Rawdah
Inside Masjid Nabawi, there's a space name Rawdah, which means Garden. It's the place between the Prophet’s tomb and his mimbar, under the green dome of the Masjid. A photo of Rawdah is available here.
For women, entry to the area is strictly limited to specific times - it's open twice during the day, each is for about 1-2 hours. The queue is long and I saw it's very hard to control the crowd.
The first time we went to the end of the queue and it was not moving. It was nearing 'Asr time, so after awhile we gave up and got ready for the salah right away.
The second time Mak and I were already there before it opens, and the moment the entrance was opened, they run along the way towards the area. I reminded my mother to be calm. It seemed far away, then we arrived at a block. The women guards had to make blocks to help control the crowd. We finally arrived there, the area marked with white-and-blue carpet. There were separated areas for men and women, and from our side, we couldn't see anything of the Prophet's tomb. That was the closest we could get, so we quickly gave salaam to the Prophet and his two beloved companions, Abu Bakr and 'Umar. And we quickly perform the prayer of tahiyatul masjid there. It was surreal, touching. Alhamdulillah, it was a gift to be able to be inside the area.
The next time was when we brought along Makcik. This time we weren't early enough, so the wait was longer. And somehow the crowd was more agressive. The guards tried to separate the lines into Malaysia/Indonesia, India, Turkey etc. Some people even brought children along -- we thought that was dangerous! Anyway by the time we got into the area, Makcik was separated from us. I couldn't start praying because someone kept standing in front of me and didn't stop making du'aa. The guard kept pushing me asking me to be quick so after asking the woman in front of me to move forward, I started my salah. The woman somehow got closer to me and she even sat on me when I was prostrating. There was anger inside of me.
We left the area, waiting and looking for Makcik along the way. The guards kept asking the people to keep moving, so we tried to walk slowly so as not to leave her too far behind.
I was frustrated. The purpose of being in Rawdah was to be at peace and to feel the serenity, but I got angry instead. The anger was not translated to any verbal or physical action, but I felt it inside me. It was really disappointing. The tears couldn't stop flowing.
So I made a prayer for repentence asking for Allah's forgiveness. I said to Mak I didn't want to come again if this was what it entailed. It defeated the purpose.
We left the masjid and I couldn't find my sandals. If this was the kafarrah, I was contented. It was small compared to my mistake. I walked back to the hotel barefooted.
On the last day in Madinah, we attempted to visit Rawdah again, one last time before leaving the Prophet's Beloved City. We couldn't even get to pass the blocks, I think they closed it earlier. So there went our last chance. Maybe I deserved it because that's what I said anyway.
Whatever it is, we're contented for doing our best not to harm others in our effort to visit special places in Makkah and Madinah. Maybe I should just be more patient with others. Back to TOC
For women, entry to the area is strictly limited to specific times - it's open twice during the day, each is for about 1-2 hours. The queue is long and I saw it's very hard to control the crowd.
The first time we went to the end of the queue and it was not moving. It was nearing 'Asr time, so after awhile we gave up and got ready for the salah right away.
The second time Mak and I were already there before it opens, and the moment the entrance was opened, they run along the way towards the area. I reminded my mother to be calm. It seemed far away, then we arrived at a block. The women guards had to make blocks to help control the crowd. We finally arrived there, the area marked with white-and-blue carpet. There were separated areas for men and women, and from our side, we couldn't see anything of the Prophet's tomb. That was the closest we could get, so we quickly gave salaam to the Prophet and his two beloved companions, Abu Bakr and 'Umar. And we quickly perform the prayer of tahiyatul masjid there. It was surreal, touching. Alhamdulillah, it was a gift to be able to be inside the area.
The next time was when we brought along Makcik. This time we weren't early enough, so the wait was longer. And somehow the crowd was more agressive. The guards tried to separate the lines into Malaysia/Indonesia, India, Turkey etc. Some people even brought children along -- we thought that was dangerous! Anyway by the time we got into the area, Makcik was separated from us. I couldn't start praying because someone kept standing in front of me and didn't stop making du'aa. The guard kept pushing me asking me to be quick so after asking the woman in front of me to move forward, I started my salah. The woman somehow got closer to me and she even sat on me when I was prostrating. There was anger inside of me.
We left the area, waiting and looking for Makcik along the way. The guards kept asking the people to keep moving, so we tried to walk slowly so as not to leave her too far behind.
I was frustrated. The purpose of being in Rawdah was to be at peace and to feel the serenity, but I got angry instead. The anger was not translated to any verbal or physical action, but I felt it inside me. It was really disappointing. The tears couldn't stop flowing.
So I made a prayer for repentence asking for Allah's forgiveness. I said to Mak I didn't want to come again if this was what it entailed. It defeated the purpose.
We left the masjid and I couldn't find my sandals. If this was the kafarrah, I was contented. It was small compared to my mistake. I walked back to the hotel barefooted.
On the last day in Madinah, we attempted to visit Rawdah again, one last time before leaving the Prophet's Beloved City. We couldn't even get to pass the blocks, I think they closed it earlier. So there went our last chance. Maybe I deserved it because that's what I said anyway.
Whatever it is, we're contented for doing our best not to harm others in our effort to visit special places in Makkah and Madinah. Maybe I should just be more patient with others. Back to TOC
posted by Ina at 8:54 PM
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