Exciting new horizon

I have decided once and for all to get rid of the fat me! I have signed up for a medical weight loss programme which starts this weekend, InshAllah.

The start of this diet is a 2 day binge on fatty foods and then followed by a 3 day fruit fast. And then 6 weeks of low carb, low calorie eating. And of course the main thing, daily injections of a hormone called HCG. The diet in South Africa is called Slender Wonder and abroad The HCG or Leptin diet.

I am mentally preparing myself to stick to it, I have nothing to lose but fat! Please make dua for me ladies, I need so much of it.

Thought I would post some Islamic knowledge regarding the matter :)

Niqab

After Hajj I was so inspired by my journey that I was inspired to wear the niqab. I had already been wearing the hijab as well as an abaya since I went for Umrah in 2009.

I was wearing it in Madinah all of the time since I arrived and then when I wore it for the Umrah to Makkah I did not wear it and it was so humid in Makkah I was having a bit of difficulty wearing it in tawaaf.

When I was on the plane coming home I decided not to shock my family by arriving at the airport wearing it and my daughter would also not recognize me.

After the first week I decided to break the news to everyone and wore it out and about. Alhamdulilaah it has been received with lots of goodness :) May Allah make it easy for all the muslimahs. Ameen!

Hajj 2010

As salaamu Alaykum sisters in Islam and readers of this small blog about my insignificant life

So much has happened since April 2010!!! That looks like the last time I blogged! Oops, sorry!

So an update is due:

After April 2010 I was accredited to go for Hajj! I made my intention and Alhamdulilaah I was so fortunate to be able to go for 5 amazing and life changing weeks! Allah ta'ala really blessed me! A trip of a lifetime! We spend 10 nights in Madinah! The crowds were overwhelming compared to Umrah in December 2009 but visiting the qabr of our beloved Nabi (saw) was amazing and rewarding!

Makkah was packed to capacity 5 million hujjaj. We stayed so close to the haram in Makkah and the 4th day of Thul Hijjah moved to Aziziah for the remainder of the days before we went to Mina for the first day of Hajj.

In Makkah I spent most of my time in the haram doing salaah and tawaaf! Seeing the Kabah again was amazing! So magnetic! Really reminds me of the Glory and Majesty of Allah ta'ala.

We moved to Mina the first day of Hajj, spent the time there in salaah, thikr and anticipation of the days to come. South Africans are so fortunate we have lovely tents and 24 hour food service and amazing Ulema who  occupied our time with hajj lectures and advice! Alhamdulilaah!

The next morning after fajr we left for Arafah walking. It was a long walk but was so beautiful to commemorate the footsteps of the Sahaabah (ra) and the Nabi (saw) it was truly amazing! I could not believe that I was there!

We arrived in Arafah and it was 20 degrees hotter than on the road! We spent the day on Arafaah in hope and mercy of Allah ta'ala. I have never felt so close to Allah ta'ala as on that day. It was a tearful day of repentance and asking Allah ta'ala. When I looked around me it was as if we were on the day of Judgement! So many people just walking around in a trance like state regretting, asking for forgiveness, pleading Allah for mercy. And everyone was concerned with themselves and no one else!

It was really the highlight of Hajj, Youmul Arafah!

After Maghrib we walked to Muzdalifah and reached there at midnight. We set up camp on a road just on the muzdalifah mina border and slept on the road under the stars! Was one of the best sleeps ever! I think because I was just really exhausted.

We then woke up for fajr and proceeded back to Mina where we would pelt the Jamaraat! It was a long walk back, we rested, prayed and then went to the Jamaraat building which looks like a huge multi level parking building. We went to the first level, pelted our 7 stones and left back to Aziziah to wait for our sacrificial animals to be slaughtered and then to relieve ourselves from Ihraam and then return back to Mina. We performed our Tawaaf of Hajj the next day and then we completely relieved from Ihraam.

We stayed the extra nights in Mina and pelted the Jamaraats during the day.

It was sad leaving but I was so excited to be reunited with my daughter who was staying at my mother in laws for the 5 weeks.

Alhamdulilaah I am so fortunate!! Alhamdulilaah.

Willpower

Can anyone please sell me some willpower? I really need some. Why is it easier for some and not others?

Every Monday morning I wake up and decide that I will start eating correctly and resolve to lose weight, I have a proper breakfast and lunch and then its downhill from there. I over indulge on chocolates or sweets its just insane that I can't stick to one day of healthy eating.

Yes I do need to lose weight and I have PCOS which does not help my situation. Any ideas sisters on what to do?

I need to stick to my plan and carry on at least for a few weeks to get into my good weight bracket.

My Umrah Experience - Part 2

We arrived in Makkah around 10pm. The entrance to the Zam Zam Grand Suites was underground so I didn’t see what the streets of Makkah looked like and it was quite dark while we were driving as well. We checked in and got something to eat from the food court in the Abraj al Bait shopping mall which was in the basement of our hotel.



Because my daughter was sleeping, my mother and father in law went at around midnight to perform their Umrah and they came back at 2.30am. My husband and I left at 3am to perform our Umrah. The outside of the Haram was beautiful and I could feel a change in the air, Makkah was busy even at that time in the morning. I walked towards the King Abdul Aziz entrance and then took my shoes off, made my dua and kept my eyes to the floor.


My husband guided me towards the mataaf area and then told me to look up; I could see the Ka’bah in front of me, like I have never seen it before! I was taken aback, I felt like I was in a dream, all these feelings rushed inside of me, it was confusing, was this real or wasn’t it. All these emotions were overtaking me and I broke down into tears, sobbed like a baby, it was so surreal to be standing there, even now as I write this my eyes are filled with tears. It is the most amazing feeling, and it is difficult to put into words. The first dua I made was for Allah ta’ala to accept all my duas and ibaadah then I continued making all my duas which I wrote down on a very long list, May Allah accept all of my duas, inshallah. Ameen.


The Haram was empty, only a few people still performing their Umrahs and making Tawaaf. We started making our Tawaaf, I imagined it so many times before, but here I was finally making tawaaf.


Someone who was in our tour group who was quite learned told me that she compares going round the Ka’bah as to being in a big washing machine (I know that sounds funny). She said that to her the first few rounds are like your soul is being washed, your sins are being washed away, then the next few rounds is the rinse cycle where Allah ta’ala is cleansing you, then the next few rounds is like the spin cycle, where you can make a fresh start and do a 360 degree turn of your life and your heart and then the drying which is when you are done making tawaaf and then you contemplate what you have just accomplished and ask Allah ta’ala to accept it from you.


I thought it was beautiful. I performed my tawaaf and felt peaceful and content and in a world of my own, in my own thoughts while I was reciting. Really contemplating what I was reciting. It was amazing. Even when I was finished making tawaaf I still had the tasbeehs reciting in my head. I made my two rakaahs and then went to drink Zam Zam water. Thereafter we proceeded to the Sa’ee. It was amazing seeing the rock from the two mountains which were still preserved. Kept thinking how Hajar (RA) managed to run between these rocky hillocks! What perseverance!


The sa’ee was long but at the end of it I felt sad, I had completed my Umrah. My husband shaved his hair and then cut off a small bit of mine.


The next few days in Makkah were lovely, the Haram was so quiet, we managed to make lots of tawaafs. Went for ziyaarats around Makkah.


We also went to Taif for the day and was fortunate enough to perform another Umrah on our return. Alhamdulilaah.


There is such a lot of construction taking place near the Haram and around Makkah. Hotels being built and hotels being demolished but once you step into the Haram it is so peaceful.

My Umrah Experience - Part 1

All praises are due to Allah ta’ala, the Sustainer of the worlds, and may Allah’s mercy and peace be upon our leader, Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam, his family and companions.


Where do I begin, firstly to thank Allah ta’ala for this amazing opportunity and I need to thank my husband who through Allah ta’ala was the means of me being able to go.


It all happened so quickly and it also went by very fast. But what an amazing experience, something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I make dua that Allah ta’ala accepts all my ibadaah and duas while I was in the holy cities and now that I am back home again, Ameen.


In brief, we flew from Johannesburg to Istanbul then on to Madinah Munawwarah. Istanbul was beautiful, we visited the Blue Mosque and the Haga Sofia museum. Istanbul is a strange place, lets just say that they are in desperate need of some serious dawah work!


We stayed at the Movenpick hotel in Madinah which was right at the doorstep of the Haram. When we arrived the athaan had just gone for Tahajjud and all the people were walking to the haram so peacefully. Madinah is a peaceful city; I felt so content and connected. I kept on reminding myself that every step that I took on the soil of Madinah was possibly where the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam had walked, the same path he took and that of the Sahaba radi allahu anhu.


The Imam of the haram recited so beautifully for every salaah, his deep voice and amazing recitals really moved me to tears. It was also so peaceful in the haram after salaah, I could really concentrate on reading my quran and performing my ibaadah.


Initially there were lots of pilgrims who had still stayed behind after hajj, but after a few days they had left and the haram was empty. Rania was also enjoying herself with the other kids and she would run across the marble floors.


We had an excellent walking ziyaarat in Madinah with our guide a capetonian who had been studying at the Madinah University for 9 years. We visited all the smaller masjids around the vicinity of the Haram. We visited Masjidul Quba and read 2 rakaah’s nafl salaah which narrated was equal to performing an Umrah. Mount Uhud was especially emotional, our guide told us that story of the sahaaba (may peace be upon the) it brought everyone to tears. We visted Masjid-e-Qiblatain It was here, where the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam received revelation in the middle of a prayer to change the direction they were facing from Jerusalem to Masjid Al Haram. We visited the Al Haidery date factory and bought all our yummy dates from.


Because of the crowds I only managed to go to the qabr of our beloved Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam on my 3rd night. Ladies were only allowed to go at certain times. I managed to perform my 2 rakaats on the Raudah tul Jannah (light green carpet) and send my salaams to the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam as well as Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) and Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu). It was so humbling to be standing there where the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam stayed and where he was buried. The area was screened off, at first I thought to prevent the very emotional women from running and hanging on the gates but then I learned that the screens was a purdah which made sense because not everyone came to the grave with a niqaab.


I visited the qabr a few times in the 7 days we were there.


I loved the tranquility of Madinah, wish we could have stayed longer!
We wore our ihraams from the hotel and then went by bus to Bir Ali the meeqat. And made our intentions and performed the two rakaats for ihraam and then went on a 7 hour journey to Makkah. All the way I imagined how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam made his long and tiring journey to Makkah as well. How long it must have taken them by camel with their caravans stopping when it was nightfall. How fortunate we were sitting in a luxury air-conditioned bus, Alhamdulilaah.

Bad Bad Blogger!

I have been such a bad blogger, haven't updated since December 2009!

Oh well will just have to recap the last few months....

By starting with my umrah!