My Hajj Trip - Part 1

I'm already home for a week, and I still feel tired. The trip was very hectic, but I have no complaint. The experience I had from this trip was very fulfilling. I left for Mecca on 30th October.

I received my flight detail and my accommodation information from Tabung Haji Travel Services to report to Tabung Haji Complex in Klana Jaya at 8.30am.

Few days before I left for the trip that is on 26th October on Deepavali day I went back to Kuala Pilah to visit my aunties and my hubby's grandma and auntie. We received quite a number of tips and advices from them, which were all very helpful. The trip was also for us to seek forgiveness from them.

On the way back, I stopped at my mom's place and took her with me to Bangi. My kids were very happy to have my mom over, and my girl shared her room with her grandma.

Since I was on leave on Friday, 28th October, and I didn't get a chance to visit my dad's grave on Wednesday, we made a quick trip to Seremban. As usual, it would be very emotional for me. As a common practice by us, Muslim, we recited Al-Fatihah and Surah Yassin. After that, my husband left me for me to have my time alone with my dad. If my dad is still around, he would be proud of his children. Two of his daughters were selected to be the guest of the Holy Land this year.

I didn’t start packing until Saturday. My mom was panicking when she saw that my bag was still empty. Well, I told her not to worry as I have all my things ready.

As the day progress my sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews came to my house. Some of them slept at my place. I didn't get to go to bed until 12 midnights because my kids were too excited to have their relatives over. At least, it helped them to forget that their parents would be away for a month.

At 3am, I woke up. My husband was already up at 2.30am, and I saw him going through the checklist to ensure nothing important was missing. We were required to wear ihram from home as we were heading direct to Mecca. I wore a white, three quarter length gown with pants and mini telekong. The only parts exposed were my face and my hand. My husband wore two pieces of unstitched white clothes known as ihram. One piece was wrapped around his waist, and the other was wrapped around his body. There is no other material can be wear. Not even underwear. He wore slippers with no sock covering his feet.

Before we left for Klana Jaya,  a doa was said by my father-in-law, and azan and qamat were said before we stepped out from the house.  My Bang Ngah drove us to Klana Jaya, and joining us, was my mother. My kids went with their uncle and cousins.

We were not the first to reach there, and since we reached there during subuh, I went to the mosque, to perform my subuh prayer first. We then waited at the tent before we checked in. While waiting, THTS gave us our id tag  and few other things. Oh yeah, we brought food for breakfast, but I didn't have an appetite to eat those foods.

At 8.30am, we were called in. I said goodbye to them, and at first I didn't cry, but when I kissed my mom and asked for her forgiveness, I cried. My kids didn't cry. They were excited to shake hand and to kiss me.

As I passed them into the building, I waved at them and dragged my luggage through the door. All the scanning of the luggage were done as we enter the door, and from there, we picked up our passport, and our boarding pass. We were then ushered to the hall on the first floor.

A final briefing were given by Tabung Haji, and at 11am, we left for the airport. Again doa was said, and azan was called by the Ustaz. We left on buses to the airport and was escorted by police to KLIA.

The flight from KL to Jeddah took eight hours, and when we reached Jeddah Pilgrimage Terminal, it was almost five o’clock. We were asked to wait for Immigration clearance. The immigration clearance process was very smooth. After the immigration, we then have to go through few more checking before we were cleared.

As we were heading to our rest area at the airport, there were foods, drinks and umbrella given freely to all pilgrimage. After waiting for four to five hours, we were then called to board our buses. Before we get into the bus, we have to leave our passport to the Muassassah, who were the team responsible for our stay during the Hajj period. They would hold the passport until the day we will leave for KL again.

The trip from Jeddah to Mecca took about 1 hour plus, and on the way more foods and water were given. When we reached our hotel, it was midnight. Instead of resting and sleeping, we decided to proceed with the Tawaf and Saie  so that we can complete our Umrah earlier.

We wanted to complete the umrah earlier because during ihram, there are 13 things that we must not do or avoid, or else we have to pay for the penalty.

After I changing my clothes and taken my wudhu, we headed to Masjidil Haram.  At that time, the area surrounding the Kaabah was still not packed with people. We quickly joined the flow and circulate the kaabah.  We circled in anti-clockwise, and our left shoulders must always face the Kaabah.  We have to circle the Kaabah seven times, and each round, there are different doa that we need to recite.

On the fifth round, I was pushed until my left shoulder didn’t face the Kaabah. Because of that, I have to do extra round, but overall I completed the ritual without any problem.

It was almost four in the morning when  we completed the tawaf.  At first, we wanted to continue to do our Saie, but my hubby has slight headache. We decided to  rest first and continue after breakfast.

We continued with our Saie at 9am in the morning.  If tawaf is going around the Kaabah seven times, Saie is walking seven times between two points. It started from Bukit Safa and ended at Bukit Marwah. The total distance for the whole Saie was about 2.9km.

After we completed the Saie, the next ritual is to cut at least 3 pieces of our hair from our head. With the cutting of the hair, we were no more in Ihram, and all the 13 things that we need to avoid are lifted.

We completed our Umrah, and it means that hubby can wear his clothes again, while I still continued to cover myself as required for women.  After the afternoon prayer, we went back to our room. We have four days to rest before Hajj where we have to travel to few places and complete the ritual.

Okay, I stop here first, and insya allah will continue tomorrow.