Around midnight we moved to go to miqot. Tanaiem is about 5 km from here but this early morning traffic makes it looks like 50 km. illusion or reality ? We waved down a few taxis. Usually it went for 10-15 riyals but tonight the ride to miqot outside Mecca was hot and sizzling said to increase 10-folds . Many just ignored us until one came and stopped abruptly infront of us.
“Pakcik, going and coming again” said this lad— not an Arab, definitely.
We waved him off. He followed.
“Pakcik ….. halal”, he yelled, his voice breaking through the noisy street.
Oooo wth let’s go then. I jumped into the back seat. We needed to go fast.
“No pakcik here”, showing me the front seat. Apparently, someone must sit in the front to show that it is occupied. Something like that. I didn’t really care, really, my mind waited the driving skills that he will show me in a while. Frenzied.Fast.Furious. I held on gripping the handle above as hard as I can. The honking . The near collisions . Welcome to Mecca!. The other face of the holy land. The night life seemed dull and cold as the streets were jammed packed but the shops along this busy street were quiet. It was only a bit after midnight. Noticeably, Mecca is one big city as we drove towards the end of the city limit. Miqot is the border point where you make your intention clear on the purpose of entering the city. The purpose to perform umrah will signal peace with no war waging intentions.
<<eavesdropping alert !!!!>> ssshhhhh!!
The Yemeni guy sitting next to me has such an awesome voice, reciting the verses of the Quran clearly and in a beautiful melody. Maybe I was the only other person who can hear him. He was practically whispering to my ear. Like a young man expressing himself to his lover. As I putting my arabic words for a complement, he left. Thank you anyway for a glimpse of magical words of God.
<< end >>
As we drove through the lighted streets, conversations went on with bits and pieces. For the first time I was disappointed to realise that the language that I love (English that is) is dead tonight. Instead, I was struggling to communicate for a simple information. Like putting together a Lego set with a lot of missing blocks. I was truly frustrated. My efforts to master Arabic have been a constant pursuit. It failed miserably.
Masjid Aishah in Tanaiem is open 24/7 . People come, put on their umrah clothes, pray two rakaats and are back on their way to masjidil haraam to perform tawaf and saie.
By 4 am, we finished. Just enough time for a quick sahur and waited for Fajr prayers. Alhamdulillah, may our umrah is accepted InsyAllah .
After Fajr I crashed in bed. My body was a wreck as the pain ignited from every joint of the limbs. For some ,umrah is easy and can be done everyday if you will. But my old bodyframe cracks at the slightest over reaction. Local tradition recommends visitors to do umrah once per visit as a gesture of respect. But Malaysians, as always, compete to see who can do better—-4/5 umrah during your stay with us(a package boasted in a brochure)
“How many times have done umrah during your visit? A usual question. But it is up to you no one says it is wrong to do so many umrah.
As the cost to travel here has risen, the visit must worth evey cent you spent.
The Qiam/taraweeh was awesome, as in the previous nights. I am truely blessed to be here alhamdulillah.
