By Neelam Rahim

Alhamdulillah Ahmed has been blessed with performing Hajj and Umrah previously. “Still, every hajj and Umrah experience is different,” says Ahmed as he takes Radio Islam through some of his experiences on the trip that he is making.

Through it, Ahmed explains some of the pros and cons currently occurring in Madina.

Sharing his experiences, Ahmed says, “Most people had to download an app called Tamanna, which determines that you are allowed one group booking and one individual booking every 30 days. This is for the raudah and to make salami, especially for ladies. For men, it’s just visiting the raudah.

Ahmed also shares that some have not made it to the Raudah as the app has crashed, leaving many very disheartened.

“However, they still managed to perform their Salamis outside. The pros are going systematically where there’s no pushing, you have a time slot, you get your 15 or 20 minutes, and then you have to leave.”

“Been on this trip for three days, I was blessed to go to the Raudah every day. The first is with my group booking. The second I requested assistance from the cleaner where he allowed me, and the third, a changing group of Muslims who didn’t have enough brothers to fill the group in which they took me in with them,” says Ahmed.

Ahmed further mentions that the salami in Medina was a breeze. There are like four or five people present at any given time after 10 o’clock. Ahmed has also managed to record some of the azaan where he stood behind the Imaam in the Jannah piece.

“Alhamdulillah, the air in Madina is just magical. You could have gone to any beach destination in the world, which is incomparable. Alhamdulillah Allah has granted us the opportunity to be here,” says Ahmed.