Once I had recharged with some sleep, I felt much better. I had a coffee and half a chocolate chip muffin (which I asked them to warm in the microwave, solid 8/10), it was time to board our flight home. 

We walked to the gate which was on the opposite side of the airport and were greeted with South African faces and accents. We boarded the plane and even took off early. Shout out to Etihad because travelling with them has been an absolute pleasure.

The service began with a cheese puff and a drink and then they let us settle in. I caught up on writing a few blog posts but then sleep overtook me. 

I woke up properly during the breakfast service which was about 4 hours later, I had French toast which was quite good for airplane food and then carried on writing these posts.

A couple hours later and I was watching the sunrise and before we knew it, we began our descent into Johannesburg. 

We disembarked the plane and made our way to passport control, collected our bags and waited for our Zam Zam. An hour later and we were informed that our Zam Zam did not make the flight (again!) which was a major disappointment. 

We begrudgingly walked out of the airport without our Zam Zam where our cousins were waiting for us and before we knew it, we were home. Alhadulillah. 

Before I sign off, I want to take a moment to reflect on a few things:

1. One of the greatest blessings in life is being invited to visit Makkah and Madinah. May we all receive invites over and over again. 
2. You attract what you seek. Yes, things have changed a lot in Makkah and Madinah but when you block out all that noise, the Harams are still the same. It is as peaceful to walk in the Haram in Madinah as it was the first time I went – maybe even more, simply because of how much my own life has changed since then. It is as much of a pull towards the Ka’bah as it was the first time I went – again, maybe even more. 
3. I used to think that Makkah was power and it is. But Makkah is also beauty and attractiveness. Your eyes can’t turn away from Baitullah and neither can your heart. 
4. I really missed the rest of my family during this trip, shout out to my cousins because karak and mango juice doesn’t taste the same without them. Shout out to my mamajees and aunties also, I missed our after Haram and before Haram yapping sessions.
5. Life feels better when your day revolves around salaah – I think part of why we all love going for umrah is because we are living our lives the way we were created to – focused on the worship of Allah. 

Thank you so much for following my journey to the blessed lands. If you’re planning your umrah and need some help, please reach out and I will be so happy to assist. 

الحمد لله دائمًا

All praise be to Allah always. 

Until next time, 

Radhiyyah 

Step count: 5 681