Amid the chilly winter Alexandria weather, sharp at 02:30 hours 28 December 2009, we, seven (Nana, ‘Afi, Muhammad Afiq, Muhammad Asri, Muhammad Aiman, Afiqah, and I) of us commenced our journey to enhance our knowledge and rejuvenate our paradigm in the path of Allah. There are two types travelling likes most by Allah swt; fulfilling the 5th tenet of Islam – the Hajj or travelling for Umrah and travelling to the path of Allah seeking for self spiritual enhancement.
Prior to that, we had our mission briefing session on 27 December at around 20:15 hours. The session was quite essential for us to synchronize our thinking, planning, informing the kids our itinerary and program, preparing our mental endurance, and most of all tuning our intention. As much as we know, anything that we do in this world is depending on our intent. And, it has to be purely for Allah Rabbul Jalil.
The date 28 December was chosen mainly for two reasons; it is in conjunction with our 19th anniversary and secondly, the significant of the Awal Hijrah. The Hijrah or emigration reminded us about the emigration made by the great Messenger of Allah swt, Prophet Muhammad saw 1431 years ago from Makkah to Madinah.
Talking about our 19th Anniversary, it was a long, winding and bumpy road though before we reached where we are now. There were numbers of significant successes that we had achieved but I prefer not to mention it. Our roles are to make concerted efforts in any good things or deeds in compliance with Allah’s requirement and He shall determine the results. In other words, the results are not within our authority. Most of the time, we placed the monetary or tangible values in the equation of success. And, that is definitely not right, I mean wrong! Allah swt has mentioned few times in the Qur’an El Kareem and Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) had demonstrated it in many El Hadiths about what success really is.
Alhamdullillah salamah, we arrived at Terminal 3, Cairo International Airport around 05:35 hours, and sufficient time for us to join the Fajr Payer congregation in the new beautiful prayer hall at level 2 of the Terminal. This was my second time visiting the new Terminal 3 but, first time departing Egypt via the terminal. Equipped with modern facilities, excellent signage and information board, spacious floor area, more shopping lots and more check-in counters, my first impression was - wow…it was awesome! Around 05:50 hours, we moved to the check-in area. Before entering, I checked on the information screen the flight details that indicated us for flight MS 719: the check-in counter is Counter Number 899 and the boarding gate is Gate Number G05. It was indeed very informative. For security reasons, every passenger must pass through two main screening entrances. Unfortunately, there were no signs informing people which entrance that we must use, thus I decided asking one of the officer at the middle entrance. He replied politely, “To Amman, you have to us the other end (entrance)”. I thanked him for his polite respond. We joint the queue and after about 7 minutes, we passed through first screening entrance. Now, here came our first test!: The Counter Number 899 was actually on the other side of gate that we have entered, which was just in front of the middle entrance. There were many people (foreigners) and thus, the long queue. At least 10 check-in counters were in operation and one guy, a supervisor or senior officer I believed, coordinating the situations. It was very interesting scene to me watching this officer ‘shouting’ and yelling at his staff and other passengers to smoothen the check-in process. While in the queue, I looked at the counters’ screen. Yes, it clearly shown us the flight number MS 719 and the destination – Amman, which relieved me that I was on the right line. After a while, I asked the senior officer, “Is there any counter for me, Sir?”. He kindly replied me, “Yes…you can go there”. I went to the counter and gave the staff my documents. He greeted me politely and browsed through my documents. Minutes later, he informed me, “sorry sir, I am in charge of the domestic flight. I think you should to that counter”. He pointed me the other counter left to him. I went to the other counter obediently. The officer greeted me and took my documents. She sympathetically informed me the same thing. However, this time I told her that, “your screen indicates the flight number MS 719 and Amman, how come you said this is for domestic flight operation?” She felt guilty but kept on telling me that she was so sorry. So, I went back to the senior officer and reported him the situation. This guy, out of his guiltiness, he yelled at me,”Sir, this is for domestic flight, International flight counters are at the other side” I was stunned and tried to explain to him on the information that the airport provided, but he kept on insisting’ “please sir, this is for domestic flight”. Well, to avoid the commotion and not to spoil my excitement, I went to the other side, which was 50 meters away. Finally, to cut this part of the story short; the plane was on time, the flight was smooth, the in-flight food was not too bad as what we have expected of the EgyptAir and we finally arrived at Queen Alia International Airport, Amman, Jordan at around 10:30 hours.
Friends were asking why Jordan? Why don’t you bring your family to London, Paris or other part of Europe? I have been to few parts of these places on business trips, honestly, not many significant things that have been motivating for me. Jordan is a place that treasures many Islamic histories, the stories that we have read and heard in the Qur’an, Al Hadiths and other religious books. One would be able to see and feel the greatness of the Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil on how He had rewarded and punished those who complied with His Command via His Messengers and those who had disobeyed Him respectively. There were also many places that one could see the magnificent creations of Allah swt. Besides that, it is easier moving or backpacking around countries, that majority of their populations are Islam. With that, the theme of our trip was Experiencing the Greatness Of Allah swt.
I did not make any transportation arrangement and we decided taking two taxis to the Hotel. Along the way, to optimize our time we diverted our trip to the famous Ashabul Kahf cave or Ahli Kahfi. Through my reading, Jordan, Turkey and Syria claimed the Ashabul Kahf is in their countries. However, I am more inclined that the cave is in Amman, Jordan based on the facts provided by many scholars are in line with verses found and explained in the Qur’an El Kareem.
Prior to that, we had our mission briefing session on 27 December at around 20:15 hours. The session was quite essential for us to synchronize our thinking, planning, informing the kids our itinerary and program, preparing our mental endurance, and most of all tuning our intention. As much as we know, anything that we do in this world is depending on our intent. And, it has to be purely for Allah Rabbul Jalil.
The date 28 December was chosen mainly for two reasons; it is in conjunction with our 19th anniversary and secondly, the significant of the Awal Hijrah. The Hijrah or emigration reminded us about the emigration made by the great Messenger of Allah swt, Prophet Muhammad saw 1431 years ago from Makkah to Madinah.Talking about our 19th Anniversary, it was a long, winding and bumpy road though before we reached where we are now. There were numbers of significant successes that we had achieved but I prefer not to mention it. Our roles are to make concerted efforts in any good things or deeds in compliance with Allah’s requirement and He shall determine the results. In other words, the results are not within our authority. Most of the time, we placed the monetary or tangible values in the equation of success. And, that is definitely not right, I mean wrong! Allah swt has mentioned few times in the Qur’an El Kareem and Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) had demonstrated it in many El Hadiths about what success really is.
Alhamdullillah salamah, we arrived at Terminal 3, Cairo International Airport around 05:35 hours, and sufficient time for us to join the Fajr Payer congregation in the new beautiful prayer hall at level 2 of the Terminal. This was my second time visiting the new Terminal 3 but, first time departing Egypt via the terminal. Equipped with modern facilities, excellent signage and information board, spacious floor area, more shopping lots and more check-in counters, my first impression was - wow…it was awesome! Around 05:50 hours, we moved to the check-in area. Before entering, I checked on the information screen the flight details that indicated us for flight MS 719: the check-in counter is Counter Number 899 and the boarding gate is Gate Number G05. It was indeed very informative. For security reasons, every passenger must pass through two main screening entrances. Unfortunately, there were no signs informing people which entrance that we must use, thus I decided asking one of the officer at the middle entrance. He replied politely, “To Amman, you have to us the other end (entrance)”. I thanked him for his polite respond. We joint the queue and after about 7 minutes, we passed through first screening entrance. Now, here came our first test!: The Counter Number 899 was actually on the other side of gate that we have entered, which was just in front of the middle entrance. There were many people (foreigners) and thus, the long queue. At least 10 check-in counters were in operation and one guy, a supervisor or senior officer I believed, coordinating the situations. It was very interesting scene to me watching this officer ‘shouting’ and yelling at his staff and other passengers to smoothen the check-in process. While in the queue, I looked at the counters’ screen. Yes, it clearly shown us the flight number MS 719 and the destination – Amman, which relieved me that I was on the right line. After a while, I asked the senior officer, “Is there any counter for me, Sir?”. He kindly replied me, “Yes…you can go there”. I went to the counter and gave the staff my documents. He greeted me politely and browsed through my documents. Minutes later, he informed me, “sorry sir, I am in charge of the domestic flight. I think you should to that counter”. He pointed me the other counter left to him. I went to the other counter obediently. The officer greeted me and took my documents. She sympathetically informed me the same thing. However, this time I told her that, “your screen indicates the flight number MS 719 and Amman, how come you said this is for domestic flight operation?” She felt guilty but kept on telling me that she was so sorry. So, I went back to the senior officer and reported him the situation. This guy, out of his guiltiness, he yelled at me,”Sir, this is for domestic flight, International flight counters are at the other side” I was stunned and tried to explain to him on the information that the airport provided, but he kept on insisting’ “please sir, this is for domestic flight”. Well, to avoid the commotion and not to spoil my excitement, I went to the other side, which was 50 meters away. Finally, to cut this part of the story short; the plane was on time, the flight was smooth, the in-flight food was not too bad as what we have expected of the EgyptAir and we finally arrived at Queen Alia International Airport, Amman, Jordan at around 10:30 hours.
Friends were asking why Jordan? Why don’t you bring your family to London, Paris or other part of Europe? I have been to few parts of these places on business trips, honestly, not many significant things that have been motivating for me. Jordan is a place that treasures many Islamic histories, the stories that we have read and heard in the Qur’an, Al Hadiths and other religious books. One would be able to see and feel the greatness of the Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil on how He had rewarded and punished those who complied with His Command via His Messengers and those who had disobeyed Him respectively. There were also many places that one could see the magnificent creations of Allah swt. Besides that, it is easier moving or backpacking around countries, that majority of their populations are Islam. With that, the theme of our trip was Experiencing the Greatness Of Allah swt.
I did not make any transportation arrangement and we decided taking two taxis to the Hotel. Along the way, to optimize our time we diverted our trip to the famous Ashabul Kahf cave or Ahli Kahfi. Through my reading, Jordan, Turkey and Syria claimed the Ashabul Kahf is in their countries. However, I am more inclined that the cave is in Amman, Jordan based on the facts provided by many scholars are in line with verses found and explained in the Qur’an El Kareem. 
Located at the heart of the downtown of Amman, Sakif Asseel Street, 300 meters away from the Citadel and the Roman theater, the Amman Palace Hotel was in the midst of renovation. As we entered the reception, it was dusty and there were few laborers mobilizing their civil materials. The scene was quite scary though however, we decided to stay on after the staff kindly assured us the rooms’ conditions are good, etc. The receptionist politely explained us the situation and called his Manager to comfort us. The Manager advised us to see the rooms first before we check-in. I went up with one of his staff and finally, I told them, “I am satisfied with the rooms and will stay for one night”. Yes, it was just for one night as per my booking arrangement through http:\\www.Venere.com, which cost us 120 JD.
Room 108 and 107 shall be our based while exploring the Downtown Amman, Jordan. The story of our trip is specially dedicated to our late beloved fathers and mothers and to those who spend their time, efforts and wealth to the Path of Allah - experiencing the Greatness of Allah swt. 
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