Part Thalathah.

Published Thursday, May 22, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Replica of Masjid Nabawi.


The above pictures were taken from The Exhibition Of The Two Holy Mosques Architecture Museum in Mekah. Below are the two pictures of the Masjid Nabawi taken on the roads of Madinah.



Salam to all.
I'm sorry for taking toooooo long just to continue my story. Sorry~

Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah. So, my family and I arrived in Madinah on the night of April 24th. After we checked-in, we headed for the 2nd Most Treasured Masjid in the world, the Masjid Nabawi.




What is so special about this Masjid? To begin with, Rasulullah S.A.W and his two Sahabat (Companion), Abu Bakar As-Siddiq r.a. and Umar Al-Khatab r.a. was buried here, inside the Masjid. Secondly, according to Rasulullah S.A.W.'s hadith, performing a two-rakaat prayer here is equal to performing 1000 two-rakaat prayers in other Masjids except in Masjidil Haram and Masjid Quba'. Thirdly, there is a special place called Raudhah (which means 'The Garden of Paradise' in English). Raudhah, according to Rasulullah S.A.W's hadith, is one of the gardens in heaven.



On our way to the Masjid Nabawi. On the right is Madinah Hilton Hotel and on the left is Dar-Taqwa Hotel.



It was just a 7-10 minute walk from our hotel to the Masjid. For the record, our hotel was Al-Fairuz Shatta. To me, I am grateful to get a hotel that near, although we couldn't see the Masjid from it. If you wish to get a hotel where you can see the Masjid Nabawi from your window, I suggest you go for Dar-Taqwa or Madinah Hilton. But they are not that cheap la... But then again,considering the fact that Malaysians don't have the opportunity to see the Masjid Nabawi as often as the Saudis do, I think it will worth every cent you spend should you plan to stay in Dar-Taqwa or Madinah Hilton..

Don't be surprised to see people selling stuff at the Masjid's entrance. Usually, they would be selling 'kayu sugi'.. I don't really know how to use it, to say the least...

The door towards the men's section.




See the marble-covered floor?



The compound of the Masjid is huge! Better yet, it is covered with marbles! From the entrance, we head towards the ladies' section, which is on the left. Tok We and Mama Shima took the lead because they had been here before. I was soooo excited!

As we near the gigantic, beautifully-crafted doors, I noticed that there seemed to be a queue on every door. Then it struct me. All jemaah have to have their bags checked by the guards! Ohohohoho!

Allow me to introduce you: The Guards of Masjid Nabawi. (Suja called them 'askar', haha! I didn't dare to take a picture of them and I bet you won't either. You'll find out why..)

How to recognise them: Female, wearing black jubah with black scarf and cover themselves with a big piece of black cloth on top of their scarf. (okay, these descriptions seem to describe almost 70% of the women here in Saudi Arabia, I know~) What set them apart from other women are: They, the Guards, wear black gloves, and black purdah AND (this is what really sets them apart) they have badges on their arms. And mind you, they can speak Bahasa Melayu! (I'm so proud, although their slang are more of the Indonesian one..)

What are the things they are looking for when they check our bags? Well, mainly, they are looking for cameras and handphones with camera. It's a good move, I think, because they are really taking care of the women's aurat, should any of the pictures taken inside the women's section, contained any.

All of us keep our slippers inside our own 'slipper bag' and brought it with us into the Masjid. This way, we can be sure that our slippers won't go missing (which is a common thing to happen, due to the fact that all the doors are identical and therefore hard for you to remember which door you came in through, and of course, due to the fact that there are too many slippers lying around)

To get inside, was between easy and hard. (It was neither too easy nor too hard). The only challenge was to squeeze yourself between (I'm meaning to say this the nice way okay?) big, big women to reach the checkpoint, where the guards will have a look into your handbags. Don't you dare to be cheeky and try to sneak in, because they will scream 'Hajjah, hajjah', take you back to the door and check your bag~

If there were not so many people, the guards usually search the bag more thoroughly. During peak hours (like before prayers), they tend to be lenient. But it still depends on the guards,you know.. Some of them are nicer and some of them are stricter. So far, my encounter with the guards had been pleasant. (More stories on the way, InsyaAllah.)


Do click on the pictures to have a closer view.

*to be continued* InsyaAllah.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

1 comments:

  1. syarifah May 25, 2008 at 5:45 AM

    woww. i love the lighting!! i cant wait to go.. hurm... tell me more.. so that i ll be eager n starting to urge my mum ;) i bet i ll be hajjah witout havin to perform the hajj fisrt :p haha

    hajja wany! ;) aminnn. one day, hope u ll get the title.. asap! :D

     

Post a Comment

Daily obligation