The event was held at the Masjid Sultan Salahudin Abd Aziz in Shah Alam. There were 4,000 plus people attended to the event. Well, the training was actually a simulation for all the rites that we have to perform there. It is also a good training for my children to adapt themselves to be without us for a month.
The training started from 2pm, and during the registration, we were divided into 8 big groups. Every one was asked to wear ihram, and for the men, they have to wear. It is jus a simple two pieces of white cloth which has no stitches on it. The organizing committee kicked off the day, and after the Asar prayer, the practical training started.
The first training was Tawaf, circling of Kaabah, seven times. It was about what do we need to do and what kind of prayer do we need to cite. Wow! I was sweating especially, and by the time I reached the final laps I was very happy.
From Tawaf, we did a practice on Saie. It is another 7 laps of walking between two distances, which is known as Bukit Safa and Marwah. I did okay here too, and I was glad that my knee and my back didn’t cause any problem.
After the training, the leader answered questions from the group before we break for dinner. Ah, Dinner! We have to collect it under the tent where it was packed in a container. It was rice with fried fish, beef curry and one vegetables. I didn't finish mine as I was too tired to eat.
I took the opportunity to take my bath, which I was glad to. There were a limited number of shower stalls, and I have to queue for 20 minutes. The event continued after the Isyak prayer with a forum and followed up by more practical.
I started to feel pain in my back, and I told my hubby that I needed to sit. At that time, it was 12 midnight already and to end the night, we were given coffee or tea before calling it a night.
Hmmm… I wonder where to sleep since so many people. Some slept in the mosque, some around the corridor and for us; it was near the escalator at the main entrance. There were not so many people there. Before that, there was an announcement made that the next event would start at 4am in the morning.
Well, it was a challenge actually to sleep. First, I’m not used to sleep without pillow, and secondly my back and legs started to hurt. In fact, I had difficulty to sleep that night, and I don’t know when I finally slept.
When I got up, it was almost 3am, and I quickly took my things to the toilet again. Whoa… there were so many people already there. I had to wait for 45min before I can have my shower again.
The second day event started with qiamullai and followed by the morning prayer. After the prayer, we met again at the lower level of the mosque to continue with the second day activities. I was not really looking forward to as my back was getting really painful.
When they announced that there’s a change in the plan, where it would be replaced with Q&A session instead of practical training, I was relief. The Q&A was done very well, and any doubts and things which we were not clear, were addressed by panels of experts.
After the breakfast session, we continued with the session. It was basically, a feedback session where the head of the programs, provided feedback based on the observation made.
The event ended at 11.30, and the closing ceremony was graced by the Tunku Panglima Besar who represented the Sultan of Selangor.
By the time we reached home, it had been 1pm, and the kids were very happy to see us. After spending 20 minutes with them, I took my nap. It was the longest nap. Four hours of sleep.
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