The Hajj


The Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) said, Paradise is the only reward for a pilgrimage accepted by God

I queued for about 9 hours in what seemed to be the only ticket office open on a Thursday night in Jeddah airport, with tens of thousands of people wanting to buy tickets for Medina. Honestly speaking, the queuing system was not working at all and at the end of almost nine hours I found myself affixed to the same spot.

I had not initially intended to journey to Medina (city of the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh) but my internal desire whispered a compulsion for it. Four days before the day of pilgrimage, pilgrims must enter Mecca. The period before this would be a time when those pilgrims would attempt a journey to Medina.

The Thursday night we arrived at Jeddah was the last time to buy a ticket to Medina from the only ticket booth open at the airport. Fatigued by the journey, my friend Ta'Sin gave up hope of reaching Medina however I consoled him with the agreement that if by Friday morning our destiny did not change we would make our journey to Mecca so that we wouldn't miss the Friday prayer at the sacred mosque. A Somali pilgrim tapped me on my shoulder and began to explain how he had purchased two tickets yesterday, hoping to get another four for his family. This was looking highly unlikely so he then asked me if I wanted to buy the tickets to Medina from him. I saw it as a sign of acceptance of our prayers and an invitation from our Messenger to visit him (peace be upon him)

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My friend had come on an earlier flight whilst I had arrived in Medina before the mid-afternoon prayer. Medina was the first place on the Arabian Peninsula to accept Islam; its people gave support to the Prophet Muhammad, whose leadership and message united the clans of Medina. Words cannot describe the beauty of Medina, city of lights. I felt like I belonged to this place. I wanted to visit the Messenger of Allah but not in the physical or spiritual state that I was in. So, I gave myself time to prepare then begged an audience with him. However the ...

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