In the city of Medina...

15th Aug 2011 - - - 1.15 pm

It had been less than 24 hours in Medina and I was already in love with this place. There was a real sense of serenity,  and I felt real bliss. My first prayer in the masjid was the 'Asr prayer. We made our way into the beautiful masjid - nabawi. There were rows and rows of women from all over the world, nationalities ranging from the middle east, to the far east, Africa, South Asia. THIS was the ummah of the Prophet pbuh. :)

From finding a place to sit inside the masjid to giving up your seat for someone else to pray their tahiyyatul masjid [2 raka'at for entering the masjid] it was still amazing how we managed to fit 2 more ladies into our row by the time of  'Asr salah, regardless of it being quite tight to begin with! I love these kind of miracles in the masjid! MashAllah the masjid is beautiful on the inside, unfortunately they don't allow you take cameras in, although I managed to sneak mine in to get a picture of the architecture inside more than anything. It is a beautiful beautiful masjid! My amateur photo does not do justice to it at all!

 - - - 6.15 pm

The free standing pillars
in the courtyard of the masjid.

Iftaar in masjid-nabawi

Returning just before maghrib prayer I watched in awe as people sat in rows and volunteers would spread out long plastic sheets between the rows so as the set the 'table' ready for iftaar. This was done all over the masjid, inside, outside in the court yard and also in the streets leading up to masjid. The sheer organisation and catering for the amount of people actually there to break their fast was truly amazing! Serving iftaar meals to the visitors of the Prophet pbuh's mosque is an old tradition dating back to the Prophet's time. The people of Madinah truly are the Ansaar, the helpers even til today! It was amazing watching them compete in serving the guests. The iftar was very simple, yet filling and consisted of a handful of dates, the infamous 'laban - a yogurt drink' [more on this later] yummy bread and not forgetting zam zam water in its plenty! As the sun started to set, the 250 large umbrellas or sunshades which covered the courtyard of the masjid and protected the people from the heat of the sun as they prayed outside, slowly start to close forming beautiful free standing pillars with additional light features which lit up the courtyard.