This inspiring journey was shared by one of our readers, Muhammad Malik. If you are interested in contributing your own travel experiences or stories, please visit our contributor’s page.
All praises and worship are due to Allah Alone.
Although this was not my first time visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, I wanted to document my travel experience as I was traveling with my teenage son, Saad.
Alhamdulilah, this trip turned out to be the most rewarding I’ve ever taken, as I managed to perform a total of seven Umrahs! I managed to pray at Aisha Mosque, also known as Masjid Al-Taneem. On top of that, I visited Medina, prayed Jummah, and sent Salaam onto the Prophet of Allah. Then, I visited Jannatul-Baqi, and performed prayer inside Riazul-Jannah and Masjid Quba — all within thirteen days.
I pray that Allah will accept my Duas and worship.
Just a month before my trip, my wife had already traveled for Umrah with our daughters during Ramadan. After their return, it was our turn. Since we are residing in New Jersey, United States, we flew out of the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The commute took approximately 2 hours to get from our residence to the airport, followed by a fifteen hour long flight to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. This is one of the two airports that Hajj and Umrah travelers can enter and depart from, as there is no airport in Mecca.
Day 1: Alhamdulillah, our flight landed safely in Jeddah. We stayed with Brother Zubair, a family friend residing in Jeddah. On that same day, we started our journey and made our way to Mecca and managed to perform our first Umrah. Alhamdulillah! After completing the Umrah, we then returned to Jeddah by taxi.
Day 2: The next day, we traveled to Mecca wearing the Ihram from Jeddah, checked into the Jabal Omar hotel for two whole nights. There, we completed our second Umrah, praying all our daily Salah.
Day 3: To perform another Umrah while in Mecca, one must leave the Haram area and enter the state of Ihram in one of the Miqat points. So after doing our Fajr prayers, I went out alone and headed to Aisha Mosque, also known as Masjid Al-Taneem. I wore the Ihram, made my way to the mosque to make the Niyat by praying two rakat salah there. Going and returning from the mosque was easy, especially when a taxi is easily accessible there.The journey from the mosque to Masjidil Haram in Mecca took about fifteen minutes and cost around 10 Saudi Riyals per trip. Alhamdulillah, I managed to complete my third Umrah that morning.
Later that day, I ventured out to Masjid Al-Taneem again, this time with my son. We managed to return to Masjidil Haram before Dhuhr prayer to complete our fourth Umrah together. Alhamdulillah!
Day 4: My son and I took the opportunity to perform our fifth Umrah on this day. We took the same route to Aisha Mosque/Masjid Al-Taneem before coming back to Masjidil Haram, and managed to perform Umrah Badal on behalf of my late father before Dhuhr prayers. Alhamdulillah.
Umrah Badal (also known as Badal Umrah) is when someone gets an Umrah performed on his or her behalf by another person. Umrah Badal may be performed for another due to an ongoing illness for which there is no hope of a cure, or because of old age, or because the person has already passed away.
Day 5: We checked out of the Jabal Omar hotel and headed back to Jeddah, where we stayed at Zubair’s house for one night.
Day 6: I booked and paid for our train tickets online via the HHR train app, and we traveled straight to Medina. We checked into The Ritz hotel, attended Jummah prayer, visited the Prophet’s Rowdah, offered our Salaam to him, and prayed the rest of the daily salah.
Day 7: We prayed Tahajjud and Fajr, then visited the Prophet’s Rowdah again to offer our Salaam to him.
Day 7: After Dhuhr prayer, we visited Masjid Quba, the first place where the Prophet (PBUH) rested and prayed before moving on to Masjid al-Nabawi. We performed the Sunnah prayer there. Here’s a fun fact! Praying two rakaats in Masjid Quba is equivalent to the reward of performing an Umrah. MashaAllah!
Day 8: After Asr prayer, we visited the Rowdah and offered Salaam to the Prophet. We got a permit to pray inside Raudatul Jannah using the NUSUK application. I prayed 14 rakaats of Sunnah, and when the Maghrib adhan was called, I performed the Maghrib prayer. This experience was beyond incredible.
Day 9: After Fajr, I bid farewell to the Prophet with a Salaam, took a shower, put on the Ihram, performed two rakaats of Sunnah prayer, and boarded the 7:30 AM train from Medina to Mecca for Umrah. Be sure to use the NUSUK app to obtain your Umrah permit before reaching the train station, as security will request to see it. We applied for the permit on the spot.
Upon arriving in Mecca, we checked into the Clock Tower Fairmont hotel and completed our sixth Umrah, performing Umrah Badal for my deceased mother. Alhamdulillah.
Day 10: We left the Fairmont hotel in the Clock Tower and went to the taxi stand to catch a ride to Aisha Mosque/Masjid Al-Taneem to pray two rakaats of sunnah prayer and make Dua/Niyat for Umrah number seven for my cousin who passed away at a young age. As I was going around the Kaaba, the Dhuhr azan sounded. We prayed Dhuhr salah.
At this time, Saad and I were sitting next to Hijr Ismail. After Dhuhr prayer, security opened the Hijr Ismail. We ran inside, touched the Kaaba, cried, and made Dua for all family members and all of humanity. We prayed two rakaats of sunnah prayer inside the Hijr Ismail, came out, completed the remaining tawaf, proceeded for Safa/Marwa (SAI), and completed the Umrah by cutting our hair.
Day 11: We prayed Fajr in the Fairmont Hotel, had breakfast, went inside Haram, prayed two rakaats of sunnah prayer, said goodbye, checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi to Baab Mecca. From there, we took another taxi back to Zubair’s house, ending our journey back to good old New Jersey, USA. Alhamdulillah.
This journey was an unforgettable spiritual experience for both my son and me. It deepened our connection to our faith and brought us closer together as a family.
I encourage everyone to embark on their own pilgrimage if given the opportunity. The serenity and spiritual fulfillment found in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are unparalleled. May Allah grant all of us the chance to visit these sacred places and accept our prayers and worship. May Allah forgive us for all our shortcomings. Ameen.
