Photos and women

Photo: The Shaykh meets with our Saudi guides before we proceed to visit Jannatul Baqi. © Fareena Alam. Please do not re-use without permission and proper credit.

Photo: Jannatul Baqi taken from outside where the women were briefed by a local guide. In the distance, see the Rihla men gathering around their guide. The green arrow points to the rock which notes where Hazrat Uthman Ibn Affan (ra) is thought to be buried. The specific locations of other graves are not know, we are told by our Saudi guide (who, being a well-meaning person, also felt the need to tell us that our primary obligation as women was to make our husbands happy but let's not get into that right now)

Take your cameras everywhere, said Sh Abdallah, except where it is not allowed. He wants us to pool all our photos together and create a photo essay together and create a photo essay at the end of this journey.

It turned out, there are very few places where cameras (and women, for that matter) aren't allowed because we are guests of the Governor of Madinah and special arrangements had been made. The exceptions so far, have been the Prophet's (صلي الله عليه و سلم) mosque, inside Jannatul Baqi and a part of the massive publishing company that prints all those free Qurans.

I for one, even take my massive tripod everywhere. The photograph taken at Masjid Quba (below) would not have been possible without a tripod and a remote control.

This Rihla has been dominated with field trips to historical sites, loads of free time to perform ibadah at the Prophet's (صلي الله عليه و سلم) mosque and the study of texts that nurture love and understanding of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم). The organisers have what it takes to make radical decisions like calling off all fiqh classes so as to free up time for other actions more appropriate for short stays in Madinah.

The group is not lacking in capable teachers. We are walking amongst masters - Shaykh Hamza (Maliki fiqh), Shaykh Abdallah Al-Qadi (Shafi'i), Shaykh Jamal Dhahabi (Hanafi) and Shaykh Muhammad Yaqoubi (Hanafi). They have so far been accessible and approachable by those with specific fiqh questions (including, should we enter the hotel elevator if it means we will be alone with a member of the opposite sex? Answer: You may. The elevator isn't secure and doesn't really fulfill the conditions of khalwa. Besides, you're either going up or going down. [Laughter from the class] -- Fab. Now people can stop missing the jamaat at the masjid while waiting for single-sex elevators.)

It is decisions based on nuanced understanding of how a Rihla to Madinah should be like, that has made this stay so special so far. For example, a number of sisters missed the private time at the Rawdah last Friday because of menstruation. The whole lot of us are therefore, being invited to the Rawdah again tomorrow night (Friday).

90 more private minutes on a piece of Paradise. Allahu Akbar.

-f-