Visiting a piece of Jennah

The prophet (saw) said between my house and my pulpit is a piece of Jennah (rawdah).

With the anticipation of not being able to perform certain acts of worship, I set out to the masjid with the intention of entering the rawdah and not leave until I did so.

There are special times throughout the day when the women are allowed time to enter the rawdah, and come as close as allowed to the rooms were the family of the prophet (saw) used to reside (Hujurat), and the graves of the beloved prophet Muhammad (saw) and his righteous companions Abu Bakr Siddique and Omar Ibn al-Khattab (ra). I was told one such time to be 9 pm, so I went to the masjid for night prayer and stayed on.

Women were grouped according to nationalities into three groups that night: Egypt, Gulf countries, and Cham (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan). I, a Venezuelan convert, joined the group of Cham, and sat down with the sisters waiting for the gate to be opened.

The time was supposed to be 10, not 9, so I sat and utilized the additional hour of waiting to read Quran, pray sunnah, and meet some of the sisters in my group. I was blessed to meet sister Ekbal, from Jordan, a newly wed honeymooning in Medina and soon to migrate to Australia with her husband. MashaAllah!!! A knowledgeable soul amongst hundreds of ignorant worshippers, the sister and I hit it off. We were thrilled to be companions in this journey to the rawdah, and listened attentively to the masjid’s female guardian who instructed us on the etiquette of visiting it.

The sister explained that our intention should be to visit the rawdah, not the grave of the prophet (saw), and to perform acts of ibadah in it, such as du’a, salah or dhikr. She warned us about asking anything from the dead, including the prophet (saw), or making salah and attributing its reward to the dead. She suggested that based on the sunnah, we can only do Hajj, Umrah, du’a and pay charity on behalf of the deceased (or fast, if owed by them).

Although usually punctual in opening the gate, this night there was an unexpected delay, and we waited for another hour before the gate was actually opened.

While waiting in the group, I wondered how the sisters would be able to control the crowds of sisters surrounding the gates, so that our quiet, patient group would be allowed to enter first. Well, no need to wonder. Once the gate was opened, a sisters’ stampede would rush in while we were told to sit patiently for our turn.

Disheartened, we were eventually instructed to move forward as a group and stopped at several places before actually reaching the rawdah. On the way, Ekbal and I would become separated and then reunited, finally praying and supplicating together in the rawdah. Surrounding us, women from all nations also prayed, supplicated, wept, and overjoyed at reaching this piece of jennah.

We saw the rooms were the prophet’s family lived, and caught a brief glance at his pulpit.

Exhausted and overwhelmed by mixed emotions of happiness, contentment, humility, and peace, we walked out of the masjid into the coolness of the night. Sister Ekbal & I parted ways, but joined by this unique experience we will never part at heart.