After such an eventful previous day, I slept in until the last possible time to read zohr. We had some hot pizza for lunch. Then it was already time for asr.

We went down to Taiba Centre for some last minute shopping which was lots of fun because Taiba Centre is always the vibe. Look, I know it went through a lot during Covid but Taiba Centre’s essence is exactly the same as the first time I entered it on my very first trip many many years ago. Also, remember that your intention for shopping in Madinah is to support the shopkeepers of Madinah.

Before we knew it, it was time for maghrib. We went to the haram for our last sunset in Madinah. This time the sky was in a perfect shade of deep purple and then it changed to the usual pinks and blues.

After maghrib, before I went up to the room to chill for a bit, I got some essential Karak. On the way up, I saw a group of ladies and they were clearly getting the tea and from the looks of it, the tea was piping hot.

Since it was our last night in Madinah, my Mamajee decided that we were going to go out for supper. After lots of research, he decided on Bangla Fish Restaurant which was about a fifteen minute Careem ride away.

So we got to the restaurant and they have fresh fish on ice. You choose your fish and prawns and then they clean it, marinate it and fry it all in front of you. The fish and prawns come with white or brown rice, chips, salad and sauces.

Watching them prepare the food was a whole different experience and it was so cool. There’s a seating area on top of the restaurant which we ended up taking over. The entire meal was really good and I would definitely recommend giving it a try. They serve you tea also but you buy your cool drinks from a nearby supermarket.

After supper, we caught the Careem back to the hotel but the adults stayed a bit longer. They ended up finding really nice and fresh kajoor in the area to buy for home.

It was time to pack our bags and make sure everything was ready to leave in the morning so we spent some time doing that.

After this, we all freshened up and got ready to go back to the haram. We walked to the Green Dome and just spent some time there.

It’s now like 4am and we were feeling a bit hungry so we decided to walk back to the room to find some food. We re-heated the pizza and it tasted just as good as before.

Now we were on a mission for some Baskin Robbins and then a last salaam. We walked to the Baskin Robbins and I got some Cotton Candy in a cone for the last time. Mission 1 successful.

Now it’s about 5:27 and we need to get to the Green Dome, make salaam, read Fajr and be done by 6:30 to leave.

Because we were walking so late and so close to Fajr by the time we got to the Jannah tul Baqi area, there were barriers in place and we had to walk on the outskirts of the haram.

Eventually we got to a gate near the Green Dome which wasn’t closed and we ended up being there in time to listen to athaan.

أشهد أنّ محمدًا رسول الله

I bear witness that Muhammed ﷺ is the messenger of Allah.

Only in Madinah when you answer the athaan does Nabi ﷺ hear you testify to the shahada. How beautiful, Subhanallah.

After making one last salaam to Nabi ﷺ, we started to walk back to the hotel. While we’re walking Fajr salaah starts and we manage to catch the first rakaah. Sheikh Buayjaan begins “Yaseen” and my heart melts. Everything now feels complete.

After Fajr, we went back to the room and waited until it was time for us to board the final bus to the airport.

Step count: 11 635