Aleena and Aydaan’s Umrah Trip

April 2014

Getting ready for Umrah

When you get ready for umrah you enter into a state of ihram. This includes1. Performing a ritual bath (ghusl)2. Putting on the ihram (like Aydaan is in the picture)3. Making the intention4. Saying the Talibyah (labbayk Allahumma labbayk…)5. Praying two ra’kah’s

After traveling for almost two days from Canton to Chicago to Frankfurt (Germany) and finally Makkah, we immediately started our Umrah, even though it was almost midnight! <NOTE: We didn’t take any pictures during any part of our actual Umrah, so had to go back a few days later to make sure we could capture it all to bring it back home!>

Visiting the Ka’abaThe first step is to circle (ta’waf’) the

Ka’aba seven times, starting and ending with the black stone.

You have to have wudu while you are making ta’waf or it won’t be counted!

We made lots of dua (especially when first seeing it) and even got to touch it!

Thousands of people from all over

the world

Aydaan’s hand touching the Ka’aba wall A beautiful view of the Haram at nighttime

The Ka’aba is our favorite building in the whole world!

View from inside the Hatim

Footsteps of Prophet Ibrahim

After we completed our Ta’waf, we prayed two rakats salah behind the Maqam of Ibrahim . This is the second step in Umrah.

This place has a special history that goes back to when the Ka’aba was first built…..

In order to complete the upper part of the walls of the Ka’aba, Prophet Ibrahim stood upon a large stone block that he moved along when each section was completed.

When the Ka’aba was finished building, the large stone block was left outside of the Kab’ah. It was the place where Prophet Ibrahim offered his prayers.

Footsteps of Prophet Ibrahim

Drinking Zam Zam

Zam Zam was everywhere we travelled – even all the way in

Madinah

The third step of Umrah includes drinking a lot of Zamzam water. When drinking, we made the intention that it helps us attain good deeds with

knowledge, vastness in provision and continued well being.

A mouth piece of the Well of Zamzam with its ring and lid.

A pulley for lifting Zamzam water dating back to the end of the 14th century of Hijrah

A brass bucket which used to be in the well of Zamzam dating back to 1299H

Safa and Marwah

Keep running Aydaan! You have to complete 7 times total back and forth

Aydaan standing on Marwah

Making dua between Mts. Safa and Marwah

Mount Safa

The fourth step of Umrah is called Sa‘ee which is meant to honor Hajirah’s search for water and Allah's mercy in answering her prayers.

The start of Sa’ee

Following Sa’ee, we trimmed our hair (final step) and officially completed our Umrah. Alhamdullilah!!

The Prophet’s (PBUH) early yearsAfter we completed our Umrah, we spent a few days seeing the sights and getting to see everything we had learnt about the Prophet’s life.

Near the Haram, we walked to see where the Prophet (PBUH) was born. It is now a library. We also saw the mountain areas where he was a Sheppard and cared for sheep in his early years. What a blessing it was to walk in the very same footsteps of our Beloved!

The Prophet (PBUH) grew up as an orphan. The Prophets father, Abdullah, died when Muhammad was not yet born. Muhammad (PBUH) was nursed by Halimah Al-Sadiyyah up until the age of 2 when he was taken into the custody of his paternal uncle Abu

Talib. Muhammad’s mother died when he was six years old. He was first taken under the care of his paternal grandfather, Abd Al-Muttalib. When Muhammad was eight years old, Abd Al-Muttalib passed away, and Muhammad’s guardianship fell to Abu Talib

(son of Abd Al-Muttalib and Muhammad’s paternal uncle). Alluding to the Prophet Muhammad’s orphanage experience and poor childhood, Allah says “Did He not find you (O Muhammad) an orphan and gave you a refuge? And He found you unaware (of the

Quran, its legal laws and Prophethood) and guided you? And He found you poor, and made you rich (self sufficient with self contentment)? Therefore, treat not the orphan with oppression. And repulse not the beggar. And proclaim the Grace of your Lord

(Surat Al Dhuha, verses 6-11)

Masjid al Bay’ah

Sh. Hamza making dua after giving a lesson he taught

One of our first sight visits was to Masjid al Bay’ah which is also known as the Mosque

of the Pledge. It is the place where the Prophet (PBUH) received the oath of

allegiance of the tribes of Yathrib (Madinah).

Years before the Hijrah, this was where 73 Muslim men and women swore their

allegiance to him, promising to defend him as they would their own families.

The mosque lies at the foot of the hills near Mina

It was a really hot day but subhanAllah amazing to see!

La illaha ill Allah Inscribed on the wall of the masjid

Our Amma praying Dhur

Mount ArafatThe Prophet’s Last Sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah, 10 AH in the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Makkah. After praising and thanking Allah, the Prophet (PBUH) began with the words….

“O People! Lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen carefully to what I am saying and take these words to those who could not be present here today.O People! Just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deedsAllah has forbidden you to take usury (interest) therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Al-Abbas ibn Abd AL-Muttalib (Prophets uncle) be waived.Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabi’ah ibn Al HarithiahO Men! The unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to prohibit which Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in number, four of them are sacred, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumadah and Sha’ban.Beware of Satan for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

Mount Arafat

Eating Ice Cream with the Camels

Mount ArafatO People! It is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. DO treat your mown well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. An it is your right that they do not allow any one to your house o whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People! Listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan and give your wealth in Zakat (obligatory charity). Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab is not superior to a non Arab nor a non Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white man is not superior to a black person nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety and good action. Know that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.

Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, No prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore. O People! And understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my Sunnah (sayings, deeds, and approvals) and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to you people”.

Toward the end of his sermon, the Prophet (PBUH) asked: “O People, have I faithfully delivered unto you my message? “ “O Allah, yes!” Came the answer of the thousands of pilgrims, whereupon, the Prophet (PBUH) raised his forefinger and said “Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people.”

Mount Arafat

Eating Ice Cream with the Camels

Climbing up to Cave HiraWe climbed to the top of Cave Hira which is the place where the Prophet (PBUH) spent a month each year in spiritual retreat, before Angel Jibril came to him with

Revelation.

It was soooo hot climbing more than 1000 steps up the

mountain

At the halfway mark….

Almost at the top, where we prayed Maghrib. After a hard climb, we were

blessed with a beautiful breeze!

“Read in the Name of your Lord Who has created, Who has created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is the Most generous, He has taught by the pen, taught man that which he did not know”

The first of the Qur’an was revealed here to the Prophet (PBUH)

Inside Cave HiraAs we entered inside the cave, not only was it hard to imagine that our Prophet (PBUH) climbed this mountain so frequently (it was high and very difficult to climb), but that we were in the very place that the Quran was first revealed! We made lots of dua and dhikr as we stood inside and felt the power of being inside the cave.

It was really tiny and squishy inside

Aydaan sitting down at the entrance of the cave

Asad Mamoo was the only one of the adults (other than

mama) who believed we would make it to the top!

Hard to believe this is the same place our Prophet might have sat!

Kiswah Factory Kiswah is the cloth that covers the Ka’aba. The cover is made of silk with embroidery done in real gold. It takes 11 months to make and is draped every year on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah (Day of Arafat). We got to have a private visit to the factory where it is made to see all of the steps involved. Aleena was also fortunate enough to be given a piece of gold that is used on the cover.

We were the only ones that got real gold that is used on the cover

A model of the inside of the Ka’aba is in the factory. This is our family standing inside of the model Ka’aba

Example of the Kaaba Door Before there is even any embroidery

The process continues…

Mecca MuseumThere were so many cool things that we saw at the Museum

The teak staircase of the Holy Ka’aba from 1240 AH

The door of the Ka’aba from 1363 AH

The door of the Kaaba from 1363 AH

The well of Zamzam from 1299AHA marble midday timer used to

determine prayer times What an amazing walk through history…..

Meeting more grandparents!

On the authority of Salmh ibn Al-Akwa who said: “I once head the Prophet’s mule (named: Al Shahba) all the way into the Prophet’s bedroom with the Prophet and his grandchildren (Al-Hasan and Al-Husein) mounted on it” (reported by Muslim)

On the authority of Abu Hurairah who said “I once saw the Prophet (PBUH) carrying on his shoulder his grandchild Al-Hasan ibn Ali while the latter’s saliva was flowing on the Prophet’s body” (reported by Ahmad)

On the authority of Ya’a AL-Amiri who said that Al-Hasan and Al-Husein once came racing toward the Prophet (PBUH) who embraced them’ (reported by Ahmad)

We were very blessed to get to go for Umrah with our mom, grandparents and great aunt.

When we got to Makkah, we had a very special visit with even more grandparents, when my Baba’s (grandfather) older brother and wife came all the way from Pakistan just to see us and spend time with us at the Ka’aba.

This was a memory of a lifetime!

Traveling to MadinahAs we left Makkah we traveled 324km on our way towards the city of our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) – Madinah.

On our way we stopped to visit the grave of Lady Maymunah, on of the Mothers of the Believer, who was married to the Prophet (PBUH) in the 7 AH.

Even though she lived close to 40 years in Madinah after the Prophet (PBUH) death, she asked to be buried at the same place where she married the Prophet.

We stopped on the way to pay our respects.

We also stopped on the way in Jeddah to have a dinner at the house of a special ‘Hijazi’ dignitary who hosted our group with a very fancy meal.

It was a very long day traveling – but we remembered that at the time of the Prophet, they did this same route on foot!

Jeddah Beachfront

Gravesite of Lady Maymunah

Date GardenOn the authority of Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said “I saw in a

dream that I would migrate from Makkah to a land with palm trees. Initially , I thought that place was going to be Al-Yamamah or Hajar . But then it turned out to Yathrib

(Madinah) was my destination” (reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

Aydaan listening carefully to find out that we were standing in the very same Date Garden from where the Prophet PBUH entered into

Madinah from. subhanAllah!

We ate a wonderful breakfast of special bread that was known for its healing power (made

with zamzam), yogurt and dates from the date garden.

The Prophet’s Mosque

These beautiful domes open

Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) is reported to have said: “The Prophet (PBUH) used to occupy himself with the remembrance of Allah (dhikr) no matter what situation he was in (reported by Muslim).

On the authority of Abu Hurairah who said that he heart the Prophet (PBUH) say ‘By Allah, I do repeat istaghfar and pronounce tawbah to Allah more than 70 times a day (reported by Bukhari).

On the authority of Abu Hurirah who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said “Repeating “SubhanAllah, Al-hamdullilah, laa llaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, is worthier for me than everything under the sun (reported by Muslim)

The lamps inside the mosque Umbrellas outside of the mosqueAleena posing in front of the main entry to the ladies prayer area

Everything inside of this mosque was stunning

The windows to the mosque

The Prophet’s Grave (Rawdah)“What is between my house and my pulpit is a meadow of the meadows in Paradise, and my

pulpit is on my pool” (Al-Bukhari)

Green Carpet… A piece of Jannah

“Oh Allah, once I set my foot in Paradise, You promised You will never take it back, so please grant me Jannah Firdose!”

The Green Dome under which lies the graves of the Prophet (PBUH), Abu Bakr and Umar

Masjid QubaBuilt by the Prophet (PBUH) as soon as he arrived from Makkah, this mosque has many interesting facts about it including;

1. It was the first masjid ever built

2. The Prophet (PBUH) visited it almost every Saturday to pray

3. A prayer at this masjid is equal to the reward of an Umrah

We prayed our two rakah at this masjid, which meant we did TWO umrah’s during our visit.

May Allah accept!!

Masjid al-Qiblatayan

For 17 months after the Prophet’s (PBUH) arrival into Madinah, prayer was still in the direction of Jerusalem. The Prophet (PBUH) began to ask Allah to give him the qiblah of his choice, towards the Ka’bah.

It was at this masjid that one day at Dhur time, right in middle of the prayer (after the first two rakah), Angel Jibril came with the order to face Makkah. The Prophet immediately turned, along with his companions. As such, the first two rakahs were prayed towards Jerusalem and the second two were prayed towards the Ka’aba.

We had the chance to pray our two rakats at this Masjid while visiting.

‘Mosque of the Two Prayer Directions’

Aydaan listening and learning to our teachers

Archers’ Hill

Battle of the Ditch (Khandaq)

Battle of Badr

Sites of the Various BattlesWe walked on the same earth that our Prophet fought so hard to give

us the gift of Islam.

Mount Uhud (where Hamza RAH is burried)

Our Daily LessonsWhile in Madinah, we had classes every day between Asr and Maghrib time with Sheikh Hamza.

We learnt a lot about the Prophet’s life, the history of the sites we were visiting, and stories of the companions.

We also were taught about the many benefits of saying salaam on the Prophet.

Aydaan sitting in the front row of class

Madinah Museum

His Miracles• Prophet talking to Date Tree• Prophet broke the rock with his hand at

Khandak• Golden bracelets that would be discovered

after his death• Splitting of the Moon

The Prophet’s sons The Prophet’s daughters

Baba, Aydaan and Asad

Right outside of the Prophet’s Mosque was a wonderful museum

that included everything you needed to know about his life!

His Revelations

Quran Printing PressOur group was able to get a personal visit to the King Fahd Quran printing press.

They produce about 10 million copies of the Quran every year in 39 languages.

Coming HomeAfter ten days of an amazing experience, visiting the Blessed Cities, seeing

all of the holy sites and even meeting and making some new friends, it was time to come home.

Playing in Frankfurt airport

Aydaan, Yusuf and Ali in Madinah when they were sad to leave each other

Aleena and Sana (who has already memorized 10 entire

juz mA!!)

We pray that Allah accepts our worship and that we are invited one day to

return.

Until then, we hope that this experience will live with us in our hearts and minds

forever …

Thank you for listening

The End