Dear All,
Last year I had the saadat of Hajj. Based upon my Hajj experience I have compiled some Hajj notes. Those who are planning for Hajj this year may find these notes helpful.
Hajj Notes and Tips:
Before Hajj Journey
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1. Hajj is a journey of patience so one should show restraint and self control during this sacred journey. You may have to stand in long queues and wait for hours , do things in big rush or walk long distances on foot . So one should show patience and should not loose blessings of Hajj by getting mad at others or getting angry at small issues.
2. If you can afford, prefer a reliable private Hajj group organizer over Government Hajj Scheme. While selecting a private group organizer always select one which is referred by someone and which has a valid License No. with Hajj Ministry.
3. Positives of Govt Hajj scheme is that it is economical and reliable in the scenes that nobody will run away with your money. But management of Govt scheme during Hajj is very poor and their residences in Makkah, Madina and Mina are at long distances
from Haram.
4. Learn Hajj Rituals from religious scholars and attend training programs arranged for Hajjis so that one should perform Hajj according to Sunnah of our Prophet (SAW). Keep one or two books on Hajj Rituals with you during Hajj journey.
5. For daily use choose a very soft pair of Chappel/sandals in which you can easily travel 2 to 4 km daily. Women can choose Fabric shoes.
6. Small items of daily use get expensive in Makkah , Madina during Hajj, if you can easily carry these in your luggage it will be helpful.
7. You can keep medicine for fever , flu , soar throat/cough, body pain with you as flu/fever/soar throat is common during Hajj.
8. Mobile phone that you carry during Hajj should have a long battery life so that you do not have to recharge it every day.
9. Practice to walk 4 to 5 kms daily before Hajj. During Hajj days you often have to travel long distances on foot.(For example doing tawaf on 1st or 2nd floor of masjid-e-haram is almost 6-7 km). If people especially elders/women are not used to it they get tired.
10. During Hajj there are no carpets in entire Haram so you have to walk bare footed on tiled floor for tawaf and Saai. It may be bit difficult in initial days. Women can keep lather socks/thick cotton socks for tawaf/Saai.
11. In Hajj rush people often get robbed of their money, valuables. Never keep all your cash at one place.
12. If your parents in 60'ties or 70'ties are going for Hajj, some one young from the family should accompany them because if old people get sick during Hajj or get lost in hajj rush it is very difficult for others to manage/help them.
During Hajj Days
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1. You will be given an Identity card by your Hajj ministry/Tour Operator. In Saudia you will also be given a Hajj Card. ID card contains info regarding Name, passport No. while Hajj card contains info about your Khema No, maktab in Mina and Arafat. Always keep wearing these cards during Hajj days.
2. Always move with your group during Hajj days. Especially those people who are going for the first time, they should avoid moving alone to avoid getting lost in Hajj rush and getting in trouble.
3. If someone get's lost during Hajj days (which is quite possible in Hajj rush), use these ID/Hajj cards to get guidance to your place.
4. Reliable way to do Qurbani/Sacrifice is through saudi banks, although it may be more expensive then other options. There are many banks in surroundings of Haram in Makkah. Before leaving for Mina, You can deposit money in banks and get coupons. They
will tell you date and time of Qurbani/sacrifice. You can also get meat from slaughter house in Mina by showing your coupons.
5. When you move from Makkah/Azziza to Mina for Hajj days, only keep necessary luggage with you . Leave the rest in your Hotel in Makkah/Azzizia. During Hajj people have to travel between Mina, Arafat, Muzdalfa often on foot and extra luggage becomes an over burden. (Your necessary luggage may contain a Chatai/small rug, one extra ihram, one set of clothes other then ihram, umberalla, some dry fruit).
6. Mina is like a large city of Khema's. Mina is divided into different Maktabs. You will be told about your Maktab number by your Hajj operator.
7. Street and gate numbers of each Maktab is marked on Poles in the Mina streets. Note the pole number and Zone of your maktab entrance.
8. Free medical is available to all Hajji's in Hajj days. You can get medical aid at any dispensary by showing your ID/Hajj card.
9. Boundary of Arafat is marked with Large yellow sign boards saying 'Arafat starts here' and 'Arafat ends here'on all sides. Make sure you stay inside arafat boundry otherwise your Hajj becomes void.
10. Front end of Masjid-e-Nimra is out of Arafat boundary. This is marked with sign boards in and outside of masjid.
11. Doing Rammi (throwing stones) at Jamarat (Shitan) happens in huge rush especially on 10th and 12th of Zul-Hajj. Although Saudi govt. has expanded the place by many folds still every year there are incidents of people getting injured/dead in the rush so be very careful. Never take small children or any luggage with you while going for Rammi.
12. When you are going for Rammi (stone throwing) with ladies and Old people, go as early as possible. Try doing Rammi before 9:00 am on 10th of Zul-Hajj because after that Rush increases by many folds and it gets difficult for ladies/old people to perform Rammi.
13. These days Jamarat in Mina is in the form of a 50 feet long Wall. Many people start doing Rammi at the starting end of the wall. At tail end (other end) of Jamarat there is little rush and you can easily stone the jamarat.
14. In Hajj rush all the roads between Mina, Arafat, Harem are blocked and buses/wagons take hours to travel small distances. Hence buses for Hajji's often start in night hours to reach Mina and arafat on time.
15. If there are no ladies or elders with you, you can choose to walk on foot toward Mina , arafat , muzdalifa and still reach before the buses.
16. Hajj operators mostly do not provide transport from Muzdalifa to Mina and from Mina to haram for tawaf-e-Ziarat. So Hajji's have to travel on foot.
17. Pedestrian ways between Mina , Arafat , Muzdalifa are clearly marked by Saudi Govt and there are washrooms and drinking water spots at regular intervals along the paths.
Approx Distances between :
Mina & Arafat : 11 KM
Arafat & Muzdalifa : 7 KM
Muzdalifa & Mina : 4 KM
Mina & Masjid-e-Haram : 5 KM
18. If is advised that for Tawaf-e-Ziarat you go on foot from Mina to Haram because public transport is rarely avalible and if you arrange a Taxi it will charge high Fairs.
In Makkah Mukarrama
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1. Bab-e-Abdul aziz is Gate No. 1 of Masjid-e-Haram. There are more then 100 Doors of Haram including 4 main gates.
2. In Masjid-e-Haram there are arrow signs on all the Gates/Doors. If arrow sign is GREEEN you can enter. If arrow sign is RED it means that section of Masjid is full and you should use some other door to enter.
3. First Azan in Masjid-e-Haram is that of Tahjjad. Fajar Azan is approx one hour after Tahajjad Azan.
4. In Hajj time, after every faraz prayer often 'Namaz-e-Janaza' is performed in Masjid-e-Haram.
5. In Masjid-e-haram there is no separate praying area for women. Women should say prayers in rear area of Masjid. Men should avoid saying prayers behind women or adjacent to them.
6. White Marble tiles of large size in outside courtyard of Masjid-e-Haram and on the roof are aligned in direction of Kaba for prayers.
7. Disabled and old people can use Wheel chairs for free to do tawaf and sai. These Wheel chairs can be obtained from outside of Haram opposite Sawa Marwa section.
8. Section of Masjid-e-haram adjacent to Bab-e-Fahd is air conditioned. In rest of Haram there are only fans.
9. Doing tawaf on ground floor of haram is easy but in Hajj days ground floor is all crowded. On 1st or 2nd floor rush is quite less but it takes more then an hour time to complete tawaf.
10. In haram Quran Majeed with Navy blue color has the syntax that we follow in indo-pak region. In Saudia they have color codes to represent different syntax of Quran Majeed followed round the world.
11. If you plan to perform Umra while in makkah, buses go for masjid-e-Aisha opposite to Bab-e-Fahad of Masjid-e-Haram. Wagons are also available for Masjid-e-Aisha and Jarana in surroundings of Haram.
12. If you want to visit Hira Cave on Jable Noor, plan going there in the morning. Jable Noor is quite steep and it takes around one hour to climb. It is difficult to climb in one go so take rests in between and Keep some drinking water with you.
13. Jannat-ul-Mualla (Graveyard) is on a walking distance of 15 minutes from Masjid-e-Haram. It is on Masjid-e-Jin side.
14. Hateem in Masjid-e-Haram has to be vacant before every prayer. Keep this in mind rather then arguing with Guards in Haram.
15. Point for filling Zam Zam Canes of 10 L , 20 L are adjacent to birth place of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) building.
16. Guards in Harem only understand Arabic language. So rather then arguing with them simply follow their instructions to avoid inconvenience.
17. Keep a Ja-e-Namaz (Prayer Rug) with you while in Haram because in rush you often have to say prayers outside and on roads.
18. While in Haram if you place shoes on shoe racks they often get lost. A good alternate is keep them in a shoulder bag with you to avoid inconvenience.
19. All types of restaurants / fastfoods are situated in surroundings of Masjid-e-Haram but are very crowded in Hajj time.
20. Buildings of Pakistan Hajj Mission and Medical Mission are on Ajyad Road/Street. Hajji's can get free medical assistance from Medical Mission by showing Hajj ID cards.
In Madina Munawwara
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1. Bab-al salam is Gate. No. 1 of Masjid-e-Nabwi.
2. For Ziyarat of Roza-e-Rasool (SAW) normally men enter from Bab-al salam and leave from Bab-al Baqi.
3. In Roza-e-Rasool names of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Hazrat Abu Bakar and Hazrat Umar are written on the Grill (Jali) to mark position of graves.
4. Carpets in all of Masjid-e-nabwi are of red color while carpets in Riaz-ul-Jannah are of light green color to mark its boundary.
5. Riaz-ul-Jannah is less crowded in the morning After sunrise and around 10 pm in the night
6. In Masjid-e-Nabwi there is separate praying area for women.
7. Women are allowed to come to Riaz-ul-Jannah and ziyaraat of Roza-e-Rasool only after Fajr , Zohar and Isha prayers.
8. Zam Zam water is available in Masjid-e-Nabwi for drinking only. You cannot fill 10,20L canes.
9. Distance of Masjid-e-Quba from Masjid-e-Nabwi is approx 4 KM. It is a walk of approx 30 to 40 Mintues . Wagons are also available in surroundings of Masjid-e-Nabwi for Masjid-e-Quba.
10. In Madina masjid-e-nabwi, masjid-e-Quba and masjid-e-Qiblatain remain open 24 hours. All other mosques in madina get closed after Isha prayer.
11. Jannat-ul-Baqi (Graveyard) is opened for ziarat after fajr and Asar prayers for one hour time .
12. Dates Market in madina is opposit Masjid-e-Yamama and behind Aswaq-e-haram market.
13. Dates prices in Madina are cheap as compared to Makkah. Names of good quality dates in Madina are 'Ajwa', 'Mabroom' , 'Safawi' and Khizri.
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