I don’t leave without making the du’a for travel and the ease that follows is amazing.

We get to the airport early as mum has a thing about being early to everything and I mean everything!
The family comes to see us off. My younger brother only comes as he feels it’s his God given right to be treated to food and drink at the airport at everyone else’s expense.
We see everyone off and it’s not as emotional as when we left home thankfully. My nieces took it real bad.
We waiting for the gate to be announced and I find the time to write out my du’a list that people ask for.
A brother walks over to us as he saw the hajj tag on the bags. He makes du’a for us and wishes us all the best.

Those who know me know I'm prone to the occasional mishap and it just happen that I had one right then.
We sitting there and I’m watching for the first sign of any announcement. All of a sudden next to our flight the numbers 11-15 appear which I took to be the gate number so I grab all the bags and make mum rush to gate 11. There I was trying to explain to the airport staff that the gate had been announced and even took the bloke to the notice board before I realise that it’s not gate 11-15 but estimated time of boarding 11.15!
I sit down quietly and hope mum don’t ask me about it.

We finally learn of the gate and sit in the departure area waiting. People come over and start to offer us food. Everyone real happy and the smiles start to spread across everyone’s faces. The sprit of the whole adventure was falling upon us and you could genuinely feel it.

Our seats are right next to the small prayer area on the plane. Result!
I learnt an important lesson on that plane and that is don’t leave home without Masah! Trying to wash your feet in those plane toilets is truly best left to contortionists.
Just before I went into the toilet a man was coming out and I had to call him back as he had left his false teeth in there!

I am so looking forward to being liberated from my phone and having a break from the hustle and bustle of day to day life. In the words of William Wallace ‘Freeeeeeedom’!!

I am waiting to pray in the designated area when a man comes up to me and asks how the Ihram garments go on. After I show him another comes and asks the same question. I asked if they hadn’t tried it at home to which they replied in the negative. I was wondering how on earth you come for this life changing experience and not tried to put on these two pieces of cloth that if you get wrong will lead to a embarrassing moment that you will never ever forget.
I was flabbergasted when a third man comes over and asks also.

Praying on the plane was strange. I remembered the words of Yunus (as) when he said he wanted to worship Allah in a place that no man had ever worshipped before. He may have had the whole of the depths of the ocean to himself but I had that little plot high up in the sky. I was a happy man.


The miqat was coming up us and the announcement went out. I wanted to be the first to recite the talbiyah and I was.
The labbayk starts around the plane. It’s like a glue that holds us all together. Everyone united by this.

Here I am oh Allah! Here I am! You Alone made this possible! You know my mother’s wish and You Alone made it come true! Glory be to You for You call even the insignificant back to Your House!

We arrive at night

Mum is crying tears of joy. I have never seen her this excited. The look on her face truly sums up what all of this means to her and how years and years of making du’a, crying, sometimes thinking it was never going to happen and then counting down the days for the last six months has come down to this.

The plane lands before we know it and the doors open. As soon as you step out it’s like a massive hairdryer blowing hot air at you. Instant heat.

We get into the airport and it has definitely changed since I was here last. So so much better. Last time I came they had us on the bus from the plane to the airport for so long we missed the whole of Fajr! A bus full of hajjis and they didn’t think that maybe we wanted to pray Fajr! It was an absolute joke last time.

Finally I can stop my, ‘Don’t use the airport toilet’ warning!

They are passing us through the airport in no time. Just as soon as we sit down they tell us to get up and go onto the next part.

We pass this one part where it’s packed full of African hajjis.

Brothers! If you have never waved and given salaam to a room full of African brothers I strongly recommend you do it if given the chance! You will make an army of friends in seconds! Beautiful smiles MashAllah!

If it wasn’t for a small hold up at the passport desk due to the group in front trying to wander round the airport we would have walked right through and out the airport.

The guy that checks the passport desk calls my mum ‘Hajji Momma’ which makes us laugh.

We get out the airport and they take us to a waiting area. Our luggage is put in containers and pulled by a buggy and we follow it.

Mum brings my attention to a group of Africans who are having to carry their luggage to the waiting areas and trust me it ain't a short distance.

We get to the waiting area and just relax for a bit and pray our Isha.

Mum wanted some water and a brother overheard her and gave me a bottle.

Made a mental note to remember him so I can make it up to him later.

We are not there long at all when we told our coach is ready and we board. We hand over our passports as we get on.

From the moment we land to the moment we board the coach is just under four hours! A new Saudi record me thinks!

Next salah will be Fajr at the HARAM!!

What could possibly go wrong now?

All I remember is sitting on the coach and then nothing after that.

Mum wakes me up and tells me we got to pray Fajr at this mosque.
This leads to some questions.
1) How did I sleep for 8 hours straight on the coach?
2) Why does it take 8 hours?
3) Where the heck am I?

Mum tells me the driver’s lost and can’t find our hotel.
I wouldn’t normally bat an eyelid but for the small fact we are staying at the Hilton for the first night! How on earth do you not know where the Hilton is?

I get out and go make wudu. This masjid is really nice! It’s got a long back rest that runs along the front row. This encourages people to sit in the front row and read Quran. Might have to suggest this for me local back home!
I suddenly remember that I’ve left me phone on the coach. If I was back home I would have had to run and get it but here I don’t seem bothered. Very strange.

We finally arrive at the Hilton and drop our bags. I go on a little exploring mission and find a glass elevator so I take it for a spin. I want to know how high it can go and take it all the way to the top.
I’m petrified as I hate heights but it’s all worth it. I chuckle to myself thinking of Charlie and the glass elevator.
I see it! I see it! I see it in all its glory! There it is! There is the Ka'bah!
There are so few people doing tawaf it looks like a picture we have on the wall at home.
I run to find mum and tell her that we need to go now.

There was a second reason why this trip was so special and that was my mum has a brother who I last met when I was two years old.
He works in Saudi and he has travelled to meet us. We are just minutes away from meeting.
The look on mum’s face is priceless.

We meet him by Gate 1. It is such an emotional meeting for us all.
Mum is very protective over her brother for two reasons. First, she is the oldest of her siblings and the only sister. He is the youngest brother.
Second is that their mother died when my mum was seven years old and my uncle was a baby. Mum raised him and her two other brothers and had to drop out of school to look after the family as her dad was very ill also.

We walk in. Mum keeps her eyes closed and holds my hand till she is right in front of the Ka’bah before opening them.
If I was given nothing else in this life but to just look at the Ka’bah then that would be more than enough for me.
Here the true reflection of your soul will manifest.
Here is where you will find out so much about yourself.
Here is where it matters.

I had the tawaf all worked out in my head with mum right behind me holding my hand but thing about plans is they rarely go how you expect.

I forgot to factor in that my uncle is as protective of my mum as I am. He takes her hand and gets right into the tawaf.
I stay by mum’s side and keep her away from being carried away by the moment and following some of the foolishness we see like people rubbing the Maqaamu Ibraheem.
An opening comes up to touch the Yemani corner so I take it and take mum also.
The tawaf is done in no time at all. Advantages of coming a month before Hajj.
We start the Sai which is absolutely empty.
Cleaners are out and they splashing water mixed with a cleaning agent over my feet which upsets me as I’m still in Ihram.
We finish, snip our hair and make our way back to the Hilton to change our clothes.
I find all my roommates in bed! Crazy! We only here for one day before we set off for Medina so why aren’t people making the most of it?

Me, mum and uncle spend the whole day out. Meet amazing people and also wonder where on earth that massive green clock came from along with the plush complex under it.
Meet one lady who unfortunately has lost her teenage son the day before during salah and has been sitting in the same spot so that maybe he would find her.
They don’t have a hotel and sleep outside. She wouldn’t even take a cup of tea till mum forced her.
Spend ages looking for a public call booth but they seem to have done away with most of them. Buy chips for our phones and then try texting family in England but can’t get through. I take the chips back and the guy tells me that due to the amount of people trying to use the networks they have real problems with them which begs the issue why he didn’t tell me half an hour ago when I bought them!

Mum loving the endless supply of Zamzam and we really drinking our fill.

Amazed at how well behaved the youngster are at salah time. No fighting amongst themselves and they try to get to the front.

Lots of stray cats. Lots of pigeons also but I like both.

I see a big group of Hujjaj outside the Haram with their shoulder uncovered. I smile and correct them and every single one listens. Amazing what gentleness can achieve.

We go back to hotel and get sleeping stuff as I want to sleep outside the Haram tonight as does mum.

Let this be a lesson as to how hard we are in Luton! My elderly mum is giving up her comfortable bed in the Hilton to sleep on hard floor! In the end the ladies convince mum that we have a lot of travelling to do tomorrow so she will need a good night’s sleep so here I am at 10.55pm sitting with the Ka’bah a welcomed sight in front of me writing as the colourful trains of people go by. There is something so hypnotic about it all.

I was faced with a huge issue yesterday and I made du’a in the Haram for a resolution to it. Not only was it resolved but the resolution was far, far better then I could have ever imagined.
Glory be to you Oh Allah! You turned sadness to joy!

My calves are demanding a long shower to make up with me but I don’t think my feet are going to forgive me anytime soon. Think I am going to reminded of the pain they gone through for the next few days. I am going to try to bribe them with a nice Radox bath salt soak to try to win them over.

There are some new additions in the Haram that were not here before.
They now have see through bags that you can get inside the main entrances for your shoes and also fans that blow air and water at anyone in the vicinity.

I sleep outside and get woken twice by the cleaning machines. Nothing makes you jump up like a big machine driving towards your head! I have a great knack of being able to sleep almost anywhere so that definitely comes in handy.

I pray fajr and make way back to hotel. We need to get our things ready for Medina. I’m very chuffed that my bed has not even been laid upon.

Lads in my room want to go for a meal later in the week. Think I’ll have steak.

Getting ready to go Medina. Uncle going to meet us there.

On way mum reminds me about the hijrah.

We stop at some service station that looks like the scene from Terminator 2 after the whole area was wiped out.
I’m watching a cat. We all throw food for it and I watch it carry a whole piece of chicken in its mouth without taking even a bite from it. I couldn’t work it out until I saw it put it down and a kitten came and started eating while it stood guard. A mother’s love is a mother’s love.

Arrive in Medina. Time to hand over passports again but problem is we have six passports of people who not even on our coach and two people on our coach who don’t have passports. Looks like we are not going anywhere fast.

Alhumdulillah the group sorts the issue out very quickly and we off.
We arrive again at night and the beauty of Masjid Al Nabawi is there for all to see. Our hotel is literally next to it.
Mum is over the moon. So good to see her so happy.
The feeling of calm just sweeps over you.

Very organised system and we are in our rooms in no time.
We decide to go right to the masjid right away.
We go to give salaam to the Messenger of Allah (May the eternal peace of Allah be upon him) and his two noble companions (May Allah be forever pleased with them)
I remember the beautiful du’a of Imam Ali where he asked that they all be united in the Hereafter as he would always hear Allah’s Messenger talking about how he, Abu Bakr and Umar had done everything together.
A brother with us is so overwhelmed that he bursts into tears.
We decide to go back and pray in the rawda. I’ve never ever prayed in there due to the pushing and shoving that goes on and my fear of accidently hurting someone but I have two old uncles with me who ask me to go with them so I go. I take them in and it’s every bit as packed as I thought. Two huge Turkish brothers are forming a mini wall allowing people to pray one at a time in a small area. We take this chance for the two uncles and then the Turkish brothers tell me to pray. My first time and inshaAllah it won’t be my last.

Mum now has a little band of merry women who she goes round with.

She tells me not to worry about her. A huge weight off my mind.

My uncle is going to meet us after Fajr. We eat together.
Even though food provided as part of our Hajj package we like eating out. It’s another thing that makes me chuckle seeing as mum has never ever wanted to eat out when we back home.
We do some shopping and it’s quite funny how me and uncle both compete to keep my mum happy.

We come back to the hotel so mum can give her brother the huge bag of clothes she has brought over for him and other bits.
It’s amazing to see how he views things. No look at labels or price. Just happy with practicality.
A beautiful thing.

All the umbrellas open! Wow they have been busy! Umbrellas everywhere and good thing too as I’ve never seen so many people in Medina!
I was worried about the crowds in Mecca but this place is heaving!
I’ve never seen women pray outside the designated areas before but there are tons of them so the guards have their hands full ensuring the segregation is to the level we expect in Medina.

Man in my room old enough to be my grandfather. Really nice man truly he is but he keeps calling me ‘Bhai’ which means brother.
Either he is reliving his youth or I’m suffering without my Oil of Olay twice a day.

Think I’ll have my afternoon siesta outside under an umbrella.

I provide a cup of water for a person and he is very grateful yet Allah provides for all of these hundreds of thousands of people each day of their lives.

I don’t see a single sad face. Everyone is smiling and happy. I wonder if there is another place like this in the world.

I am enticed into entering a designer fragrance shop but a salesman quoting me £53 for something that costs me £40 back in England.
He couldn’t work out why I wouldn’t buy it so when I asked him for a reason as to why I should he said ‘More baraka in Medina one!’
He looked puzzled as I laughed and laughed my way out the shop.

A man stopped me and asked for a spare set of clothes but didn’t ask me for money. Maybe I am a style icon after all.

More relatives come to see us. Didn’t know we had so many here.

I love seeing people that look like people I know. That way I remember the person I know and make du’a for them.

I bought my uncle a watch. Got a master plan. Buying him a present will increase the love between us. Then on top mum will be very happy with me and then Allah is pleased because my mum is happy with me.
A watch is a small price to pay for that.

I got a surprise for mum also. Hope I can pull it off.

I’m not a big fan of shopping before Hajj. I hate thinking about it until I’ve done the Hajj but due to the fact we going back to England a couple of days after Hajj complete I don’t have much choice.

That night me and a brother couldn’t sleep so we grabbed a taxi and went to an area called Sultania. They have a Next, Dominos Pizza, KFC, McDonalds here and lots more. We have midnight burgers and swear each other to secrecy from the other lot in the group. No mention is to be made of this dastardly deed.

Amazing how you can get two hours sleep and still make it to the masjid for salah.

We are going Masjid Quba this morning.

It’s packed! Nothing like last time I came. I was expecting another Rawda-like situation but thankfully people praying and leaving, making room for others. We get to travel for five riyal there and back in a private van we hired. Bargain.

Apparently my late night munch buddy didn’t go to bed after we returned and went to the mosque instead. There he got smacked quite hard by a guard and he been whinging about it all morning and afternoon.

One thing I’ve learnt is people go nuts for anything free. No order or control. In this case its all for a free leaflet or book.
This Ummah needs more leaders and less followers.
All it would take is for one person to form order but they let mayhem ensue.

I have arranged mum’s treat for the morning. Don’t ask me how (because I won’t tell) but I have arranged for mum to be taken to the Rawda and to have her own space to pray for as long as she wants without being disturbed.

I too have the same deal and go to the Rawda and make du’a for so many people by name. I am here for so long that I am even given a chair. Strangers start to shake my hand thinking I am someone of importance!

Mum wants to go shopping. She sees what she likes and buys it. None of this ‘lets keep on looking’ carry on.
Like it, buy it and take it. Simple.
Another reason I love her so much.

A few of the lads decide we going for a midnight tour. We couldn’t have picked a more off-key driver if we had tried.
This guy did not like us and I am sure he was swearing at us and not under is breath either. It was a mad trip. We were having a laugh amongst ourselves and maybe he thought we was laughing at him. Who knows?
We did not leave on good terms.
Had another midnight munch.
We find another driver to take us back. He was an amazing guy with great conversation.
I was so impressed I actually tipped the guy and I never tip but I gladly break my rule for him.

Due to the time restraint we are unable to get mum to the Rawda at the agreed time. I am gutted but InshAllah she will be in there Friday.

I really have got to stop bringing books with me. I always worry I won’t find anything here so I bring my own and then end up with five times the amount that I bring with me.

We got to see the umbrellas close today. Amazing.

Me thinks that starting a conversation with a stranger is becoming a lost art. Many times I start the conversation by offering the man next to me some of my itar and off we go from there. I love it when someone beats me to starting the conversation.

I keep forgetting that for many this is a once in a lifetime first experience but I don’t think the feeling is all that different from how I feel. I don’t think you can ever get relaxed or not caught up in the moment in this sort of environment.

I don’t have ‘knock in nails’ feet like some other men here so my baby soft ones are taking a pounding.

Bought a bucket. I throw in my Radox salts, add hot water and soak feet.
Instant ‘aaahhhhhhh’.

I watch a young Bangladeshi who I assume works in the masjid. I watch him give dawah to a group of Bangladeshi elders. I didn’t understand a word but I understand adab and he had it in abundance. It was so plain to see Alhumdulillah. He engaged them in an amazing manner. He smiles throughout and lets them have their saying without cutting in at anytime. He asks them questions and answers theirs. When salah time came and he had to leave every single one of the elders gets up to hug him such was the effect he had on them. You could tell it wasn’t out of courtesy but sheer love.

My Saudi sim card has finally let me start texting England!

Texting off my T-mobile chip has cost me £40 so far and we have only been here four days! I need to stop taking pics and sending them to brothers to make them feel jealous!

They have got Arab boy scouts! It’s the funniest looking thing.

The old uncle in our room is raw. Doesn’t say much but when he does I wish I could Twitter it.

Don’t you hate saying goodbye to someone and then it turns out they are going the same way as you?

It’s a lovely feeling sleeping on the carpets outside the masjid, waking to the azhan and watching thousands of people come for salah. It’s even nicer when the bloke next to you keeps your space while you go redo wudu.

Isn’t it annoying when you are praying and people walk right in front with no care. I’m praying in a designated prayer area out of the way and one bloke just comes and stands there. ‘Mate the number 31 doesn’t pass here so maybe just maybe I might be praying?’


Got me some more amazing time in the Rawda again. Did everything I wanted to do. Nobody pushes me, stands in front of me or rushes me. Proper sukoon.

Learnt today that because I kept talking about our hotel being next to Masjid Ali my roommates thought I was a Shia!

My mate told me that he gave some street kid 500 riyal. I was going to tell him to keep his charity to himself until he told me he thought it was 5 riyal! Apparently the kid was well happy!

Met my first Australian Haji today.
All food is provided as part of our Hajj package and its proper tasty too but I am usually out and I don’t want to be held back by meal times so I eat out half the time. I love eating back street restaurants. You meet the most interesting people.

Mum is not well but wants to go on arranged tour of the sites. I go on the Urdu coach to be with mum. The guy on the tannoy really laying it on thick. Should have gone into sales.

Coach driver almost crashes into a car. Driver gets out and tries to go for our driver with a hammer! Amounts to nothing but road rage alive in Medina.

We arrive at Uhud. I wonder how much soil has been taken from here over the years as ‘souvenirs’.
We go to few other masjids and visit Masjid Quba again.

Still haven’t seen any stars since I’ve been here. It is quite cloudy at night.

I have the official position of tea maker for mum and the ladies in her room. Big responsibility.
Word gets round I make a mean cuppa.

I have a thing where I really don’t like eating alone. I’d rather go hungry than eat alone. I find it depressing but this evening I take my food and sit on the pavement just in front of the masjid. I am so transfixed to it that for the first time in a very, very long time I am able to eat alone. It was all the company I needed.

Palestinians have a tough time.
Was with a couple of lads from Swansea and we met one with his wife and kid who are claiming they have been robbed.
My spider sense telling me something is not right so I walk off and leave Swansea lads to deal with it. It was funny watching them explain that and get out of it themselves.
Met another the next day with wife and child in tow. Same story. Wonder how many more I will meet.


Mum bought some sandals for me. Look hard but are soft. Just like me.

Just got a text from England that little Abu Bakr needs a heart transplant operation and every time this message is forwarded the phone company will donate 2p towards the operation. I wonder…
1. Which phone company?
2. Why would they pick little Abu Bakr?
3. How do they know it’s been forwarded?
4. Who comes up with this rubbish?
5. How do people fall for it?


Took a friend to the Rawda and got him in. To say he was happy was an understatement. To say he was happy is a huge understatement. I could hear him cry and cry in sujood. There is something about sujood in the Rawda. You block everything out and it’s just you. Problem is some guys from our group saw us being taken in and I’m sure they are going to have some questions later.

It’s amazing to believe I have only been here less than a week. The things we have seen and done I could easily have been here two or three weeks.

My uncle leaving today to get back to work in Taif. InshaAllah he will be able to make it back to Mecca to be with us. He is planning to stay with us the whole of the Hajj also.
Part of me wants to do it alone with mum but I know him being with us will give mum great peace of mind. Think it stems from me wanting to do everything for her.
The Turkish bloke next to me is amazed by my writing this left handed. He watched me write every word. Either that or he is amazed by my naff handwriting.

I’m still playing my ‘people that look like someone I know’ game but the amazing thing is twice it’s actually been that person. Amazing where fate brings you together.

I can’t believe how focused I am on Hajj.

Nothing matters but this. I can’t think about my past or my future. The only thing that matters is right here, right now.

I truly have no idea how or when but mum has hit her weight allowance just with presents bought for others.
My luaggage doesn’t even weigh a fraction of that. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to look into sending things by cargo.

I fancy an apple.

A third Palestinian who has had his money stolen. Wife and kid right behind. What are the odds?

I paid over £5 for a tin opener!

Can’t find Radox bath salts here and I’ve looked everywhere. I want to share them with others but mum is my priority.

Fell asleep on carpet outside masjid to be awoken by four hajjis from India old enough to be my great grandfathers. They wanted to know about England and I answer all their questions in return for their du’a that mine and mum’s hajj is made easy. I really really enjoyed our chat.

I feel like Uncle Albert as first time Hajjis ask me about my experiences. I have them spellbound with my heroic deeds and near death tales.

Late night munch with one of the Swansea lads and my regular partner in crime. Great laugh.

Scented wakes up feeling rough. Sore throat, fever and bunged up. Think today shall be a rest day.
Just going to go salah and back the hotel after.

Been mistaken for a Arab, a Turk and a South African so far. Scented is a man for all the people.

It’s scary how slow time goes here. It’s the complete opposite of normal life. Here you think you have done something last week when in fact it was yesterday.

The worry of mum on Hajj is the only thing that stops me from truly looking forward to the huge occasion.

I can’t make enough du’a that Allah makes it easy on us.
I ask Allah by anything I can think of that I have done for His Sake alone.

Has anyone else noticed the change in the air when you get to Bab Assalaam? It becomes so much cooler. It’s like you cross an invisible barrier.

And yet another Palestinian that has been robbed! He was smiling as he told us his sob story.

Overheard a very interesting conversation in my room.

Bloke 1: ‘Them trouser above the ankle lot (meaning Salafis) don’t even believe in du’a! They are a true fitnah on this Ummah like the Shia.
Bloke 2: But they are cleverer than us. Much more learned, seek more knowledge and they know the Quran and Sunnah.
Bloke 1: Oh yeah nobody saying they not more learned than us…

Had an excellent conversation with a Pathan who was telling me how Medina was ridden with disease and that when Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) made hijrah the kuffar in Mecca rejoiced believing that he would fall ill and die but with him came all the blessing and goodness and its was transformed.
He explained it better and was a joy to listen to.

Mum finally went to pray in the Rawda. She was over the moon. Says it was amazing. She happy so I’m happy.

Shia scum have turned up. Scumy scum.
Good to see how much the guards hate them.

Decide to get myself checked out at the local medical centre. Very quick and very impressive.

Huge crickets here! Or are they locusts? Ruddy massive whatever they are.

When I first came here in 2004

When I first came here in 2004 our hotel was near a string of food places and there was a man who we used to call ‘Pakora wala’ as he seemed to always try to entice us with free pakorai. Lovely guy.
We even took photos with him and I still have them.
I saw him today working at a restaurant. He no longer had his shop. He truly looked broken. It was really sad to see. I told him who I was and how I remembered him but it seemed that these were painful memories for him.
Really upsetting to see who he was and how unhappy he was now.


The other day we were in our air conditioned bus and we pulled along side an old American yellow school bus full of Africans looking hot and many standing up. Puts things in perspective.

It’s an amazing thing walking to salah not knowing what nationality is going to be praying next to you. That for a moment you are going to be standing shoulder to shoulder. You smile at each other, maybe exchange a few words, have a laugh and then stand before the one Lord who has decreed for you to be here. That where you stand all men and women are equal. Allah alone knows the hearts. Each have their own story.

Why, oh why did I pack four pairs of socks? It's boiling here!

You really have got to see their version of boy scouts.

For the first time ever in my life I see a bloke praying salah and then midway through look at his watch!

I prayed on the roof of the masjid today. Beautiful SubhanAllah.

We went to honour an invitation for lunch today. Took me a few minutes to get over how many books the brother we went to see has collected.

We travel to Mecca tomorrow.
We are going to the Miqat to get into Ihram. Not sure what worries Mecca will hold for mum. The crowds here are worrying enough so who knows what going to happen there but Allah is our Protector and to Him alone we entrust our affairs.

Watched a little group of kids with no arms begging. After a while they ran over to a woman and she took all their bags of money. She didn’t even have the decency to cover up. Miraculously their arms grew back moments later.
I take comfort in the punishment for the one who begs without reason. (I don’t mean the kids)

Last night in the Rawda. Dirty Shia trying to cause trouble but guards deal with them. I am unable to get into the Rawda. Was not meant to be but I cannot complain. People would love the chances I have had.

Me and Swansea lad go for a late night hunt for an internet café. Our lack of arabic works against us and he wants to give up but I have got to know how this going to end so we keep going. We ask and ask for directions till we finally find it. News! World! So much to check so little time and the computer keeps crashing. I leave happy. Mission accomplished.

We leave for Mecca.

Sit in coach for ages while they load on the luggage. Problem with being so close to the Masjid is that the cops keep telling the driver to move on.
Driver seems like a nice guy. I watched him help people while he waited. Built like a tank. Looks as if he could snap your neck in several places for a laugh.
We get told our coach is going to a separate hotel.

We get to the Miqat and put our Ihrams on. Everyone manages to make it back to the coach quickly.

My biggest test so far has been people who complain.
These people complain about anything and everything. I can’t stand the constant backbiting and whinging. They make stuff up and spread rumours and lies. I really have to bite my lip as I want to unleash on them.

Long drive and few stops. Word reaches us that Mecca has had thunder and lightning. I phone a friend who confirms it and says that the place was flooded but it’s all gone now.

Coach going round in circles which only fuels the gossip mongers who are convinced that we are going to be dumped miles from the Haram.
Its 1am and we are in an underground car park. We are taken to our rooms. Ladies are next door to us. We enter our room and there are seven beds downstairs and seven upstairs. I take the bed by the window upstairs.
We pull back the curtains and after all the hassle and the headache of the travel I am so overwhelmed I cannot even describe my feelings.
We were overlooking the whole of the Haram!!
This was more then I could ever have expected or asked for!

I sat there for ages just looking out of the window.

Mum wants to attempt Umrah right away. I’m a bit worried as Fajr going to be coming in soon and mum will be alone for the salah. We go to the Haram and the ground floor is packed so we go onto the second floor. As a rule I try to avoid the second floor as all the pillars get in the way and create the bottleneck effect but mum don’t like heights so if she is given a choice she going to keep low so it’s off to the second floor we go.
We go round twice and I notice that the space to walk has already started to get enclosed. I cannot take the risk of losing mum so I suggest we do the rest after Fajr. I take mum to the back and sit her with some ladies and I sit at the front but directly in her line of vision so she can see me at all times. I am so tired and hungry. I am fighting to stay awake while we wait for Fajr as I don’t want to redo wudu and leave mum. In my state I keep thinking I have to fast while in Ihram.

We pray Fajr and are back in the tawaf. Averaging ten minute a circuit. It all takes it toll on mum and she needs a wheelchair for Sai.
Many young blokes ready to rip you off with the prices of renting a wheelchair. (I would later learn that free ones are available if you go early from one of the offices.)
Some bloke quoting 300 riyal and some quoting 200 riyal.
I find one for 100 riyal and I take it. Mum happy and I push her myself.
We drink much Zam zam water and complete the 7 rounds.

We come out and now comes the hard part which is finding our hotel!
We may be in the biggest complex in Mecca, we may have the big green clock on our roof but for the life of me I can’t remember where our hotel is.
You have to remember we got dropped there at 3am and I find out later the directions we were given were wrong.
We wander round for around ten minutes until we find some guards who direct us after we get one of the group leaders on the phone and he tells them which hotel we staying in.
Mum gets a few words in but it’s all good.
I shower and crash out.

My new roommates consist of four others and we still have two empty beds.

You may think 7 to a floor sharing one bathroom is a bit much but there is more than enough room.
I have seen one of these brothers around in Medina and he was always smiling so I’m happy to have him with me. Another of them is a serious looking guy who I met a couple of times in Medina. The other two are unknown to me. One of them is an elder.
Everyone getting on fine so far.

Zuhr is packed.
I meet a friend and we have a meal. We have to find a nice spot on the floor to eat which I find ironic considering my new hotel. Here I am getting moved on by guards as we squat to eat, I love it.

I get my bearings of where I am and act as translator at the currency exchange for Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi families. I must have been good as the Turkish families want my services to but my genius has boundaries so I must decline!

Thanks to watching way too much television every time I get into a lift and nobody is around, I always check to see if the panels above me open in case I need to make an escape. It’s useless actually as I’m scared of heights so I wouldn’t be climbing out of anywhere. I am humming the theme tune to Mission Impossible at the time and I am so into it I don’t realise the lift opens and people are looking at me.

I am sitting in my room watching these workmen in the tower next to us. They are pulling it the whole building down.
I can tell you right now no amount of money would get me to do what they doing. To say they risking life and every single limb is the closest I can describe this.

I sit just looking at the Haram. I feel guilty as many have not and will never see what I see. I look and look as I know I’ll kick myself when I leave here for wasting time doing nothing when I could have been enthralled by this amazing sight.

I sit outside all evening and night. I go to the third floor of the Haram and I must look like a right idiot grinning from ear to ear running up the stairs. Me and the third floor go way back. It’s just as I left it. Few sights on earth are as amazing as watching the tawaf from the third floor. You find yourself hypnotised and have no concept of time.

After that I just sit downstairs and spend ages just smiling at brothers and elders giving salaam trying to gain some reward.

My sinuses are all messed up.

I hear my uncle is coming from England on the 9th. May even be with the same Hajj group as us.

Saw mum today sitting surrounded by some Indonesian ladies at salah. When it was time to leave mum was embracing them all. Really made me smile.

The group took us on a tour of the all the sites today. I am not a fan of walking around in the daytime so it’s going to be uncomfortable but mum wants to go.
Problem with all these places is the large crowds and all it will take is for one person to get lost and we could be here for ages. Thankfully the group is very well organised so nothing happens.

Speaking of the group we have come with I have to say I am bowled over by the manner they deal with us. One chap downstairs fell ill and they took him to the hospital and stayed with him. They check on him every day and tend to anything that needs doing quickly and effectively.

Mum told all the aunties that I got us lost on the way back to the hotel that first morning. One mistake and this is what I’ll be remembered for!

Mum saw me eating an ice cream and told me I’d get a cough because of it. Ten minutes later I coughed and guess who go an ‘I told you so’ in?

Had a cream cake the size of a subway roll! At first I didn’t think I’d make it but I went for its pressure points and it had to give into my experience and superior technique. It didn’t stand a chance.

I went to get my beard trimmed today at a barbers to sort out any split ends and they point blank refused to touch it.

Found out a new wheelchair costs £52 (320 riyal) so those cowboys who exploit people’s weaknesses and needs can charge this amount for leasing one for Tawaf and Sai make their money back in no time.

Speaking of wheelchairs it really gets to me when people in them are pushed round on the ground floor when they have an allocated place on the second floor. I know the ground floor tawaf is like nothing else and I would hate to not have a chance to be down here in it if I was in a wheelchair. The thing is the amount of times you get smacked at the back of your ankles by people pushing wheelchairs is unreal. These cowboys who rip you off and charge you huge amounts want to get it over and done with as soon as possible so they can go rip someone else off so they will not care. I am trying my upmost to take care of myself as mum relies on me. Damage to my feet or legs would make everything so much harder.

Prayed next to an Indonesian brother today.

We spoke for ages. He told me that 200,000 Indonesians have come this year and that Hajj is booked out for 6 years in advance back home.
He had a beautiful little mat to place his head on in sujood. At the end of the salah we shook hands and he gave me the mat! I was gutted I didn’t have anything to give him. Truly gifts warm the heart and to give a gift to someone you met half an hour ago is even more amazing.

Just carried my standard issue 10 litre Zam zam water from designated filling station to hotel. 10 litre in each hand. Sweating, aching and proper pain but I made it.
Anyhow they lose my water now at the airport and I will beat someone to death with my slipper.

Amazing night. It truly was. As if the tawaf was all mine. Huge gaps would appear in the hardest of places. So much ease yet so many people.

My dreams are not making any sense. They are going at 100mph and contain everything. I think my brain cannot compute so many experiences all happening at once.

I really hate this new huge clock. I hate anything towering over the Ka’bah. The only plus for me is that it’s easy for mum to use as a landmark to find her way back. The shopping mall under our hotel is a rip off. They have Next, Starbucks, Mothercare, Monsoon and lots of other shops here but people walk in, see the prices and walk right back out. At least twice the price we get them for in England.

It’s Friday and the crowds have come well early. It’s an hour and a half before salah and they have closed the entrances to the Haram. Top floor is empty due to the heat and lack of shade but that will soon change. On the streets everyone sitting in shade and waiting.

I truly cannot believe how relaxed mum is here. It is like she does this every day. This truly is doing her the world of good. Now all I have to worry about it how much luggage she going to try to sneak back into the UK!

I could not have picked a better group for me and mum.

By sheer chance I stumble onto the fith level of Sai. I have never been up here before. It’s funny watching people on the third floor watching the tawaf.

One of our roommates comes out of the bathroom soaked clothes soaked top to bottom with water. Me and another room mate from Manchester almost crying with laughter.

I am so grateful to the brothers in our room here. Everyone looks out for each other, helps each other and always puts the others first. A true blessing from Allah.


Before I came I spoke to brothers who had been with the same group the year before and it was upon their recommendation that we signed up. They said that after the Hajj they sat and discussed what they would have changed if they had the chance and they could not think of a single thing.
I also feel the exact same way. Everything has been far, far more than I could have expected or wished for. The accommodation, the food, the roommates are just a few of the countless blessings we have experienced.
I feel like we should have paid a lot more for what we have been given.

Wake up with eyes stinging real bad. I guess that’s what you get when you rely on 2 hours sleep before Fajr.
Got me a new partner in crime.
Lad from Manchester is up for whatever and whenever. We spend some quality time in the Haram before we go carry chin wag with the staff at Bin Dawoods. When then attempt to find Bin Dawood himself.
It seems if there are laughs to be had we going to have them but we remind each other also of the favours of Allah.
We find some awesome food places and decide we going to take all the guys from our floor for a munch.
Also we going to sneak sleeping bags into the Haram and kip on the fifth floor Sai.

My dreams are getting more detailed now.

I hook up Manchester lad with a Radox bath salt foot soak. I didn’t hear a word from him for the next ten minutes.

Thinking of starting a business by taking my bucket and bath salts to Marwa.

My biggest Hajj tip to date: Radox Bath Salts.

We have been watching these guys working on the building next to us.

What makes a man hang off the side on the 15th floor of the building without a safety rope and kick away at the very support he is resting on? The government should use this as work encouragement. Get a job or we will be sending you here!

It’s amazing watching the people from up here. At Zuhr they fill the spaces that are in the shade and then bit by bit as the shade comes across they fill that too.

I was sitting down and an Indonesian brother comes to ask if I am from Bakersfield, California. I tell him I’m not and he says that there is a bloke in his local masjid who looks just like me. Seems Bakerfield has had a case of studmuffinitus also!

I keep getting chewing gum with my change in the shops. Are they trying to tell me something?

I’ve told mum from now on she is going to leave her gang in the evenings and come with me to sit in front of the Ka’bah.

Today I was praying and I had just finished when I saw a cat pounce on something. It only does that when its catches a mouse or something like that. I look closely and it has a pigeon in its mouth. I thought that sort of thing only happens in the cartoons as I’ve seen cats and pigeons next to each other and nothing has happened.
The cat takes its dinner and nips into a derelict building.

Amazing. I watch from our window. I can see hundreds of thousands of people and Allah knows the hearts of each and every single one.

We are so fortunate to have an uncle with us who is a Quran hafiz and very wise. I love listening to him.
Today we were talking about the achievements of man and it is nothing for Allah He said something so simple yet so powerful. ‘So what if man has stepped on the moon? Allah took his beloved to the heavens’.

I will never forget this evening as long as I live. I took mum and we sat on the ground floor right by the Ka’bah just looking at it and making du’a to Allah.
I did not want it to end but mum has to get back and rest. She asked me to make a special du’a for myself. She has never before asked me to do this.
I am going to bring her every night we are here InshAllah.

Manchester lad and I go on a hunt for an internet café. I saw one a couple of days ago so we hit the streets.
We find it and they charge 15 riyal an hour which is a rip off but we have no choice. We try to take in all the news and Manchester lad shows me a real good lecture on the Mercy of Allah. I want to watch all of it when I get back to England.

I decide I am going to hit tawaf at 2am. Loved it. Was on the sixth circuit and I came in between an old Turkish couple. The old man starts to shout at me even though I am getting pushed from behind. I put my hands in the air to show him I am not doing anything and then someone gives me a big push. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem but it just happens that right in the middle of the tawaf two blokes decide that is a acceptable place to be in sajood so I fell over them. I jumped up as quick as a flash in case I get trampled. Few things annoy me as much as that here. What’s worse is when they praying in the most awkward places and then get upset with you if you interrupt them.

Mum tells me that an auntie from her room had her bag stolen from right in front of her while she sat waiting for salah. It was in a women’s only area. The bag was in front of her and a lady came and asked for a bottle of water which was slightly behind her. The auntie turned around and then turned back to give her the bottle. A moment later the auntie realised the bag was gone. Shameful.

Me and Manchester lad act as elevator attendants today, taking people up and down the floors.

We were so good that I reckon if we had kept it up we could have made some serious tips.

Just heard that a Brit from another hotel had lost £2000 during the tawaf. Apparently they took the whole belt.

Sitting waiting to pray Fajr inside the Haram and many men are arguing with the women who insisting to sit right at the front. I understand that they want to see the Ka’bah as well but we have to follow etiquette. This would be like me going and sitting right in the middle of a huge group of women. In the end the ladies get up and go to the back.
May Allah reward them, give them good in this life and the best of the Hereafter.

Just found out a bloke who is downstairs in our room who I thought was between 20 and 22 years of age is going to be 40. I’m gobsmacked.

We insist on the elder on our level in the hotel room as the amir and we (Manchester lad, Moshy, Jedda and me) agree to take any dispute to him to get his verdict. I would be astounded if there is any matter that needs a decision. Such is the harmony and fun we have but me and Manchester lad are trying to find any little thing just to get a verdict. I want to see a public lashing!

They make the prayer for rain after Fajr today. You don’t hear that often living in the UK.

I was on one of my usual 3am missions when I bumped into a local takeaway owner from my hometown. We have always got on and we have big hugs. He looks so happy to be here.

Just found out the elder in room (Hafiz Sahib) is a father of ten children!

It is truly amazing what you can get for free as long as you have no shame in asking. This hotel is going to remember me and Manchester lad.
It’s scary how quickly we formulate plans and the lengths we will go to. The partnership works so well and the opposition do not stand a chance. We come away with many goodies and share them between the others on our floor. I am going to give mine to mum.

When you think about all the crazy practices of the people everywhere else it’s amazing you don’t see any of it here. The most you get is loud group zikr.

I really have to stop laughing in the faces of Shia who sit there pretending to cry by the Ka’bah.

Bin Dawud are really going to have to stop selling me sweets and chocolates. It’s killing my throat.

Speaking about Bin Dawud there is a Malaysian worker here that was really unhappy and did not like his job at all. This guy just would not smile.
Me and Manchester lad have been working on him every day and now when he sees us he is never without a smile as soon as we walk in. In fact the whole shop sort of lights up. All it takes is a few smiles and a few jokes.

There is a mobile phone company who are in the mall under our hotel who giving out free umbrellas. They run out but tell us if we come back at 4am they will give us four umbrellas. I am not sure if they doubted us and may have thought there is no way we would make it at that time.
Its now 4.15am and I have five umbrellas in my possession.

They are trying to serve us sheep’s hooves for breakfast!
Needless to say it’s just a cup of tea for me.
Some of the others are well happy.

You should see the people when it comes to salah time and they have to leave the Black Stone. It takes the guards ages to prise them off it and they keep running back to kiss it. They finally restore order for salah and it’s amazing the people even wait for the Imam to give salaam before they are back on it. I only see it for a brief second after I finish before it is submerged in people all over again.

I am surprised at my DIY skills as I make something (embarrassingly modest so I will not mention it) for Manchester lad. I feel like Bear Grills saving things to use later. Manchester lad well happy and I stand proud at my accomplishment.

I keep seeing so many people that look like people I know.

Me and the gang go for a munch. Great laughs are had.

We decide (well I drag Manchester and Moshy along) to have late night tea. We sit on the ground and just talk and look at the Haram. Memories like this will live long.
The lads go to bed and I go into the Haram and sit by the Ka’bah. Every time you see it, it’s like the first time.

I cannot tell you how much I hate this big clock.

It is amazing when you see people you have met on your journey. Some you have just spent a couple of minutes with. You meet them, smile at them, joke with them and treat them like your brother.
They then find you eating, shopping, in the masjid or just walking and they come with huge smiles remembering you.
It’s the Sunnah in full effect.

Great news!

My mum’s brother made it back into Mecca! If he had got caught he would have been in big trouble as they don’t allow non Hujjaj into the city at this time.
InshAllah he is going to be with us every step of the way now.

All the lads sleeping out tonight. Everyone making out they are going to be able to survive on the bare minimum. We shall see.

We went to fill more containers with ZamZam water. Huge queues in the designated areas for filling containers with people trying to take enough to supply a small country! We use the taps but we got a guard hot on our tails trying to stop us as we should be in the designated area. Manchester lad seems to be having an easy time so we all flock to where he is. He trying to shoo us away. Proper jokes.

Amazing night. Sleep was not on the menu tonight. Amazing sights. Nowhere else in the world will millions of people converge in one place and worship with such purity and devotion. All waiting for one man to come lead us.
It’s tough keeping your spot to pray, especially right at the front. Trust me, space for one will have be space for two. It’s funny watching people sneaking around pulling sly ones trying to get to the front.

Our roommate Moshy has had breakfast today for the first time in 12 years! Everyone insisting it goes in my diary.

We have a new roommate who joins us. Everyone makes him feel welcome and he fits in so well. I thought he was around 36 but he tells me he nearer fifty! Either the Mecca air really agreeing with people or I am really naff at this game.

Mum called me for something so I went and stood outside her room for a while waiting for her. After a short time I am about to phone her. Then I remember the hadith of the man who was trapped in the cave. He made du’a to Allah by the deed of standing all night with milk for his parents so not to disturb them. What an amazing thing. Made me realise how impatient and selfish we are.
I wait quietly after that.

Only in Mecca do I get scared looking up at buildings.

No shortage of blokes tapping up every plug socket in the Haram and the shopping centres to charge their mobile phones.

The best way I can describe people here at salah time is that they are like water.
They will pour into every gap, every space, every opening and every alleyway they can find.
You realise you just an ant in this great Ummah.

My slippers have been missing for a whole day.

I have to put up with plenty of ‘told you so’ from Manchester lad.
I am going to go later to see if they are where I left them.
We are so close to the Haram I go to all the salahs barefoot.

I saw my first dog in Mecca today. Looks so out of place.
That evening I saw a cat on the third floor of the Haram.
How on earth did it get up here?

Our new roommate (who we name Cyborg because of his unstoppable quest to fit everything into his day and make the absolute most of his time here) tells me that Indonesian and Malaysian couples who are serious about getting married come to Hajj with their families. This is so that both can see and hear about how the other coped with all the tests and trials that Hajj brings. You really don’t know what is going to happen day to day or how you are going to be tested so it is impossible to keep up an act.
I think it’s a great idea.
Bit expensive, but a great idea.

Our roommate Jedda has a unique style of sleeping. He always sleeps on his back and always claims he wasn’t sleeping if you mention it.

We have our last addition to the room and he is a very quiet brother who I have seen around. This is like the perfect room Alhumdulillah. He is given the customary welcome pack from us.
He gets the nickname ‘Terminator’ as the lads tell me he was fast asleep and then he woke up at 2am, said, ‘I need to go make tawaf’, got out of bed in one movement, did wudu and was gone.

I went for a late night ice cream and saw a man get his ihram caught in an escalator. It pulls the garment in and he falls backwards. I jump into action and hold him up, stopping him from cracking his head open.
All in a day’s work for Hajji Scented.
He is fine but they didn’t have any strawberry sauce for my ice cream.

It’s confirmed. I’ve lost my slippers. They are the first pair I’ve lost this time. I hope they have a good new owner.

I got caught doing ‘The Robot’ dance in the lift by an Egyptian man. No way I am able to explain so I don’t bother.

I have found a truly awesome view of the Haram from another room our hotel which is still under construction.
You can see all of it and the surrounding areas.
Showed the lads. Me thinks they going to take their wives and claim they found it!

All the Hajjis that are coming this year are here now. Haram is packed out. I can’t even get a decent view of the Ka’bah from the third floor.

Tomorrow is the last Jummah before Hajj.
This time next week Hajj will be over. A scary thought.

Nicknames I have been given so far include:
Lastminute.com, because of my relaxed attitude
Sherlock, because I love to go investigating.

Manchester lad from this day forth will be dubbed ‘Mighty Zinger’ due to his love of everything big and chicken.
Google ‘Mighty Zinger’ burger and you will see what I mean.

Zinger tries to educate everyone on what a planetarium is. Apparently it’s where they keep fish!!

The story of me and Zinger is quite amazing really. I had bumped into him twice before we shared this room together and both times I thought I really am not going to get on with this guy. Appearances can be so deceptive and a person you may think is really good will show their true colours once you share a roof with them. On the flipside a person like Zinger who I thought I would never in a million years have anything in common with has become very dear to me.

Some local lads from back home turn up and don’t believe I am staying in Zamzam Towers so they insist on coming up to the room. They tell me that our bathroom is bigger then their living quarters.
For the price they paid and the price we paid I think somehow our reservations got mixed up!

Jummah today was jam packed.

Top floor was empty again due to people being unable to sit in the heat for hours on end waiting for the salah. If you want a spot seeing the Ka’bah you got to be in there for at the latest 9am.

I been showing everyone the view I found. The room has not been completed yet and whoever gets it ain’t going to want curtains put in I promise you that.

I can’t believe someone took my slippers for the second day in a row! Awesome slippers they were too. Like walking on air.
I have to buy some naff ones as all the good ones are sold out. So embarrassing.

We try flagging a cab down to go visit Zinger’s friends but the drivers are trying to do their level best to rip us off. In the end we give up. It was crazy what they were asking for.

We leave tonight for Mina. Mecca was buzzing last night more than normal. People trying to get all their shopping in.
I really wish I had rested yesterday.

I would much rather prefer to leave in the morning but I have mum with me and she wants me to stay with her.

My uncle going to come with the walking group in the morning and meet us in Mina. He has decided to do Hajj also.

Zinger has bought a loaf of bread and turkey slices for breakfast in Mina. Ohh ay love! Only Zinger could think of something like that.

I am not allowed to leave the room to go buy an ice cream till I write that Terminator has invented mango lassi in Mecca. Zinger been trying to buy it but couldn’t find it anywhere and now he necking it down like it’s the last thing on earth and his life depends on it.

We get into ihram after Maghrib but don’t make niyah. We are relaxing till we get confirmation that we are leaving. Isha comes so we pray and wait. We waiting and waiting. Hours tick by and still nothing. We nip out for ice cream with flake.
We have a really good deep talk and then break for Coke and a chocolate.
We finally nod off around 2.30am only to be woken at 4am and told the coaches are finally here.
We have to walk a short distance to the point where the coaches are going to pick us up.
Fajr is prayed on a dusty road on a little bit of cardboard.
An auntie decides that she wants a cup of tea so she volunteers me with the task of getting it. I get knocked around by a load of blokes all trying to get their milk and two sugars.

Coaches arrive and some people show their true colours and completely ignore the women and elderly and push to get on first.
I really, really hate it when this happens. It is as if the world is going to end and this is the only form of transport that will deliver them to safety.

We manage to restore order and we are off.
Me and a revert brother from Swansea get the Talbiyah going in full effect.
The road not nearly as busy as I thought.

We arrive in Mina and get to our tents.

So many people trying to take up more space than what they need forgetting that we are expecting the brothers who are coming on foot.
This is another reason I am so proud of the brothers who roomed with me in Mecca. We take just enough space that we need and when others need space we make it for them. May Allah love these brothers. Their hearts are so big.

Zinger breaks out the turkey sandwiches and they really go down a treat. Genius, that boy.

As I look round the tent I see many different people. Different because they will each draw personal experiences from this. Some use their time well and others just complain and backbite.
Those who have contentment will have contentment regardless and those who complain and backbite will do so regardless.
I truly make du’a that I am of the first and Allah keeps me far from being the second.

The walking group arrive and my mava (that’s what we call your mum’s brother) is with them. In typical mava fashion he refuses to sleep indoors.
In fact, in Mecca, the brothers in our room keep telling me to get him to stay with us inside our luxury accommodation. But mava wouldn’t have it preferring the outside.
He camps nearby and has an amazing knack of only being a minute away whenever mum or I need him.

It is so annoying when men move the curtain that separates the men and women’s tent. They think it's fine as they have someone in there but forget they are not mehram to the other hundred plus that are there.

Mava finds a hospital nearby and stocks up on free antibiotics and other bits which is fantastic as the chemist in Mecca wanted 71 riyal for a course of antibiotics.

Just saw a Haji flip because he didn’t get a drink with his meal. Proper crazy.

Early night tonight as it’s the biggest day of all tomorrow.

Woke up for Fajr and thought it going to be ages before the coaches arrive to take us to Arafat. SubhanAllah the coaches are here and we get to our destination by 9am.

We have water coolers in the tents and they are topped up around three times a day with ice and then later with water bottles for us.
A couple of times I see someone come and take the water bottles out of the container claiming they are topping the containers up. Someone points out that these people are the ones that are camped on the road and I realise yet again that something we take for granted even here not everyone has.


Arafat is truly amazing. Truly there is something in the air.

You see amazing generosity on Arafat, you see people sleeping the whole day, you see people crying their eyes out and you see people just wasting time. In short, Arafat is Hajj because you will get what you want from it.

Mava is a gangster! He prays inside the masjid and still tracks us down in our camp. I find out he has serious toothache but he is a solider and does not complain one little bit.

Maghrib comes and it’s funny watching everyone grab their bags thinking they are going to Muzdalifah this instant.
Six hours later our turn arrives and it’s worrying how people clamber and run like they going to be left behind.
We wait patiently till the very end and get on the coach. Those who were hasty are now packed into the coaches like sardines in a tin, but we have loads of room. Zinger is dishing out cheese on crackers. I flippin love him!

Muzdalifah is wide awake at 12.30am!

Everyone up and about. Our coach did not have a proper sticker on it so we went back to Arafat to pick one up.

We finally arrive in Muzdalifah and lay out our sleeping gear. We brought a huge drum with us and fill it full of water to use to make wudu with in the morning.
Mum is out like a light and I watch her sleep. This is all she has ever asked for. All those years crying thinking she wouldn’t get to be here and now she is fast asleep in Muzdalifah.
Zinger and the gang out for the count also but I cant sleep.

Somehow I nod off and I am awoken by Zinger punching me(really unnecessary!) telling me it’s time for Fajr. We do wudu and pray. People start to look for their stones but I had had got mine in Arafat which caused a bit of contention but it doesn’t matter.

In no time whatsoever the queues for the coaches are huge.
Mava thinks we should walk but mum not happy with that idea so he sets off and will meet us in Mina. Proper soldier. Our new nickname for him is ‘Mava Dundee’ as he can track us down anywhere.

You have to see the scenes of chaos and carnage that follow to understand. This was my biggest fear on the actual days of Hajj. Nothing else worried me except the morning of Muzdalifah. The queue jumping is shameful. By the time we get out of the compound it is mayhem. People were not going to play fair and were more than willing to harm others to get ahead.
Zinger and the gang decide to wait for the coach but I decide we have no choice but to walk it. Staying here would pose all sorts of fitnah that I don’t want to be subjected to.

I have no idea how but mum has got an old woman holding her hand. She lost the people she was with and she decides to come with us. We have to walk extra slow to accommodate. I am worried as the people we are following are getting further and further away but I keep finding people I know from our group. Somebody points out that a group in front of us with a huge green flag are in the camp next to us. Turns out they are Sufis and the funny part is I know them as they from my home town! I happily become Sufi for the next hour as we walk to our camp.
We are definitely among the first to make it back. Huge relief.

I really have to discuss the concept of travelling light with mum as my hands are aching.

I phone Zinger who tells me that they not even close to getting on a coach and are going to wait to the end. He tells me that there are huge standoffs between groups trying to get on coaches.

Mava decides he wants to go right away for stoning.

We put a small posse together and we are off. Takes just over an hour to get to the Jamarat and the Talbiyah in the tunnels is deafening.
Awesome scenes of people walking towards the Jamarat. You can tell the first timers from the look on their faces.

In the distance I can see the new train. They trying it out with 3000 VIP’s on board. Amazing how they can get a train running but they can’t sort out the wudu facilities in Muzdalifah.

The Jamarat is easy Alhumdulillah. As always we manage to get right up close to it.
Walk back takes a bit longer as we go a different route. Crazy heat but Mava gets us back.

It is amazing the little things you don’t notice in life. Like ice left over in your cup after a drink. Normally you would leave it but not here. Here ice is like gold and can win you many friends.
The meals are very basic but when you hungry they taste so good.
Humans can survive on a lot less. We just choose not to.

You see some tents with mattresses as thick as the ones you have on your beds back home and you think it’s a luxury when all it is, is a mattress. People come for Hajj but moan when they don’t get a five star holiday.

We finally get confirmation on the Qurbani so we snip a bit of hair to come out of ihram.
Really great feeling. Comb comes out and beard gets dealt with.

Mava is a huge blessing. He is like my personal Bat Signal. No matter where I am he finds me. Such a weight off my mind.
We call on him to help us find a barber to shave our heads. In the daytime they were queuing up to cut hair but now not one in sight. Mava finds us two brothers who cut our hair. Great job and a great feeling.

Swansea lad admits that he was upset with Mava for bringing us back the long way as he had his little son with him. After talking to some people in our group, he realises that if we had come back the way we went it would have taken a lot longer than it did. Nice of him to admit that.

I got hunger pains but cannot find a biryani seller to save me life. When you don’t want something you find lots of it. Have to settle for chips instead.

Moshy, our roomie, owns a shop back home and from the looks of things, he has brought most of the shop with him. Oh the treats we have!

Second day Jamarat.

We go the long way but it feels like ten minutes. Amazing.
Mum is really in her element here.

We get to the Jamarat and decide to go up to the third level.
We are quickly faced with mum’s biggest fear. Escalators.
She hates them but has no choice.
She holds my hand and I help her up all eight of them one after the other.
We arrive and with complete ease again we do the stoning and make our way back.
The guards are a lot more organised and do not allow you to hang around to take photos or even go back on yourself.

On the way back we find an old couple lost. The woman is in absolute pieces and wailing.
I smile as I watch mum comfort her and take her by the hand. Mum is so calm that she is reassuring others. Another indication to the huge mercy Allah has bestowed upon us.
Mava leaves me and mum while he takes them back to their camp. He comes back for us and we off again.
We go a little bit further and find another four people who have been lost since yesterday. Mava helps them also and we make our way back to the camp.

We are really fortunate to have one of the imams for Islam Channel in our group. I was always impressed by how he conducted himself on television and in person he is even more amazing. May Allah give me manners like him. We benefit from him greatly.

We have a new member in our little group. A brother from Birmingham. He is not really a new member as I have seen him many, many times during this trip and we have shared some moments. He has been a cooling to my eyes each time. We shall call him Mr C. A science teacher by trade. He is a gentle giant but solid.
There are many reasons I love him and one of them is that he implements what he knows.
The first time we met was at Jeddah Airport and it was him who gave the bottle of water to my mum (if you recall, I mentioned this at the beginning). I will never forget that. It is fitting that was our first encounter.

My new nickname is ‘Mava Junior’. I don’t get it myself but the lads like it so who am I to deprive them?

Zinger wants to go on an adventure and after haggling with a couple of perfume sellers we find one that we decide we are going to work for, free of charge. We sit on either side and go at it Apprentice style.
I don’t think that bloke has ever sold more stock then he did at that time. People were flocking around and the great thing about crowds is that they attract bigger crowds. The bloke just could not bag the stuff quick enough.
Everyone wants the bargains we offering and we joke all the way. It doesn’t matter the nationality or the tongue; a laugh and a smile is currency in every country of the world.

Zinger is a blessing in himself. He is firm but very fair. Truly the souls are like conscripted soldiers.

There is not much I will not do but with Zinger by my side I know nothing is safe and there is nothing I will not try.
Few people have the effect on me that Zinger has.

By the close of business, the chap’s wallet is bulging. Me and Zinger clock out for salah.

Mava comes up with a plan.

He wants us to go to Mecca tonight for tawaf, sai and come back before Fajr. I think it would make a lot of sense and thankfully mum agrees.

After Isha, Mava tell us to get ready as the rain is coming. Huge winds start the proceedings by blowing away at the tents and the dust gets right into your eyes and face.
This is it. I knew it. So many people kept saying that the hard part was over and we are almost home. I kept telling them about 2004 when we had finished and were flooded out. It is not over till Allah wills it to be over.
I am so worried we are going to pay for other’s words.
We start to walk with the thunder and lightning starting.
I am making non-stop dua that it holds as we are in no man’s land with no cover and mum is with us.
Guards are not letting us cut through the camps. If they were not Muslim and if I wasn’t on Hajj they would be getting flung out the way but patience has got me this far so why should I turn my back on it now. We carry on.

The army is clearing the roads and the people are running for cover. At any other time I would have stood there in awe watching the scenes but not now. The beggars are still out and the funny thing is they are carrying on as if nothing is happening.

Really truly, me and mum have got to have this talk about travelling light as these bags are tearing into my shoulders.

Things are getting tough but the rain has not poured down yet. I feel a few heavy drops as an indication of what is on its way.
We manage to walk back to Mecca and see taxis. We flag one down and subhanAllah as soon as get in the rain pours down.
I sit in the car and watch the people take shelter any way they can.
The driver has told us he is going to charge us around £6 for the journey which gets me thinking. That for us is nothing but how many people would not be able to afford that and would have to brave these conditions. Truly so many things in life we take for granted.
The drive takes about half an hour and it’s amazing but all the roads around the Haram are blocked off except for the one we need to get us right to our hotel. I love these mini miracles.

Feels like weeks since I’ve seen this place but in truth, it has been barely three days.
To use a bathroom without queuing behind eight men, power shower, mattress and peace of mind? Priceless.

We have a quick bite to eat and get into the Haram. It is absolutely empty and if I didn’t have mum with me I would have gone for the Black Stone. It’s so empty that we are doing tawaf on the ground floor and I am not even having to hold mum’s hand.
It was so soul enriching.

We go do Sai. I am sad as this will be my last Sai before I leave.
Someone has taken both mine and mava’s slippers. Mum has a good laugh at us both.

We return to the hotel and have a kip. We have a real early start for Mina.

We make our way to Mina before Fajr.

We are just mingling with the people, waiting for the time of Jamarat.
It's a lot more peaceful and calmer than the last time I was here.
Speaking of last time, we did the jamarat and had arranged a meeting point if any of our group of around ten people got split. I got there and found we were three brothers short so I told everyone else to wait and I would go and find them. From a far distance, I made out the brothers. I thought I could either go into the crowd and get them or I could shout out to them from where I stood. I opted to shout...

It's an awkward feeling when all of a sudden some 40,000 people stop what they are doing and look right at you...

We let the initial crowds go and we make our way. Again so, so easy. Alhumdulillah.

Our Hajj is officially over and complete. May Allah accept it from us and all those who came to make this journey.

Mava gets big hugs and mum gets big hugs and lots of kisses.

We start the long trek back to Mecca. So many happy faces. Beaming they were. In the tunnels there are gangs of motorbike riders who are ferrying people back and forth for a petty price. Obviously time is of the essence so they going at crazy speeds with their passengers on the back.

We make it back and I attempt to have a Radox foot soak but a friend calls to tell me he is outside. I rush out only to find he had gone. Git. If he wasn’t so dear to me I’d jab him in his ribs when I see him next.

We pray Asr and return to our room.

What happen next was truly amazing.
The rain poured down. It poured and it poured.
People are running for cover and the lightning is flashing.
Unbelievable. If we hadn’t done our tawaf the day before we would have had to do it now in these conditions. Every single thing has gone perfect for us.
Allah is most Just.

The army is blocking the entrances to the Haram but people are forcing their way in.
From our window we watch the scenes. I cannot see a single bit of ground on the third floor. It is just jam packed full of people.
People are returning to the hotel soaked.
Mum and the ladies want tea so I go down to the shopping centre to get some. It’s packed out. Fights break out over the lift. Everyone is going nuts.

We are worried about Zinger. Everyone in our room is accounted for except him.
Few of us are just watching the scenes from the amazing view I found. Nobody speaks. Just transfixed to the view and the scenes.
Tons of umbrellas going round and round.
For Sai, you see people on the top floor running the whole distance.

Zinger is back and buzzing.

He says that when the rain started everyone instead of running for cover was trying to get onto the third floor to do tawaf in the rain.

Everyone shattered so we just rest up.

That night Zinger wants to sleep but me and Moshy got other ideas and drag him out. We have a good stint in the massage chairs. Proper hits the spot.

While we have been here we have been making friends with the staff and the security guards. I see one of the guards reading and ask him what it is. He tells me it’s Al-Muwatta by Imam Malik and he gives it to me as a present.
This is brotherhood.

I met up with two amazing brothers. We sit in my amazing view location. They try hard to pretend not to be impressed but I know they are. What felt like a half hour was in fact four hours. Good times.


Wake up for Friday. Body aching. Army seems to have gone. Yesterday’s scenes of chaos seem to be over.

Army are back two hours before Jummah.

Zinger wants me to come with him to see a friend of his. The friend has also brought someone with him. We show them the awesome view and then decide we are going to check out the real big timers in Zamzam Towers.
We go up around another thirty floors and see a fire exit. He who dares wins so we take it. We find some stairs and after that more stairs. We twist and turn until we come out into open air…

We are on the roof of Zam Zam Towers.
We are ON the ROOF of Zam zam Towers!

The green clock is within throwing distance!
The view is out of this world and we can’t believe we are here.

We pray up here. We are just transfixed to the view.
I will never forget this moment. I don’t want to leave as I am scared I will never find this view again.

We have got to try to find this with the lads tomorrow.

I was getting some solid sleep till mum wakes me early in the morning. Some of the ladies have given mum the idea of doing her farewell tawaf now. We get going on the second floor and mum’s energy is amazing.

I am shattered and looking forward to getting some sleep between Zuhr and Asr but apparently we are moving hotels even though we here for one more night only.

Me and mava are just sorting the luggage out in the corridor and for some unknown reason it starts a chain reaction of everyone thinking they need to put their luggage outside as well. Nobody even questioned it. Scary.

Zinger has broken my Radox shower gel handle.

Finally I have a case to take to the elder in our room. Zinger must pay! How on earth do you break that?!

I forgot to get the case on trial as Zinger has brought mava a big knife to complete the Crocodile Dundee look.

Me, Zinger and Moshy go for another chair massage. Moshy’s treat. He a top lad. We try to muffle the ‘ohhhh ahhh’ sounds but it’s no good.

Gave Dundee his knife. He loved it.

They move us to the other hotel for one night. It is a major step down but we have absolutely no right to complain. After every single countless blessing bestowed upon us in this journey how could we possibly show any disgust now?
Unfortunately not everyone thinks the same way.

We drop our stuff off and decide to go for one last dinner with mum and mava.

The lads decide that we going to go for the top of the tower view but the problem is four has now turned to nine and the security guard is on the prowl as he nabbed Zinger yesterday when he went without me. Turns out he took his wife and not me. The selfish git.

I get a phone call from Terminator, our roomie, who wants in on the action. I go back to look for him and Swansea lad comes with me also. We find him and go again. We walk up nine floors of stairs to avoid the security guard. We twist and turn and I remember little markers till bingo, we hit the jackpot again.
All the lads are there.
We admire the view for a while. Few want to bring their families tomorrow.

We sit outside the hotel for a while and eat ice cream and watch the world go by.

Hectic last minute bits and bobs. Mum’s new friends all have lists of things that need doing and getting. No prizes for guessing who gets those jobs.

We have gone from a hotel with twelve lifts to a hotel with one lift and everyone is trying to get their luggage out at once.

Few of us go for lunch and ice cream.

I go alone to the Kaaba.
My last tawaf.
My heart is heavy and it pains.
I don’t want to leave you.
I am sorry I haven’t spent more time with you.

It’s also my last night with my mava.

For someone who has not been a part of my life since I was two years old he is now a huge part.
We have dinner together and he gives me some golden advice about my future.

Everyone fretting over the weight limit and I bet some serious duas are being made!

Zinger has got us all personalised key rings. Mine says ‘Mava Jr’
I’m going to miss Zinger’s legendary haggling tactics.

We rush round sorting out stuff and then just chatting.

Coaches arrive at 4am. We take our luggage and grab our seats.

The farewell I have been dreading cannot be put off any longer. I have to say goodbye to mava. That moment will live in my mind as long as I live.
Never has a goodbye been more emotional for me. Never.
Even while I write this it hurts me inside.

Coaches try to move off but it’s time for tahajjud. Thousands and thousands of people as far as the eye can see fill the roads. They walk with their prayer mats on their shoulders, forsaking their beds to come at this hour to worship. The most beloved place to every single one.
It was the most fitting farewell to Mecca I could have wished for.

Jeddah with us in no time.
Little bit annoyed as to how the luggage is thrown onto the floor and the battle starts as you fish for what is yours.
No order in the queues but we patiently wait for our turn.
Our check-in bloke is not happy and I am worried he really going to come down hard on the excess luggage but it was the complete opposite and he didn’t care what we had.

We get the boarding passes and just when I thought this had been the most surreal and blessed Hajj ever…

Can you guess who then got business class?

Conclusion

Hajj is like a fingerprint meaning that each one is unique. People say it but you have to live it to understand it.

Tomorrow we will go back to our lives and forget valuable lessons. Maybe that was a big part of why I kept this diary.

To live a life of an average person here is more enriching than those who live in the tall high rise towers and enjoy all the perks that come with them.
If you want to know yourself then mix with the people, see what you learn and what you take away.
Once Ibn Masoud (ra) was in a place where nobody knew what he looked like and when he went for water from the well he was pushed and shoved by the people but he was happy as he got to live as a simple soul.
I will never be fit to even stand in his shadow but maybe I understand a little of what he felt as every time you leave the hotel there is an adventure to be had regardless of your background and where you come from.
A smile can open many doors and is understood and welcomed by all. To turn your prayer mat sideways and share with the person next to you can make all the difference.

I would love to come alone just once without to worry about being responsible for someone so that I can really push myself.
I never ever dreamed I would be here for the third time and maybe my seven nieces will need me as a mahram to bring them. Whatever happens I just cannot get enough of it.

You will learn so much about yourself. You will learn so much about others. You will be tested in ways you couldn’t even imagine.

If you think you have patience, you will find out on Hajj.
If you think you love for others what you love for yourself, you will find out on Hajj.
If you think you can cope in challenging situations, you will find out on Hajj.

Test is when you are broken, tired and hungry and you have just found some shade but then someone in more need comes along.

Test is when you have swollen feet, your bed is singing your name and an elderly couple come to ask you to help them complete tawaf and sai.

Test is when you find cold water but your brothers need it also.

Test is when you sit all night trying to keep a good spot for Fajr and someone comes right at the end and tries to share it.

You will appreciate so much more once you are here.
Your health, when you see the condition of some people in the tawaf but yet they drive on determined.
Your wealth, when you see that a man’s dinner depends on your leftovers. That a sister cannot eat what she wants as she is a riyal short.

Many times in life we are comfortable in our worship and measure ourselves by those who do less than us and many times in life we see those who have more then us and we are not content.
The complete opposite of what we should be.

Being here really redresses that balance.

I see hundreds of thousands of people everywhere I look, each one more determined than me to seek the pleasure of Allah. When measured against these giants I fall very short and will really have to pick up my game to keep up.
I see many, many people with a fraction of what I have and you can’t put a price on that contentment.

All these people, so little crowd control but on hearing one voice will form straight lines and move in unison.
Standing together and bowing together. All hungry for the same thing. The pleasure of the One alone who alone deserves to be worshipped.

With regards to my personal journey, I realise one fundamental thing.
After all the worry and stress I put myself through before this journey began there really was no need.

My mother was Allah’s guest and Allah alone looked after her.