Posts
---
Wednesday October 9.
After fajr, I took a walk throughout the open courtyard of Masjid al-Nabawi. It's just not possible to put into words how magnificently beautiful it is. It captivates you from the moment you lay your eyes on it for the first time. Its also unbelievable how large it is and how many people it can house at any given time. Watching the umbrella shades unfold throughout is also a sight to see. We walked all the way to the cemetery, jannatul baqi, at the end corner of Masjid al-Nabawi. The ladies stayed outside while Qari Basit took the men in the group inside.
As we waited, I watched the umbrellas unfold in the courtyard of the masjid. I saw them open and closed already, but this was the first time I saw it happening. It happens so slowly and subtly that you can't even tell. They stand as pillars at night and open in the morning and do wonders to battle the heat.
Favorite parts of the day each day? Easily the azaan (call for prayers) that you can hear out loud. Immediately following that, a crowd of people from every corner head towards masjid al-nabawi. Amazing doesn't do it justice. You just want to stop and soak it all in. Which I have.
Who knows how many people the masjid holds, but it is astonishingly amazing that I found my aunt and my dad's aunt in the crowd for isha prayers and then right afterwards ran into my cousin's wife as I walked back to our hotel from masjid al-nabawi. Isha prayers tonight was also the first time I got a chance to pray inside the masjid-- I can't begin to tell you how beautiful it is. Words can't do it justice. Pictures don't do it justice.
This night, Wednesday (Oct 9) night was also the first night of few I got to go with a group of women from our program to pray at the "jannat ka tukra", also known as Rawdah. Emotions run high, that's for sure. I keep saying its hard to describe but it truly is: you just have this intense feeling inside that encompasses you. I can't say alhumdulillah enough for this blessed opportunity. I feel like I have had a permanent smile on my face since I first pulled up to the hotel and lay my eyes on Masjid al-Nabawi for the first time. I can't even imagine what it will feel like to see the Ka'aba inshallah in a few short days.
Its Wednesday night and I can honestly say I have had about 12-14 hours of sleep combined since Saturday night... yet I am not tired. My migraine? That's another story. But alhumdulillah. The adrenaline rush is keeping me running and making the most of every possible moment.
Did I mention masjid al-Nabawi is like a minute away from our hotel? It's visible clearly from our dining hall/restaurant and once you leave the hotel, you just make one quick turn and it's right there. Very convenient for me to come and go whenever I would like to.
Next up, the mazarat tours from Thursday October 10.
Posted on 10.28.13
No comments:
Post a Comment