Anecdotes of the Holy Land

26 Jan - 5 Feb 2017

Madinah and Makkah, Arab Saudi

It was my second time here, back after almost 8 years. Some things have changed: There were so many more people now, perhaps because of the extension of the masjid area - but now the Umrah visa is only limited to 10 days. We had to set out for the masjid earlier, at least 1 hour 15 mins before prayer time as the main road leading to the masjid will be closed 1 hour before. Most of the time, we prayed at the first level as the ground level were always already full (for women only; for men there seems to be space still).

The clock tower was our landmark to indicate the street back to our hotel (Ibrahim Al Khalil street)

I didn't see any blonde, blue eyed mat salleh (Caucasian) this time around. But there were more Turkish people now, and some North African nationals such as Algerians and Tunisians (it was based from their uniforms / flags on their bags / clothes). Yes, more people came in wearing uniforms this time around - not just Indonesians, but also from the Indian continent.

some of the uniforms

We see more technology now - smartphones are allowed inside both Masjid Nabawi and Masjid Al Haram, but you are not allowed to take pictures inside, although everyone was doing it. I was caught once by a woman police , but she just told me no, didn't confiscate my phone though. If you wanted to take pictures, just do it discreetly / make sure the police is not around, and only after you have completed your rituals (tawaf or saie). I did see people making video calls at Raudhah (Masjid Nabawi) and on the way to Masjid Al Haram. It was humbling to see a man of Indian descent skyping with his mates in bunk beds, showing Masjid Al Haram live to them. You wonder how much sacrifice and funds they had to raise to be able to make that journey to the Holy Land. Not everyone have sufficient funds / are physically able to perform the Umrah, let alone the Hadj.

Masjid Al Haram now has escalators

That delicious ice cream near the entrance at King Fahad gate cost 3 riyal now

Some things remained the same: the women police in the masjid were still as garang (stern) as before; you couldn't see their facial expression as their faces are veiled, so I've always wondered if they were constantly annoyed or perhaps they are just merely doing their jobs. One thing for sure, you do not stand around waiting for people in the masjid before prayers. I was shooed away after 3 times being told to move (I was waiting for partner in crime to perform his ablutions). Alhamdulillah, I managed to find him back after making 1 round outside the masjid area.

Strangers around you in the masjid shared their food with you - dates, breads, tea, fruits etc especially if it was time to break fast on Monday or Thursday.

There is still no coins transactions - my balance were rounded up to the nearest riyal and I received them in riyal notes. No chewing gums as substitutes for the cents balance this time around.

A few things I've learned - there is no jamak (combining) prayers at Masjid Al Haram, only wajib/tunai (compulsory) and sunat (optional) prayers. You need to come very very early for the Friday prayers - we weren't able to pray inside Masjid Nabawi in Madinah (but there are carpets at the outer area where you can pray) as we came 1 hour before. So for Masjid Al Haram, we were already in the masjid 2 hours before Zohor time. (This is for the Women prayer area only). Bloodshed is also haram (forbidden) in the Holy land.

At the end of the journey, I appreciated that the Holy Land became a congregation place for millions of Muslims, regardless of race, age or creed. We were all unified in prayers despite the differences.

a depiction of old Masjid Al Haram and Kaabah at the Haramain museum

Read here also of my anecdotes from my first visit in 2009

It rains in here

At the surau, I observed a Sudan woman make her ablution. She opened the tap as minimal as possible, letting water flowing gently. She cupped the water in her hands, then closed the tap. Washed her face thrice with the minimal cupped water. She opened again the tap, cupped the water, closed the tap, this time washing her right forearm thrice with the cupped water. Again she repeated the steps until she finished her ablution.

Her spot had no splash or puddles of water.
On the other sides, water gushed freely and there were splashes everywhere.

I cringe at the thought of the amount of water wasted. I have been guilty too.

Qariah cun

Check her out : Sharifah Khasif Sy Badiuzzaman

(Muda lagi, baru 27 tahun woooot! Opss sorry, ahem.. Masyaallah)

She won the recent International Tilawah held at PWTC last month

Took a pix with her during mom's graduation

Reminiscence of the Holy Land

Since it's Ramadhan, I think I'll write about my umrah experience (it was a few months ago)

Not wanting to sound preachy, I'll relate my observations based on the book I'm reading - The Hadj, An American's Pilgrimage to Mecca, by Michael Wolfe (1993)

Excerpts from the book are in Bold Italic.

The first thing I discovered about Mecca was that I'd been spelling the name wrong. No one here said MEH-ka. They said ma-KAH. "Do you spell Manhattan men-HET-en?" one of the English-speaking Makkans asked me.
-Yes, the English word Mecca is a corruption of the name Makkah. Same like mosque, it is a French corruption of the word "masjid"

It (Makkah) was also strictly off-limits to non-believers. Another sign, at a freeway exit, read :
STOP FOR INSPECTION, ENTRY PROHIBITED TO NON-MUSLIMS
Some Westerners think of Makkah as forbidden to foreigners. In fact, it exists to receive them and is largely composed of them.
-True. Most of the people there are foreigners. You can find blonde,blue eyed jamaah with curly, dark skinned or yellow skinned (or whatever coloured) people all congregating in the same house (Masjidil Haram), no difference in rank or class to separate them.

-The author also excerpted Malcom X's hadj experience:
During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug)- while praying to the same God - with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blonde, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions and in the deeds of the "white" Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana.

At any other mosque on earth people prepared for this moment (prayer) by forming straight lines and facing Makkah. At Makkah the prayer is circular. Any way you face, you face the shrine (kaabah)
-I find this very amusing. At any spot in Masjidil Haram, you wouldn't need to wonder where is the direction of the kiblah. And while praying, just look up ahead at the kaabah (instead of focusing your eyes on the sajadah)

I scanned the crowds to locate the imam. He stood near the Ka'ba door.
-The whole time I was there, I failed to locate the imam. Better luck next time Insyaallah ;-)

After the last salaam, we came to our feet. This time the imam faced the shrouded bodies (janazah) on the biers.
-In Makkah & Madinah, all the 5 daily prayers are followed immediately by Solat Janazah, no du'a recital after prayers.

Today, the well (Zamzam) has been relocated to a wedge-shaped ampitheater underground. Hadjis not content merely to drink dumped buckets of the liquid on their bodies, and strangers towelled off each other's back. It was like a friendly bath house.
-The Zamzam underground ampitheater was closed during my visit. Zamzam water was placed in water dispensers all over the masjid instead (was also the case in Masjid Nabawi in Madinah)

I gave the boy riyals (the author wanted to buy robes). He passed the bills to the blind man (the seller), who put them into a box and handed back a small packet of Kleenex. "He owes you a half riyal" the boy explained. "But we don't use coins here. Coins make noise in the mosque. And the ihram towels don't have pockets. It's a nuisance"
-This is still true (the author went there in 1991 or 1992). I got chewing gums for change at a supermarket in Makkah. I'm not sure whether it's only in Makkah or the whole of Saudi Arabia do not use coins. I did not have small change that needed to be in coins in Madinah, they were all in riyal notes.

-However, on the "no pockets" note, people have become creative and invented ihram belts with a zipped compartment where you can keep some money / small pair of scissors in it. Why do you need scissors? Read on :-)

From what I could see, big cars were in demand here. During the last few years cheaper Japanese compacts had nosed them out of the US markets, but guzzlers were still favoured in the Gulf. Their weight and huge engines supplied the traction drivers needed in the desert and their egregious fuel consumption bothered no one.
-Very true! After all, Saudis drive on the left hand side. And they are big producers of oil. Petrol here costs 24 cent/litre (it is also really cheap in Iran - see my earlier post )

Alarm clocks were superflous in Makkah. The five calls to prayer were piped through speakers all over the city. I read until midnight,slept a few hours and woke to the adhan about 3.30am
-The Adhan in Makkah & Madinah are called twice, the first one about 30 minutes prior to the actual call to prayer, for preparation.

The night before I had washed a few thobes (robes) and hung them to dry on the balcony. The gowns weren't wet long. The desert air had done its work in minutes.
-The air there (same for Iran - true to Middle East countries I believe) is very dry. We needed lip balms as our lips have already cracked.

Profability flowed in both directions. Hadjis poorer and far richer than myself defrayed the cost of their pilgrimage by trading. Bukharans sold fine carpets on the sidewalks. Nigerians hawked kola nuts and beads.
- I loved the sight of different people from various nations trading. They just spread out their items on a piece of cloth on the road and the trade begins. People bargained in different languages. I heard shouts of murah! murah! Very enterprising indeed.

The author chances upon a shop that had a signage read:
Experimental Establishment
For pilgrims from Non-Muslim countries
Sacrificial coupons hear (sp.)

It was a gift shop. The government-coupon dispenser sold pilgrims sacrificial sheep.
-Although I went during the non-Haj season, I did see some similar signages.

I was browsing here (at the gift shop) one morning when a dozen Tadjik pilgrims came into the store. These men were among the first post-Soviet hadjis in 70 years (remember, it was the early 90s then).
The Qur'an had been forbidden by the Soviets so long that a copy in Tashkent currently (at that time) cost a hundred dollars. Here they cost five. The Tadjiks left the shop with a dozen copies.
-This intrigued me as there are/were people from other parts of the world who are/were inaccesible to the Qur'an due to government rulings.
Btw, you can buy the Qur'ans here and donate (wakaf) them to the Masjid.

In order to put aside the ihram clothes, a pilgrim who plans to return to them for the hadj is supposed to have a desacralizing haircut. Generally, this means a token snip of 3 or 4 haircuts.
-That's the use of the scissors :-) Or you could borrow from other pilgrims. Unfortunately, a member of our group accepted the scissors offer from "someone who was waiting there, conveniently having a pair of scissors in hand", later to be charged a sum of money for the scissors. So better to bring your own.

Wow it's quite a bit of text-only post already, eyes are straining, and I haven't finished reading the book. So another post then, if more reminiscents came out from the later chapters ;-)

Extraordinary everyday people

I like everyday people, people you see going about their daily lives, without others taking interest in what they do. But I do. This is the story (it shouldn’t be a story, because it’s real) of an extraordinary girl (lady) called Salmah.

I met her in the bus, going back to KL. Yes, I still do commute with the bus, at least I’m saving the environment from additional smoke emissions from my car! We’ve enough smoke from the haze already, and from my hostel neighbour…ooopsey daisy…shh…the authorities don’t know she smokes…and we didn’t report… smoking is banned in the hostel…oh heck, she doesn’t know the existence of my blog anyway, so there.

Sorry about the environmental rant, now back to Salmah. I take my seat beside a girl who’s studying a book on Kanji (Japanese writing). She then keeps the book and doze off before I could become nosey. So I decide to shut my eyes too (not sleep, just into alhpa mode).

She wakes up as the bus stops for WC break

Me: (Upon seeing her fidgeting) Uh, do you wanna get out?
Salmah: No, just adjusting my position. So, where are you from? Student?
Me: Yeah, UTP. (I skip the working for a few years then taking Masters part, in my vain attempt to give the “I’m still a student” impression to others, haha). Likewise ?
S : I’m a lecturer in UiTM (she looks young to me, I thought she’s a student. She’s 29)
Me: I see that you’re studying Japanese (being nosey).
S : Yeah, I plan to pursue my Masters in Japan. So I’m taking this class to learn Japanese. I commute every weekend (from Sri Iskandar, Perak to KL). It’s on every Saturday, 5pm in Cheras.
Me: (Impressed !! Woah , that’s perseverance !) It must be really tiring then.
S: Yes, but I want to do this. I want to pursue my Masters in Fine Arts (Glass Design). I design sculptures, specializing in glass. It’s still in its infancy in Malaysia, that’s why I want to pursue this in Japan, and bring the technology here. We don’t have the machines to design glass here. (She talks with so much passion, I am in awe) You can sculpt it the way you want, it’s not solid, imagine Colgate (toothpaste), you can twist and bend it.
My ultimate dream is to open my own gallery and be able to tell people what I’m trying to convey with my sculptures, and of course, to sell them !
Me: Have you sold any of your designs?
S: (Proudly beams) Yes ! I’ve sold one that was featured in a magazine! Only that it features the owner’s house who happens to buy my art, and it was pictured in the mag. Although it didn’t mention the designer , I’m still proud ! (You go girl !!)
Me: How much you sold it for? (Being nosey again)
S: About RM 1K + (Hmmm…not bad…)
Me: That’s good money !
S : It can fetch thousands of dollars, provided if you’re famous! I’ve seen designs that to me, it’s just ordinary, but people still buy it for exorbitant prices because the designer is famous! So, in this field, you have to build up your name first. Then you’ll be able to get a market.
But it’s not that simple! You know how I started? My SPM result was not good. I took my STPM in Malay Literature after that.
Me: But that’s not in your line of art ! How did you get interested in arts?
S: It was natural for me. I had the flair. I found it easy to draw things, and I’ve always liked arts. I took Malay Literature because I’d like to start from scratch, start all over again. There are so many words in Malay that you still don’t know! But anway, my STPM result was also not good. I didn’t get the cert, just a partial pass. So after STPM, I took odd jobs. One of it was painting a mural at a school. I liked arts, I liked doing it.
Then someone from the Education Ministry saw my mural, and suggested that I apply to study Arts in UiTM. I followed his advice. I’m a kampung girl, from remote Kuala Lipis (yes, I know someone famous is also from there). I knew I had to get out of there, broaden my horizon. I have to go to KL. So I applied for Diploma in Fine Arts, based on my SPM result, and I was accepted into UiTM Shah Alam. But it’s a nightmare there! Lunch alone costs almost RM 10. I didn’t have money, I’m from a poor family, my father has passed away, just me, my sister and my elderly mother. But I persevere. At one point, to save money to buy things for my projects, I’d buy a loaf of long, cream bread, which costs RM1, and I’d break it into 3 portions – for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (At this point, I felt how lucky I am to be able to eat everyday, as I please, and sometimes, just throw the leftovers, when someone, somewhere, does not have money and is constantly in hunger. So be thankful! Don’t complain if your food doesn’t taste good, at least YOU GET TO EAT! Some don’t, some cry in hunger, SOME DIE OF HUNGER)
S: When I finished my Diploma, I decide to pursue a Degree. So I applied for UiTM Sri Iskandar (USI) to get out of KL, because I can’t afford the cost of living there. I was accepted. After finishing my Degree in May this year (2006), I applied to teach in USI, then pursue my Masters under UiTM’s lecturer program to pursue my dream! I didn’t get accepted instantly, so I worked odd jobs again. I worked in a restaurant in KL, and it was so tiring ! At this point of time, I’d started my Japanese class already, it’s self financed. Again, at one point, I was without money, so with a thick face, I asked the restaurant manager where I work to lend me money to pay for my Jap class. Fortunately, he was kind enough to lend me some. Then in July, I was accepted and started teaching at USI. My goodness! There are so many kinds of students here. I’m teaching Fine Arts. Some of them are just not interested, some are arrogant, they won’t listen to me. I sometimes feel like deducting their marks for those who caused me trouble, but I told myself, not to judge them by what they’ve done to me, but by their quality of work. There are students from rural areas and poor, so I have the responsibility to change their fate. There’s also arrogant students, one girl didn’t silent her hp, and answers the phone in class, when I myself, never disrupt the class. So I expect them to do the same. It’s really tiring to teach, to study (Jap class) and to design my sculptures at the same time! But I believe I can do it! (You just don’t know how very respectful and full of admiration I am of her already at this point)
Me: (I never said anything, just my mouth gaping open, but not that big, in awe)..continue listening..
S: I taught them from the very basics, that’s why some of them wouldn’t listen when they feel they already know. Do you know there’s a method to draw a straight line without a ruler? And it’s really straight! And do you know to be able to do that, you have to sharpen your pencil a certain way to get that result! No, I’m not telling you how ! Haha (Cheeky !) I told them to go back during their break to get an object of nature, bring it back, and draw it in their own imaginative ways. Some just picked up leaves from the campus area, and they were shocked when I told them I knew they took them from campus! I told them I’ve already collected almost everything from the campus compound for my own project! Oh, speaking about projects, I remember, when I was a student, I didn’t sleep for days! I’d keep perfecting my design, until the last minute, it would still be imperfect for me! Even my lecturer was worried that I may not able to finish them in time. But I knew myself, and I did. You know, we, art people, can be so engrossed with our work that we won’t be realizing the passing of day and night. It’s like something has taken over you, like you’ve been possessed, it’s not you who’s working, but that “something”. That’s why people like us can continue work for days without sleeping! I try to “break out” from that possession and keep sanity by praying. (Is it true that M Nasir once was admitted to a mental hospital? But then again, these are the kind of people who are flowing with creative juices, I envy them)
Me: (As we are approaching Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka) What do you think of that mural? (on its building. I ask this because I’ve read an article about the state of public appreciation of art in Malaysia )
S: It’s not really abstract, you can see the meaning directly about Malaysia’s multi racial nation and progress towards development. (I agree). Have you seen the sculptures at Taman ASEAN?
Me: Yes (trying to remember the picture from the article I read). I don’t understand the meaning.
S : Those are abstracts. It depends on your own interpretation. That shows how Malaysians do not see the value of art, and is just not appreciative. (I am slightly embarrassed, but I still don’t get the meaning of those sculptures! At least I have an “acquired taste” in music, I’d like to believe that, haha.. Hey, not many people “get” the kind of music I listen to anyway. I’ve noticed this – I stayed outside hostel before, during my degree, and stayed with Industrial Design students, and mixed with them. It’s true, they can work without sleeping for days. I exchanged CDs / music with them, they dig what I listen to, and it’s really cool because I can discuss with them on my other passion- music. But I still don’t play any instruments, except the keyboards, no! That’s the computer keyboard I’m referring to haha)
S: Hey, we’re already here (Puduraya). Thanks for listening.
Me: Sure, I enjoyed it. Thanks to you too!
S : I’m going the other way. OK bye!
Me: Bye! (And later regretted that I didn’t get her hp no. It’s really interesting to befriend her. Perhaps I’ll try to find her out. USI not’s really far from my hostel)

If you are reading this, then you’ve managed to read that lengthy conversation till the end (unless you’re cheating!). If you didn’t cheat, I thank you very much because I really want people to know about these kind of people, their story. They are the inspiring ones, and I’d sure like to meet more of them!