Alhamdulillah, we slept good last night in Mina. We just prayed Fajr and now we are getting ready to go back to the brother's home in Makkah, Insha-Allah.
We arrived back in Makkah around 10:00 am. I have been doing laundry all day. Then men and one sister walked back to Mina after Thuhr to stone the Jamarats. They all returned right around Asr time.
I am sitting in my room now just shortly after Isha. The men went to get our passports. I think I can hear Salah from al-Masjid al-Haram out my window. I think al-Masjid al-Haram is just on the other side of the mountain. Earlier today while Hafsah was taking a nap, I used the brother's computer to send an email to The Muslim Woman mailing list.
Now I am preparing to sleep, Insha-Allah. Tomorrow (Wednesday) my husband and I will do Tawaf al-Ifadah, Insha-Allah. After Tawaf we will head to Medinah, Insha-Allah. We are going to combine our Tawaf's because we read that it is permissable.
Well, today (Thursday) we aren't going to do our Tawaf afterall. We sisters are staying at home to rest. One sister has the same illness that I had most of the time in Mina. The other sister is still healthy, Masha-Allah.
Now it is Friday. We left for the Kabah around 4:00 am. We prayed Fajr outside the Haram. Again, men praying next to women and women praying in front of men. There was nothing you could do because there are people everywhere and no organization. After Fajr we stowed our luggage outside the main gate off to the side where we prayed no one would bother it. We said, "Fee Aman Allah" to the luggage and set off to make Tawaf on the main floor. Our mission again was "black stone." I told my husband that I am NOT leaving Makkah until I ATLEAST see the black stone. As we moved in the crowd grew larger and larger and larger until the entire main floor was full of people making Tawaf. It was too crowded, we could barely move, so we walked up to the 2nd floor to make Tawaf.
We made Tawaf and Sa'ee on the 2nd floor finishing around 8:30 am. It took longer to make Tawaf on the 2nd floor because the rounds are wider. From the 2nd floor there was a beautiful view of the Kabah! I just wanted to stand and stare at the Kabah. The view was breathe taking! Subhana-Allah!!!
The Sa'ee area wasn't very busy up on the 2nd floor, Alhamdulillah. After Sa'ee we drank Zum Zum water and then climbed down to the first level and out of the masjid enterance. I didn't want to go. I wanted to just sit and stare at the beautiful Kabah. Nevertheless, we had to move on to Medinah.
We got a ride to the American office where they transported us and our passports to a bus leaving for Medinah. Finally, we got on the bus after our passports were finally cleared. We set off for Medinah. The ride was quite lengthy and my illness was coming back again. I started coughing and coughing. The bus stopped at one bus stop for prayer. We made wudu and combined Thuhr and Asr. We got a small bite to eat also at the bus stop restaurant. We ate roti (pita bread) and vegetables. The bus honked and everyone got back on and we set off for Medinah once again.
Finally, we arrived in Medinah about 9-10 hours later. After many stops at various hotels dropping pilgrims off, we were brought to the American office for passport clearance. After our passports were cleared they put us in a car and took us to the hotel that we had paid for and were suppose to stay at BEFORE Hajj on the first date that we were suppossed to have arrived. Our hotel was not waiting for us because our original group from Michigan had previously visited Medinah before Hajj so the hotel that we had paid for was no longer available because our original leader had gone back to America already. By this time, I was sick all over again and my ankles were locked up from the Tawaf.
We drove around Medinah searching for a new hotel. Alhamdulillah my husband found a good substitute for a hotel. This hotel has four twin size beds and a bathroom. We can hear the athan from Masjid an-Nabawi (SAW). I can see the bazaar right outside my window down below.
We are now paying money from our pocket for hotels. This money is not in our budget for the trip. We have to try to find an earlier flight out of Medinah because we don't have enough money to pay for hotels and other expenses until April 6th. The woman in Lahore from Saudi Airlines changed our departure day from Jeddah to Lahore without our permission. She made our travel a whole month in Saudi Arabia. We would love to stay a whole month if our son was with us, if my health was good and if he had a months worth of money to spend on hotels. Today is March 8th.