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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 الحمدلله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين . نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ، أما بعد :

 

We embarked upon a 3 month journey to replicate the journey of our righteous Salaf.

 

عن أيوب:

عن أبي قلابة قال: أقمت في المدينة ثلاثا ما لي بها حاجة إلا قدوم رجل بلغني عنه حديث فبلغني انه يقدم فأقمت [الرحلة في طلب الحديث – الخطيب البغدادي] 

 

Ayūb narrated that Abū Qilābah [D. 105 AH] said: “I stayed in Madinah for 3 months, for no other reason than to wait the arrival of a man who knew 1 Hadeeth, so that I could hear it from him.”

 

[ar-Rihla-Fee Talab al-Hadeeth, Khateeb al Baghdādi]

 

This is a small travel diary written to document my studies, encounters with the people of knowledge, and beneficial gems along the way in Madinah. In the past scholars would also write travel diaries, contemporary Salafi scholars like Shaykh Taqī ud-Dīn al Hilāli wrote a travel diary. And Shaykh Badee ud-Deen Sindhi wrote a Safarnama (travel diary) also.

 

 

As soon as the plane landed in Madinah there was suddenly a serene atmosphere in the aeroplane, as opposed to the atmosphere earlier in London. A Barelvi with a green turban on the seat behind me chanted ‘As Salāt Wa Salām Alayka Ya Rasūl Allāh’, as opposed to his falsehood, I recited the Ayāh:

 

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا 

 

Verily, Allāh sends blessing upon the Prophet and His angels do as well. O you who believe, send Salāt upon him and ask (Allāh to grant him) peace. [Al-Ahzab 33:56]

 

And thereafter, I read the Salat al-Ibrāhīmiyya upon the Prophet ﷺ as prescribed by the Prophet ﷺ himself. It has been related in various Hadeeth books such as al-Bukhāri and Muslim where it is mentioned that it is the best and most complete form of salutation upon the Prophet. ﷺ 

 

As we left from the airport at 2 AM on Yawmul Jum’uah, a noble Ahlul Hadeeth Afghan brother from the Kullīyah of Da’wah at the Islamic university of Madinah arrived to collect us in his car. Shortly after arriving to our residence, I visited the local Baqāla to purchase some groceries. Here I met a Sudani & Pakistani brother who were very helpful & welcoming as they learnt that I had just arrived. The locals were roaming into the Baqāla just before Fajr, to my surprise I was told that people usually do shopping at night-time as opposed to the daytime in Madinah.

 

Thereafter, I prayed Fajr at my local Masjid in Madinah, named Jāmia Zahra. A beautiful Masjid where I met some good brothers. On that same day, which happened to also be my first day in Madinah, the Arab Shaykh’s pushed me forward to lead them for Maghrib at Jāmia Zahra. I would continue to lead them regularly for Salah during the remainder of my stay.

 

A day later, me and my wife visited Masjid an-Nabawi for the first time. I prayed Isha in the courtyard and subsequently a day after that, I prayed Maghrib Salah behind Shaykh Abdullah Bu’aijaan at Masjid Nabawi. He recited Ayāt al-Kursi during the Salah, it was an emotional and beautiful Salah. May Allāh accept it from us. Masjid Nabawi is a beautiful Masjid, nothing like what I had seen before. The atmosphere is very peaceful and tranquil in Madinah.

 

Some days later, I received a tour of Masjid Nabawi, the surrounding sights and the library at the prophets Masjid by the noble Afghan brother from the Kullīyah of Da’wah at the Islamic university of Madinah.

 

I was also toured by a Bengali brother from the UK, among my best friends who is studying at the Islamic university of Madinah. I was shown the Islamic university of Madinah Kulliyāt. I visited the famous bookshop Dar an-Nasīha with him  and purchased some beneficial Arabic books of the likes of Shaykh al Albāni, Shaykh Muhammad Amīr as Sana’āni al-Yamāni and some small Mutoon.

 

I experienced my first Jum’uah at Masjid Nabawi and it was a delightful experience. The atmosphere was serene, beautiful and simply undescribable. I was sitting just before the barrier to the Rawdah at the prophets Masjid. Beside me was a Nigerian brother studying at the faculty of Sharī’ah at the Islamic university of Madinah. We exchanged numbers and had a fruitful discussion in Arabic regarding the Dawah in the UK & Nigeria.  

 

Some days later, after Fajr in Masjid Nabawi, I was on the way to my daily Qur’ān Hifdh lesson at Bāb al-Hijrah to sit with my Shaykh Abu Alī حفظه الله (student of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen) and suddenly amongst the plethora of faces, one face stood out amongst the dispersing crowd after Fajr. It was none other than Shaykh Abdur Razaq al Badr حفظه الله – I swear by Allāh his face was radiant. I approached Shaykh Abdur Razaq al Badr, greeted him & gave him Salaam, then walked to my lesson. I was extremely happy to see Shaykh Abdur Razaq al Badr & Shaykh Abu Alī, to the point that I even forgot where I placed my shoes after my lesson. I found them an hour later, just before my driver arrived. A day later, once again I sat in the Dars of Shaykh Abdur Razaq al Badr during his explanation of Ahadeeth from Sahīh Muslim. The class was full of students of knowledge from all over the world. 

 

Similarly after Asr Salah on my third Jum’uah in Madinah, I witnessed the same sight during the lesson of Shaykh Sulaymān ar Ruhaylee. حفظه الله Heaps of students were following him and recording his Fatawaa whilst he was walking to his chair at Masjid Nabawi. I was with the Morrocan students from the Islamic university of Madinah that day. They are well acquainted with the Shaykh and organised a meeting with him. They treated me well, fed me and drove me around. One of the brothers among the 2 Moroccans was 2 months away from graduating from the faculty of Hadeeth. We exchanged many good words but most importantly beneficial knowledge. During our car journey, in Arabic we discussed the virtues of Madinah, the affairs of the Salafi Dawah in the UK, Morocco and we discussed the great need for Dawah through means such as social media. We had food and prayed Asr together at the prophets Masjid. After Asr we bought some Siwāk outside the Masjid. We relayed beneficial Fatawaa and most importantly the Ayāt of the Qur’ān & the Hadeeth of Rasūl Allāh. ﷺ 

 

The Moroccan brother from Kulliyatul Hadeeth at the Islamic university of Madinah gave me further insight into the vile sect of the Haddādiyyah and the misguided creed of Mahmūd al-Haddād. He also showed me the local Masjid of his Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Hādi حفظه الله also. We also discussed the dangers of the creed of the Khawaarij; Qutbiyyah & Sururīyyah. And during our car journey in Madinah after Asr, we relayed Ayāt from the Qur’ān & Hadeeth to refute the doubts of the Khawaarij against revolting against the Muslim ruler. We also saw the mount Khandaq where the battle took place between the Muslims & disbelievers during the Sīrah of the prophet.

 

 

وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين 

 

Written by: 

Abu Sakeenah Abdur Razāq al Atharī

 

Date:

9 Rabī  al-Awal-24 Rabī  al-Awal 1443

15 October-30 October 2021