#virtuestour

Throwing a #DesiGangSign with beautiful souls on the #VirtuesTour in Dec 2016. Photo courtesy of Mohamed Yahya with his passionate rendition to my right. Will really miss everyone in this picture during the first ten days of Rabī’ Al Awwal in a month’s time. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFbcrDpDthV/?igshid=6rxewndtnegr

For those following my posts on #VirtuesUmrah1440, sorry for the long gap since my last post. I’ll start sharing my experiences again from today insha’Allah. .__________________ . This past #RabīAlAwwal, @VirtuesTour invited me and the rest of the #VirtuesTour team to the first ever #VirtuesUmrah trip. I hadn’t had the chance to visit the holy sanctuaries in #Makkah and #Madinah for #hajj or #umrah in over 25 years, so this was an intense trip for me. The company of @AmirSulaiman, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, and all the attendees made it even more special. . #VirtuesUmrah1440 #VirtuesTour1440 https://www.instagram.com/p/BwIDF88AlJF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qp0md8zl0bbh

When things got busier for the crowd control police and religious police (religion control?), we were able to sit together with Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya for some Zikr and Salawat in the marbled precinct directly facing the Green Dome on the south side of the #HaramShareef. . It’s one thing to send Salawat to The Beloved (ﷺ) from the other side of the world. It was an entirely different experience to do so from merely metres away from his blessed tomb, (ﷺ). What made it even more real, was all the trips we’d made earlier in the day to some of the lesser-known blessed places in the area. This was real - *all* of it, not fables from someone’s imagination. Will post about some of those places in upcoming posts, insha’Allah. Of course, AlhamduliLlah, the blessed company of the lovers of The Prophet (ﷺ) - Shaykh AbdulKarim and all the other attendees - made everything even more special. .__________________ . This past #RabīAlAwwal, @VirtuesTour invited me and the rest of the #VirtuesTour team to the first ever #VirtuesUmrah trip. I hadn’t had the chance to visit the holy sanctuaries in #Makkah and #Madinah for #hajj or #umrah in over 25 years, so this was an intense trip for me. The company of @AmirSulaiman, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, and all the attendees made it even more special. . #VirtuesUmrah1440 #VirtuesTour1440 (at Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi المسجد النبوى) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuDCF4ugRZh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1uahqwrd3ftti

This will probably be one of my most favourite pictures that I will have ever take in my entire life. I snapped this hurriedly and discreetly just as we came out of #JannatAlBaqi. . We had just visited the family and companions of The Prophet (ﷺ), and many of the righteous people who have come since then and gone ahead of us, and we prayed for them and for ourselves. . As we came out, we were met with this gorgeous late-afternoon spectacle. We were still on the ramp at the Baqi entrance that led to ground level. The guards were hurrying people out - they were closing the cemetery for the night shortly. They were also not allowing pictures to be taken from here for some reason, and were literally going through peoples’ phones to delete any pictures if they saw them take any. . I couldn’t let this moment pass without at least trying to capture it. I stood two of the brothers from our group on either side of me, and took this really quickly. . Balagh al-‘ulā bi kamālihi Kashaf ad-dujā bi jamālihi Hasunat jamī’u khisālihi Sallū ‘alaihi wa ālihi .. Through perfection did he attain the heights With his beauty did he dispel the night Oh! How blessed are all of his qualities Send peace on him, and his family (ﷺ) (Translation from #SoliloquyOfTheFullMoon by Noor Yusuf, Copyright 2016, all rights reserved) .__________________ . This past #RabīAlAwwal, @VirtuesTour invited me and the rest of the #VirtuesTour team to the first ever #VirtuesUmrah trip. I hadn’t had the chance to visit the holy sanctuaries in #Makkah and #Madinah for #hajj or #umrah in over 25 years, so this was an intense trip for me. The company of @AmirSulaiman, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, and all the attendees made it even more special. . #VirtuesUmrah1440 #VirtuesTour1440 (at Jannat Ul Baqee) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtEzNp9AuMX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1km7zk6iaonsl

Dūriyāń sāmné sé jo hatné lagīń, Jāliyôń sé nigāhéń lipatné lagīń. Āsuôń kī zubāń hô merī tarjumāń. Dil sé niklé sadā: tū kujā, man kujā. . As distances before me fell away, My gaze wrapped itself around your grille. May the language of tears convey my state As my heart proclaims "O, where are you, and where am I!" . I shot this on the very first night that we arrived in Madinah in late November 2018 for #VirtuesUmrah1440. There’s a whole story about how I got from where I entered the masjid, to outside the masjid, to back in and out again, to back in and here in this blessed spot. I’m still unpacking that story. Maybe some day I’ll be able to share it. . I had all these thoughts about what to sing when I got here (see my previous post about this trip), but when I got here all I could do was repeat Salawat. .__________________ . This past #RabīAlAwwal, @VirtuesTour invited me and the rest of the #VirtuesTour team to the first ever #VirtuesUmrah trip. I hadn’t had the chance to visit the holy sanctuaries in #Makkah and #Madinah for #hajj or #umrah in over 25 years, so this was an intense trip for me. The company of @AmirSulaiman, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, and all the attendees made it even more special. . #VirtuesUmrah1440 #VirtuesTour1440 (at الروضة الشريفة) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtAi0N6AhkD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f3799pej34pl

Ānkh utthī, mohabbat né angdāī lī Dil kā sauda huā chāndnī rāt méń Unki nazrôń né kuchh aésā jādū kiyā Lut gaé hum tô pehli mulāqāt méń His gaze arose, and love began to stir awake. My heart was bartered under a moonlit night His eyes so utterly bewitched me That I was robbed of myself the moment we met. I fell asleep after departing from the site of the battle of Badr (see previous pic). In what seemed like a few moments of sleep, I was awakened by an excited “there it is”! My eyes popped open and I sprung up to the window without a thought. I saw the blessed green dome in person after 25 years, and I couldn’t hold back the weeping that burst forth. Something in me felt like I’ve finally come home after a long time. . We checked in at the hotel, quickly headed towards the #MasjidNabawi, and entered the marbled precinct from the southern side. Shaykh AbdulKarim began to recite a specific Salam that he had been instructed to by Habib Omer (@alhabibomar). It wasn’t long before we were approached and asked to keep it moving - as you can see, it was really crowded. . I had played this moment over and over in my head - all the songs that I’ve sung about him (ﷺ) around the world, ... what would I sing here? What’s my “set list” for The Prophet (ﷺ)? I found myself speechless and songless. At that moment I remembered the advice of Faisal Bhai - The Blacksmiths’ tabla maestro. He said “there’s places you pour out, and there’s places you drink up. Don’t worry about pouring anything out when you’re there. Just drink up as much as you can.” So I just kept repeating Salat Al Fatih. That first night was ... *very* special. It’s been almost two months since, and I can’t help but think about it several times a day. . .__________________ . This past #RabīAlAwwal, @VirtuesTour invited me and the rest of the #VirtuesTour team to the first ever #VirtuesUmrah trip. I hadn’t had the chance to visit the holy sanctuaries in #Makkah and #Madinah for #hajj or #umrah in over 25 years, so this was an intense trip for me. The company of @AmirSulaiman, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, and all the attendees made it even more special. . #VirtuesUmrah1440 #VirtuesTour1440 (at Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi المسجد النبوى) https://www.instagram.com/p/BstKuI2AEDq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=znkjx035q1vg

En route to Madinah we stopped at the site of the Battle Of Badr, where an epic struggle took place 1,438 years ago on the 17th of Ramadan. The Madinans were a ragtag ill-equipped group of just over 300, with total submission to God, and with love for His beloved (ﷺ). They were up against a 1,000 strong army of warriors armed to their teeth, with an arrogant confidence in themselves. It was a rout. A unbelievable victory was granted to the Madinan army, and the pagan warriors of Makkah ran helter skelter. A large plaque near the battle site lists the names of the Madinan martyrs. Their cemetery is a short walk away. Shaykh AbdulKarim shared a few reminders with us there, and the lessons from it for our lives today. We prayed for the slain heros and for ourselves. On our way back to the bus, someone pointed out to us where the Makkan pagans lay buried, including a couple of their foremost leaders: Amr ibn Hisham aka Abu Jahl, one of the most arrogant leaders of the Makkan elite and the most zealous enemy of The Prophet (ﷺ), and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, another tyrant from the Makkan elite with deep hatred for The Prophet (ﷺ) and His message. Abu Jahl was slain by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud - a short, thin, dark skinned man from an “insignificant” tribe, and Umayyah was slain by Bilal ibn Rabah - the Abyssinian slave whom he had so mercilessly tortured to renounce his faith. Both Sayyidna Bilal and Sayyidna ibnMas’ud rose to towering heights of nobility. All nobility lies in loving The Prophet (ﷺ) and serving him. All debasement lies in hating The Prophet (ﷺ) and opposing him. We boarded the bus and continued towards Madinah. There was so much to take in at this stop. .__________________ . This past #RabīAlAwwal, @VirtuesTour invited me and the rest of the #VirtuesTour team to the first ever #VirtuesUmrah trip. I hadn’t had the chance to visit the holy sanctuaries in #Makkah and #Madinah for #hajj or #umrah in over 25 years, so this was an intense trip for me. The company of @AmirSulaiman, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, and all the attendees made it even more special. . #VirtuesUmrah1440 #VirtuesTour1440 (at Badr Battle Field) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsme2YNg9QE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1orsy5e2unlut