Eid Mubarak: Yearning for Makka & Madina
Eid Mubarak everybody!
The sense of longing I have right now for Makka and Madina is so strong I feel like if I concentrate really hard I could teleport myself there through sheer will. I was blessed to go do a Umra last year and it was an experience I will never forget. Everyone told me how I would feel, but I honestly didn’t believe them. But when I went there, I felt something in my heart…deep down in my soul that I can’t put into words. Everyone also told me you will like Madina more than Makka because it’s more laid back, but I loved them both equally. It’s true that Madina was more laid back, and I truly enjoyed the process of waking up every day at dawn, looking out the hotel window and seeing hundreds of thousands of people coming from different directions all walking towards the Masjid, looking like ants from high up, and then going down to join them, all walking together in the dark. We used to pray in the open air area in front of the Masjid rather than inside because it was too crowded for my mother, but I love praying outdoors and sitting on the ground reading quran with the breeze and hearing the buzz around me of people making duaa or praying, and then hearing the azan and praying, it was just peaceful, more peace than I have ever experienced.
My parents and I had a routine: dawn prayer, breakfast at the hotel, sleep till noon, noon prayer, walk around Madina and have lunch, then go back to the Masjid to spend the several hours of Asr, Maghrib and Isha in the Masjid reading Quran and praying.
The trip from Madina to Makka was difficult (7 hours with only pit/squat toilets, and our bus broke down mid-way). But I did not mind it because I was fasting during that trip, so I was feeling very calm and tired so I slept pretty easily. We made it to Makka well after iftar time but we stopped at a market on the way and I bought some biscuits and juice for iftar.
There are two things I will always remember from that journey: the first is all of us doing Talbeya on the bus together as we entered Makka. Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk! I love saying those words: here we are oh Allah, at Your service, wanting nothing but Your mercy, You have no partner nor equal, and to You belongs all praise, blessings, and glory, for You have no partner. Every single person on that bus was chanting those words in unison as we entered Makka, just peacefully chanting as we stared out our windows trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we had finally made it. It was an amazing moment.
The second thing I won’t forget is how women were treated on that trip, especially older/elderly women. During the entire 11 day trip I have never seen women treated in a way that felt more Islamic. Whether it was in Madina, on the bus, or in Makka, the men who were in my group were like poster children for how a Muslim should truly treat older women, in full embodiment of the prophetic hadith that Janna lies under the feet of mothers. They carried their bags, helped them up and down stairs, did everything they could to make them comfortable. During the bus journey there was one guy we almost started to feel bad for because every time he sat down this elderly woman would ask him to move her heavy bags from one end of the bus to the other, but every time he got up and did it and did not complain or even frown, he would just smile and say hader ya ommy, at your beck and call mother. She was not his mother nor were they at all related. This scene was replicated throughout the trip. It was really beautiful to see that, and since we were all Egyptian it made me fall in love with my countrypeople all over again, and it gave me hope that maybe one day we can get over the immense religious illiteracy we have in our country that causes us to often do the exact opposite of what Islam commands us to do.
When we finally arrived in Makka we went straight to the Tawaf, which was incredibly difficult for me because I could see my mother was so exhausted she looked like was about to pass out at any second, and she kept getting pushed and losing her balance, so I spent most of the time trying to cover her from all sides so nobody could get near her. Eventually we got a wheelchair for her because she just couldn’t get through the last few rounds of Safa and Marwa. Makka was an amazing experience, praying every single day in front of the Kaabah was breathtaking, but I will never forget that one day when there was a thunderstorm around maghrib time, we stood there in silence as the imam made the iqama, and it was pouring rain, and there was thunder and lightning, and the imam started reciting Surat al Raad, and as he said those words “even the thunder speaks glorifies and praises Him” I think everyone was moved to tears. It was one of the most profound spiritual experiences I have ever had.
Yes, that huge shopping mall makes the trip as a whole more comfortable and a little less spiritual, and yes part of me wishes I could it like they did years ago when there was no fancy shopping mall, when the trip involved a degree of physical hardship and people slept in tents, I truly wish I could do it that way because I feel that would enhance the overall learning experience. But in the end, nothing can detract from the profound impact a trip like that has on your soul. I pray Allah grants me the blessing to do it again.
Young Muslims in the Modern World 