Our unique experience is honestly hard to express in mere words...I was blessed to first visit Al Quds, our beloved Masjid Al-Aqsa, in September 2024, as a sub-group leader with Zaarvel travel. Our group leader was brother Shafiq (may Allah SWT bless his soul). I remember many conversations during & after our tour, especially when brother Shafiq would say we need to include a visit to Jordan in our next tour. Who knew we would end up evacuating our group to Jordan on this tour! Under the expert guidance of brother Numayar & ably assisted by Brother Abdul Hafiz, we navigated unexpected & unchartered waters this time, with brother Shafiq's memories carrying us through.
I was thrilled to visit & lead a sub-group again, carrying with me a beautiful green tasbih that I had purchased outside Masjid Al-Aqsa last year, upon which I had made dua that I am invited back to this blessed land. Most of our group were first-time visitors, and we did our best to prepare them for the tour. Brother Numayar's vast experience, sense of humour & positive outlook put us all at ease at every step. The familiarity & comfort of the lovely Hashimi hotel, the historic streets, alleyways & friendly shop-owners, and of course praying in the beautiful Masjid Al-Aqsa, was all such a blessing. The old city is witness to every Prophet stepping foot on its hallowed grounds, I literally felt like I was stepping back in time.
Our bus tour was even better than last time, as we were able to visit Jericho & travel on the cable cars, something we were unable to do last time. The next day, Friday the 13th (!) Fajr time was the day most of the group was stopped from going into the masjid. We had looked forward to going for Jummah prayer all week, and we had been telling the group about Jummah being a beautiful, happy atmosphere in the Masjid, with lots of locals & especially children being there. SubhanAllah little did we know that we would be unable to pray any salah at Masjid Al-Aqsa from Friday onwards. I must admit I did struggle with seeing the glistening Dome of the Rock from our hotel rooftop, but having to accept the fact that we couldn't go & pray there. Yet how blessed we were! We were able to pray every salah there until that day. One of my favourite memories was praying outside the Masjid, in the grounds of the compound. We had the trees & cats for company! A group arrived from Glasgow on the Thursday night, so they didn't even get chance to pray one salah in the Masjid. Who were we to complain? Alhamdulillah a million times for every moment we spent there.
Our Jummah prayer (and every salah thereafter) was on the hotel rooftop, with three other groups, including groups from South Africa with the most amazing Sheikhs, whose quran recitations were just beautiful to listen to. As we stood for Jummah salah, the brother reciting the Adhan was overcome with emotion, and as his voice broke, I felt my eyes well up too...One of the most surreal moments for me was watching the night sky burst with countless missiles yet hearing Sheikh Yaseen Abrahams reciting the beautiful Nasheed "Qamarun", this is something I can never forget!
We were supposed to fly back to the UK on the Saturday, however we started receiving notifications that our return flights from Tel Aviv had all been cancelled. The sirens would sound after every Fajr & every Maghrib salah, and we would get alarmed 'Extreme alert' notifications on our phones in Hebrew telling us to go to a protected area. What they fail to mention is there are no protected areas for Muslims there! Our hotel's basement floor, which has the restaurant, was basically our only safe space. Watching the Iranian missiles flying overhead from our hotel rooftop became a regular habit, the sounds were very alarming & the hotel rooms would shake from the impact. Needless to say, this was a completely unprecedented situation, and the group leaders convened often to discuss ways forward. We had great support from some of the group members, and together we discussed best options, which changed as time went on. Yes, we all had moments of anxiety, distress, trauma & uncertainty at different times, however the group remained calm overall & looked to us for guidance. Alhamdulillah brother Numayar was able to organise a coach to Jordan on the Sunday, once we knew the border had reopened, after waiting for the UK Government to help in some way, which we realised was not forthcoming. Within our group, we had a toddler, people with serious health conditions & mobility issues, so our situation was serious.
It was very upsetting to leave Palestine, to walk through the deserted streets, seeing the closed shops & gates of the Masjid. It was truly when I realised our privilege; we were able to visit this blessed land, pray at the holy Masjid Al-Aqsa, do our Ziyarah, and leave when things got difficult. For our dear brothers and sisters in Palestine, they experience so much more, yet their reply is always "Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal-wakeel", meaning Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.
Our journey from Jerusalem to our next hotel in Amman took 8 hours in total due to various checks & delays, yet as our Jordanian guide reminded me, this is nothing compared to what the Palestinians have to go through at the borders. We stayed in Jordan for two days, allowing time for the group to find appropriate flights from there. All that time, brother Shafiq's words were ringing in my ears. Here we were in Jordan, just as he suggested! We were able to visit some historic sites in Amman, while still under the blaring sounds of the dreaded sirens. After multiple flights cancelled and prices being hiked to ridiculous amounts, eventually most of the group managed to book flights back to the UK via places like Jeddah, Riyadh & Istanbul. Some of the group decided to go for Umrah on the way back, which reminded me of the South African group in Jerusalem who had come straight to Palestine from Hajj, and we commented how blessed they were to visit all three harams in one journey. Little did we know that some of our group would be blessed to do the same SubhanAllah.
Our sub-group's journey from Amman to the UK was fraught with lots of stress due to the Saudi Arabian airport staff being very unfair & stringent with ridiculous processes, despite our best efforts to get the group through to our transit flight to Gatwick as soon as possible. That was a test even for myself and my CEO Bana, who had been the epitome of control and calm up to that point. We found ourselves venting our frustration at the stone-faced Saudi officials, who just wanted us out of their country, but not before jumping through many hoops. Alhamdulillah after hours of difficulty, endless visa applications & a mad dash to the next terminal for our Gatwick flight, we made it back to the UK three days after our original return flight.
We lived through an experience that none of us will ever forget. My dua before every trip or tour we organise is that we go there safely, spend time well & return safely back home. Shukr alhamdulillah a million times that this dua was answered again. Our families back home were understandably extremely worried, yet our group had each other & still managed to remain calm amongst the chaos. I have always believed in keeping calm in difficult situations, so that we can find appropriate resolutions. I must say, the flight captain’s “Welcome home” message upon landing at Gatwick has never meant so much! As soon as I switched my phone back on at Gatwick, I added a simple “Landed alhamdulillah” message to my sibling group chat. Straight away, one of my sisters rang to find out how I was and express her relief about my return. Upon hearing her voice, my tears started and just wouldn’t stop…the hours and days of staying resolute and calm, being focussed on getting our group back safely had finally turned to relief and unstoppable emotion. Still sat in my seat, I cried uncontrollably for a few minutes, then wiped my tears and composed myself to meet the group again in the airport terminal. This journey has truly emphasised that there is so much for us to be thankful for. We will never forget the love, positivity & support from our beautiful Palestinian brothers & sisters despite their own harsh circumstances.
Has this experience put any of us off from visiting Masjid Al-Aqsa? I can safely say, a resounding NO. Watch this space inshaAllah, as soon as things settle down we will certainly arrange more tours. After all, the Jummah prayer is waiting for us... May Allah SWT protect the defenders of Masjid Al-Aqsa, ameen. Their only desire is for Muslims around the world to keep visiting & praying there. As the local imam says, "We don't need your presents, we need your presence".
By Saadia Mushtaq
