We started the journey from Jeddah Airport to Madinah by a fleet of buses. We were in flight group KT82, the second last group of pilgrims from Malaysia that was destined for Madinah before Makkah. It was a long journey to Madinah. I slept for the most part of the journey. An hour before reaching Madinah, I began to look at the notes that I had prepared for the journey. I recalled a hadith of Rasulullah SAW, "Whosoever come to me as my guest, with no other purpose than to visit me, I will be his intercessor." I immediately renewed my niyyat to make the journey only for the sake of Allah.
I was concern as to what extent my journey could be as close as the journey of Rasulullah SAW. I mean, there we were travelling by bus, without being able to stop at any masjids or places that Rasulullah SAW and the sahabah r.anhum had stopped for a rest, or to drink water at the wells that Rasulullah SAW and the sahabah r.anhum had stopped for a drink. I would not have the opportunity to stop at Mu'arras near Bir Ali/Zhul-Hulaifah even for a two-rakaat solah or a short du'a. And it would not be possible for me to get off the bus at Bir Ali (about 10km from Madinah) and walk from thereon bare-footed towards Madinah as did Rasulullah SAW and the sahabah r.anhum. Nevertheless, alhamdulillah, I still could recite durood sharif as much as possible. And I began to build up my devotion and fervor to meet with Rasulullah SAW by exhorting my wife of the virtues of Madinah al-Munawarrah and its inhabitants, the resting place of Rasulullah SAW and about 10,000 sahabah r.anhum who had served as the vanguards of Islam.
After the hustle and bustle of rooms allocation, I managed to get a short nap. I then took a shower, put on my best dress and immersed myself with the green coloured raihan attar which I had bought in India and kept it safe for special occasion. I then slowly walked to the Masjid of the Prophet SAW.
My first visit of the Holy Prophet SAW's masjid and resting place was none like I had expected. Despite my earlier effort in preparing to meet Rasulullah SAW with the best ethics that I could possibly do, I felt like a rough ill-mannered illiterate bedouin who came from the most remote part of the desert to the holy city of Madinah, unaware of the extent of greatness of his host. The narrative of the ignorant bedouin who had a pee in the Masjid Nabawi during the time of the Prophet SAW came to mind.
First, I got mixed up on the proper entrance door to visit the Prophet SAW. Instead of entering through Bab-ul Jibreel, I tried to enter the masjid through Bab-ul Baqee. Rightly, I had been stopped from entering by the guards since Bab-ul Baqee was the point of exit of the the flow of people entering from the opposite Bab-ul Jibreel. Still wondering why the guards had stopped me the first time, I tried to enter again without success. Finally, after a few vain attempts, I just stood outside Bab-ul Baqee feeling very sad looking from afar at the resting place of Rasulullah SAW.
Later, when dawn was approaching, I lamely entered Bab-ul Nisaa' hoping to find a good spot for me behind the Rawdah. The number of people was far more than I had expected and I was really struggling to find even a tiny space to sit. Like a lost bedouin who has no idea where he was heading, I walked over the shoulders of devotees again and again, inviting uneasy stares from the people around me. It was then that I felt like a ruthless moronic barbarian standing alone among the civilised cultured people.
Alas, alhamdulillah, indeed Allah Most High had extinguished the pride and self-sufficiency within me at that point of time in the most perplexing way. Truly, Allah is the One for Whom nothing is hidden from His Knowledge.
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