Category Archives: Al-Masjid An-Nabawi As-Sharif

…all in a days walk…

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…summer has definitely arrived after a rather prolonged few months of bearable temperatures…but now the 40′s have begun…and so have the supplies of melons…trucks weighted down line the popular roads…but this is a hazard as the usual habit for people here is to suddenly stop to buy form the street vendors without caring that they may be triple parking and holding up traffic or causing car behind them to swerve dangerously…all adding to the colour and charm of being in Al Madinah Al Munawwarah…how the days of camels would have been safer and a different level of chaos…

…it stirs the soul to see that pigeons are cared for…containers of fresh water are filled throughout the day…they seemed to take it in turns to splash about…

…hard manual labour in the searing sun…the law requires all outdoor work to cease during the intense midday hours…Insha’Allah employees abide by this and also remember the Hadith about paying their workers before the sweat dries from their brow…surely Madinatun Nabi is the place where this is respected…

…a soft early morning light caresses the minarets while highlighting the new street lighting…

…the last remains of green framing the new Qiblah hotel…this garden has been reduced to a few trees…the bird song reduced…preparing for another hotel excavation I presume and for the vast changes this southern side will see as the new fly over is constructed and the old one demolished opening the land for development…

…one of the main facades of the huge Qiblah complex…the largest hotel in the city…it is ten years since it was started…Insha’Allah it will be functioning for the crowds in Ramadhan…

…a unique coach…wonder if it travels at the speed of the magnificent leopard?

…the diversity of groups with their distinct creative ‘uniforms’ adds the to visual spectacle while stirring the soul knowing that Allah Ta’ala brings pilgrims from every nation to our two sacred places, SubhanAllah!

…’self portrait’…he he he…to prove this humble speck has been blessed with some mobility…Alhumdulillah Alf ShukriLlahu!!!

…the constant round the clock cleaning of the umbrellas…

…trying to conjure how much water is used in and around the Masjid is boggling…these trumpet shaped nozzles deliver a high pressure flow to deal with the dust…

…they are filling in all the gaps…ghasp…soon there will be no place to see the developments unless one has access from higher floors in the nearby hotels…why prohibit people from seeing the progress??

…previous visit was about ten days ago…crash::bang::rumble::dust…the stripped buildings are still standing as the focus is on clearing the area of the mangled steel and flattening the site…hence dozens of earth moving trucks are lined up to be filled with the excess earth…what blessed secrets may this earth be holding??

…the green area is where they are currently working…as can be seen it is a fraction of the whole design…the pink is the area of the current Masjid Nabawi…maybe the three inner open courtyard areas of the new plan will mean that these parts corresponding to the northern courtyard will remain as the foundation of these three sections…Allahu ‘Alum…

…the heat and dust bleach the scene…

…if one is seeking a quiet calm while visiting our Radiant city then Insha’Allah it forever resides in the heart and no clanging or crashing of machinery can affect this…

…the only door into the site from the Baqi side…there may come a time when courage is found to ask if a quick step inside is OK to snap some quick shots…guess one will only hear mamnou’…Alhumdulillah…

…leaving…

…entering…bags to be checked…

…arriving…a 24/7 choreography at the eastern sisters section…Alhumdulillah…

…brothers sit at all the main gateways to the Masjid selling the Mushaf…many donate copies to the Masjid as well as purchase for gifts to take back to their home lands…

…this was a row of about ten brothers outside the King Fahd gate mid morning…the early bird getting the shade…

…while others used cardboard and prayer mats to cover their head from the intense heat…

…the mist fans operate during the hottest part of the day…considerably lowering the temperatures underneath the umbrellas…

…bringing relief to those lining up to fill containers with Zamzam which is transported from Makkah on a daily basis and available at this filling station at the north west corner of the courtyard…

…Insha’Allah Du’a flows during this auspicious month where Allah Ta’ala’s promised forgiveness for our repentance is most high…Insha’Allah be steadfast for Hidayah to pierce hearts and for the Deen to flourish in the Haramain as it was during the times of our Noble Nabi SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, Ameen…

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…Rajab 1434…

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…the new marble courtyard in front of Babul Baqi…a shiny mirrored lake…shimmering reflections with a most intimate closeness portrayed in the touching father and sons huddle…affected by the intensity of love radiating from our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…brothers pondering the reality of being so near…hearts united in the calm and serenity…contemplating the blessing of being drawn so close…embraced and caressed with the softest of touches and the most fragrant of perfumes…

…a little further away the same awe is felt as sisters sit and stare blankly…who needs to see when one can feel…all but longing and yearning is left in the heart as it finds stillness in the moment…every thought, other than of Al-Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, dissolved into a blank void…a nothingness of no meaning, no significance…a veritable bliss piercing ones whole being…

…here we all are…planted on this earthly orb by the gift of gravity…protected as we swirl around and around…our rizq has been decided…our destiny scribed long long ago…so why worry…why fill hearts with anything but the love and adoration of our Rabb and His Habib SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…be daring…submit even more during the month of Rajab…be open and ready and WILLING to receive Allah Ta’ala’s Mercy…this is His month of pouring His Mercy on the penitent…daily diligent pleas of

Rabb ighfir li w’ arhamni wa tub ‘alayya

Oh Allah forgive me, have mercy upon me, and grant me repentance.

seventy times after Fajr and after Asr…Insha’Allah so little in exchange for mountains and mountains of forgiveness…SubhanAllah…(other recommended acts in the third link below)

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

 …may your profits be enormous during this Mubarak month of Rajab, Ameen…

…return to Allah Ta’ala in repentance…

…previous Rajab posts…here with the date loaf recipe…celebrate…here with a gallery of nostalgic Makkah…and here for spiritual ways of preparing the body, mind and soul for Ramadhan, SubhanAllah…

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…exalted perfection::perfection exalted…

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…as the thunder roars…the clouds frolic in an ecstatic dance…the lightning electrifies the air…the heart swoons in wild abandon mesmerized by the shifting shafts of light on this most precious of places in the entire creation…the Abode of the the most exalted in  perfection SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…perfection most exalted…SubhanAllah!

Verily you are of a tremendous nature. (68:4)

His virtues are perfect, and were he to gift

His resplendence to the moon, it would never be eclipsed.

Despite their skill, those who have described him

Need all of the time to do so – and there is more they have not described.

Source: Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam the Perfect Man.

~*~

He is like the sun: to the eye at a distance

it seems small, but when near,

it dazzles the sight.

Lift your head from your Yemenite cloak,

For your face is the sunrise of life! Jami

Source: The Mantle Adorned verse 49, page 65.

…may the tangible light the eye perceives be transferred so as to illuminate the heart to receive the Light of Truth from Allah Ta’ala through our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam Ameen…

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…crash::bang::rumble::dust…

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…this is the eastern tunnel accessing the the underground carpark…the fence to Jannatul Baqi is on the left and the blue fence to the right is the barrier to where the work is now happening…the new eastern side of the expansion will occupy the area now seen in this photo, but reach far back to the north (right) incorporating the area where you can see the tops of the hotels which will be demolished…one can ascertain the distance from the Green Dome which is seen just peeking over the far left umbrella…this is a GIGANTIC PROJECT…no drawing or artist rendering or model or google representation conveys the massive scope of this expansion…

…Source: Skyscrapercity where you can find more images and the latest updates, SubhanAllah Sister Roukaya does an amazing job sharing so much about the Haramain, may Allah Ta’ala reward her immensely for her efforts in benefiting the Ummah, Ameen…(the intention was to photo shop the eastern area to clarify where they are working now but unfortunately I do not have access to photo shop at the moment but work now is confined to the sqaure of the open courtyard on the left along with the area to the left of it)

…buildings stripped of the marble facade and ready for implosion…Insha’Allah I try to be there for one of them going down…

…gone are all the ornate decorations and hotels hardly been occupied…and this is just the beginning…SubhanAllah!!!

…some ask where is all this happening in relation to the present Masjid…this photo was taken at the same place as the above two…just turning 180 degrees…

…all the fences between the site and the courtyard are covered in plastic to lessen the dust so looking into the actual area is difficult…unless of course for brothers who can ask for entry…clearer photos here…

…there are a couple of places along the fence where one can look through dusty window…

…most of these buildings will soon be gone…

…Jannatul Baqi directly opposite the above photo…

…it was a very cloudy day so photos are gloomy…but easy to see how close to the eastern umbrella courtyard is the demolition site…

…recycled steel companies must be very happy…

…again…Janntul Baqi fence to the left and the Ottoman minaret and Dome of Peace outlined in the distance…I still find it difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of this endeavour…and this is only the eastern side…the same area is to be added on the western side as well as the long northern area…

…palaces come and go…Insha’Allah our final Blissful Abode will be for ETERNITY…and even the expansion will be dust…

…twisted steel mountains…the roar of bulldozers, diggers and the monster looking arm that lifts all this mangled mess creates an alien scene…

…Insha’Allah I will try to be frequent with updates…

…I wonder what will happen to the hundreds of umbrellas currently shading the north, east and west courtyards?…

…how many of the 1.8 million pilgrims expected to fill the new design will hope to actually step inside Rowdha Shareef? How will this be managed in the future? Especially for sisters where it is so chaotic now?

…scroll down here for other concerns regarding the extent of the expansion…plus Madinah already has a water shortage so how will the system cope with the addition of millions? not to mention the congested traffic problems…pilgrim buses line the narrow streets between hotels to drop and collect pilgrims as cars, pedestrians and taxis impatiently try to negotiate the dangerous jams…Insha’Allah the plan to construct a metro linking the airport to the Masjid is a positive plan…as is the rail link from Makkah…but how people move from the station, which is a distance from the central area, to their hotels may mean relying on buses which seems to defeat the efficiency of a railway…the situation requires forward thinking of scales not seen before…look back to just over two years ago when the exact area being dug up now was being filled and then paved to accommodate the overflowing crowds…and how do the elderly, the differently challenged move within and around such a massive complex…some say there are carts, Alhumdulillah, but from experience they are limited in the services they provide…and are only outside in the courtyard…how much courtyard will there be with the new plans?

…so many questions…may Allah Ta’ala guide and save us all, Ameen…your comments welcome on this topic…

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

 

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…I know you’re tired but come, this is the way…

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…I know you’re tired but come, this is the way…

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi Rahmatullahi alaihi

…vicariously wander from the north of Masjid Nabawi to the south, via the west, through these pictures…to the Abode of our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…

…an interesting juxtaposition…while this brother was lying prostrate the cart was delivering al-Mayyit for Janazah, top right…

Sallallahu ‘alaa Muhammad

Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa Sallim

Yaa Nabi Salaam ‘alaika

Yaa Rasul Salaam ‘alaika

Yaa Habib Salaam ‘alaika

Salawatullah ‘alaika.

…I know you’re tired but come, this is the way…

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…north:south…

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… the northern side of Masjid Nabawi used to be where our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam would depart and return from al-Sham…present day Jordan, Syria, Palestine  (YA RABB…shower Your Rahmah upon these ancient lands and their dear people…InshaAllah each and every one of you continue with istiqama in making Du’a for all that was al-Sham) …where camel trains of thousands would arrive and depart…where armies and forays would set out and return…for Uhud, Khyber, Tabuk being battles fought to the north…by tuning the imagination of the heart we can almost hear and smell and see so many of the Sahabah RadhiAllahu anhum trading, living, visiting, farming this very land…

…today it is a very congested side of Masjid Nabawi…especially after each Salat when the street vendors set up their trolleys and mats on the ground with hardly any space in between for pilgrims to reach their hotels…the above photo was taken immediately at the end of Asr Salat with sisters waiting for customers…the brothers do not seem to join the Safr in favour of being ready for brisk business the minute Salam is said…the walkways between the fence and the hotel shops become packed with much yelling to get attention to buy…how different from the atmosphere during the time of our Noble Nabi SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…but the things that are not different is Islam, Iman and Ihsan…Insha’Allah all who are invited here make these the focus and negotiate these market areas making the Du’a for attending a market place and in Dhikr…

…this northern side will see the greatest changes one the expansion demolitions begin…

…the southern Qiblah side leads to Makkah…spending time in the courtyard, especially late in the night, is the so peaceful…the tranquility pierces the heart regardless of what it may be holding…sitting quietly cleanses…it is almost as one sees all the unnecessary dross being lifted and dissipated…the fourth pillar along this wall is the closest a sister can physically be to our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…what more earthly bliss could one ever hope or want?

…volumes could be filled with photos of all the various scenes in the market area directly over the road from what used to be the Aswaq al-Haram…still many of the buildings are repositories for rubbish while some have been converted into a medical depot and used by the police and guards…for the moment this southern side outside the courtyard fence is relatively free of the hustle and bustle of the north…with many hotels still under construction in this vicinity, many walkways are partially fenced leaving the narrow alleys, already with goods spilling into them like an obstacle course…

…soon the establishments on this side with be joyous once the shift from the north begins…the higher levels in hotels such as this one will offer views directly towards The Dome of Felicity…

…the Qiblah hotel, the biggest in Madinah moves closer to completion after ten years since the excavation was dug…

…the almost deserted walkway between the courtyard fence and the old Aswaq al-Haram…before its demise this area was pulsing with activity…Alhumdulillah after Maghrib each day the Fuqara are offered simple meals and tea, with dozens availing themselves of this khidmah…

Sallallahu ‘alaa Muhammad

Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa Sallim

Yaa Nabi Salaam ‘alaika

Yaa Rasul Salaam ‘alaika

Yaa Habib Salaam ‘alaika

Salawatullah ‘alaika.

~*~

…may our praises reach to the farthest north and south east and west of Allah Ta’ala’s creation…

Salatun Salamun

So happy is the one who visits him with sincerity

and comes to him and receives his hospitality.

Shaykh Saleh al-Ja’fari Rahmatullahi alaihi

~*~

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

 

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.

…Seerah exhibition:inside…

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…a real Muhabbat pervaded the space…was it the dramatic back lit panels? the less austere curving arrangements of the display panels? the curling around into large impressive spaces revealing more and more layers of the perfection of the Prince SallAllahu alaihi wasallam of the City of Radiance and Light? maybe it was the artistic designs with stunning calligraphy? the comprehensive inclusion of so many of the major aspects from the life of our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam hitting the heart in a different way from reading a book or listening to a lecture? was it the obvious focus on displaying such attention to our Noble Nabi SallAllahu alaihi wasallam when too often adoration and heartfelt signs of affection are usually met with negative reactions from various quarters in and around Masjid Nabawi? maybe the ambiance created by the recitation from our Holy Book? Allahu ‘Alum…the organizers have excelled with this exhibition, Masha’Allah…Alhumdulillah…

…a reproduction of the Qibla wall greeted one upon entering…

…each area was filled with a soft subdued lighting featuring the topic in Arabic and English, with the main text in Arabic…

…a beautiful rendering of the Noble Name composed of gold lettering spelling the invocation of Salat imposed on a subtlety designed tonal Islamic pattern…

…other medallion designs opened as blossoms the hallowed name…

…I was drawn to this impression of how Makkah may have been at the time of the honourable birth…

…the large Hijrah map included all the notable places relevant to the blessed journey…

…difficult to convey with photos…

…the map based on satellite images clearly showed the terrain, bringing the reality of the arduous journey into the heart…this particular section shows where our Beloved Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and his esteemed companion Abu Bakr RadhiAllahu anhu met with Umm Ma’bad RadhiAllahu anha (the top left position, see photos of how arid where this incident took place) …(audio of this miracle)

…model of the first mimbar and how the trunks and dried palms of the date palm constructed the first Masjid…

Prophetic lineage

…model of how the houses of our Noble Mother’s of the Believers were arranged around the Masjid according to some narrations…

…the naming of the significant pillars…details here, here…

…detail of the cluster of houses…

…just two examples of the decorative features, adding to the stunning overall effect…

…stylized interpretations of the names of Abu Bakr and Ali RadhiAllahu anhuma…

…each contained space seemed to have a unique concept…

…part of the huge impression of this Enlightened City at the time of our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam…

…a model of the terrain including the vast lava tracts and sites of the Battle of Uhud and Khadaq…a guide was explaining the salient features to a group…

…a map showing the locations of the Ghazwat with an accompanying list…

…Surah Fath Ayat 29…

It was He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of Truth to show that it is above every other religion. Allah suffices as a witness: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

…Surah Al ‘Imran 144…

Muhammad is only a messenger before whom many messengers have been and gone. If he died or was killed, would you revert to your old ways? If anyone did so , he would not harm Allah in the least. Allah will reward the grateful.

…this was the second exhibition area…unfortunately the system was controlling entry according to groups with the same language so this speck did not venture into this section…Insha’Allah another time…

…Alhumdilillah what was seen impressed and deepened the LOVE…SubhanAllah!

Sallallahu ‘alaa Muhammad

Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa Sallim

Yaa Nabi Salaam ‘alaika

Yaa Rasul Salaam ‘alaika

Yaa Habib Salaam ‘alaika

Salawatullah ‘alaika.

JUMA’AH MUBARAK!

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.