My First Umrah - Part 1: Makkah

 Dear all,

Aww this is my first post in 2022. I hope everyone is doing well. Alhamdulillah on 25 September 2022 my husband and I performed umrah in The Holy Land of Makkah :') Umrah is pilgrimage for those not familiar, here click this for more info: umrah.

They say to come here, perlu Allah menjemput kita.. one of our neighbours Abang Wan, who has been there told us it doesn't matter how rich a person is, if we do not receive the 'jemputan' we will not tergerak hati or 'dijemput' ke Tanah Suci. I feel so humbled and touched to hear this. All of my life, I have heard of umrah, hajj but I always imagined that people go there when they are much older and ready. If you asked me a few years ago, never did I imagine to go there before the age of 30 alhamdulillah... It started during the Covid Lockdown and in my mind at that time, I told myself once overseas travelling is allowed and if we feel comfortable, the first place I would like to travel to is Makkah. The only place overseas I wished to go at the time and the only reason I was hoping overseas travel is allowed is to go to the Holy Land. There is good in every situation. The whole lockdown gave me a different perspective about life and for the better helped me in my spiritual journey. Now I pray that I istiqamah in what I learned and have the chance to go there again insyaAllah. Ustaz said that between one umrah and another, semua dosa disuci and dihapuskan. Umrah pertama adalah wajib seperti ayat Quran 2:196 "And complete the Hajj and umrah for Allah" so I am thankful umrah yang wajib dah settle. 

I am so excited to write about this for the benefit of others who are planning to go, haven't gone in a long time or just interested about Umrah. So here we go :) If you have any questions, do comment or reach out. My comment box is moderated so if you comment it will require my review before it appears in the comment section.

MAKKAH AL-MUKARRAMAH

I went with my husband through Andalusia Travel Agency and chose the KL-Makkah-Madinah route rather than KL-Madinah-Makkah. All the main umrah and Kaabah are in Makkah so we wanted to do the wajib and main purpose first in Makkah then only go to Madinah for historical visits related to Islamic History and visit the Makam Rasulullah (Prophet's Tomb) and all his Sahabat and dear family who have passed away. It was overall a spiritual journey. 13 days and 12 nights package and we took the hotel closest to Kaabah and Masjid Nabawi for convenience of going to the mosque. It was worth the money and a close friend recommended this. Easy to eat lunch and shower at the hotel or quick nap then quickly go early to Masjidil Haram (Makkah) and Masjid Nabawi (Madinah) for prayers. You will notice I am writing in very detail because I had no idea on some of these details before my trip. Banyak sangat ilmu baru I learned, new words, new terms, even refreshed the Islamic History better. 

Places we visited in Makkah:

• Day 1: Flight to Jeddah and bus ride to Makkah, 1 hour rest in Al-Safwah Royale Orchid hotel and started Umrah Wajib 12AM midnight of Day 2

• Day 2: Umrah Wajib - miqat in plane, tawaf, saie, tahallul then Subuh first time in Masjidil Haram, free and easy day, only slept 3-4 hours, read doa kiriman from family and friends in front of Kaabah and my own special doa and prayers, shopping Al-Kakia Wholesale Market at night till 1130PM

• Day 3: Bus ride 630AM to Jaranah, Miqat kedua for second optional umrah sunat. Before that, our group had the ziarah luar kota Makkah tour in the morning to kaki Gua Thur and Jebel Rahmah at Arafah (Prophet gave his last sermon) - had icecream and nice outdoor shopping here. Later we drove by Mina and Muzdalifah (placed for Hajj, not required for umrah) then only to Masjid Jaranah. Ambil wudu, solat tahiyatul masjid, niat miqat again then on our way back to Makkah for Umrah Ke-2. When we arrived, we straight away solat zuhur and tawaf 7 rounds with the group. Then, our mutawif suggested we take the scooter together for Sa'ie 7 pusingan Safa-Marwah. It was nice and windy, we took the 2 seaters, my husband drove and I read the doas out loud for us to recite together. At night, we had nasi unta (camel meat) with the group in Aziziyah.

• Day 4: Bus ride 630AM to Hudaibiyah, Miqat (add-on payment and not included in tour package). This is potential umrah ketiga but husband wanted us to relax a bit after 2 hectic days and just go for sightseeing and learning so we didnt do umrah but some others did when we reached Masjid Hudaibiyah. This is where I got a Masjid Nabawi prayer mat for mum and also those handmade olive seed tasbih as souvenirs for some. Husband tried camel milk here, taste like goat milk to me. We went back to the hotel by afternoon. Had icecream again and the strawberry pink colouring was so strong that husband and I were laughing once we noticed how our lips and teeth turned pink. In the evening, we went to Jebel Nur (Gua Hira') where Rasulullah received the first 5 verses of Surah Al-Alaq. Caution: there is a steep hill to go up the first part of the hill to the surau, cars/taxis actually go up here even though it is so dangerous and steep! I think the slope is close to 70 degrees by the look of it. NO car should be allowed up, please be cautious if you go here. Safety is #2 in Saudi by the look of how things are run. I also pray that all the public facilities are improved by the government, most look poor and old. For a rich country, I hope they really do something about it... especially for the local people of Makkah and Madinah where lots of jemaah/tourists actually come here.

Gua Hira'

• Day 5: Tawaf Wida' at 530AM-615AM - tawaf wida' required because we are exiting Makkah. Bus ride 7AM to Toif, a richer city like the Cameron Highland or Beverly Hills of Saudi. They say its slightly colder but it was still pretty hot and dry to me. Here, we did our 3rd Umrah Sunat, 3rd Miqat (included in our package but not in some of the others, additional 200 rial each). At Toif, it was so fun we did a lot of things we enjoyed :) First we went to a fruit market, so so many fruits. We got fresh pomegranate juice then bought nectarine, peach, strawberries and grapes. Saw baboons on the way there. Then, we went to a rose factory where they processed rose water and rose oil to make expensive products or essential oil. I got a lotion for myself here. Then we went to see a famous honey store nearby a mosque. Husband got Arab kuih bahulu with honey and also ice cream. Then we drove to Qarnul Manazil (our original miqat when we were on the plane from KL-Jeddah and read the niat ihram) for 2 rakaat sunat prayer and also niat ihram. I went to the ladies section with Kak Sal and the other ladies in the group. It's quite confusing to find your way out so just take note of entrance and exit.When we got back to Mekkah for our 3rd umrah, husband and I decided to walk for tawaf and ride the scooter for sa'ie. The rest of the group decided to tawaf and sa'ie by scooter as it was a long and tiring day. We arrived close to Asar, prayed Asar first then tawaf 7 pusingan then solat Maghrib and Isyak then only continued sa'ie by scooter. Super exhausted at night, felt a little unwell and husband got take-in dinner at our hotel room. Had a good rest that night after many days of only sleeping 3-4 hours, I felt much better the next morning and ready for another day.

• Day 6: Free and easy Friday. Hotel breakfast in the morning and went early downstairs for the Friday prayers. People come early for each of the 5 daily prayers so I would say 30min-1hour early is sufficient to get a space insyaAllah. It's just where the space is, the earlier the closer you are. We were ok to pray under the Sun that afternoon and decided to go a bit later and pray outdoors. After Friday prayers, we just walked around the hotel area and shops around it. We went to have lunch at the hotel and then back for Asar prayers. This day, 30 September marks a very special day for us. After Asar prayers, we aimed to go line up for Hijr Ismail, a hajat I really prayed and hoped for :') I wanted to go in Hijr Ismail, where is sunnah for ladies to pray (as narrated by wife of Prophet, Aishah r.a.) but it was so difficult. It seemed impossible. I was determined to try my best. A lot of challenges for me and other jemaahs to go in. I won't write it all here but you can ask me if you are interested to know. One thing I noticed, the men section is more behaved and organised than the ladies section. I met a Malaysian friend in the queue, she came with 2 young girls and we supported each other and went in together, alhamdulillah after a long wait and this was one of the most challenging part of the whole umrah. It is optional so please do not feel pressured or attempt if you have chest pain, claustrophobic or any other health risk. People are super packed and it may not be safe. It is not a competition and different people are aiming for different things. Just do your best and whatever you aim to do, make sure (1) you are safe and (2) without hurting others. I also managed to kiss Kaabah and touch Makam Ibrahim. Husband did not allow me to attempt to kiss Hajarul Aswad due to safety so I didnt. We prayed maghrib, isyak then went for dinner in the hotel and called it a day. We packed our bags that night as we were going to the next city and next hotel in Madinah. Pictures below show 3 locations where prayers asked are most likely answered (tempat mustajab doa).

Pintu Multazam (Pintu Kaabah)

Makam Ibrahim 

Hijr Ismail

• Day 7: Subuh in Masjidil Haraam then we took pictures around the hotel, fed pigeons and did some sedekah and bought some last minute gifts. Then we went to Kaabah, 50m walking distance from hotel to do Tawaf Wida' (Tawaf Selamat Tinggal) to say goodbye to Makkah. I was teary at this point as I loved being close to Kaabah, it's so calming and peaceful. We got take away shawarma to eat in the bus for the 2PM ride to next stop - Madinah. Our honeymoon destination husband says ;) 2in1 I guess umrah then historical visit + honeymoon. Bus ride to Madinah took 5 hours with some stops at the RnR. Checked in the posh Madinah Al-Rawda Royal Inn hotel, also a 5* hotel at 830PM ish and had dinner at the hotel around 9PM before resting for the night. 

Few interesting facts about Makkah and Madinah, there is a certain area of land around Kaabah and Masjid Nabawi that is called Tanah Haram (Sacred Land) where only Muslims are allowed to enter and certain rules that Muslims must follow within the area. That land is very holy and on Hari Kiamat, Dajjal will be going all around the world to influence people with Fitnah Dajjal except for the Tanah Haram Makkah and Madinah where Dajjal will not be able to enter. 

Tips for clothing: 

• White clothing for umrah wajib, umrah sunat, umrah nazar or umrah badal
• Black clothing is the official colour that women in Saudi Arabia wear 
• Jubahs and loose clothing for ladies.
• Please be respectful of the Holy Land and keep to the rules and ways, the police are very strict.
• Kain Ihram for men - only kain ihram is allowed if you want to go down the escalator near Kaabah (for men). If you are wearing jubah or normal clothing, go 1 level up and pray in Masjidil Haram.

• Loose and long hijab/headscarves - better to wear khimars covering the chest and the back. I would also recommend a purdah (face cover) for public or crowded places. Young women can get a lot of attention when not wearing a purdah or mask, from experience >.< Even when I wear it, also ada yang nak 'berkenalan' so I would advise to where ever possible, I don't wear it all the time also since I'm not used to it. However, a long hijab or mini telekung is required especially if you want to enter mosques, they authorities will not allow if you are wearing a short shawl. Also, it's convenient because you won't need to bring a separate telekung and just wear it for prayers.

Things you need for umrah (mainly for women):

• Well-prepared and have attended the online or face-to-face courses. Everything is fast paced and it will be crowded so high chance you will lose the bigger group that came for umrah together so ensure you know the steps well and hold on to your partner or the person with you tightly during tawaf to stick together.

• Memorise the four corners of Kaabah so you can position yourself better
• Hand socks, wuduk friendly socks, tight and comfortable head inner, inner for top and bottom especially if wearing white jubah, loose clothing and long khimars
• Powdered detergent for washing some clothing in the toilet
• Kasut tawaf, small buku doa, small bag to put your shoes and bring with you if you need to take off shoes, charged power bank (always), bottle spray for wuduk since the women toilet and wudu area is far once you enter the mosque, small snacks, small sejadah, water not necessarily since you have unlimited air zam zam in Masjidil Haram and Kaabah, just bring empty bottles so you can take with you to the hotel some air zam zam.

That summarizes Part 1 of my Umrah Journey. Stay tune for Part 2 :)