🌈 678 – Sat 7 May 23:53 2022
Riyadh
Continuing from the previous chapter 676..
The next morning we woke up.. in the city called Taif in Saudi Arabia .. stayed at a beautiful luxurious house. I woke around 8:30 parents were already up and making noises… I went to the kitchen and dad said, I thought to wake you but didn’t want to disturb you. I said, there is food in the fridge both mother and father answered, but that from last night right, they thought the food we bought the early evening before Iftar, I said no, brother brought it again around midnight, so we could do early Sehr and we left for you guys for breakfast.. they were like oh.. aw! okay but that cold. yeah left it for fresh and there is an oven in this flat. it was a luxury but all amenities in the kitchen but there was nothing to heat. I said, oh you guys so you didn’t eat anything until now? both exclaimed no! I felt bad for them and I said, go get that from the fridge and eat and I will go and get some coffee from the downstairs I went to get coffee it was almost already around 9:30 AM nothing downstairs was open.
Taif is a city in the Mecca region of Saudi Arabia on the slopes of the Hejaz Mountains, I mostly saw Arabs in the town although the guys we bought the flat to stay with were Bangla but they spoke clear Arabic and were dark-skinned, rest of the population and in the streets and stores seemed mostly Arabic.
Taif was also mentioned in Quran at one point and Dear Prophet Muhammad visited early in the 7th century and the descendants still inhabited the city.
We got ready and left home around 10:30 AM.. the Sun was tai mai with close to 37 degrees dry heat.. we went to a place where we needed to shower and wear Ahram.. A place where everyone goes before they go to Mecca, we went there, there was a mosque and many small rooms with toilets and showers, you gotta get in there, take all your clothes off the shower and don’t use any soap or perfume, just clean water and come out wearing a long white cloth at the bottom and a long white cloth on the top, no underwear and no other clothing must be worn and you are all clean pak and pure.    Â
The first dad went, and next room I went to shower while my brother stood outside to hold our clothes, Dad came outside and my brother helped him with his belt then I came outside both Dad and brother helped me with my belt and then my brother went inside and had a shower and changed his clothes while we waited.. Women went to another side, mother and sis in law, they showered but there is no special clothing for them.
Then we drove again in the mountains, zig-zag, zig-zag mountains to Mecca, there was a lot of monkey by the road sitting on the mountains, at one-time sis in law need to come to sit in the front street, we stopped the car and I was a bit aw and so was she in aw to get outside the car to change seats.. we managed while monkeys watched us do.. the mountain raid was for an hour-long or more in fact.. we drove all of us together reciting..
Labbayk, Allahumma Labbayk,
Lallayk la sharika laka labbayk,
Innal Hamda Wa nimata laka wal mulk, la sharika lak.
I’m at Your service O Allah, I am at Your service, You have no partner. I am at Your service. Praise and blessing belong to You and the Kingdom. You have no partner.
We walked further.. the Son was hot and we heard a call from the Imam for the namaz of Asar.. as soon as we heard the Iqamah.
“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar” to open the Iqama
“Ash-hadu Alla ilaha illallah” to honor Allah.
“Ash-hadu anna Muhamadan rasuulullah” to honor Muhammad.
“Hayya ‘alas Salaah” as a reminder to come to prayer.
“Hayya ‘alal Falah” as a reminder of the importance of prayer.
“Qad qaamati Salaah, Qad qaamati Salaah”
Honor Allah by repeating “Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar.”
We walked further.. the Son was hot and we heard a call from the Imam for the namaz of Asar.. as soon as we heard the Iqamah.
“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar” to open the Iqama
“Ash-hadu Alla ilaha illallah” to honor Allah.
“Ash-hadu anna Muhamadan rasuulullah” to honor Muhammad.
“Hayya ‘alas Salaah” as a reminder to come to prayer.
“Hayya ‘alal Falah” as a reminder of the importance of prayer.
“Qad qaamati Salaah, Qad qaamati Salaah”
Honor Allah by repeating “Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar.”
Hey! I'm Ash, have you ever had an instinctive or intuitive feeling to follow a particular path?
I’ve been in your shoes, I felt lost having no idea where I was going.
Now on this remarkable journey, I have so much freedom and clarity..