To the Holy Land..

Royal Jordanian.

On 18 July 2012 at 2200 hrs, Royal Jordanian will fly me to Amman. A day sightseeing stop over tour around Amman had been programmed and hopefully my first insight of the Dead Sea. My intention of performing the Ramadan umrah via Jordan is to add Jordanian soil as one of the Mid East country that I step on. 

Insyaalah early the next morning the entourage will then hop over direct to Medina Saudi Arabia for a three (3) days pilgrimage to the Tomb of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Tomb of the Syuhadah and Masjid Nabawi. Commencing of Ramadan will be in Medina with the Ansars.

Masjid Nabawi in Medina.

Tentatively, I will be in Mecca by the Kaabah from 22 July onwards to 21 August 2012 and Aidilfitri as usual in Mecca. Back home in Malaysia vide Jeddah/Amman on 22 August 2012, after Aidilfitri.
    

The Hotel in Mecca would be Mawardah Ajeyad, familiar Hotel that I stayed in 2010. It is about 250 meters from Masjidilharam and that shouldn’t be any problem at all (mafi musykhil in Arabic). At that distance I should consider myself lucky as others are staying kilometers away. Several Hotels in Mecca had been demolished to make way for modern skyscrapers. It was about a year ago I was in Mecca and at every trip the landscape differs.  

Masjidil Haram in Mecca.

Yesterday, on 15 July 2012, I make a day trip back to hometown Ipoh to seek forgiveness and blessing from my aging beloved Mother. My mission accomplished. The family then drove over to paternal kampong – Padang Tenggala in Bota to visit my late father’s grave. As we arrived the sky darkened and wept. We braved the rain. That’s my yearly routine at every time prior setting for my Ramadan pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I would drop by at my late father’s resting place. I hope my father’s soul heard when my heart moaned in silence as I recited the Alfatihah; after 34 years Bapak had gone, the properties Bapak left behind had not been distributed as per feraid and I am so disgusted that I had declared that my share would go to Baitulmal. Since I am no greed of landed properties, the house & land that was transferred to me for harmonic and trustee sake had also been surrendered due to the stringent objections from all interested parties. As a matter of time, I will join Bapak too and obviously I cannot take along those to my eternal grave. I want to go to the Holy Land with a peace of mind and I don’t want messy craps distracting my concentration. Those who are interested with the properties, by all means, I had set everything for their convenience. 

For about a month, I will stop blogging and brushed off politic but I ensure that I seek Allah blessing that peace forever prevail in Malaysia and to my dear friends, if I do remember I will also seek Allah blessings on your behalf. Oh Almighty Allah, please don’t give me a roommate with a laptop, like last year that browsed and updating the Harakah Daily. I certainly hate to comingle ibadah and coffee shop politics in the month of Ramadan especially in Mecca. Some people can be so fanatic that they tend to forget that they are in the Holy Land. It’s obvious only PAS radicals that most often than not that instigate the situation. Only they are right, for others are wrong and shallow. They never accept subjective rebuttal, no matter how objective one tries to emphasis logical and realistic facts. The tendency to meet various characters is imminent as Allah is testing the degree of patience. At the peak of Ramadan, I would be among the 3 million Pilgrims that congregate in Masjidil Haram, insyaalah. 

I would just script the daily adventure and translate into my blog later. 

All set to go. All outstanding bill cleared, currencies converted, medication & toiletries replenish and luggage packed. Even Mobily, Saudi hand phone sim card was couriered by brother Azman who was in the Holy Land who performed the umrah recently. 

I wish may all my Muslims friends welcome Ramadan Almubarak with full of sincerity and concentration submitting to Almighty Allah swt. Nahi mungkar amal makruf as Ramadan is the holiest month and full of blessings. Let’s seek for the Lailatulqadar, the night of 1000 months Allah blessings.

See you………………..if I ever come back from Saudi Arabia. One never know when Malaikamaut come calling.