Assalamualaikum.
Day 7 marked our departure from Makkah as we moved on to Madinah for a five-day stay.
Breakfast at Al Fayhaa Restaurant.
To make the travel between Makkah and Madinah faster, my wife and I opted for the Haramain High Speed Railway instead of the standard bus included in our Umrah package. While the bus can take 6 to 8 hours depending on traffic and stops, the train journey will be about 2 hours and 20 minutes. To ensure a smooth transition, we also arranged for escort services to handle our transfers between the hotels and the HSR stations in both cities.
Before leaving Masjidil Haram/Makkah, we must perform the Tawaf al-Wada. The night before we already did the booking for the Smart Golf Cart Services for 9:00 am. Tawaf al-Wada should be the very last act before leaving the city and our departure was scheduled after Dhuhr prayer.
This image captures a scene outside the Abraj Al-Bait Towers (also known as the Makkah Royal Clock Tower complex) near Masjid al-Haram where pilgrims can find Cart/Wheelchair Service, a highly organized operation designed to ensure all pilgrims can perform their rituals with ease.
🔹Location: The architecture in the background is the entrance to the shopping mall and luxury hotels within the Abraj Al-Bait complex.
🔹Pilgrim Assistance: Several individuals are seen with wheelchairs. Masjid al-Haram provides dedicated services for elderly and disabled pilgrims, including designated loan offices for wheelchairs and prayer chairs to facilitate their rituals like Tawaf and Sa'i.
🔹Manual Wheelchair Fleet: There are rows of sturdy, black manual wheelchairs equipped with safety features like adjustable footrests and rear handles for assistants.
🔹Personnel: A man in a grey vest is seen from behind; his vest features the text "خدمة العربات" (Cart/Wheelchair Service), identifying him as personnel assisting pilgrims with mobility needs. These assistants are trained to help pilgrims navigate the mosque's vast marble floors.
🔹Dedicated Staging Areas: The pilgrims and wheelchairs are lined up in a designated waiting or transition zone, likely near a major entrance like the King Abdulaziz Gate or the Ajyad area.
The cleaning operation at Masjid al-Haram is a choreographed, high-speed process designed to maintain extreme hygiene standards without halting the flow of millions of pilgrims. The method relies on "Precision Sectioning," where the two teams we noticed work in a synchronized "leapfrog" formation. The two teams are the The Cordoning Team (The Safety Vanguard) and The Mechanical Team (The Heavy Scrubbers).
The Ajyad Bridge leads pilgrims to the 1st floor tawaf and the Smart Golf Cart Service counter.
Upon reaching Bab Ajyad, we found the entrance temporarily closed. So, we made a quick detour and headed toward Bab al-Salam via the Safa Bridge.
Bab al-Salam.
Crossing the sai' area.
The Smart Golf Cart Service Area/Counter.
Before going up to the golf cart station, we walked across the Level 1 Mataf to look at the Kaaba, for the last time for our 7th Umrah.
Seeing the Kaaba for the last time before departing for Madinah—especially after our 7th Umrah—can be described as a moment where the heart feels "heavy" and "torn" between the joy of completion and the deep sadness of parting.
It felt as though we were leaving a piece of our heart behind in Makkah. Even after multiple visits, that final gaze at the Kaaba doesn't get easier; the yearning to return often increases with every visit.
We reached the escalators leading to the Second Floor Mezzanine where the electric carts are stationed. We were early. It was 8:00 am and our booking was for the 9:00 am slot. Rather than wait, we approached the staff on duty and asked for an earlier tawaf slot. To our relief, he checked our boarding passes and ushered us right up the escalator, sparing us the hour-long wait.
This is the Second Floor Mezzanine.
At this entry point, the staff on duty quickly verified our passes and directed us to the golf cart dedicated tracks.
These were our Boarding Passes with QR Code which were scanned at the entrance. I am 'Passenger 2' and my wife is 'Passenger 1'.
The Smart Golf Cart tracks.
Tawaf al-Wada (the Farewell Tawaf) is the final act of worship performed by pilgrims before departing from Makkah to return home or travel to another city like Madinah. It serves as a symbolic goodbye to the Kaaba.
This final circuit is more than just a ritual; it is a "deeply emotional goodbye" to the sacred space that held our prayers and tears. It is a moment of profound gratitude for being "invited" by Allah seven times over.
Key Aspects of Tawaf al-Wada:
🔹Procedure: Consists of 7 circles around the Kaaba, followed by 2 rak'ahs of prayer (preferably at Maqam Ibrahim).
🔹When to Perform: It should be your very last act in Makkah. Ideally, perform it within a few hours (3–8 hours) of your actual departure.
🔹Permitted Actions After: You may perform reasonable activities like packing, checking out of your hotel, a short rest, or eating a final meal. However, you should avoid lengthy shopping or sightseeing after the Tawaf is completed.
🔹Clothing: You do not need to be in the state of Ihram; regular, clean clothes are sufficient.
These photos were captured exclusively outside of our active worship, strictly 'pre-and-post' Tawaf.
Wallowing in sadness of the inevitable, soon leaving Makkah, can be a profound, heart-wrenching experience that is both deeply spiritual and surprisingly common, often referred to as "Post-Umrah/Hajj withdrawal". It is a raw feeling of emptiness and deep longing for the unmatched peace found in the holy lands, as if your soul has been left behind at the Kaaba.
📘This sadness is not just emotional, but rather a reflection of the profound attachment built with the holy sites.
🔹A "Goodbye" to the Sacred: It is, for many, one of the hardest goodbyes in life, sometimes described as an "episode in heartbreak" where it feels like you are leaving a part of your soul.
🔹A Sign of Faith: While the sadness is heavy, it is considered by many a sign of good faith and a deep love for Allah. It acts as a reminder that the soul is always longing for the tranquility found in the blessed land.
🔹A Temporary Separation: It serves as a, perhaps painful, reminder of the nature of the dunya (this world)—that it is fleeting, and everything we love, we must eventually part with.
🔹A Call to Return: Rather than just a moment of despair, this sadness often converts into an intense longing to return, as seen in the heartfelt prayers of pilgrims who make the final Tawaf al-Wadaa (farewell).
🔹The Loss of the "Bubble": In Makkah, your life is reduced to the most beautiful basics: the Adhan, the Kaaba, and your connection to Allah. The "real world" with its noise, bills, and trivial stresses feels miles away. Leaving means the bubble is about to burst.
📘How to Navigate This Feeling:
🔹Turn Sadness into Dua: Use the intense longing as motivation to pray for another, swift invitation back to Makkah.
🔹Maintain the Spiritual High: Try to carry the peace and good habits formed in Makkah back home.
🔹Keep the Connection: View this not as an end, but as a continuation of your spiritual journey, nurturing the love for the sacred place in your heart.
🔹It is, as described by many, the hardest, yet most beautiful, farewell.
📘How to transition (without losing the feeling)
🔹The "Wida" Mindset: Make your Tawaf al-Wida (Farewell Circumambulation) a long conversation. Pour every ounce of that sadness into a dua for steadfastness back home.
🔹Carry the "Haram" Habits: You can’t take the Kaaba with you, but you can take the discipline. Promise to keep one small habit (like praying Tahajjud or Sunnah prayers) as a "souvenir" of your trip.
🔹Focus on Acceptance: Remember that the Lord of Makkah is also the Lord of your hometown. He hears you just as clearly in your living room as He does at the Mataf.
Shifting from the sadness of "leaving" to the joy of "returning transformed" is a profound spiritual evolution. While it is natural to feel a tug at the heart when seeing the Kaaba for the last time, Islam teaches that gratitude (Shukr) is a higher state than sorrow.
Framing our departure as a celebration rather than a loss:
📘Celebrate the "Divine Acceptance"
The primary reason for joy is the belief that you have just completed a journey that cleanses the soul.
🔹The Gift of Completion: Allah chose you from millions to stand in His house. Completing Umrah is a sign of His favor.
🔹The "Clean Slate" Joy: Focus on the Prophetic promise that an accepted pilgrimage wipes away sins. You aren't just leaving Makkah; you are leaving your old self and your old burdens behind.
📘Gratitude for the "Internal Makkah"
Scholars often say, "The Lord of Makkah is also the Lord of your hometown."
🔹Ubiquity of Allah: You are leaving the Physical House (the Kaaba), but you are taking the Owner of the House with you in your heart.
🔹The Transformation: True success isn't staying in Makkah forever; it’s bringing the peace and discipline of Makkah back to your family, your work, and your community.
📘Reframe the "Farewell" as a "New Beginning"
Instead of a "Goodbye," view it as a "Launch."
🔹Mission-Oriented: You have been "spiritually recharged." A battery doesn't stay on the charger forever; it leaves to power something else. Your life back home is where you now get to apply everything you’ve gained.
🔹The Promise of Return: Being grateful for the experience opens the door for more. Allah says in the Quran, "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you" (14:7). Joyful gratitude is actually a "down payment" on your next visit.
📘Practical Ways to Stay Joyful
🔹Focus on the "Suhbah" (Company): Be excited to share the blessings and "Noor" (light) you’ve gathered with your loved ones. Your joy can inspire them to make the journey too.
🔹Sunnah of Returning: The Prophet ﷺ used to be cheerful upon returning from journeys, saying: "We are returning, repenting, worshipping, and praising our Lord." (Aibuna, Ta’ibuna, ‘Abiduna, li Rabbina Hamidun).
🔹Positive Expectations: Have Husn al-Zann (good expectations) of Allah. Be joyful because you trust He has accepted your prayers and will change your life for the better.
Alhamdulillah! Completed our Farewell Tawaf in just 24 minutes (8:09 am–8:33 am). What a beautiful, swift end to this journey. So thankful for this final moment with the Kaaba.
While on the way out, we stopped by at As-Safa.
Exited Masjidil Haram via Bab al-Salam.
Cleaning crew at Safa Bridge.
View of Masjidil Haram's sai' section seen from Safa Bridge.
Wheelchair assistance is a standard service provided to elderly or disabled pilgrims during the Hajj and Umrah seasons to help them perform rituals like Tawaf and Sa’ie.
Before our departure to Madinah, we made a quick pit stop at MCDC Mall for a McDonald's takeaway lunch.
Following the departure instructions provided by Ustaz Herman last night, we headed to the Makkah Tower lobby counter on Level B1 to return our room keys.
After dropping off the keys, we circled back to the MCDC Mall food court to have our lunch.
To be continued.
Till the next coming entry, inshaAllah. Meanwhile do take care.
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