the soul...

Dallah Taibah Hotel Medina / Madinah
Dallah Taibah Medina
Approximately 36 hours from now I shall be on Saudi Airlines en route to Madinah Al Munawarrah for the pilgrimage that I had been waiting for. It was ten years ago that I stepped foot in Madinah and Mecca for haj...and finally I'm returning to perform the Umrah. It's amazing how God has planned things for you. I had the means to return in 2005 but it was not meant to be. Having the means to go does not guarantee that you will be invited. Only Allah knows when is the best time for you to receive His invitation. 

The act of Umrah is known to cleanse one’s soul from past committed sins. It is advised to do Umrah more than once in your lifetime so that it can act as a cleansing of the sins from the last time one performs Umrah. Abu Hurairah (R) narrates that the Prophet(S) said, ‘One Umrah is an expiation for the sins committed between it and another Umrah'.  (Bukhari, Muslim)

My greatest hope is for me husband and I to be healthy so we can perform the umrah without major problems. I hope to be able to pray in Raudhah, which is one of the gardens in heaven. The distance from Dallah Taibah Hotel to the mosque is about 80 metres. I hope to make full use of the distance.

Al-Ghufran
After four days in Madinah we will leave for Mecca and the group will be staying at Al Ghufran Hotel which is approximately 90 metres to King Abdul Aziz' entrance. Although dear hubby is affected by gout now and had only recovered from fever yesterday, I hope he can lead me in the umrah rituals especially the tawaf as he has the advantage of being tall. The last time we performed the tawaf during our haj, I felt so safe amidst the millions of people because he was right behind me and protected me from the sometimes rough crowd! Whatever Allah has in store for me, I hope to come home after the umrah a better Muslimah, a better person.   

The Holy Kaaba
I humbly seek forgiveness for all my wrongdoings and shortcomings from my family, friends and students (especially to 5 Bukhari and 5 Syafie,  to whom I have been pretty hard lately only because I wanted them to realise their full potential). This umrah is a journey of the soul and its significance lies in cleansing the soul. May this umrah be accepted (mabrur) and will not be my last.





The Prophet (PBUH) said: 
"The performers of Hajj and Umrah are deputations of Allah (SWT). If they call Him, He answers them and if they seek His forgiveness, He forgives them.






The Thinking Teacher




2 comments:

Al-Manar said...

I presume you are back from a successful and an eventful Umrah. My other half joined our son, d-i-l and two grandsons, and are safely back. They left on 27/5,about the same time as your departure. Sadly, the atmosphere there is no longer as what it was in seventies when one could leisurely leisurely perform the tawaf, at times in just two or three circles of people.

Rahmah said...

assallam pakcik,
it's always great to hear from you. i hope you are in good health and great shape :) yes, indeed i've just returned from umrah on sunday morning and have now resumed work. you're absolutely right about the situation now. perfoming the tawaf is a real challenge now because so many can afford to do umrah now but Allah has his ways of creating that space for you in sya Allah..i left on the 28th a day after your wife, son and grandsons. incidentally, i went with rayhar travels based in kuala terengganu because my in-laws recommended it. alhamdulillah i had a meaningful umrah in the sense that i could perform as many prayers as i wanted and focussed on ibadah in sya Allah. i really missed madinah and mecca and hope to be back soon. there's so much to blog about but i'm inundated with work as soon as school reopens, i wonder if i can write about them at all. one thing i realised pakcik was that i had been too engaged with the wordly (work, work, work) that it took me nine years to return! a big mistake on my part perhaps but i also believe it's God's will to invite me there. alhamdulillah...it was indeed a journey of the soul