We take our bags and board the super coach for a 6 hours journey to Madinah. Along the way is some hills made from rocks and you can see houses in the middle of this desert like place. We made a stop to perform our prayers before heading to Madinah Al Munawarah the city of our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.

We reached Madinah at night and they have just finish the Isya’ prayers. We checked in, eat dinner and sleep. Food here was all Malaysian food. Certified Malaysian food. Oh how I miss masak lemak cilia pi, masak kicap, sambal, sos cili! The itinerary in Madinah is more laid back compared to Makkah.

In Madinah, according to my mutawwiif, there is a special biryani only in Madinah. The biryani was cooked with a whole lamb inside the ground. Being a lamb fan, this excites me. The special dish is actually the lamb’s head. Okay, this sound grim but when my father brought it back to the hotel (NOTE: THIS RESTAURANT DOES NOT ALLOW WOMEN TO DINE IN, SO MY DAD PACKED THEM UP), it was actually sliced. I imagined I was eating the whole head with the skull. Kalau macam tu Nadia tak lalu la, kambing tak kambing.

It was delicious! The herbs are fragrant and the lamb are soft and succulent. This is by far the most delicious lamb biryani I have tasted ever! I think I ate the biryani like 3 times while in Madinah. Thanks to my dad and mutawif for taking a cab for this.

The beautiful petal canopy at Masjid Nabawi.

Masjid Nabawi did not change at all. It stays the same as I remembered it. However, the crowd here has increased . On 2013, we are always able to go inside the mosque during prayer hours but now this time. We are stucked praying outside in the cold especially for Subuh. We do manage to solat inside most of the time.

Satu malam, ada seorang perempuan Arab duduk di sebelah Nadia. Tiba2 dia tepuk dan Tanya macam mana nak solat jenazah. Nadia pun ajar dia dari takbir pertama sampai akhir. Dia berterima kasih dan akhirnya dia beritahu Nadia suruh doakan anak kecil dia yang sedang terlantar sakit di hospital. Kesiannya. Masa tu jugak kitorg doakan.

Raudhah in Masjid Nabawi is dubbed as one of the place where your prayers will be granted by Allah. It is also a place called Gardens of Heaven and the place of the Prophet S.A.W and his companions were buried. To get into Raudhah, you have to be aware of the timing. For Tabung haji, they provide Ustazah to guide us to the Raudhah. Allow yourself 2-3 hours because the step is a lot. First, you have to queue according to your nation. Then you will seat while the female guards give you some religious talk. Then you will enter the barricaded area by your nation. After that, you will wait and then took to the old part of Masjid Nabawi.

Here is your final wait where you can see the green dome that signify Prophet S.A.A mausoleum. Then only you will enter Raudhah. Keep on praying and reciting doa while you are inside the Masjid. Raudhah tu tandanya adalah karpet berwarna hijau kelabu atau Dusty Green. Bila kita pijak karpet warna ni, dah masuklah Raudhah. Tips ustazah adalah, jangan berdri baca doa sebab confirm kena halau cepat. Maka, solat dua rakaat banyak2 sebab guard tak kacau orang tengah solat. Sujud lama2 jadi dapat doa banyak sikit. Alhamdulillah dengan bantuan ustazah, kami senang masuk Raudhah, paling kurang dah tahu prosedur dia.

Raudhah is open for men 24 hours while for women there are designated times. This is because Raudhah is located at the men’s praying area. Alhamdulillah I managed to go to Raudhah 2 times. The second tim I went by myself. It was bearable and I got to pray inside.