Today, we read fajr in the new section of the haram with Sheikh Bandar Baleelah reading fajr. When he read

كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ

“Every soul will taste death.”

(3:185)

my heart trembled.

It was a short walk to the hotel and we were in time for breakfast where I proceeded to eat hummus and baba ganoush on sour dough bread. Of course, the Saudi experience isn’t complete without rutab with – both – fresh cream and qahwa.

After breakfast, it was time for us to assemble for the moment we were all waiting for. The first look of the Ka’bah. With some Labbaik, we made our way to the haram, entered King Fahd Gate, went down the escalator and there it was – Baitullah. Alhamdulillah. A sight to behold, it is as if all of the broken pieces of you are coming together once again.

After tawaaf, we made our way to make sa’ee. After every round, we could see the crowd getting bigger. Sa’ee is a testament to the love a mother has for a child. Hajira (R.A.) ran from one mountain to the next to find sustenance for her baby and we are the ones who see her gift from Allah years and years later, Zam Zam.

We walked back to the room and waited for the men to cut their hair. Then we all got our hair cut one finger’s length and freshened up with a much needed shower. It was then time for lunch, we had some chicken and rice dishes from the food court downstairs.

A mandatory stop when you get to Makkah/Madinah is Bin Dawood. Think Woolworths but bigger and better and more expensive (lol). We found the Bugles everyone’s been having (but I found it a bit overrated). I firmly believe that Kinder Bueno and M&Ms taste better here so I had to get some of those.

Because they close the mataaf a bit earlier than athaan, you need to leave at least an hour before. It is actually such a blessing because you end up getting to just spend time on the mataaf, reading salaah, making duaa and just simply looking at the Ka’bah. We read maghrib and Esha behind Sheikh Bandar Baleelah. On the way back, someone gave me Qahwa and it was so good!

After supper, we walked a bit through Souk Al Khalil (the shopping center below Jabal Omar) and got some Hardee’s cookies.

Step count: 26 026