Summer is a very busy time around the world. Vacationers from many different countries go here and there trying to find places to relax, enjoy the sights, shop or just get away from it all. It doesn’t seem rational that people would want to go to a place that is very hot, extremely crowded, with a lot of traffic congestion and long lines for bathrooms and restaurants. But I found all of these things and more on a recent Umrah visit to Makkah which began on the first day of Ramadan this year.

In spite of these apparent inconveniences, I had a very rewarding experience and felt like the other million plus people who were there, very blessed, privileged and fortunate to be able to make Umrah at this time. There is a major construction project taking place at the Haram in Makkah, but most people seemed to take the inconveniences in stride and tried to be cooperative with the security service members who have an unenviable but very important job to do.

I wanted to perform the Umrah on the first day of Ramadan and had hoped to beat the crowd. Yeah, right! It seemed like hundreds of thousands of other Muslims had the same idea. The Prophet Muhammad, Peace be Upon Him once said that if a person performed Umrah in Ramadan, the reward would be like (the honor of) performing the Hajj with him. So I was a part of a throng who set out and was able to perform the Umrah on the first day of this blessed month.

This most blessed wise man (Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon Him) also mentioned that whoever fed a fasting person when he or she broke her fast would have the reward of the fasting person without the fasting person’s reward being diminished. So there were hundreds if not thousands of people who were handing out dates seeking this reward. As a person made Tawaf around the Ka’abah or Sa’ee between Al-Safa and Al Marwah, he or she would be extended the generosity that Makkah has been known for, for thousands of years.

But the modern influences were also seen. I noticed a man who was walking between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah with his young son, both of whom were wearing the white ihram. The man appeared to be sending text messages or using Twitter. As I came closer to him, I could see that he had some du’as (prayers) on the screen of his smart phone…a rather brilliant idea indeed!

So while Makkah has many modern hotels and amenities as well as many, many visitors, it is the truest place of worship on Earth and continues to follow the traditions of the Prophet Ibraahim, Prophet Ismaa’eel Peace be upon them) and Rasulullah Mohammad Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon Him. After experiencing Makkah with open hearts, people leave changed and knowing that this trip was well worth the money.

It is narrated from Sahl that the wise man, the Prophet said, “There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyaan, and those who observe the fast will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, ‘Where are those who used to observe the fast?’ They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it.”

Sabur Abdul-Basit is a freelance author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States of America.

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