The husband and I had the intention of going for Umrah since 2017 but last year (2018) we really wanted to do it. One day Kimi had a meeting in KL and I told him to stop by the office so that we can get the quotes and prices from the nearby travel agent Rayhar. After seeing the prices etc, Kimi said, "Go ahead, book it!" so we did!
We decided to go during the school holidays as we were bringing the kids (yup that's right! eeeek). Naturally I was scared and apprehensive at the idea of bringing the kids, we most people told us InsyaAllah it'll be ok. The months ticked by and come November 24th, it was time for us to go!
Our families sent us off to the airport but my sister and Kimi's cousin came to our house before we left and Kimi's cousin recited the doa and Azan for us.
As we were going just the 4 of us, with no other family members we chose the closest hotel in Mekah and Madinah. I also convinced Kimi to pay a little bit extra so that we could get Business Class seats. Paying extra was worth it! The seats in the plane was so comfortable so we could get proper sleep and rest on the flight especially on the way back!
Our hotel was one of the blocks near the Clock Tower. It was very near but most importantly I could just walk within the hotel block without having to walk in the streets before reaching the gates into the Ka'abah.
Day 1 - Umrah
We arrived at our hotel at 3am on the 25th Nov. Initial itinerary said that we will be performing our Umrah after arriving but luckily as we arrived slightly later than scheduled, they told us to go and rest at our hotel. We were to gather at the hotel lobby at 7am after breakfast to perform our Umrah with the mutawwif.
Upon walking into the Mataf and seeing the Ka'abah for the first time I cried. I guess I was just so happy that Allah has invited me and my family to be his guests. The Ustaz said that not everyone will reach here unless called upon and invited by Allah.
We followed our Mutawwif to perform the Tawaf. Luckily there were not that many people at the time but Aaman wanted to be carried so Kimi carried him first while I held onto Nazrin. Personally, I couldn't really concentrate as I had to keep tabs on Kimi and Aaman and also the rest of the group with so many people around us. Aaman fell asleep almost immediately which made it harder to hold him. After 5 rounds I took over and carried him until the end of our Tawaf. Nazrin was pretty amazing though as he did all 7 rounds without any noise from him. He didn't complain at all! I was so proud of him! Alhamdulillah, we completed our 7 rounds.
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Sa'ie was next and we definitely needed help so thank goodness for the wheelchairs. We rented one for SAR100 and put Aaman there. He didn't want to sit there at first, still insisting that I carried him which I did for the 1st leg but after that I couldn't anymore. Nazrin sat on the wheelchair for a few rounds but he walked with Kimi mostly. He especially loved running under the green lights.
I couldn't believe it but we managed to perform our Umrah together as a family.
Day 2 - Visits to Jabal Thur, Jabal Rahmah
We decided to do Umrah that day as we were all still pretty tired, so we did Tawaf Sunat.
Day 3 - Miqat at Hudaibaiyah
That night I also managed to perform Tawaf Sunat. One of the advantages of staying nearby is it's safe for me to go down alone at night. We had to take turns for prayers and tawaf etc as the kids slept early so it was safe for me to walk alone. That night, I managed to get close to the Ka'abah and also took some photos.
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I also managed to sneak into Hijr Ismail. It was packed but I managed say a prayer inside there. MasyaAllah, thank you Allah for all the opportunities!
Day 4 and 5 - Tawaf Sunat
No visits today so we took turns going down. Before that Aaman had fun chasing around the pigeons!
I also went down to the Ka'abah with Aaman in the morning. Took this cute picture of him!
That night Nazrin and I walked around after Maghrib.
I went down again after he fell asleep at around 10pm to do my Tawaf. Just can't get enough of this beautiful Ka'abah.
Day 6
We were ready to go visit Tanaim but we missed the bus! So we decided to do tawaf together. Again, Aaman wanted to be carried so I started carrying him.
After 2 rounds, I lost Kimi and Nazrin but I still continued. Aaman fell asleep so it made it harder to carry him. After 4 rounds, I stopped and sat down. I switched on my roaming and told Kimi where I was. He came by to drop Nazrin who was tired and continued to finish his rounds. After he finished his rounds, it was my turn to complete my Tawaf.
Day 7
A friday in Makah! In the morning, I did my Tawaf sunat and after that went back to the room to get the boys. We went to the Tower Clock Mall where we bumped into my old Chairman TS AWO, but no selfies hahah! Then for Jumaat prayers, I managed to find a spot at the Sa'ie area. Coming out after prayers, omg there were so many people! I was carrying Aaman and was trying to get to the stroller and read prayers trying to get to the stroller. MasyaAllah, the power of prayers really works there! Managed to reach the stroller, put Aaman down and made it back to the hotel safely.
We then started packing to head to Madinah.
Day 8 - Tawaf Wada'
We did ours separately, Kimi went first and then I did. So sad leaving Makkah and prayed that we would be called again.
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