Soulsearching in Madinah!

I know I promised to write more about my mini pilgrimage and here's me making good on the promise.

 After completing all obligations in Makkah, we traveled to Madinah, probably the second holiest city in Islamic history. The city was relatively more chilled out and a bit on the cooler side. People werent rushing around as much, and it felt so stress free. I fell ill on the bus ride to Madinah so it wasnt very pleasant and I had to miss out a couple of the city excursions which was a bit of a bummer. 

Masjid Nabawi was built and centered around the Prophet's house, hence given the endearing name of being The Prophet's mosque. Along with two of his closest companions, he was finally laid to rest in Raudhah which was narrated to be 'A garden of Paradise' by Al-Bukhari. I absolutely loved prostrating in the Prophet's mosque. When I first entered its massive 10ft (my amateur approx) oak doors, the interior was absolutely breathtaking! SubhanaAllah.

The marble columns, the striped archways, the hugeeeee chandeliers and not to mention the pristine and intricate detailing of everything! I was in awe. The mosque was so big that the archways seem to go on and on and on, it felt neverending. There's this feeling as well of being in there that is difficult to describe in words, I shall never be able to do it justice in writing. (or maybe I just need to hone my writing skills!) 

One of my experiences that I really wanted to share was when I was in Raudhah. I mean come on, I kinda met the Prophet pbuh! How epic was that eh! Normally, because of crowd control, pilgrims are allocated time slots to visit according to countries. They would let the Arab region go first, with Malaysians usually having to wait for quite a bit. On the first night, me and two of the girls decided to chance it and join the Arabs for an earlier slot as we were a wee bit excited. Turned out to be something I wouldnt recommend to future goers. Thing is, Raudhah is a tiny area between the Prophet's house and the Mimbar. That, being divided between the guys and the girls, it probably has a capacity of not more than say... 200 people in one go. 

And all the pushing, shoving, shouting, and even hitting each other (certain groups of ppl are notorious for being quite rough, you see) kinda took out the sparkle out of the majestic experience of being in the presence of the most influential man in history. Now the next night, I decided to wait with my fellow Malaysians and the wait, was definitely worth it. I got to calmly perform my prayers, I got the chance to sit for more than 5 minutes just to reflect and it was an out of body experience.

^^Alhamdulillah for these girls masyaAllah! #tilljannah lol!^^

This experience has no doubt humbled me and I given me loads to think about. Self-reflection, wanting to be better and a stronger belief and faith that He is looking out for me. Sometimes we seem to get bogged down with chasing materialistic needs and forget that we already have plenty to be content and thankful for. A loving family, good health, a roof over our heads and food to feed our ever growing waistline (hehe). So if ever this slips your minds, just remember all the simple things and dont forget to say Alhamdulillah.

Mad love,
Peja xx