The Pearl

Since my parents are in town, we took them to a place in Doha called 'The Pearl.' This is the description of the Pearl on their website: 'A Riviera-style man-made island developed in an exclusive environment in Doha, Qatar and the Middle East's most glamorous address, covering 400 hectares of reclaimed land, is Qatar's first international urban development venture.'
Needless to say, it is all about the bling! I, myself, was very curious to see this 'most glamorous address of the middle east.'

We went there last weekend in the evening, and there was also a car show going on the same evening, so it was quite packed.
My first reaction: it's nice, buy would I pay 450,000 American dollars for a one bedroom apartment just to live here?! Apparently, many people would, as the property is selling very well and they have only completed the first phase of the project.

As we walked on, I couldn't help but thinking why everyone was so dressed up? For a car show or for a walk on the Pearl? And why was there music coming from loud speakers in some areas?
I was so close to unplugging one of the speakers as I walked past it, but I don't think Daddy would be too impressed with me if I did-he would rather just walk out, which is what we ended up doing.

All in all, it was a disappointment to me and disturbing how we run after the dunya as if it will last and benefit us (myself included). I had wanted to go and see the hype, yet once I was there, it only made me sick. We cannot have jannah on earth, because that is reserved for the hereafter. And to work our way towards that is a never ending goal.

The Nanny

OK, so ever since we moved here, I have noticed nannies everywhere! This is something totally new to me and I was not used to it at first, but now am adjusting to it more, as I understand it is just part of life here and not something that people think twice about.
However, for me, growing up in Canada, I don't think I ever saw a nanny, except for on TV.
However, over here, it seems to be a way of life, it's just something that everyone has. Period.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that having a nanny is wrong, but it's the disconnect that I see between parents (especially mothers) and their children that is upsetting me.
For instance, the other day, I was waiting at the mall to get Asma a well needed haircut. While I waited, I witnessed a mother come in with her one year daughter to get her a haircut. Actually, the mother was nowhere to be seen until much later. I noticed the little girl with her nanny, playing peek-a-boo and having fun. Sometime later, it was her turn to sit in the chair and get a haircut. It was at this point that the mother came in to tell the barber what to do with the child's hair. The poor girl did NOT enjoy getting her hair wet, or having to sit still, and was screaming her lungs out for the entire time. However, it was not the mother who held onto her baby to calm her down, it was the nanny. Even if the mother tried to reach out to the child, the little girl only reached for the nanny. At one point, the nanny brought the baby her soother, which she threw to the floor in anger. The soother landed right in front of the mother and lay there for sometime, as people stepped over it, etc., until finally the nanny was able to reach down, pick it up and rinse it off. I was tempted to go over there and pick it up myself and ask the mother what was wrong with her, but I decided not to bust out in my fusha Arabic at that moment. :)
When the whole ordeal was over, the very upset child was rescued by the nanny and taken out of the shop, while the mother paid for the haircut.
I was heartbroken. And this incident still brings tears to my eyes. The Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) has told us that paradise lies under the feet of the mother. SubhanAllah, there is a reason for this. We, as mothers, do not get this status for nothing. Carrying a child for nine months, going through the difficulties of pregnancy and childbirth, nursing, staying up for countless nights, changing diapers, being puked on, holding them all night when they're sick, etc. is all part of being a mother. And I believe that it is the most noble job in the world and one that is the most rewarding as well. When you see your child look up at you with those innocent eyes and tell you they love you, or wrap their tiny arms around you, you feel truly blessed and you can only pray that Allah grant them the best in both worlds. To have this privilege handed over to someone else, is, in my opinion, a very bad deal.
As one scholar noted in a lecture, when a child was sick and brought into a hospital for care, the doctor would turn to the mother and ask her questions such as, 'How many times did he throw up, how high was his fever, what are the other symptoms?' The mother, in turn would ask the nanny, who would answer the doctor. After a while of this, the doctor, would just ask the nanny directly, as clearly, it was not the mother who took care of the child in his illness, it was the nanny.
Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

'Can you see yourself living there forever?'

Ever since we moved to the middle east, I have been asked the question of settling here.
Alhamdulillah, a year after moving and travelling through six different countries, I can honestly answer that question in the affirmative. I never thought I would feel this way when we left, as I always had the intention of going back to Canada when we were done here.
However, at this point, I'm not sure if I want to be 'done here' yet.
I just see many benefits of living in a Muslim country, in terms of learning the arabic language and the deen, for ourselves and also for the children.
Life is not perfect here, that is for sure and there are things about North America that I miss, but I value what we have here.
My greatest fear of moving back are all the fitan that are there and I would not want my children to go through what I did growing up.
I feel so at home here, going out in abaya and hijab, and not getting any looks or comments, since everyone is dressed like me.
I have accomplished goals in one year here that I have been intending to accomplish for years in Canada.
So, for now, at least, yes I can picture myself living here. I wonder what Ovaise thinks.... :)

Arabic school

Here is a post which might be of interest to many of you. It is the 'kids' arabic school update post.' :)

We made the decision to put Ibrahim and Asma in an all arabic school before last summer. The decision was not an easy one, and was also made after much research, discussion, du'a and istikharah.

The kids started school the second week of September, so it has been about two months now.

Alhamdulillah, I can say that I am glad we made this decision. The amount of arabic they are learning at the school does not compare to what they would have learned at home with just a tutor.

Since Asma is in kindergarten still, she is not picking up as much as Ibrahim, who is in grade one. I am surprised at his advancement in writing, reading, understanding and even speaking mashaAllah.

I have also been picking up quite a bit, since all of the notices, newsletters, etc. they bring home from school are in arabic.

Of course, this doesn't mean that there have been zero problems. With Ibrahim and Asma also taking the bus to school, it complicates things more.

One of our greatest concerns was the fear of prejudice towards our children, since they are not Qatari. Alhamdulillah, we have not had any of that, mainly because their school is a private school and there are many nationalities represented, not just Qatari. In Asma's class I noted Jordanian, Lebanese and Sudanese. Ibrahim has two other 'desi' kids in his class as well.

Another concern was the fact that the kids would be lost. Alhamdulillah, in the beginning, it was a difficult adjustment, but we were thankful that they had at least picked up some basic arabic through their tutor and living in Jordan. They weren't speaking too much in the beginning, but now they try to speak more and understand the majority of what is being said, alhamdulillah.

Lastly, there was the concern of the behaviour. Yes, the kids at the school are rough! Especially at Ibrahim's school, since they are boys. Our stand is that as long as they not doing anything to hurt our son, let them be rough, it seems to be the norm. :) The major problem with Ibrahim, is that he can't figure out WHY they behave in such a manner if they are all Muslim. This gives us the opportunity to explain to him that amongst every people, there are good and bad. We try to encourage him to stick with those who will remind him to be good as well. At this point, I think he has learned the lesson and is also able to distinguish between the kids versus the learning.

Ibrahim in particular has had a couple of incidents (mostly on the bus) of kids being rough with him. He is usually able to take action against them by telling the 'man on the bus.' (Yes, there is an adult on the bus, other than the bus driver, who is there to make sure things don't get out of control). One time Ovaise spoke with the bus driver, etc. as well. We also feel safe knowing that Ibrahim's teacher (and tutor) is always looking out for him.

So, in short, yes, there have been some incidents, but they are no different than what the kids would go through at any school, in my opinion.

The best thing about putting them in an all arabic school (besides the speed of them picking up the language of course), is that it is an Islamic school. I know of many parents in Doha, whose kids are in a Canadian/American/British school, but the school is lacking Quran and Islamic studies. I feel good that they will learn Quran, tafseer, hadith, etc. and be with other kids and teachers who are all Muslim. I just recently received a letter from both of their schools regarding a Quran competition. Plus, every week they have a new surah, hadith and nasheed that they learn, so alhamdulillah for all of that.

The only downfall is that the english component is completely lacking at the school. However, this is something we knew in advance and thus, prepared for it. Since school starts early here (7:00-7:30 am), the kids are back early as well, so this gives me time to do english, etc. with them at home. It does get busy with the arabic school, homeschooling, tutor, homework, Quran review, etc., but alhamdulillah they are enjoying it and are on a good schedule. On the weekends we go out and they have time to do other things.

Certainly, our children's education is important to us, as it is to all parents. We pray that their education is a means of success for them in this life, but more importantly, in the hereafter! Ameen.

Eid break!

Another bonus of living overseas is that you get time off on Eid. Ovaise and the kids had about 10 days off for Eid, so we decided to hit the road-again. :)
This time, it was off to Dubai and Oman. Ovaise has many cousins who live there, so it was a good opportunity for us to go and meet them and travel at the same time. We left the day before Eid and had to cross through Saudi first (which, by this time is second nature to us :)), then on to UAE. Since it was the day before Eid, the border was crazy! We must have been there for at least three hours. We broke our fast there and shortly after maghrib, we were in UAE. We stopped at the first restaurant and got some food to eat. It tasted great. We ate and were on our way to Dubai. We passed through Abu Dhabi and later on, me and the kids fell asleep. When I woke up, I thought we were in Toronto. Of course, we weren't, but the gas station looked just like a Petro Canada! In all of our travels of the middle east, the gas stations were quite run down, but this one was different. As we continued driving, you could tell were in Dubai. Skyscrapers were all over the place and I don't know how many lanes there were on that highway. It reminded me of New York city, except for the masajid. After driving around and making a few calls to Ovaise's cousin, we finally reached their place at about 2 am. We ate and went to sleep. Eid prayer is very early in the morning in this part of the world, so Ovaise went while we slept on. Later on, everyone woke up, got ready and had an all out breakfast. :) After that, we packed and were on our way to Muscat! It was fun travelling all together in one car and Ovaise's cousin has two kids, so Ibrahim and Asma were occupied as well.
Once again, when we arrived at the Emirati-Omani border, it was a mess! Cars everywhere. It took us a very long time-nearly three hours again. The sight inside was quite hectic. People packed inside everywhere. The nice thing about it was the scenery. Mountains everywhere and the weather was great. For most of the time, we brought the kids outside and they played.
We finally crossed the border and were in Oman. We stopped to pray maghrib and grab a bite to eat.
I find it quite interesting to see what various Muslims in the middle east are wearing. For the women in Saudi, Qatar, UAE and Oman, black abayas, hijabs and sometimes niqabs are the norm. The men all wear white thobes, but what changes is the headpiece. In Saudi, it is a checkered red and white cloth, while in Qatar and UAE it is plain white and in Oman it is a high kufi.
Oman was beautiful and much less congested than Dubai. It was nicely developed and more relaxed.
We arrived at our destination (Ovaise's other cousin's house) at about Isha time. A full day of Eid travelling! Alhamdulillah, it is an Eid that I will never forget. The good thing was that Oman was celebrating Eid the next day, so we could party hard with them. :)
The first thing I noticed was the house. Wow, mashaAllah, it looked like a mansion. They had a worker who took our bags and showed us to the sitting area. Ovaise's cousin is into interior design and you could tell. The house was very nicely decorated, mashaAllah.
After dinner, we sat around for a bit and applied henna (the women and girls) and got to know each other. It was fun. By the time that was done, it was time for bed, as it was Eid (again!) tomorrow.
We woke up the next morning and got ready and had another good breakfast. The man who had greeted us when we first came lived with the family and did everything from cleaning to cooking. His name is Riaz bhai and he was very nice. The best thing is that he used to be a chef in India, so this dude could cook! :) I kind of felt like I was in the sitcom, 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air', except instead of Jeffrey it was Riaz bhai and instead of Bel Air, it was Muscat. :)
The rest of the day was spent eating and meeting the many visitors who came to the house for Eid. That evening we went out to the waterside and had some chinese food at a nearby restaurant.
We drove by the grand mosque, which really is grand! It is one of the largest mosques in the world.

The next day after some light breakfast (too much food from the day before), we went out in Muscat. It was very nice and scenic and the weather was much better too. The Omani people are said to be very good hosts, although we didn't really get a chance to interact with them.
We drove up to Jebel Akhdar and there were many people there, picnicing and enjoying the Eid break. The view was great and once we got up there, we broke out the food again and started eating. These cousins of Ovaise sure knew how to eat! :)
By the time we got back it was maghrib, so we prayed and took some rest. We were invited to another dinner party for the evening. Even though I wasn't too hungry, the food at this Auntie's place was amazing! So, once again, I ate. :)



We came back and crashed. All that eating was starting to have a negative impact on my poor stomach. I needed to detox. :)
The next morning, we packed up all our stuff and said our salams. It was an amazing stay in Muscat.
We decided to leave early in the morning, as it was jumaa and also we didn't want to get stuck in border traffic again. Alhamdulillah, we had left early enough that the border was empty and we made it back to Dubai in record time. We had the rest of Friday and Saturday to hang out in Dubai. We went shopping and of course, out to eat. Ovaise has sooo many cousins in Dubai, it is hard to keep track. So, we basically had to go and see all of them. We also went to a few of the malls and the souq as well. And, I also got the chance to hook up with a friend of mine who lives in Dubai, so it was nice to see everyone.
Having said that, however, the best thing about Dubai, in my opinion, is the food! It is overpopulated and crowded. Besides that, all you can see is skyscrapers amongst the 'tallest building in the world.' The hadith of the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) about the end of time can surely be seen, especially in Dubai: '...you see poor, naked, barefoot shepherds of sheep and goats competing in making tall buildings...' This is from the hadith jibreel and it is scary when you see all of these tall buildings in the city.



The malls are overally extravagent (as in Qatar as well), but Dubai was even more. There is one mall which has a skiing hill inside! And another, called 'Ibn Batutta Mall' is structured around the travels of Ibn Batuta (may Allah have mercy on him). I was thinking, if he was alive today, would he really want a mall to built in his name?




One of the worse things about Dubai was the fact that it was really no different that being in a non-Muslim city. With the exception of the masajid, of course. The way foreigners dressed there, was sometimes worse than what I was used to Canada!
Needless to say, I would only come back to Dubai to visit family, maybe do some shopping (abayas were cheaper there!) or eat the amazing food. :)
On Sunday morning after fajr, it was time to head back to Doha. All in all, it was an unforgettable Eid.
The next task: how to stay on track after ramadhan.

The best ramadhan

Before I knew it, ramadhan was upon me! And this year, alhamdulillah, I was in a Muslim country for this blessed month.

The way I see it, you can be anywhere in the world and have the most amazing ramadhan ever. Last year, I was in Windsor, Ontario and had an outstanding ramadhan, so I wanted this year to be even better.

There is a certain festivity in the air as ramadhan approaches, especially in a Muslim country. Everyone around you will be fasting and they are all busy preparing for the blessed month. Stores have sales and there is an overall mood of excitedness.

I made it a point to map out my ramadhan to get the most out of it. I prepared a dua list, goal list and daily schedule.

The kids were very excited for ramadhan as well and we decorated the house (as usual) to welcome the blessed month. Ibrahim had fasted one day last year and wanted to fast more this year and Asma was also expressing a desire to fast.

As ramadhan begins, it is a special feeling which one only experiences in this holy month. It cannot be put into words, but I am sure you all know what I am talking about.

Fajr here is very early, which meant that I would wake up at 3 am to prepare the sehri food. This took some time to get used to, but alhamdulillah, after a few days it was easier. The best part about the sehri was being able to hear the adhan from the masjid and not having to rely on a timetable to know when to stop eating. The same thing for maghrib adhan and iftaar time.

One of my goals was to eat healthy during this month and for the most part (until the last part of ramadhan) I was able to stick to it. It was just hard when going out, because everything is halaal and at iftaar time, there seemed to be food everywhere!

Iftaar time was also different here compared to Canada. You could really see that ramadhan is a month of feeding. People would continuously feed the workers everywhere. Many of the masajid had tents set up outside with food for iftaar.

We also had the opportunity to cook extra quite often and invite a bunch of workers over for food. It was different from the usual 'iftaar parties' that we would have in Canada. The kids were also enjoying iftaar time, as they would bring fresh dates, samosas, etc. to neighbours. They really felt special and involved. :) And if they were fasting, it was a time of patience and dua and waiting anxiously for that moment of breaking the fast.

One of the best things about this ramadhan was not so much where I was, but what I was doing.

Alhamdulillah, as I have said before, writing down my goals was a big help. I was staying awake after fajr and getting so much done before the kids woke up. SubhanAllah, the barakah in that time is just amazing! The best part was that if I got tired later, I could take a short nap while the kids were at school and wake up refreshed!

This year, I really felt the difference when reading Quran, as our summer of studying arabic helped me to understand many of the words I was reading. Alhamdulillah.

All of this planning and following my goals was leading up to one thing-that last ten nights. It was time to take everything up a notch. And alhamdulillah, for the first year I can remember, I was able to stay up for the last ten nights. All praise and thanks is due to Allah who gave me the opportunity. Since my kids would be in school from 8 am to 12 pm, I could easily stay up at night and rest while they were at school. It was a beautiful feeling of peace and tranquility at night, to be able to read Quran and communicate with Allah through qiyaam and dua. It is something that I am trying to keep up after ramadhan as well. May Allah help us all to stay steadfast and strong for the rest of the year and allow us to see many more ramdhans! Ameen.

As ramadhan ends, a feeling of sadness always overcomes me, because I will miss the month so much. And yet, at the same time, there is the excitement of Eid. Mixed emotions indeed!

Leaving Jordan

Upon returning from Damascus, we only had one night in Amman to rest before hitting the road again to return to Doha. We were so tired by the time we got back that we all just crashed.
The next morning, I finished up the packing and we ended up leaving Amman late morning.
It was a sad experience to leave. I really didn't want to go back to Doha, as we had enjoyed our summer in Jordan so much. There is a theory that wherever you go to study arabic/deen, that place will hold a special place in your heart. That is definitely the case with us and our stay in Jordan. We had met so many amazing people along the way and will never forget any one of them. InshaAllah, we will be able to return again next summer to further our studies in the arabic language.
We loaded our stuff into the truck, took one last look at the apartment, handed our keys and rent money to the haris (who was another amazing person for us while in Jordan!) and we were off!
It didn't take too long for us to reach the Saudi border and there were no problems at the border, but with all the paperwork, it did take time!
Since my brother was in Canada at the time, we passed by his city in Northern Saudi. We stopped a few times to eat/pray and even take rest in the masjid. That is definitely one of the good things about travelling in the middle east: that with every rest stop, you will find halaal food, as well as a masjid to pray in.
We were back to driving amongst deserts and were enjoying the drive back. It just seemed to take forever and we were initially planning to go all the way to Riyadh, but figured that driving all night would not be the best choice, so we decided to stay the night in a small city called Ha'il. I remembered passing through this cute little city on our way to Jordan and it had a nice appeal to it. We first went to this big masjid right in the middle of the city and prayed Isha. Ovaise found a brother there who was willing to take us to some nearby hotels. We found a decent hotel (with a western toilet!) for a good rate and decided to take it, since the kids were tired and Asma really had to use the washroom! The brother was so kind and asked us if we needed anything else and also offered to pay for our room!
We freshened up a bit and went out for dinner. The main street was lined with restaurants, so we walked into the first one we saw. It was nice and another good thing about Saudi in particular is that the majority of their restaurants (if not all that I saw) have a family sitting area. So, we went into our 'room', and sat down. The setting of this particular restaurant was quite traditional, and they had cushions for us to sit on the floor and eat. It was nice! After going through some fusha/slang confusion with our waiter, we ordered some food. It was delicious and we all ate a 'good one third.'
We had seen an ice cream place across the street on our way in, so Ovaise ran across the street to grab some. After that, we were all ready for bed. Alhamdulillah, we slept well and were back on the road at a decent hour the next morning. The city of Ha'il looked very beautiful in the early morning, as the weather wasn't too hot and the area was quite mountainous. We were told by hotel staff that many Saudis come to Ha'il for vacation, due to the scenery and less humid temperatures.
We reached Riyadh at around dhuhr time and went to Ovaise's cousin's place. It was a nice break from travelling, as we were able to relax and take it easy for a while. We also had the chance to go shopping and the prices in Riyadh are much cheaper than Doha! We bought plenty of clothes for kids and also decided to do groceries there! Stuffing everything into the car was a challenge, but alhamdulillah, we somehow managed to get everything in.
We left Riyadh the next day after lunch and crossed the Qatari border at around Isha time. As soon as I got out of the car, I was struck by the heat! It was around 8 pm and the temperature outside was till 45 degrees! So, this is what the 'real heat' was all about!
We arrived home that night and alhamdulillah, thanks to some friends who had arranged to have our place cleaned, I could walk in without seeing dust everywhere!

After such an amazing summer, I had to look at the tasks which lay ahead of me now:
1-keeping up with the arabic and not forgetting everything we had learned over the summer.
2-preparing for the kids to start arabic school.
3-welcoming the blessed month of ramadan!

Damascus!

On our last weekend of the summer, before heading back home, we had to go and visit Damascus, since we were so close to it.
Ever since my brother studied Arabic in Damascus years ago, I have longed to go there, and alhamdulillah, I finally got the chance.
We left home early and reached the border in the morning. However, this was the most 'ghetto' border we would be crossing. The word 'ghetto' is the only word that I can think of to describe it. We had to wait for a few hours there and fill out a lot of paperwork and we were ripped off into paying a hefty price for our visas! However, we still decided to go on, but the fun wasn't over yet. At the next stop, we were told that we had to pay an even heftier price to bring our vehicle across the border! This had never happened to us before in any of our middle eastern travels, and needless to say, Ovaise was not impressed. By this point, we could not even turn around and go back to Jordan, since we had already paid for the visas, so the only thing left to do was to cough up the money.
After we got through all of that, we were finally in Syria. We tried to put all of that behind us and enjoy the few days that we would have in Damascus. As soon as we reached Syria (actually, even at the Syrian border), we could tell that Syria was was not as well off as Jordan. Actually, on a side note, it was very interesting to see the progression of the different countries that we crossed through. From Qatar to Saudi, it was a step down and then from Saudi to Jordan, it was another step down and lastly, from Jordan to Syria was yet another step down-in terms of the amount of money each country has to put into their infrastructure. However, another thing we noticed was that with each border crossing, the locals of each country were friendlier as well.
Anyway, alhamdulillah, we had a cousin of a friend living in Damascus and he was going to meet with us to show us around. We arrived in Damascus at around dhuhr time and the driving was crazy! That is yet another difference we noticed as we progressed: with each border crossing, the driving became more hectic!
We had to find a landmark so that our guide would be able to find us. We soon found ourselves parked right in front of the University of Damascus-the very spot where my brother had studied arabic years ago! We called Mustafa (that's his name) and he was there soon enough. He took us home and we were able to freshen up and pray, etc., before heading out again to get some lunch. We decided to park our car and take a taxi, since taxis are cheap there and Ovaise was not feeling too comfortable with driving in Damascus. We went to the old souq and it was quite lively! Quite different from the souq in Qatar, this seemed to be a 'real' souq. We ate at an old restaurant in the souq and the food was fantastic! For some reason, garlic sauce is banned in Jordan and we really missed it, so having a nice meal (with the garlic sauce) in Damascus was a real treat. But even besides the garlic sauce, the food in general was better than in Amman.



After that, we walked around the souq some more and then went to the Umayyad Mosque. MashaAllah, it was beautiful! We prayed asr and walked around. There were many people sitting in the courtyard and just relaxing. The head of Yahya (alaihi salam) is said to be buried there as well as the head of Hussein. Allahu alim.
The spot where the mosque now stands used to be a Christian church dedicated to John the Baptist in the Byzantine era. After the Muslims conquered Damascus in 636, half of the structure was used as a mosque, and the other half as a church. Later, the church was purchased from the Christians before being demolished. Between 706 and 715, the current mosque was built in its place. At that time, Damascus was one of the most important cities in the Middle East and would later become the capital of the Umayyad caliphate.
It is also believed that Isa (alaihi salam) will descend to one of the minarets of the Umayyad Mosque (the eastern one) as it is said that he will descend to the white minaret in the East of Damascus. Again, Allahu alim.
We spent a lot of time in the Umayyad masjid and also had the chance to pray jumah there. The courtyard was quite busy and the khutbah could be heard from there as well. Whenever I think back to Damascus, I remember the mosque and have fond memories of sitting in the courtyard. Next to Mecca and Madina, this masjid was simply amazing mashaAllah.



Right next to the masjid is the shrine of Salahuddin Al Ayoubi (may Allah have mercy on him). This was also a special moment for us, to be able to go and visit his shrine, because, as Muslims we hear so much about him. The actual shrine is very modest and there is actually another one placed right beside his. This is said to was presented by the German Kaiser Wilhlem The Second on his visit to Damascus in 1898.



We also were able to visit the shrine of Saladin's uncle, who had actually started the movement. The area was under construction, so we couldn't go in, but we saw what we could through the window.
After making duas, we stepped out and went back to the souq to get some of the famous 'Bakdash' ice cream. I had to see what all the fuss was about, as this place was always crowded and many tourists were snapping pictures of it. The ice cream was good, and the kids really enjoyed it too!



We bought a few other small items from the souq as the prices were somewhat cheaper compared to Jordan, but we didn't buy too much. I remember buying some sweets from a vendor in the souq and as soon as we told him we were visiting Damascus, he was very happy and handed us all handfuls of sweets and kept urging Ovaise to take some more!
We also visited the Azam palace, which belonged to the governor, Assad al-Azam Pasha-one of the last great Ottoman governors of Syria. It is now a cultural history museum. We enjoyed our tour of the palace, as did the children--there were many things to see and we took our time walking through the palace.



We also passed by the The Hejaz Railway, which was a narrow railway that ran from Damascus to Medina. It was built as an extension to the existing line between Istanbul and Damascus all the way to Mecca. But it was only able to reach to Medina due to the outbreak of World War I).



Other than that, we walked around the city and ate some more tasty treats (the bakeries and fresh baked goods were amazing, as were the sweets!). Equally satisfying was the fresh berry juice which could be found all over the souq-I was hooked on it!
Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world and it was interesting to see that not as much commercialization/westernization was apparent there, compared to other middle eastern cities we had visited. It certainly had a special feel to it and I would love to go back again for more than just a weekend, to explore the city more!
One thing that was visible in Damascus as well, was the poverty. We had plenty of beggars coming up to our vehicle to ask for money, etc. We tried to help out as much as possible and our Syrian friend warned us that some of them are 'professional beggars', and to be careful.
However, one man in particular, I will never forget. We were making preparations to head back to Amman and Ovaise and Mustafa were gone to a shop to buy some food for the journey. I was sitting in the backseat with the kids and a man came to the driver's side and asked me if I could help him. I initially understood that he wanted money, but then he started talking more arabic and I couldn't follow. I told him my arabic was limited and that I spoke english. At that point, he switched over to english and told me that he was very hungry and his father had been sick and in the hospital. He hadn't eaten for days and really just wanted a meal. I pointed out Ovaise to him and told him to go and ask my husband. He waited behind the car until Ovaise came back and proceeded to tell him his story. Ovaise offered to buy him some food and he accepted. Alhamdulillah, he was able to sit down and have a nice lunch. He gave Ovaise some dua and sincerely thanked him.
The reason I will remember him is because of his respectful and soft way of talking. Allahu alim, but he seemed so sincere and really just wanted to eat. On our way back, I made a special dua for him and his family.

The best sites in Jordan

Alhamdulillah, although we had the opportunity to travel from north to south in Jordan this summer, our absolute favourite sites in Jordan were ones that we will never forget.
Namely, the battlesites and places where sahabis are buried.

Our first trip was with Qasid and we went up north to visit the shrines of Prophet Youshe (alaihi salam), Derar ibn Al-Azwar and Abu Ubeidah Amr bin Jarrah (radhiAllahu anhum).
We went to see the grave of Prophet Youshe (alaihi salam) first. The sheikh at the masjid gave us a short talk about him in arabic, and we were told that there is not much mentioned about him in the Quran, but the reference he gave us was of Surah Kahf, where he is mentioned as the child with Musa (alaihi salam). The actual grave is very long. The sheikh said this is the case because they didn't know how long he was, so they made it long enough to be able to accomodate him. It was a great experience for us to go there and learn about him, alhamdulillah.



We then went to visit the gravesite of an important sahabi: Abu Ubaidah Amr bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him). This was a special visit for us, especially since Ovaise has admired this companion for so long and told us all stories about him. He was the Prophet's relative and one of the first converts to Islam. He was also among the early Muslims who fled to Abyssinia and he participated in all major events. He is also one of the blessed, to whom the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam), promised paradise. He was the commander of the Northern Muslim Army, and he successfully conquered Greater Syria. The Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) named him 'The Trustee of the Nation' because of the knowledge he acquired.
In addition to all of this, it was Abu Ubeidah's closeness with Umar (radiAllahu anhu), which we will remember:
The great plague had hit the area of Shaam and because the Khaliph Umar wanted to make Abu Ubaidah his successor he didn't want him to remain there in the epidemic region. Umar sent a message to Abu Ubaidah saying:
'I am in urgent need of you. If my letter reaches you at night I strongly urge you to leave before dawn. If this letter reaches you during the day, I strongly urge you to leave before evening and hasten to me.'
When Abu Ubaidah received Umar's letter, he said, 'I know why Umar needs me. He wants to secure the survival of someone who, however, is not eternal.' So he wrote to Umar:
'I know that you need me. But I am in an army of Muslims and I have no desire to save myself from what is afflicting them. This is the army which didn't separate from me in the battlefield and didn't betray me. How can I now betray them? I do not want to separate from them until Allah wills. So, when this letter reaches you, release me from your command and permit me to stay on.'
When the Khaliph Umar read this letter tears filled his eyes and those who were with him asked, 'Has Abu Ubaidah died?' He replied, 'No, but death is near to him.'
Umar sent another messenge to him saying that if you are not coming back at least move to any highland with a less humid environment and Abu Ubaidah moved to Jabyia. As soon as Abu Ubaidah moved to Jabyia he became afflicted with the plague and he died in 639. May Allah be pleased with him.



The last place we visited that day was the grave of Derar ibn Al Azwar (radhiAllahu anhu). He was a poet and a fierce warrior who loved combat. He fought in the wars of apostasy and took part in the conquest of Greater Syria along with his sister Khawlah bint Al-Azwar. In the 18th year after hijra, he also became a victim of the great plague and died. May Allah be pleased with him.



The first battlesite we went to was of the battle of Mut'ah. It is not too far from the town of Karak, but we had a hard time finding the actual site! Most people we asked, directed us to the place where certain sahabis who were killed in the battle were buried. So, we decided to go there first. We saw the grave of Jafar ibn Abi Talab (the brother of Ali) and Zaid bin Harith (the adopted son of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. May Allah be pleased with them both.



After making dua for them, we headed out again and tried to look for the actual battlesite once again. We asked countless people, but no one really seemed to know, or they weren't understanding our broken arabic. Ovaise even used hand gestures to illustrate the word 'battle', but it didn't seem to be working. I didn't want someone to think we wanted to pick a fight with them, so we went back to speaking arabic and cut out the sharades.
Just when we were ready to give up and head back home, we saw these police officers and decided to ask them. They themselves didn't know, but then, out of nowhere, someone else in a huge van came over and approached us. He listened and knew exactly where we wanted to go! He even sent a couple of youth who lived nearby to escort us to the place. SubhanAllah, it was only a two minute drive from where the police officers were and we were there in no time! The actual battlesite is not well maintained, and there is garbage everywhere, but it is clearly labelled. It is an open field, but a small masjid has been built in the area now, as well as some old remains.
The battle of Mut'ah was actually fought in the 8th year of hijra. The Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) sent an expidition to Mu'tah and put Zayd bin Harith in charge and said, 'If Zaid were slain, then Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib was to take command, and if he were killed then Abdullah Ibn Rawahah.'
There were about 3000 Muslims sent against about 100,000 Romans. Zayd bin Harith fought until he was killed shaheed and Ja'far took over and fought until he too was martyred. Abdullah Ibn Rawahah took over and also fought until he died a martyr. It is related about the battle:
Nafi narrated that Ibn Umar informed me that on the day of the battle of Mu'tah he stood beside Ja'far who was killed in the battle, and he counted fifty wounds in his body, caused by stabs or strokes, and none of those wounds were in his back.' Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) further said, 'I was present amongst them in that battle and we searched for Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib and found his body amongst the bodies of the martyred ones, and found over ninety wounds over his body, caused by stabs or shots (of arrows).'
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had informed the people of the martyrdom of Zaid, Ja'far and Ibn Rawahah before the news of their death reached. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, 'Zaid took the flag (as the commander of the army) and was martyred, then Ja'far took it and was martyred, and then Ibn Rawahah took it and was martyred.' At the time, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) eyes were shedding tears. He added, 'Then the flag was taken by a sword amongst the Swords of Allah (Khalid bin Walid) and Allah made them (the Muslims) victorious."
Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'On the day of the battle of Mu'tah, nine swords were broken in my hand, and nothing was left in my hand except a Yemenite sword of mine.'
SubhanAllah! Before going to this site, I did not know of the siginficance of this battle, or those who were killed in it. The battle of Mut'ah was the first confrontation of the Muslms with the Byzantines who controlled the area of Shaam. So, it was a very significant battle and set the scene for the battle of Yarmouk.
May Allah be pleased with all of those who fought so courageously!



As much as we loved Mut'ah, Yarmouk was even more special. Our trip to Yarmouk was actually part of a class trip we took with Ovaise's class. It was our last stop of the day, and most of us were tired by then, but as soon as we got off the bus, we were all fully awake! Yarmouk was breathtaking! Standing and overlooking the battlesite, Golan Heights can also be seen from there, as well as Syria. It was a very critical spot where we stood.
The Battle of Yarmouk itself took place between the Muslims and the Byzantines over six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River. It was the first great conquest of the Muslims after the death of the Prophet sal Allahu alaihi wasalam and it opened up the area of Shaam for the Muslims. After this battle, the Muslims successfully conquered the rest of the area. Khalid bin Waleed was leading the army, which was comprised of about 40,000 Muslims against over 140,000 Byzantines. It is a great battle to read up on if you get a chance. Many of the early enemies of Islam, who were Muslim at the time of Yarmouk, fought courageously (some even made a pact to be martyred) in this battle. Even the women were ready to fight and some of them did. May Allah be pleased with them all.
For us, of all the places we visited in Jordan, Yarmouk is our absolute favourite, simply because of the Islamic significance of it. The sheer beauty of Yarmouk was the icing on the cake!



Needless to say, these places will always hold a special place in our hearts. We feel truly blessed that we were able to go there and this is one of the reasons why we will always look back at our stay in Jordan with such fond memories.
After visiting these places, I couldn't help but feel a great debt to all of the early Muslims who fought and strived so hard so that we could have Islam in our lives. It really makes me think, are we living Islam the way we should be?

Petra and Wadi Rum

We debated on if we should to go Petra or not and finally ended up going. Petra, for anyone who doesn't know, is one of Jordan's greatest tourist attractions. It houses extravagent structures carved into rocks/mountains by the Nabateans. The people of Ad, as mentioned in the Quran, are said to be descendants of these people.
By the time we arrived in Petra, the actual city itself was closed, so we decided to get some food and pray first. We had the choice of going back home and coming again another day, or taking the 'Petra by Night' tour. We really didn't want to come back again, so we decided to stay and see what we could do. We ended up taking the 'Petra by Night' tour walked through the siq, which was simply amazing. It is basically the main entrance to the ancient city. It is a narrow gorge (in some points no more than 3 m wide) which winds its way for about one mile and ends at Petra's most visited site, the treasury. Since we were walking through the siq at night, the whole way was lighted by over 1000 candles! It was unlike anything we have ever done before. Although it was nice, it had a strange eeriness to it as well.
After all of that walking, we finally arrived at the treasury. Wow! It was just enormous! I had seen it before in pictures, but never imagined it to be so massive. It was amazing to me that people would spend so much time to carve this building right into the mountain, and it brought me back to the story of the people of Ad in the Quran, and how Allah destroyed them. We sat down and were served some bedouin tea, which I actually enjoyed. Then some bedouins sang some traditional songs and there was more time to look around and take pictures, etc.
The creepy thing about Petra for us, was the obvious, of the Nabateans who built these structures, being the forefathers of the people of Ad, who were demolished by Allah. But also, almost every picture we tried to take there, did not turn out! There were these huge particle like objects in nearly every pic we snapped, which has never happened with our camera before. We started asking around, and apparently, the other tourists were having similar issues. Coincidence?
I will just leave it at that, but our trip to Petra definitely wasn't one of our highlights of Jordan. Actually, the best of part of Petra for me, was the mouth watering baklawa we bought from a small shop as we were heading out. To this day, I have never had such tasty baklawa! I would go back just for that!





Another place visited by almost everyone who goes to Jordan is Wadi Rum, which is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southwest Jordan. It is the largest 'wadi' in Jordan. There have been many people who have lived there and left their mark in the rock paintings, graffiti, and temples. For the time being, there are several Bedouin tribes that live in the surrounding areas of Wadi Rum.
We actually arrived in Wadi Rum in the evening, around maghrib time, so after praying, we were told that we could not go into the actual desert and we had to find a camp just outside. Alhamdulillah, there are many camps to choose from in Wadi Rum, and since some other Qasid students were there as well, we ended up going to the same camp as them. We got there just in time for food! It was great. They were having a traditional style barbeque, along with rice, vegetables and everything. We ate under some tents, overlooking the desert and some mountainous areas. It was simply beautiful. After eating, we sat around, talking to others and waiting for a either a shed or tent to sleep in. The reason I say shed, is because that is about the size of it. A shed with a door, two small windows on either side and two single beds. The weather in Wadi Rum at night is a bit chilly, but we opted to sleep in a tent and alhamdulillah, there was one available. The size of the tent was probably the same as the shed, with two beds as well, but it just seemed more open. The kids fell asleep right away and I decided to go outside for a bit. I am glad I did as the sky was full of stars. It was an indescribable experience to be in this massive desert under a sky full sparkling stars. Ovaise and I barely slept that night, as he struck up conversation with a neighbouring group of tourists in the next tent and I tossed and turned next to Asma's arms and legs in my face for most of the night. But alhamdulillah, I would do it all over again.
The next morning, we had some breakfast and headed out to the 'real' Wadi Rum. We had the option of hiring a local guide to take us on 4x4, or even go by camel, but we decided to take our own 4x4. Looking back, we were just being cheap, and taking the least expensive way, but our decision proved to be not a good one. Wadi Rum is a huge desert. When I say huge, I mean that some people spend days exploring all of it. So, basically, we were crazy to go out exploring without any guide. But, alhamdulillah, we managed to find our way around for a few hours. The sheer vastness of the desert is what stood out to me. My fascination with deserts began when we moved to the middle east, but out of all the deserts I have been to so far, Wadi Rum stands out as one that is unlike all of the others. Many movies were filmed here and now I know why. One description of the place is 'vast and echoing.' I don't think I can say it any better myself.





One last memory of Wadi Rum: we had a chance to meet a few of the bedouins who live surrounding the desert, and mashaAllah, although they were all very eager to help, one in particular we will never forget. He came up to us, helped us put the air back in our tires (after our desert adventure), showed us around the little village and brought Ibrahim and Asma camel riding! Then, he refused to take any money from us whatsoever. We bought him a cold drink, as it was quite hot that day and he refused that too (although we finally managed to force it on him). He insisted that we come to his house for food, or at least coffee. We later met his father and Ovaise was sure to tell him what an amazing son he has. The father just smiled at us and also extended us an offer to his home! It is these types of people which we will never forget and who made our travels so memorable.
On our way out of Wadi Rum, we saw someone walking through the heat to get to the main road. Ovaise stopped and we gave him a ride. He looked young and he was dressed in a fresh thobe with an imama tied on his head. Ovaise made small talk with him (as much as he could in Arabic!) and before we dropped him off he gave us some dua.
Even long after he had stepped out of the car, the sweet smell of ittar filled the car all the way to our next destination. SubhanAllah. You do something small to help someone out, and Allah gives you something back.

Castles!

Some of our favourite trips made in Jordan were the battlesights and castles that Muslims had conquered.
We started off by travelling to Karak, a small city south of Amman. The drive to Karak was simply amazing. It was a small windy road at times, surrounded my massive mountains and stunning views on either side. It was kind of scary at times, but we took it easy and took in all of the beautiful views. We got into the city of Karak and it had a great vibe about it. The people were very friendly and there were many other tourists around.
We went into the Karak Castle, and it was amazing. The castle was actually built in about 1140, and is located at an ideal spot, east of the Jordan River, where one could control Bedouin herders as well as the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca.
In 1183 Saladin besieged the castle. The siege took place during a wedding and Saladin decided not to target the chamber of the newlyweds while the rest of the castle was attacked. The Karak castle was finally captured by Saladin in 1189.
The castle itself was massive and I don't think we had a chance to walk through the whole thing, but what we saw was amazing. The views from the top were equally amazing.




Another castle we visited was the Ajlun Castle, which was built by the nephew of Saladin, in about 1184-1185. The fortress is considered to be one of the very few built to protect the country against Crusader attacks from the south and the west. It also controlled the three main passages that led to the Jordan Valley and protected the communication routes between south Jordan and Syria.
Once again, the castle was massive, and I couldn't imagine people actually living in it. We looked around various chambers and climbed up to the top of it, which again, was equally impressive as the inside. It was so beautiful up there, as you could see different borders to various surrounding countries: Syria, Palestine, etc. Someone remarked to me how nice it would be to go up there with your morning tea/coffee everyday!




The last castle I'll mention here is the Aqaba Castle, located on the port of Aqaba.
Aqaba itself is about a 3-4 hour drive south of Amman. People come to Aqaba to enjoy the beaches and take part in various water sports such as swimming, waterskiing, fishing, sailboating, deep sea diving, etc. We ended up walking along the beach and got suckered into taking a ride on a glass boat, which has a glass at the bottom of the boat, so you can see the sealife below. It was actually a great ride for us, as we were able to relax and take in the beauty of the water and see the fish and other gorgeous sealife below us. The port borders with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, so again, it was pretty amazing to be sitting in a boat, with all of these countries around us.
As for the castle, it is part of the ruins of the Islamic city of Ayla and the castle was constructed on the orders of the Mameluke Sultan Qansuh Ghori in the early sixteenth century. The castle was not as big as the others we saw, but still well worth the visit. The huge door at the front was something that caught my eye initially, and I felt as if I was in a fairy tale, since as a child I had always listened to stories of make believe castles, and now I was actually standing real life castles! Alhamdulillah!

We love Jordan!

Part of the reason why we enjoyed studying in Jordan so much were our weekend trips. Qasid gave two holidays per week, but not consecutively, so we'd have Fridays and Mondays off. We would usually take off on a road trip every day off.
We didn't realize how many places of historical significance could be found in Jordan. But it makes sense, since it part of the area of As-Shaam, which is truly blessed land.
There were so many Roman ruins, in downtown Amman, as well as in places such as Jerash. We saw so many Roman ruins, that I think we have seen enough for a lifetime! The best part of these ruins for me was to sit in the ampitheatres. It took me back to scenes from the movie, 'Gladiator.' And the acoustics in these theatres was amazing. If you stand in a particular spot right in the centre of the stage, your voice will amplify all over the theatre. It was pretty cool, to say the least.



We also had the chance to go the Dead Sea. The kids and Ovaise actually went in, where it is impossible to sink and you just float up. There is no animal life in the sea due to the very high salt content. Ovaise managed to get some water in his eyes, which led to a severe burning sensation, and he had to run up to the showers to wash it out. The amount of hotels and resorts along the Dead Sea is astonishing! It truly has become a luxury vacation spot for many tourists. However, as I sat there on the sand, I couldn't help but think that this was where the people of Lut (alaihi asalam) were destroyed by Allah. And if you read the description of how they were destroyed it is truly incredible: Allah subjected them to all sorts of punishment, like no other nation had ever been punished. The people of Lut were first deprived of their eyesight and then Jibreel (alaihi salam), was ordered to tear their homes off the ground and raise them to the sky. Their screams could be heard all over the sky. They were then overturned with their homes and hard stones of fire were rained upon them. Not one of them escaped, whether he was in the town, or wandering around, or away on a trip. All were struck with these stones until they were killed, and were on their way towards the torture of the fires of Hell.
The Dead Sea is also said to be the lowest point on earth. SubhanAllah!



After the Dead Sea, we went onto the cave of Lut (alaihi salam) where he took refuge with his family after the punishment came down on the people. It was quite a climb up, and the kids were getting tired, but we managed to make it up to the top. We went inside and most of cave from the back was closed off, but we creeped in where we could and looked around a bit, before heading back down, since it was getting late by then.



On the way back, we stopped at a place where an unusual rock formation is along the Dead Sea Highway. It is said to be the wife of Lut (alaihi salam), who was punished along with the rest of the people, because she disobeyed Allah. Allahu alim if that is true or not, but we still stopped, took a picture and headed back for home. Regardless of it being true or not, the Dead Sea gave me the creeps and I would not want to go back there again. Many people had told me to take a dip in there, as it would be good for my skin, but I opted to pass on that!



Another place we had the opportunity to visit was Mount Nebo, which is an elevated ridge in western Jordan. The view is simply breathtaking and gave us the chance to see a panorama of the Holy Land and the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank is also visible, as is Jerusalem. Mount Nebo is said to be where Prophet Musa (alaihi salam) was given a view of the promised land. The climb up wasn't too much and we stayed there for sometime, before heading back down. We also went to a small city called Madaba, which is mainly Christian populated. We saw the mosaic map, which is a depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. It dates back to the 6th century.



Once again, while in Madaba, we met a character we won't soon forget. We were lost in the small city (which happened a few times!), and decided to pull over and ask someone. The first person we saw was a boy of around 12-13 years of age. His english was quite good, so we were able to communicate with him. He turned out to be Christian, living in Madaba, but had lived sometime in Toronto as well, and still had one of his brothers there! His name was Danny and he hopped into our truck and showed us around. He even offered to take us all the way up to other places, but we really did not want to impose on him. He was a very well mannered kid, may Allah guide him.

Towards the end of our stay in Jordan, we visited the Cave of the Sleepers, which is located just outside of Amman. The cave in Jordan is one of two that claim to be that cave, the other one being located in Turkey. Allahu alim which cave is really 'the' cave, but we were told that the one in Jordan is more likely to be it since it fits Quranic descriptions more accurately. Like I said, Allahu alim!
It didn't take us long to drive to the cave itself, and we were there in the morning, so there weren't too many people at that time. Around the cave are old ruins and inside are said to be the tombs of the sleepers. On top of the cave are ruins of an old masjid. We explored around the cave and went inside. Ovaise popped out his pocket size Quran and began to read verses from Surah Kahf. Afterwards, we went up to the masjid and looked around some more. Since it was Friday, we decided to stay there for jumah prayer (there is a new masjid built right beside the cave). There was still sometime left until jumah started, so I sat outside the cave and read Surah Kahf. Although we are not 100% sure that cave is the actual cave of the sleepers, it was still a special moment for me to be there on a Friday and read Surah Kahf there. MashaAllah, the khutbah was great and although it was in arabic, I found myself understanding parts of it. The recitation of the imam was also very beautiful, as was the setting outside. The masjid is located on an elevated level, and if you look outside the women's prayer area, you can see blue skies and nice trees all around. It was a great Friday for us (and also our last Friday in Amman)! I eill always remember that day with fond memories.

Arabee

The purpose for spending the summer in Jordan was for Ovaise and I to study Arabic at Qasid Institute in Amman.
We went into Qasid to take the placement exam and I will never forget it! I was feeling pretty good about myself since the first three questions were relatively easy. However, it was all downhill from there! I flipped through the rest of the pages and it was as if this test was written in some foreign language I had never seen before! I turned over to Ovaise and he was in the same predicament. I pretty much guessed at the rest of the answers and when I got to the page of composing a short paragraph for pictures, I felt like a first grader! My sentences went something like this: "Man on donkey, donkey on street. Woman at souq. Boy with family."
It was quite ridiculous. Ovaise, on the other hand, just gave up and opted to hand in a blank test.
Later on, it was time for the oral test. Ovaise went in first and came out laughing. Then I went in and sat across from the two examiners. They asked me if I had taken the same previous Arabic courses as my husband to which I replied in the affirmative. Then I was handed a sheet written in Arabic and asked to read from it. Once again, I felt pretty good that my reading skills were satisfactory, so I read through the first line quite quickly. That's when they told me to stop reading and translate the sentence. Ummmm, I know that 'fi' means in and that's about it! They looked at the word 'kana' and expected me to know it, but I did not! They thanked me and I walked out, only to see Ovaise grinning at me. We look back at it now and have a good laugh over the whole thing.
SubhanAllah, even though we have taken Arabic courses in the States and studied Madinah book one a few times, we were lost when it came to the placement test.
They decided to put us both in level 1b (there are five levels at Qasid). However, this posed a problem as there was only one level 1b class, and obviously, we could not both take it at the same time due to the kids. After some discussion and praying istikharah, it was decided that Ovaise would take the class and I would study with him at home. Alhamdulillah, this arrangement worked out very well, as Ovaise went through all the class notes with me and we did the homework together. The book came with a dvd, so that made things easier for me to do the listening exercises and I would do the oral exercises with Ovaise too. I even got to take the quizzes and tests too.
Our next aim was to get the kids into a Quran school for the summer. Alhamdulillah, my husband went to the masjid for prayer the next day and was informed about a Quran class for kids very close to our place, 3-4 mornings a week. It was perfect!
So, now we had a schedule and it was great! Ovaise's class was on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. He had Friday and Monday off. The class timing was 1 to 5 pm. Meanwhile, the kids had class, every other day (not on Fridays) from 9 to 11:30 am. Basically, the schedule was to drop off the kids on the day they had class and study Arabic until about noon. Then during the time Ovaise went to class, I would homeschool the kids and after maghrib (when the kids were in bed), Ovaise and I would study again for about 1-2 hours. I would also try to spend one hour going over vocabulary while Ovaise was in class. So, all in all, we were studying Arabic for about 5-6 hours a day (excluding the days off).
In addition to that, the thing I loved about living in Jordan was that we would get a chance to practise our speaking and listening skills on the street. Whenever we'd go out, we would have to speak Arabic (in most cases) and that really helped. I am sure that our Arabic was full of errors, but mashaAllah, no one ever laughed and they were always so eager to help and tried their best to understand. As soon as we would mention to them that we are studying Arabic, they would be very happy and welcome us to Jordan.
Since this course was intense, alot of vocabulary and grammar was thrown at us in a short amount of time, but alhamdulillah, it was just what we needed (especially after that placement exam)!

Road Trip through Saudi. Destination: Amman, Jordan

Excitement grew as the road trip grew closer and closer. Sure, we had been on many trips before, but never in the middle east.
We ended up leaving our home in Doha after dhuhr and crossing the Saudi border at about 3 pm. Alhamdulillah, we had no problems at the border and before we knew it we were being welcomed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!
The drive from the border to Riyadh was about 5 to 6 hours and it was a delightful drive, surrounded by deserts on either side. We arrived in Riyadh at about 8 pm that evening and had some time to eat and rest. The next morning we were up early and ready to hit the road again. On to Mecca!
We were very excited about this, as none of us, except Ovaise, had been to the holy city. Again, the drive to Mecca was beautiful, mixed with deserts and various mountains. Travelling through Saudi was also amazing because at every reststop there was a masjid and we didn't have to worry about the food, etc., which was very helpful. The only downfall were the washrooms (which were not western style), and seemed as if they had not been cleaned for centuries (as someone told me before)! My trick was just to hold it in and Asma opted to plug her nose to get through it. But alhamdulillah, it was not that big of a problem.
The drive from Riyadh to Mecca was about 8 hours and we reached the miqat around Asr time. Ibrahim and Ovaise put on their ihrams and the rest of the way to Mecca we all chanted the takbeerat: LabakAllah humma labayk, labaykAllah shareeka lakalabayk, innalhamda wani'mata, laka wal mulk, la shareeka lak. It was amazing and again the scenery was beautiful. The kids were really getting into it and the mountains of Mecca were majestic, subhanAllah.

We finally arrived in Mecca and it was a city of hussle bussle from every direction. You could feel the excitement in the air as you saw Muslims from every corner of the world. I could only imagine what Mecca would feel like during the time for hajj! We drove around in circles for sometime and passed the haram a few times...every time we passed it, the excitement would build as we knew that the kaba lay inside those walls.
We eventually found a parking spot and a decent hotel near the haram. Allah had ordained that I would not be able to perform umrah this time, so Ovaise got us some dinner, we ate and he took Ibrahim to perform umrah. As I heard the the adhan for maghrib, I watched them walk hand in hand towards the haram with many other Muslims from the hotel window. It was a magical moment for me to see everyone rushing towards the kaba for maghrib salah.
I stopped and made dua to Allah in that instance, to thank Him for allowing us to be able to travel to Mecca and to give us the opportunity to come back soon. I also made dua for all the Muslims.
Ovaise and Ibrahim did not return from umrah until late that evening, well after Isha salah. I don't know how Ibby had the energy to perform the whole umrah with very little sleep for the past few nights and being in travel, but mashaAllah, he was able to do it. They came back exhausted and went straight to bed. However, I had to enquire about Ibrahim's reaction to seeing the house of Allah for the first time. He was bubbling with excitement still, through weary eyes and he told me that it was HUGE! He said he had to walk a lot to get there and he started seeing the blackness of it little by little, until he was standing right in front of it and he never realized that it would be so big. Ovaise said he just stood there frozen, staring at it for several moments, until he was reminded to make dua at that particular moment. Alhamdulillah, since it was not too busy at that time, they were able to get up right close to the kaba and touch it.
The next morning, after taraweh, fajr salah and some rest, it was time to set off again. But first, Ovaise took both children back to the haram to see the kaba. Asma had been waiting patiently and it was finally her turn. They managed to go there and do tawaf and again, Asma was awe struck by the sheer size of it and was overjoyed that she had seen the house of Allah for real and not just in pictures. They came back barefooted to the hotel as their shoes had been misplaced or thrown away. So they first had to wash their muddy feet and thankfully we had an extra pair of shoes in the car for everyone.
After grabbing some quick breakfast in the busy streets of Mecca, it was time to leave. My heart did not want to leave the city, especially after not being able to see the kaba, but qadr Allah and I was still excited since I knew we were heading to Medina next.
The drive from Mecca to Medina was about 4 hours long and very nice mashaAllah. The mountains once again, were simply majestic and the whole drive was very peaceful.
We kept reflecting on the hijra of the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) and how the Muslims travelled the same distance to Medina. SubhanAllah.
We arrived in Medinah just in time for dhuhr and it is true that the city is so peaceful and tranquil. I could sense it as soon as we entered. The streets were lined with date palm trees and a feeling of calm was eminent.
Parking in Medina was much easier than Mecca as Masjid un Nabi has underground parking. We quickly found a spot and Ovaise and Ibrahim rushed into the masjid to catch the dhuhr salah.
Me and Asma were sitting in the courtyard and we found a shady spot as it was extremely hot that day. It was beautiful mashaAllah and again, very peaceful. When they came out, we walked around the masjid to the other side, where the original masjid of the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) is and where his grave is located. It was a feeling I cannot put into words, to be right there at the masjid of the beloved Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam). We walked across to where some of the other sahabis and wives of the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) are also buried and we made dua for all of them. SubhanAllah, I couldn't help thinking that these early Muslims had done so much for the deen and alhamdulillah now, we have the blessing to be Muslim. It was an emotional moment.

I sat down in the courtyard again and took a few shots of the masjid. I felt that I could sit there forever. But of course, we had to run. Right after that we had some lunch and the best orange juice I have ever had, it was time for Asr and it was time to hit the road again.

Before the adhan for Asr, I remember just sitting in the shade in the courtyard of the masjid, feeling so at peace and really just wanting to stay there forever. SubhanAllah, when the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) and the Muslims migrated to Medinah in the beginning, they really missed their home, Mecca. The Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasalam) made dua that they love Medinah more and his dua was answered such that even after the conquest of Mecca, many of the sahabis continued to reside in Medina. It truly is a blessed place.
We left Medina at about 4 pm to head off to spend our last night in Saudi with my brother, who lives up north in Saudi. After a very long, tiring drive and stopping a few times to ask for directions (all in Arabic!) we reached my brother's home close to 2 am. Needless to say we were exhausted but excited to be there. The kids woke up due to the excitement of seeing their cousins and stayed up until fajr! We did the same thing and alhamdulillah, it was nice.
After a few hours of much needed sleep, we got ready, had some breakfast and headed out. My brother wanted to take us to a masjid in the area which was built by Omar bin Al Khattab (radhiaAllahu anhu) after the Muslims conquered the land from the Jews. It was amazing to see this masjid, knowing that the Khalif had been there and prayed there. Not only that, but the masjid had not been re-done, so it stood looking as it would have in the past. The kids followed the guys and prayed 2 rakahs in the masjid, we took some pics and I decided to try and climb up the minaret, where the muadhin would have climbed up to call the adhan. I didn't make it all the way up, as the climb to the very top was a bit narrow, but it was still amazing to get up there and look down. We weren't sure if we would get time to go here, but alhamdulillah, we did and it was well worth it.




After this, we said our salams and were off to the Jordanian border. We made it there in about 3 hours and alhamdulillah, had no major problems at the border, even though it did take a while.
It took another few hours to drive from the border to Amman and once we reached Amman, my first impression was just...wow! Amman is a very hilly city and is built on mountains, so it was gorgeous. We had to meet a brother at a masjid close to where we'd be living and getting to that masjid was quite the adventure! First of all, Amman is quite crowded, so driving there was a totally different level. The lanes are not clearly marked, and for good reason, since no one stays in their lane anyway. The sound of car horns can be constantly heard and yet, this is just life to the people who live there. I only once saw a driver get upset at another driver. Otherwise, they will just look at you and apologize, or smile.
After driving around for about 2 hours and asking many people (again, in Arabic) for directions, we reached the masjid and were led to our apartment for the summer.
That is when the travelling stopped and the studying started. The real adventure begins....