30 May 2009
Day-1 : KL-DOHA-Jeddah-Madinah
Eight of us departed from KLIA at 00.55 am. Transited in Dubai for 4 hours.
Arrived at Jeddah airport at 02.00 pm and I was tired flying up and down from Malaysia to Doha, Qatar to Jeddah in 12 hours.
Soon exiting the arrival gate our passports were pulled together by the Umrah officer. The officer just glanced slightly towards me and asks for my Muhram so our passport was processed together. They took hubby's photo and fingerprints. That was normal procedure that Saudi immigration needed to copy the entire passport. It took nearly an hour to do that.
The journey from Jeddah to Madinah by an air-condtioned bus took about 5 hours.
We arrived at our hotel in Madinah at 09.30 pm. Checked-in at Fairuz Al Satar Hotel. We gather at the hotel for taklimat and handling of keys while the hotel staff handles our luggage. We rest for a while, clean up and head to the mosque for prayer. Masjid Nabawi is only a short walking distance from our hotel. My first impression of Madinah was true. It is peace and tranquil city. The Hotel was right outside Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (which was also massive, 600,000 capacity). But the inside was amazing! The ceilings, chandeliers, the artwork, the pillars, everything was simply amazing.
My kid and my nephew at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
At Jetplane, Qatar Airways going to Jeddah.
View of the mosque at night
Giant umbrella
31 May 2009
Day-2: Madinah al-Munawwarah
After the Subuh prayer and take nasi lemak for breakfast and gather at the hotel lobby
We were the second last group to be allowed to enter the Raudhah. I'm very thankful and managed to perform solat sunat and do'a while in there.
We visited makam Rasulullah to say Salam from family and friends.
"Salaam upon you Ya Rasulullah
From me and from the one who has requested me?
To convey Salaams to you."
At the Raudhah recited the dua'.
"Ya Allah,
Fulfill our needs,
And make our affairs easy,
And open our hearts
And accept our visit
And remove the fears
And grant us safety
And conceal our faults
And forgive our sins
And remove our difficulties
And let our end be with our good actions
And count us with your pious servants
Who do not fear or grieve by your mercy
I have no idea what happen to the male in our group so I walked back to the hotel and called our room. Hubby's and my kids reached our room already. It's already past 11 a.m. when I reached our hotel.
We went to the mosque for Isya'. I managed to get inside, iktikaf before prayer.
We return to hotel for dinner and went out again to walk around and do some shopping. Other than the shops, there's also open market so we were spoilt for choices. In one of the shop, the shopkeeper said Malaysia... Turkey... while pointing to hubby and me.
I smile and said," La! Malizia" In other shops, they would say Malaysia... Arab...while pointing to hubby and me :)I said the same thing. MasyaAllah they would say to hubby hehehe...
My Arabic vocabulary is very limited. Interestingly, some of the words I know, came to me one by one from memory. And as I was walking around, I can understand some of the road signs. We return to hotel at about 11 p.m. and fell asleep around 11:45 p.m.
Thank Allah for that.
Ar-Raudah An-Nabawiyah-The heart of the mosque, which extends from the house of the prophet to His pulpit.
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Grave of Prophet Muhammad(SAW)
Day-3: Madinah al-Munawwarah
We woke up at 04:00 a.m. That's considered late here. Azan is at 04:46 a.m. and we normally have to be at the mosque at least 10-15 minutes before the azan to get inside the mosque peacefully. So we reached the mosque quite late and by the time I reached the female praying area, there's no doubt I have to pray outside.
After the Subuh prayer and breakfast, got ready for ziarah at historical places around Madinah. Visited Masjid Quba’, Masjid Qiblatain, Masjid 7, Jabal Uhud and the Tamar Souk.
As usual and I was kind of getting used to the delayed, the bus left the hotel at 08:30 am.
Three thousand soldiers from Makkah faced 700 followers of Holy Prophet SAW). It is here that the Holy Prophet (SAW) wounded and His uncle Hamzah was martyred. At the foothill is where he and the other Muslims are buried. There a lot of local street retailers were selling souvenirs and religious items.
After that we were heading to Masjid Qiblatain.
Next we went to the Masjid Quba. This mosque is 4 miles from Madinah and is the
The last venue, we went to the Dates Field… “everyone’s crazy buying dates and chocolates made from dates” berebut-rebut ok”.. At noon…we make our last stop at the
Meet my colleague ranhill -Rozian. Same hotel and Journey but different group and date.
OK, thats all for now, ...to be continued.
wassalam
…….xxxx
A : Tak ada rasa takut ke nak gi umrah?
B : Entah. Ada perasaan. Tapi bukan takut rasanya. More like err apa tu macam..rasa tak sabar but on the other hand nervous. Tapi rasa macam sayu dan besar hati sangat. Asal? Apa yang ko takutkan?
A : Tak taulah
B : Tell me what you feel..
A : What if Allah hantar punishment kat aku for the sins that I have done when I am there?
B : *silence*You know what personally I hate this notion. This menakut-nakutkan oranglah menyebab kan I didn't want to go before. Bukan kita pergi sebab nakkan Mercy Alllah ke? What happen to tawbah? habis dah macam ni, sampai bila aku tak pergi. Lagipun Allah nak send punishment sekarang pun boleh.
A : But what if, you know?
B : Then if Allah decides that it is the best for me, He sends me punishment to expiate my sins, I submit. I submit! If Allah decrees that expiating it now is to leave me pure for the hereafter, I praise Him for His wisdom. Just make me worthy of His paradise.
Readers, My familys and I...,Insya Allah will be going for umrah tonight. Pray for me...
9 WORDS WOMEN USE
(1) Fine:
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
(2) Five Minutes:
If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
(3) Nothing:
This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you shou ld be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
(4) Go Ahead:
This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
(5) Loud Sigh:
This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)
(6) That's Okay:
This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. 'That's okay' means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
(7) Thank you:
A woman is thanking you. Do not question or Faint. Just say 'you're welcome'.(I want to add in a clause here -- This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're wel come' ... that will bring on a 'whatever').
(8) Whatever:
Is a women's way of saying she heard what you said, but doesn't agree with it.
(9) Don't worry about it, I got it:
Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3. (I think that I probably use this one a lot! I feel like it anyway!)
Wazzup with my life? Nothing exciting, really. It's just work,work, work. I get bored easily and rarely make the same thing ....I am inspired by nature and love to try and replicate it's beauty in my work..
Jeng..jeng..jeng....Look my New workstation..tak macam dulu byk pokok2 bunga..
"Where is this love that you feel?"
"huh?"
"Where do you feel it? In your eyes?"
"In your ears?"
"No"
"In your mouth?"
"No."
"Where then?"
Still munching, he pointed to his stomach.
"In your tummy?"
I must say that is quite close to his heart. He is a fine boy indeed.
Someone just told me that someone said, she takut to want to tegur me.
I really don't know what to make of these.Am I garang, I ask myself? Do I look that scary
Self reflect : Tak kot. I think I am friendly. Approachable. Warm. Accommodating.
True self reflect : Hmm perhaps not. Sometimes I probably am not as approachable to people
wassalam
With the prices of commodities going up every time you make your grocery shopping. It is best to be on a budget and make a list for stuff you want to buy in order to meet both ends. Impulsive buying is not good especially with the economy right now.
More people are being laid off from their jobs. With my family we try to save money by cooking our own food at home instead of eating out to the restaurants. It is really a great help…really..hahaha...but.. end of this month, I'm leaving somewhere again...where!...tunggguuu....
There's a few things happen today which I experienced different kind of feelings altogether.
I am moving into a new office today.
Sad.. Moving?...YES !!!
Anyway, I'm still around. I've been busy, which I guess is a good thing.
wassalam
Being A Freind......
Being a friend to someone does not mean trying to change their way of thinking. Being a friend is not about telling your friend what is wrong. It is about giving advice (your opinion) and then providing support to them, regardless of whether they take your advice or not.
I guess many fail at this — sometimes I do too. As a ‘friend’, we think that our opinion is correct and that if our ‘friend’ does not follow, this means they are ‘wrong’. We end up nagging them and trying to change their thinking. By doing this, we ultimately push our
I have seen a few cases where a friend gets into a relationship with someone that the rest of the friends (myself included) thinks its the wrong choice. As ‘friends’, we then tell that friend of ours that its wrong, it will be painful and that things will not work out. We nag, we scold, we preach…
But who are we to say what is right or not? If a friend decides that is what he or she wants, at most we can do is share our concerns. But if our friend wants to proceed, we should then support the friend and provide all the help and guidance. Instead of saying the relationship will not work out, we should try to share how to make a relationship work and last!
Correct?
I think I've pushed myself too hard lately. Surrounding myself with all those impossible thoughts. Too drown into the dramas I watched lately I guess.
I've been thinking....Why am I so ambitious?...
Why am I so stubborn?...
Why am I expecting too much from myself and other people around me?...
wassalam
