I wanted to write something on some thoughts of mine on holidays. I just recently came back from a holiday in Dubai. I shall write something on my trip to Dubai on another post inshallah but let me first tackle the issue of holidays. I shall attempt to make a list
1. In my opinion there is a growing trend amongst British muslims of holidays. Previously our parents would visit their homelands i.e. indian, Bangladesh and Pakistan etc or other countries where relatives reside. There were also trips to the harmain sharif with the relatively recent developments of trips to Palestine as well. Nowadays there is a trend of certain muslim countries like dubai, turkey, morocco etc. Some may even venture to non-muslim countries
2. On the whole it is a very negative phenomenon. Some have made it an every year or more than once a year habit. They spend thousands of pounds on flights and luxury hotels. I would not apply the negative phenomen to the visit to the holy places but for sure a lot of our womenfolk spend too much time in the shopping centres when going to the holy places and Saudi hotels are hardly helpful in fostering environments of taqwa.
3. Positive points are very few in my opinion. Maybe it is just me that I am a boring person.
4. I shall list the negative points; Imitiation of the disbelievers, waste of money, doubtful food, doubtful places mostly, hotels are mostly dens of sin and vice. Travelling is difficult and in my opinion should be done to serve a purpose not just for the sake of it. Eating outside food everyday is not good for the stomach both spiritually and physically.
5. Positive points could be that one sees the condition of the ummah, helps to foster muslim brotherhood etc. Even these points are highly debatable
Please note that I am not talking about tablighi tours, going with a shaykh etc. I am mentioning the plight of the vast majority of UK muslims.
Q. Umrah Craze: This has become annual 'holy holidays'. They go to the Holy Cities but return without any moral and spiritual change. In fact, many come back worse than what they were before going. They continue with all their haraam dealings. Of what benefit is this Umrah craze?
A. They don't go for Umrah. They have a lot of haraam and mushtabah money to waste, hence they don't acquire the taufeeq to spend adequately in the Path of Allah Ta'ala to secure their Aakhirat. They commit selfdeception, duping themselves with their 'umrah' holiday tours. The fact that there is no improvement in their Deeni life is loud evidence for the rejection of their Umrah. This 'umrah craze' is also one of the signs of Qiyaamah.
My trip was uneventful but shall just list some random points
1. Was prevented from praying salah by Qatar airways due to health and safety issues. They said a policy has been passed since 1 year preventing people from praying in the back and front. I was absolutely disgusted by these people and their policies and shall write to them inshallah.
2. The good qualities of Arabs. Mashallah the local arabs pray salah regularly and their womenfolk wear some 'sort' of hijab. The % of people praying salah is more than is found in the indopak subcontinent and the UK.
3. The poor conditions of the labourers. I saw a lot of tall buildings etc. When looking at those tall buildings I kept thinking of those poor labourers paid hardly anything to build those buildings. I wonder who is fighting for their rights. I was imagining the scorching heat and wondered how they could work in such conditions
4. I saw the pictures of the rulers everywhere. The newspaper articles were constantly praising the rulers. The best sellers at some bookstores I went to were biographies and books about the rulers. I was wondering how great it would have been if the name of ALLAH was plastered everywhere instead of the pictures of weak human beings who are mere creation. I was hoping that the best sellers at the bookstores would be some Islamic books instead of biographies of the rulers. Coming from the west where politicians are loathed such a climate makes one even more uneasy.
5. I saw many Saudis. Mashallah Saudi women are recognizable by their niqab and men by their 'box' beard. Khair these people are misunderstood I think and I think they genuinely respect religious people. They are coming more due to the conflict in Syria and Egypt situation putting these 2 countries out of bounds.
6. A lot of people show reverence to religious people with beards
7. Travelling with kids is difficult. I find it hard to believe that travelling with children would be called a holiday or rest
8. There is nothing like home and home food. Value your own house and home food. Nothing can compare to it.
9. The hotel was nice and comfortable but were charging 20 DHS or around �3 for WIFI access for 1 hour. Next time should check beforehand.
10. Dubai has a good metro system which is cheap and you can travel everywhere. It is however very busy.
11. Sharjah is culturally the best emirate in the UAE and worth a visit. A lot of crazy traffic however.
12. Met some good friends after some time. This was the best part of the journey
13. I am extremely intolerant of outside food but there wwas a lot of choice. Please note that a lot of the meat is doubtful as it is from Brazil.
Our parents (may Allah preserve them all) gave more or less everything for our wellbeing. Dads (then mums) came here back in the 60s/70s and worked their backs off. With the money they earned they (a) cared and provided for us, (b) paid the bills, (c) sent money back home to their parents/family and (d) built our masjids and supporting organisations etc ...leaving little time for glitzy holidays abroad...
Mostly my generation have bigs mouths ranting and raving about the masjids not doing X Y and Z , madrasah is not fit for X, community needs to provide for youth BUT without barely lifting a finger, putting in time commitment etc...rather spending their � on gym memberships, glitzy holidays abroad (even buying property in glitzy or holiday hotspots etc.
Holidays are fine but the OTT packages and 2-3 times abroad regularity is just nonsense and such a disgusting waste.....
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
We apologise but you have been denied access to report posts in this thread. This could be due to excessively reporting posts and not understanding our forum rules. For assistance or information, please use the forum help thread to request more information. Jazakallah
