From Selayang to Madinah: Malaysian mother, daughter serve at Nabawi Mosque

MAKKAH - "Ma’am... sit down, ma’am, sit down!" "Ma’am... enough!" "Hajjah... move forward, move forward!" "Thoriq ya hajjah! (exit)," are some of the usual orders heard whenever female pilgrims visit the Nabawi Mosque to pray or visit the Raudah (a spot inside Nabawi mosque between Prophet Muhammad’s tomb and the pulpit where he used to deliver sermons).

Behind the niqabs, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes observing the behaviour and actions of the pilgrims, no one would suspect that among the predominantly Saudi staff, there is a woman and her daughter from Malaysia serving at the Raudah and the Nabawi Mosque.

For Zuraini Mukri, 46, from Selayang, Selangor, who works over seven hours a day at the Raudah and Nabawi Mosque for the past year, it offers her the opportunity to be closer to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) while monitoring the behaviours of people from all over the world.

"Every day, my work involves various tasks, either at the information counter, within the Raudah area, or other areas around the Nabawi Mosque.

"My responsibilities mostly involve interpreting for pilgrims from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand. I ensure that visitors receive complete information and follow the proper instructions when entering the Raudah and the Nabawi Mosque," she said when met by the media recently.

The mother of eight, who now resides in Madinah with her husband, Dr. Noordin Othman, 53, said that dealing with the diverse behaviours of the pilgrims requires her to always be patient while attending to the guests at the blessed mosque.

"I always remind myself that there are various characters among the pilgrims who come here. So, I need to treat them respectfully and fairly," she said.

Sharing her experience of overseeing Raudah, Zuraini mentioned that some pilgrims focus more on taking videos and selfies, even though the limited time allocated for visiting the 'garden of paradise' should be devoted to making doa and performing sunnah prayers.

"Some of them immediately start recording videos, taking selfies and uploading them on social media when given the opportunity to enter Raudah, whereas the time allotted for worship in Raudah is very short," she explained.

Meanwhile, her daughter, Nur Afrina Noordin, 20, who also works at the Nabawi Mosque and Raudah, said the experience has taught her a lot about life.

"Alhamdulillah, I have been given the opportunity to see and learn many lessons about the various behaviours of the people who come here," she said. - BERNAMA