Category Archives: Everyday Life

The city of Madinah

Posted in Food and Drinks, Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat by

Everyone who has been to Madinah would utter the word, RINDU. In fact, both Mekah and Madinah taught me how to carry my worldly burden differently. The worries of my job, my family matters and others seem so small and distant. The goal there was so clear. To worship and please Allah.

The stay at Madinah would have been better if I had gone for the ziarah. Even then, the calmness in just seeking to pray 5 times at the masjid, reciting the Quran, and just resting at the masjid was enough.

Haramain Speed Train

2 adults, 1 kid: RM 662.00

We checked out of Al-Kiswah Hotel and took an Uber to the station. My husband had bought the ticket online. Once the train arrived, we boarded the designated carriage and looked for our seats. It was a 2-hour-plus ride at a speed of 300km/hour. Before this service was available, Jemaah would take the 6-hour bus ride to Madinah. The fare is of course cheaper.

We enjoyed our doughnuts, and soon enough, we arrived in Madinah. The temperature was slightly cooler compared to Mekah.

Al-Mustarah Hotel, Madinah

5D4N: RM 968.00

It is a new hotel, and we loved that it has a shuttle service. The shuttle would leave 30 minutes before prayer times. Occasionally, the shuttle was full, and visitors needed to find their own transport to the masjid.

The hotel is located near eateries as well. We did not include breakfast services with the room. Overall, it was a really comfortable stay. The hallway smells clean and fresh all the time. The sheets were crisp, and having a mini pantry to prepare our beverages was great. They even have a Netflix service in the room.

Masjid Nabawi

The beauty of Masjid Nabawi rendered me speechless. I could only pray that Allah would bestow His Mercy and Rahmat towards those who keep this place beautiful and clean for all worshippers. Finally, I get to see the majestic umbrellas, the prayer halls and sniff the smell of the masjid. Although I did not get to set foot in Raudah, the chance to just be within the grounds of it was a grateful experience.

We were very relaxed in Madinah. We joined the obligatory prayers, and we read the Quran. We ate, we shopped and we rested. Then we prayed again.

We bought souvenirs here. My daughter bought bracelets and chocolates for her friends. I did the same. We also bought Saudi snacks to bring back home. We had sips of Zamzam water in the masjid. In short, our main focus there was just to perform our ibadat.

I wish to revive the spirit of my personal ibadat in Malaysia. Slowing down in my prayer movement. Improving my Quran recitation and supplication. Perhaps polishing my Arabic. I learned it in secondary school. When everything you do is focused towards worship and pleasing Allah, indeed, I do feel that my problems back home are so small.

I can see why muslims want to return for Umrah again and again. It resets your life and thoughts. It stills your heart and programs your mind to believe that Allah is The Al-Mighty and that He loves you and will take care of you, no matter what you’re going through. Trust in His plans and at the same time strive to become a better muslim.

Our time in Madinah passed by really quickly. Soon it was time to go home. That will be the matter in my next post.

Masjid al-Haram

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Over 14 days of holiday + umrah, I survived with 3 sets of jubah, 3 T-shirts, 1 pair of cargo pants, 1 jacket, 5 pairs of socks, 5 bras, 2 inner scarves and daily disposable underwear with pantyliner. Additionally, I brought three pairs of telekung, one bawal tudung, and one shawl.

My daughter had 5 outfit changes, including underwear, 1 jacket, 2 jubah-hijab sets, and 1 telekung.

My husband packed his own luggage, but I think he had way less. We did not use any laundry services. We washed them with our bare hands and hang it to dry in our hotel room.

The Umrah

After checking into the hotel, we walked up to Masjid al-Haram at a comfortable pace, just after 7PM. We started with the tawaf on the 1st floor. I wore tawaf socks. In my 2nd umrah, I changed it to hotel slippers, and in my 3rd umrah, I decided to just wear a clean pair of Crocs. That was the most comfortable for me.

My daughter wore croc-like shoes. A clean pair, never been worn outside. For each round of the tawaf, I made different do’as. I made them for myself, my parents, my siblings, my husband, my children, my friends/co-workers and for all the muslimin and muslimat. I also made a prayer that the cleaners and guardians of the holy land be rewarded handsomely in dunia and akhirat.

In between the tawaf rounds, we had sips of Zamzam water. On our 2nd umrah on a different day, our tawaf met the prayer time of Maghrib. So we paused tawaf to give way to our obligatory prayers and continued on. We also got to perform tawaf on the rooftop. There, I saw buggy cars lined up for Jamaahs to hire. My husband’s friend used it before and said that it took him roughly 15 to 20 minutes to complete the tawaf on the buggy.

Saie comes after tawaf. I have to admit that umrah nowadays is far more comfortable than it was before. Nowadays, the hallway is air-conditioned and beautifully lit. They even install Zamzam fountains for refreshments. Based on pictures taken many decades ago, the facility they had was far less than how it is today.

Once saie is done, we perform tahallul, and just like that, our umrah is completed. It took us approximately 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. We did not rush, as we did not want our daughter to feel too tired and burdened by the rituals. After that, we walked around the masjid to soak in the beautiful atmosphere of people worshipping.

Before this, I had thought that New York was the city that never sleeps. I was wrong. Mekah is indeed a city that never sleeps. There will always be people walking around the Kaaba 24 hours a day, and they come from all over the world. We were able to use the shuttle bus back to our hotel. My daughter had a really restful night.

For the subsequent umrah, we took the taxi to Miqat Aisyah first. A fair fee is 50SR to and fro. At Miqat Aisyah, I see some Jamaahs kissing the pillars of the mosque. I don’t really know why, but it was interesting to see. After the niyat and prayers there, we returned to Masjid al-Haram and continued our umrah.

Overall, we managed to squeeze in 3 umrahs over the 5 days we were at Mekah. I performed one on behalf of my mom, who passed away 5 years ago. It was also an incredible experience to be able to do this with my daughter. I rewarded her with 100SR for her efforts. She was delighted and spent it on gifts for her friends.

Mini thoughts during umrah

  • Arabic is the main language (obviously). Everyone just assumes you can speak Arabic, and the best that I could utter was probably ‘waalaikum salam’, ‘syukran’ and ‘eywa’.
  • The guards/soldiers may look fierce, but they are very kind and accommodating. My husband used a selfie stick to take pictures of us after tawaf. A guard spoke in a stern yet gentle manner (using Arabic) that he should keep the selfie stick in his bag. It felt like his name should be Abu Ubaidah. The guard had so much authority in his voice tone.
  • There were times when I forgot what doa I wanted to recite during Tawaf and Saie. I ended up saying the Asmaul-Husna and mathurat.
  • Drink and take back to the hotel as much Zamzam water as you like. You will miss this once you reach Madinah.
  • Food options are wonderful and affordable (as long as you don’t go for selera T20). The portion is also huge. Maybe we are not big eaters as well.
  • The toilet outside the masjid is big. It is almost the size of the mall. It has escalators going down to the toilet and wudhu area. The cubicle is slim. It also has both squat and sitting options.
  • A visit to Bin Dawood is a must.

Umrah is the ultimate healing method that one should go for if you are able to do so. Prayers feel so different here. The mind does not buzz frantically like it did for me back home. It felt weird to attain that peaceful feeling while I was there. Although some would say that they focused on ibadat 100% there, for me, it was more like worldly problems felt so small there. So distant. Solvable.

It is because I still have to update my HRMIS online. It is a government body platform that stores the end of the year performance reviews. But I did it calmly. I felt that there was no reason to panic. And remembering how not all people like me back home, there, it doesn’t seem to bother me at all. I was amazed that I could experience the ‘I have Allah with me all the time’ moment. That Allah will help me, and whatever He has planned for me is the best for me. Even if I do not know it yet.

I hope that all Muslims can perform umrah at least once in their lifetime. It is a priceless experience.

Wait till I tell you about Madinah.

From Cairo to Jeddah with Flyadeal

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It takes a bit of planning for my dear husband to match the itinerary with our mental and physical capabilities as a family. That is one of the perks of doing DIY Umrah. You can plan your time around your needs. Our flight from Cairo to Jeddah was in the morning. We left the Turquoise Hotel in an Uber and arrived at the airport promptly.

At passport control, we had to fill out a non-Egyptian declaration form first. Once we’d passed that, we had breakfast in the waiting area. My husband changed into his ihram. I put on my mini telekung.

FLYADEAL

Flyadeal is a low-cost Saudi airline. Our journey from Cairo to Jeddah took just over 3 hours. In the plane, we were served a croissant and mineral water. The pilot made an early announcement 30 minutes before reaching miqat. Perhaps other passengers are keen to change into their ihram on the plane. He then broadcast the next information upon arriving at the miqat so that we could make our niyat.

On arrival, my daughter has stomach ache. Alhamdulilah, she made it to the airport toilet on time. I was so worried that her clothes would be soiled. After picking up our luggage, we headed to the lower ground floor to the bus booth. My husband bought 3 bus tickets (2 adults,1 kid) from Northwest. We were relieved that we caught it on its scheduled time. Otherwise, we would have to wait for another hour for the next bus. The total fare was 100SR.

The bus was really comfortable, and the journey took just 1 hour. The bus dropped us at Jabal Kaabah Terminal, and we wheeled our luggage downhill towards Al-Kiswah Hotel. The plan was to check into our room, clean and relieve ourselves a bit before going back uphill for our Umrah.

AL-KISWAH HOTEL

Al-Kiswah Hotel seems to be a favourite among muslims coming from “The Stans”. I hardly saw any Malaysians or Indonesians during our stay there. Husband paid RM 700.00 for a 5D4N stay. I have only come to realise later that I did not take any pictures of the room. Basically, our room has 3 single beds with the usual amenities like FREE WIFI, a fridge and a hot shower. There is no hairdryer in the room. Best bet, bring your own. However, I do have to caution you regarding the use of the public WIFI. My credit card ended up getting hacked as I tried to pay for my CELCOMDIGI roaming pass. I was able to make the initial payments over a very slow-loading page, keying in my CVC number numerous times. My bank must have detected subsequent suspicious activities and blocked the card. Of course, I knew about it only later, upon returning home. In hindsight, I should have paid for my roaming pass before I was in a foreign country. On a different note, the Celcomdigi roaming service is really convenient and fairly priced at RM98 for 14 days.

Al-Kiswah Hotel has a shuttle that brings us back uphill. However, by the time we reached the hotel, it was already past Isyak, and since the shuttle took quite some time to arrive, the 3 of us decided to walk back up to Masjidil Haram for our umrah. We were a bit concerned that our daughter would be able to continue with the plan. Seems that she was in really high spirits and was able to do it. The shuttle was easier to access on subsequent trips to the masjid for prayers and umrahs. Just not that night. Although we had to ‘fight’ for our seats in the bus, Jemaahs from ‘the stans’ are so lovely, nice and courteous towards each other.

I will write about our umrah in the next post.

Umrah 2025 – a short reflection

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If you have the means, if you feel lost and weary, go for Umrah.

If you have the means, if you feel overwhelmed by the demands of duniyaa, go for Umrah.

Had I known the positive implications of doing Umrah, I would have made an overzealous effort to make the trip possible earlier. Even then, I believe that regardless of how much time one has and how financially affordable it is to some people, if Allah does not will for it to happen, it will still not happen. So Alhamdulilah, I feel blessed that I can perform Umrah this year.

The Invite

The famous narrative among Malay Muslims about an individual being able to perform Umrah is that ‘Allah dah jemput’. Meaning Allah has invited you. Often, I hear people making comments that it is this sacred invite that eases the process of coming to Mekah. To me, it came with a strong urge of ‘I want to go Mekah’. Never mind the endless Mastika* stories about sinners being punished in front of the Kaabah or of how Allah pays cash for bad behaviour or intent. My perception is that while it is good to take heed of other people’s experience there, it is still a personal pilgrimage with intentions known between him/her and Allah. No one experience is the same. I believe that we should not think of Allah wanting to punish us for our previous sins during Umrah. Rather, take it as an invitation out of love. He does not want us to stray too far from the Islamic teachings, and He wants to forgive us and continue to bless us in this holy journey and after.

[*Mastika is a popular Malaysian magazine that tells stories of how people who do bad things are punished in various ways when they are dying. I believe it has been discontinued for several years now].

Mekah

The holy city was everything like I had imagined. A city that hosts the ibadat of Muslims from various countries, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds. To some muslims, this is probably their 10th Umrah in their lifetime. To some, like myself, this could be our first Umrah. While I may not be draining my personal savings with this Umrah trip, other pilgrims may have sold their belongings to make this journey. The objective is the same: to worship Allah.

The keepers of the holy city know that. Hence, they accommodate the differences. They guide. They show the way. They made sure that the place is well-kept and clean at all times. They keep order in a place where millions of people come from all around the world. In Mekah, the first language is Arabic. Hence, the soldiers, the cleaners and most pilgrims will speak to you in Arabic. However, do not let that worry you, especially for English speakers. Somehow, you will get to understand the ‘well intentions’ and ‘kindness’ of people despite the language barrier.

My daughter was a frequent recipient of kindness. She would get sweets and candy from people of all ages. They were handed out as gifts to children so they’ll be happy and enjoy their visits to the mosque. There is no issue of allergies or ‘I don’t give my kids sugar treats’. You just accept the token graciously, only to deal with anything concerning it later. It is because matters like this are seen as something small since the benevolent act weighs heavier in the eyes of Allah. Similarly, the difference one observes in Islamic practices between the mazhabs here is viewed as normal. Somehow, it is fine to be slightly different in how you place your hands on the body after the takbiratul ihram because everyone ultimately worships Allah.

It is interesting how when you place yourself in a devout environment like Mekah or Madinah, you are automatically drawn into doing good deeds and high-quality ibadats. The rukuk and sujuds are slower. The surah you choose to recite is longer. The workload, assignments at the desk or business ventures at home somehow sit further down the priority list. Though dissociating completely from worldly matters can be challenging, the burden of it does seem small compared to your ibadat. Somehow, all the problems I experienced back home seemed so petty and actually solvable once you reach Mekah. That all the pending task back home is just another task that brings in salary for your living, having now a better understanding and confidence that ALLAH is the one who gives you sustenance. So, there is no need to rush through namaz. Or be reckless with life. Instead, perform more solat, fast, recite zikir and make doa more when given a chance to do so. I felt nourished spiritually. I am motivated to continue this motivational streak back home.

Physically, I felt so energised too. I did have a minor cold towards the end when I left Madinah. However, when in Mekah doing Umrah, all my headache, back pain and body tightness seems to find relief and loosen up with time. Maybe it was the Zamzam working its magic. I did read that it has an alkaline pH, rich in magnesium and calcium. Thus, explains the relief for muscle soreness. I had a lot of Zamzam water there since it is readily available at the masjid. We even bought it home via the Saudi consent given to pilgrims, whereby each passport holder can buy 5L of Zamzam for 12.5 SR, and it is not included in the baggage allowance. I was also walking a lot as compared to my sedentary life back home.

InsyaAllah I will share more about my Umrah in a subsequent post. For this trip, we actually went to Cairo first before to Mekah/Madinah. So that is a whole lot of story to tell in a few weeks to come. Look out for the hashtag!