Umrah

When I first arrived her in Medina our family drove to Mecca for Umrah(31/2 hr. drive) . This would be probably the most memorable thing that has happened in my life so far. I pray that if Allah allows me to see old age I will never forget my first time being in Mecca and seeing the Kabah. The trip to Mecca started out like any other family road trip as you can imagine the car full of kids, overnight bags and snacks for the road. You can hear the little ones echoing from the back seat "Are we there yet? I have to pee!, I'm hungry." The road from Medina to Mecca is shadowed by mountains and desert land. On occasion you may see the "monkeys" as my family like to call them, sitting and eating along side the road, but they are actually baboons. Baboons have a large population in this area and are very visable. Sometimes travellers will stop and feed the baboons along the way. This is not recommended. Coming from a large city in Pennsylvania seeing wild life up close is fascinating but I reemphasize "wild" life. Baboons are very strong and very unpredictable. They have been known to climb on top of cars and attempt to reach inside.

actual pictures taken under blog titles "Vacation"
I will post more pictures in the near future inshaAllah.
While driving I tried to use my time wisely by reading books on the rites of Umrah and duas that should be said once performing it. After leaving the Miqat at Dhul-Hulaifah the children begin reciting "Labbayka Allahumma Labbayka! Labbayka LaShareeka laka Labbayka Inna L Hamda wa Nimata laka, wa l Mulk la Shareeka Laka!"
We arrived in Mecca just a few minutes shy of fajr prayer my stomach is nervous at this point. It is the month of Ramadan and there are hundreds of people in the city. My husband reminds me of the blessings of make Umrah during this blessed month. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then told her: “When the month or Ramadan arrives, go for ‘umrah, because `umrah in Ramadan is like accompanying me on Hajj.” Sahîh al-Bukhârî. As I stepped out of the car to begin walking to the Haram the athan for fajr prayer was being called instantly I felt the beauty of this special place and this special moment. I was able to pray fajr pray inside the masjid among thousands of people from every walk of life you can imagine. My eyes almost popped from my head in awe of the elegance that surrounds me. The capacity of people it can hold is unbelievable. Later we performed Umrah make tawaf around the Kabah, praying 2 rakahs behind the station of Ibraheem and then walking between Safa and Marwa. Upon completion we were exhausted I hadn't realized the physical toll that Hajj and Umrah really play on you until then. Mentally you feel renewed and inshaAllah closer to Allah az wa jal. As we were leaving Mecca heading back to Medina we tuned into the radio I remember so clearly the athan being called for mahgrib and the salah being lead by one of my favorite reciters Abdul-Rahman Al-Sudais sealing the end of the day with again another special moment. I thanked Allah and some time later I told my husband that out of all the gifts he has given me this is truely the best one.