The Day Allah Invited Me to His House

By Awliya

 I travelled from Madinah to Makkah by train. Before boarding, we had already changed into our ihram clothes. As soon as I entered the train, I made my intention for ihram and started reciting the talbiyah. Throughout the journey, I spent my time sending selawat while admiring the beautiful desert mountains outside the window. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to finally arrive in Makkah.

After around two hours, we finally reached Makkah. From the train station, our agent picked us up by car and sent us to the hotel. We arrived around 4:30 PM and immediately checked in to place our luggage and belongings. After unpacking, we performed jamak prayer for Asar before resting for a while.

After Isyak prayer, we took our wuduk and walked to the mosque, which was only about three minutes away from our hotel. As we entered and headed towards the Kaabah, I suddenly felt emotional. While going down the escalator, I almost cried because I still couldn’t believe that Allah had invited me to His holy house on that day.

We recited our doa before starting tawaf and completed all seven rounds. During tawaf, I prayed sincerely with all my heart until I cried because I felt so emotional, thankful, and humbled. After tawaf, we performed solat sunat and drank Zamzam water provided there. Then, we continued with saie from Safa to Marwah seven times. We began by reading the intentions and doa from a small reference book we brought along.

Although saie was tiring, it also made me emotional thinking about the story behind it  how Siti Hajar searched for water for Prophet Ismail under the scorching desert heat. I could only imagine how exhausted and strong she must have been during that difficult journey.

After completing saie, I performed tahalul by cutting three strands of my hair while reciting the intention. With that, our ihram ended. We then returned to the hotel, showered, and rested.

The next night after Isyak prayer, we performed tawaf sunat. After completing it, I took some photos with the Kaabah as the background to keep as memories. I also drank more Zamzam water. Honestly, I love the Zamzam water in Makkah more than the ones in Malaysia because it tasted fresher and slightly sweeter to me.

       
                                                

The next day, we visited Jabal Rahmah. There, I prayed that Allah would bless me with a good and faithful future husband because many people believe that prayers about jodoh are often accepted there. After our doa session, our agent treated us to ice cream. I chose chocolate vanilla flavour, and it tasted so creamy and delicious.

Later, we returned to Masjidil Haram to perform another umrah on behalf of someone who had passed away. We completed the tawaf, solat sunat, drank Zamzam water, took a few photos, performed saie, and ended with tahalul again.

After finishing our umrah, we went to the Clock Tower for lunch. There was a Malay restaurant there, so we bought white rice with several side dishes and packed them to eat at the hotel later. Afterwards, we visited a supermarket to buy fruits and snacks like biscuits and chips.

               

                                                                       

The following day, we performed Friday prayer at the second floor area facing the Kaabah. I felt extremely excited because it was my first time experiencing Friday prayer in Makkah so close to the Kaabah.

Later that midnight, I performed tawaf wada because the next day we would be travelling to Taif. During tawaf, I made heartfelt prayers because there were so many things I wanted to ask from Allah, including prayers for other people as well. After completing it, we returned to the hotel.

The next morning, I woke up early, performed Subuh prayer, and got ready to travel to Taif with our group and agent. We departed at 8 AM and arrived around 9:40 AM at a rose farm. We saw beautiful pink rose flowers, and they also sold products made from roses grown there. The place had a café and many aesthetic photo spots too. I bought a matcha drink and rose ice cream while taking several photos as memories.

           



                                                                  

         

On the way, our bus also passed by Masjid Abdullah bin Abbas.According to Islamic history, the mosque was built in 592 Hijrah and named after Abdullah bin Abbas, the cousin and close companion of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., whose tomb is located beside the mosque.

After that, we stopped for lunch and enjoyed nasi briyani together in a special room designed like traditional Arab houses. The rice was long and fragrant, the chicken was soft and tender, and the gravy tasted slightly sweet but very flavourful. I also bought kunafa to try it for the first time. It tasted creamy and not overly sweet.

                                                 

After praying at the mosque, we continued our journey back to the hotel. That midnight, my family and I performed tawaf wada once again because the next day we would finally return to Malaysia. This time, I felt even more emotional because I knew it would be my last tawaf before leaving Makkah. I truly felt sad thinking about leaving such a beautiful and peaceful place.

After finishing, we quickly returned to the hotel because we were advised not to delay since we had to leave very early the next morning after Subuh prayer to head to the airport.

Before going to the airport, we were given food to eat at Mall of Arabia and had some free time for prayers and shopping. My father bought an expensive Arabic perfume there, almost like the luxury version of Arabic fragrances.

Afterwards, we headed to Jeddah airport. We checked in, passed immigration, and waited at the lounge. We ate some of the food provided there and also performed our prayers. After waiting around three hours for the gate to open, we finally entered the boarding area, and at exactly 9:30 PM, we boarded the plane.

I felt extremely sad to leave the city of Makkah. The flight took around eight hours to reach Malaysia, so I used the time to sleep and rest. We finally arrived in Malaysia around 12 PM.

I truly hope that one day Allah will invite me again to return to His beautiful house, to pray, and to experience these unforgettable moments once more.