Before my business took flight, I was a very lost young man. One day, my mum told me she wants to go umrah. I was happy for her not knowing exactly what it entailed. 

Upon booking her tickets, the organisers mentioned that they had additional places available, so my mum asked my siblings and I if we wanted to go. Almost immediately we all decided to book our tickets as well. 

Not knowing what to expect had me feeling lost. 

We arrived in Medina. Words can’t describe how beautiful the city was. My dad and I would go to each and every salah together. I felt like I was home, really home. 

On the day before leaving for Makkah I visited the Rawdah. I prayed my two rakats and being there really made me feel something i have never experienced before. I felt the words of ‘One Body One Ummah’ as real emotion. 

Leaving Medina, I made dua in the most sincere way I knew how. Arriving in Makkah we performed our umrah. I was feeling nervous but as soon as I saw the Kaaba, my eyes were filled with tears, all the heart ache, all the pain in my past just left me. Alhamdullilah I returned to the UK and will In’sha’Allah never forget this journey for all it has changed in my life.