Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 20 The tunnel leading to Mina Friday, 4th November, 2011. The day that my wife and I embarked on our Hajj. We’d made all our preparations, entered into ihraam, and we were about to make our way up to our camp on…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 19 Entrance to the haram in Makkah Going home The same day we climbed to the cave of Hira, we spontaneously decided to go back to the haram in Makkah for Maghrib and Esha. Just the travel there and back was an…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 18 Education As stated last time, Aziziah was a place where we hoped to disconnect from comforts and prepare ourselves for the biggest 5 days of our lives. It was also the place where our tour group finally kicked in with Islamic…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 17 Our welcome gift in Aziziah It’s not about the feelings During our stay in Makkah, our last tawaaf right near the Kabah came a few nights before we left. I hated it. It was so full and uncomfortable that my focus…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 16 The crowning moment I’ve heard that everyone gets a ‘moment’ in Makkah – some special experience where they receive inspiration, or some kind of epiphany. On one of our last mornings there, mine came. For fajr that morning, I’d managed to…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 15 Regrets My biggest regret from my Hajj journey was the time I wasted in Makkah. Both my wife and I got extremely lazy (me more than her, I believe). We’d go late to the masjid – and sometimes didn’t even bother…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 14 Old houses in Makkah – on the outskirts of the haram area Early sights Like Madinah, there are many historical sites to see in Makkah. We covered a number of these in two trips – the first being a bus ziyarah…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 13 A crowded street in Makkah Changes The contrast between Madinah and Makkah is instantly noticeable: whereas Madinah is calm, peaceful, and a place for solitude – even despite large crowds, Makkah is quite the opposite. It’s very urban – very much…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 12 The door of the Kabah Strength One of the blessings of the journey of Hajj – both in Madinah and Makkah – is that the crowds are so big that you have to go very early if you want to get…

Originally posted on slip-sliding away…..:
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 11 Tawaaf at the Kabah Round and round After our first sight of the Kabah, it was time for our very first umrah. We followed our group leader and approached the Kabah – starting the first of the seven rounds we’d need…