07/11/2022
Assalaamualaikum, greetings everyone!
Alhamdulillah after two years of travel restrictions, SOFA travel has now become active again and has recently returned from its second umrah trip in collaboration with Rumis Retreats led by the honourable Sheikh Babikir.
We facilitated this trip by providing high quality travel and tour services, such as transportation, accommodation, half board meals and local guides to give the Rumis congregation an experience like no other.
We started our journey a few weeks prior to our actual departure date where we meet the group to explain in detail the itinerary of our trip and to answer any questions or concerns they may have.
Then, together we all traveled from Heathrow airport where we began our pilgrimage by first visiting Madinah al-Munawarah, the noble city in which our master and key to the door of all goodness can be found, Sayyiduna Muhammad RasulAllah SAW.
Our hotel was a stone's throw away from the haram and this gave the congregation the opportunity to pray every single fardh prayer together in jemaah at the masjid. During our stay here, in addition to our proximity to the masjid, we had 3 days of excursions to visit the historic sites around Madinah and also took the group on an evening walk to indulge in local markets.
We then travelled via coach from Madinah to the most holy city on earth, Mecca al-Mukarramah. We arrived on a Thursday night where we first dropped our bags in the lobby of the luxurious Fairmont clocktower hotel after which we had dinner together before performing the sacred act of Umrah as a congregation. Together with some help from the men in our group as well as local guides, we manage to circumambulate the Kaabah in a way that was safe, comfortable with full humility, focussing on the Oneness and Majesty of Our Lord. Everyone in the group including the ladies took in turn to kiss the wall of the Kaabah and make their supplication while the rest of the group formed a protective shield around them.
We finally ended our trip by enjoying the last few days in a 5 star hotel, with views overlooking the haram. The location of the hotel allowed everyone to reach the door of the masjid from their rooms in a matter of minutes. Moreover half board meals were served in some of the finest restaurants in Mecca.
We traveled back from Jeddah airport and arrived back in London on Sunday Monday giving everyone enough time to prepare for the week ahead.
If anyone would like more information of the types of services or packages we provide, or if you would like to organise your own umrah trip please contact us via social media.
For the next upcoming Rumis umrah you can email [email protected]