Assalam o Alaikum Wa rehmatullah
As Hajj seaon has arrived it seems appropriate to share our experiance,knowledge , suggestions etc for those guppies who are going for this HOly trip first time in their life-
Please share your personal experiances, any good web sites , any dua, and any request for dua to those who are going for hajj this season.
May ALLAH accept the visit of all pilgrims.
Re: Hajj/Umrah
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Re: Hajj/Umrah
Hajj is amazing adventure. It is extremely overwhelming, physically and emotionally. Hajj itself is quite an experience. What makes it interesting are the millions of people all crammed into the same space for the same reason … and not everybody has the same habits as each of us.
We performed our umrah on the main floor and did some additional tawafs for Hajj on the middle floor and again on the main floor in the early hours of the morning. I was lucky enough to get very close to the Kaba … but the closer you get, the more difficult it becomes to breath cause there are thousands of people pushing and wanting to get as close to it as possible. So if you have any breathing difficulties, it would be best to stay a bit farther back. Umrah was performed in the middle of the night. It was amazingly beautiful and there were thousands of people there. The whole place looked like a sparkling jewel.
One thing I should mention is to watch out for the guys pushing wheelchairs. They will literally ride right over your feet if you are in the way. They will NOT stop for you. One of the women in our group was ‘ran over’ by a wheelchair. Her feet were bleeding very badly. Another thing to watch out for is people with scissors. I know it sounds crazy, but there was this man with scissors just roaming around during Sa’Yi with huge scissors … I can’t even explain it properly, it was very dangerous and he could have hurt somebody.
I know I sound as if I am complaining but I really am not. I would rather let people know what to expect before going.
I wish someone had prepared me for what I was going to see in advance to my trip. People seemed very pushy in Mecca … during namaz, during tawaf … again, millions of people are all there for the same reason. I just didn’t expect to see the amount of pushing and shoving as I did. There was also a lot of unhygenic stuff going on … spitting (with sound effects) and blowing of the nose right out on the street while walking. People even did that in the masjid. 
Stuff like this, made our time in Mecca extremely difficult. It seems really minor, but believe me, when thousands of people are doing this, it becomes an issue … and everybody got sick cause of all the bacteria. The good thing is that there are hospitals/doctors right there to assist you if anything happens.
They had warned people specifically to control the spitting and blowing of the nose onto the pavement before we left for Madina and said that kind of filth would not be tolerated there. I just wish they had the same rule for Mecca.
Again, it wasn’t Hajj … it was the pilgrims that were there. The amazing thing is, once we got to Madina, it was so calm, peaceful, you could feel the spirituality in the air. Mecca was very chaotic in comparison.
Also, the ride to Madina was a lot of fun. It was FREEZING cold out in the desert so we froze on the way. It was freezing in Muzdalifah too … I know the men can’t wear anything other than their ihram and wrap their sleeping bags around them … but make sure if any females are going, they take warm sweaters and socks.
Another thing … if you are going to wear an abaya, PLEASE make sure it fits properly and doesn’t leave a long train of fabric behind you. I know some arabs like to wear it like this. Do you know how many womens’ abayas were stepped on, especially during tawaf? These women could have really hurt themselves cause others kept stepping on their long, flowing abayas while they continued walking and eventually, someone would trip. It’s an unnecessary hazard.
Oh, and the other very important thing is that you will walk from Mina to stone the devils. It’s amazing … everybody is chanting Labayaik … and millions are all walking in the same direction. If you fall, you are finished unless you are quick enough to lift yourself up again. WATCH for beggers just sitting on the road in the middle of all of this. People WILL trip over them so you have to be very careful.
Also, don’t stone the men in front of you like I did instead of stoning the devil. 
It was crazy, women were crying cause they got seperated from their men, everybody was screaming while they were stoning … I cannot stress how dangerous it is. If anybody clings on to you, try and help them cause if they fall, they will die. The same thing happened to this doctor in our Hajj group. This old woman grabbed onto his knapsack and begged him to help her … and then someone else grabbed onto the woman and he couldn’t handle the weight and he started to fall … so instead of falling down and being crushed himself, he took the knapsack off and all he heard were screams cause the women were being crushed. It happens. Be careful.
I would love to perform Hajj again now that I know what to expect. You will see people chatting on their cell phones during tawaf, you will see people taking pictures and relaying them to Pakistan through their cell phone during tawaf too, you will see people carrying their shoes into the masjid and touching the kaba with their shoes, you will see people spitting into the zamzam drinking water and doing wudu in it regardless of the fact that it is there specifically for drinking … I mean, if you want to bathe yourself, there are proper taps for you to do that; don’t spit into the zamzam water that others will come and drink from … I felt shock and horror when I saw the amount of spitting and blowing of the nose going on in the grounds of the masjid … I especially was disturbed by watching others disrupt people while they were reading namaz. So many people were kicked while down in sajda… not deliberately of course, but because people were jumping over them … both men and women in full abayas! Who in their right mind would literally jump over someone while they were praying? That is the height of rudeness!!! For me, I found this really disturbing. It was just really disrespectful. There were people playing cards and smoking in Mina … I thought stuff like this was totally forbidden and that people should really try and focus on why they were there. Mind you, I know I took pictures which I wasn’t supposed to do …
Mecca is a holy city. People go there with such love in their hearts cause this is the birthplace of Islam. It is our history. I expect people to treat the “holy city” with respect! Not like it’s some dump. I’m not saying that people should “worship” Mecca, but at least treat it respect. I’m sure people can tone down the intense spitting and blowing of the nose whilst walking if they really wanted to … but perhaps I was expecting too much. It just hurt a lot to see this happening cause I found it so incredibly disrespectful. Khair, I would love to go again now that I know what to expect. One day, inshallah, I will. 
Definitely go on the ziyarat/tours of Mecca/Madina. It’s well worth it.
I posted pictures from our Hajj earlier this year in these two threads:
Re: Hajj/Umrah
Mehnaz, those brought back so many memories.
I was there this august.
MAN! I miss that land!
Thank you. Check out my thread too if you already haven't :)
Re: Hajj/Umrah
From what I hear stoning Jamarat seems the scariest bit. What have the authorities done to make it safer? How long does it take?
Can’t the men even wear a coat/jacket when in Muzdalifah? 
Re: Hajj/Umrah
Bao ji:
Before going I had heard a lot of horror stories…This will happen, that will happen, do this do that…
But once when you go there and the first time your eyes fall upon the Kaaba, all the fears go down the drain with your tears…I remember me holding my mother who was sobbing uncontrollably and we forgot all the cautions all the warnings…
Nothing matters, just you and Allah :swt:…Once you enter Haram you develop this tunnel vision where everything around you disappears and all you see is the Kaaba and I remembered vaguely this Dua of the Holy Prophet :saw: when he faced Kaaba after conquering Makkah…It was something like "Allah, I stand before you a sinner in disgrace and humiliation’…And that is all I remmbered from that Dua…And I realized, it was the Holy Prophet :saw: claiming to be a sinner and disgraced and I looked inside myself and saw a Kaafir…
Tears flowed from eyes like never before…I have never cried as much as I did that day while looking upon the Kaaba…I couldn’t even properly make Dua, I became so lightheaded…
Then we made the Tawaf…Me, my father and mother…I promised my mother I’ll take her to touch the Kaaba, it seemed impossible with so many people…But, somehow, Wallahoalam, on every Tawaf, I was able to take my mother effortlessly to the Kaaba have her touch the Rukn-e-Yemeni and make Dua Alhumdulillah…
Most of the people become so deeply involved in worship, they just go with the flow…They forget their manners, but it is expected…Forgive everyone who hurts you as you would wish to be forgiven for your mistakes…People deep in worship seem to us ignorant, but they are not…
One guy I saw was just miserable…"Ay jairha mussalmanan nu dandya hi sahi karya si…Ay danday di qaum hai…"I saw one miserable guy make this comment while trying to find his way towards the Kaaba all the while hitting the sitting worshippers with his knees and trying to jump over them…
I told, him, baba ji, holay…Yahan sabar gaya to sab gaya…Sabar sai kaam lo…So, he started shouting at me…I just put my head down and moved on…Thankfully, this was the only time someone shouted at me…Never engage anyone in argument…You might hurt someone’s feelings and that will hurt your Hajj…So avoid any and all confrontations and dedicate to yourself to nothing but worship…You are there to worship Allah :swt: and nothing else…So overlook other’s faults and forgive everything…
Makkah and Madina are Allah (swt)'s and the Prophet (saw)'s cities respectively…Avoid dirtying them at all costs…Never throw trash on the streets in any of the cities…I madina, I had to spit some balgham…I was going to spit on the road, but realized this is my Prophet’s city…So I looked for a trash bin or a gutter to spit in…
I would agree with Mehnaz…Go on all the Ziyaraat (Muqamaat)…I went and tried to imagine the time of the Holy Prophet (saw) and tried to visualize all that happened…At Uhud, at the Masjid-ul-Qiblatain, at Mina…Tried to visualize the horseriders and early Muslims doing their Hajj…In blistering heat…
Alhumdulillah…Except for my father getting sick, there was nothing in Hajj that gives me even a trace of bad memory…Alhumdulillah, not a single one…Perhaps it’s my nature that I am not easily offended or take things to heart, but I remember each and every moment of my Hajj most amazingly vividly…Everything with most longing and desire to return there, Ameen…
Make Duas there…Specially in the Holy Prophet (saw)'s Hawda…I had the great fortune of praying many times while sitting at the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (saw)'s house…During Hajj season…When people are pushing and trying to go all the way ahead, me and a friend I had made, made it through to the Hawda many times Alhumdulillah and prayed their…The Hawda is a place where Duas are accepted immediately…Never forget to keep making Duas…
I am crying right now as I am writing this…Everything is coming before my eyes as if I have just done my Hajj yesterday…Bao, this will be your greatest gift you will receive being alive and a Muslim…Cherish it…So many of my pious family members died weeping because they could not make it…Wallahi, I have no clue what I had done to deserve this great gift from Allah (swt)…
May Allah (swt) aid you and accept your Hajj, Ameen…
Re: Hajj/Umrah
Are you talking about the “jannat ka tukra” in Masjid-e-Nabi? We made it in there too. For women, there were two timings only, immediately after Fajr and immediately after Zuhr otherwise it is closed. They have also sealed off how far women can go and put big white fabrics up so that you can only see the writing on top of the golden coverings/doors. This is what I’m talking about. http://www.islamicity.com/Culture/MOSQUES/Madinah/Madinah_In.htm . I don’t know if it is like that all year round or only during Hajj season.
I don’t blame them for not allowing the women all the way to the front cause they were acting buck wild, beating their chests, wailing and crying, trying to rip the carpet so that they could take a piece back with them … apparently, they sealed it for women cause they would hold on to the doors and wouldn’t let go, screaming and crying.
My brother and father were able to go to the front frequently and do their duas there and read 2 salats there which is what you are supposed to do … they couldn’t believe it when we told them what was happening in the women’s section. Even women in their wheelchairs were shoved and pushed about.
I know I’m repeating very negative things here, but don’t get me wrong, I want people to be prepared for what to expect. Not everybody will be hunky dory and on their best behaviour in Mecca/Madina. I didn’t confront anybody about their actions. This is all stuff that I noticed. Best thing to do if you do notice nonsense happening around you is try and focus on what you are there for.
Hajj really is an adventure. 
Re: Hajj/Umrah
i went to Hajj last year and WHOA!!!! I could not believe i was standing in front of the ka'abah! i kept looking at it and thinking "this Ka'abah iv been seeing on tv screen, pictures is right here!" i cannot even explain the feeling. You have to be there to expericance it. when i was walking around i just imagined that 1400 yrs ago the Prophet(saw) and the sahabah were here! right here! then i went to Madinah, and what can i say about Madinah, Subhan'Allah such a beautiful peaceful city the prophet(saw) prayed and said "O Allah! Make us love Medina as we love Mecca or even more than that" *Volume 3, Book 30, Number 113: *
i went to Hajj without my family and i missed them dearly but i never felt alone! i was with my brothers and sisters if the ummah!
anyway im gone write too much but id just like to say that even now im homesick of a place that is not even my home.
before i went Hajj i used to say "when will i visit this place?"
while i was there i was saying "im here, Subhan'Allah im here!" like a kid!
and now when i see it on tv or anywhere else, i look and say "Subhan'Allah i was there, i sat there i went to that shop, my hotel was there" even to the extent i would tell my family friends "i used to grab my food and sit here"
May Allah give me and you the chance to visit again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again!
and old fav rapper said "to live and die in LA" i say "May we live and die in Makkah or Madinah"
Re: Hajj/Umrah
:jazak: for all your input
I found following points particulary usefull as i am going with my Mother and father.
Very important-jazakallah
IMportant for my mother
LAst sunday mufti saheb who is conducting preparatory lectures for Hujjaj also mde this point not to argue with any one- I think this is very important not to engage in religious argument with any one -as they say * Aaroon ki kia parri hay apni nabair tau *
I also found following point in an another website
Re: Hajj/Umrah
the best time for umrah, from my experience, is in Muharram....
u find the haram almost empty and get easy access to touch kaaba, kiss the hajr-e-aswad and even pray lots of nawafil in the hateem area....
unfortunately no visas for non-GCC citizens during that period....
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GCC-?
Gulf Countries...?
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Another thing I should mention is about the flip flops, be very careful when you are walking from Mina to stone the devils cause people can/will step on your flip flops, causing you to trip or your flip flops to tear. We saw a lot of broken chappals along the way.
Pick pockets wasn’t an issue for us. All the horror stories we heard about girls being molested/kidnapped, we didn’t really see any of that happening. A lot of it was dramatization … however, our zamzam water was stolen …
The other thing is, if you are going to al-Haram for namaz, you will see crowds upon crowds of people outside and even reading namaz out on the streets. Make your way through the crowd into the masjid. You’ll be amazed at how much space there is inside. Everybody sees the crowd and assume people are reading on the street cause there’s no more room inside.
If either of your parents are going to do tawaf or Sa’Yi in a wheelchair, ask the guy who will push them to go slowly. There are people you can hire to push the wheelchair while you do your own tawaf. We found that a lot easier to do for my nani ammi who was with us. She complained afterwards that they rushed it. You will see the guys running while pushing the wheel chair … they want to get it done and over with as soon as possible to get their next customer. Just ask them to go slowly so that whoever is in the wheelchair isn’t rushed.
For me, other than Madina, the time in Arafat was fun, and even Muzdalifah. Other than the fact that it was freezing cold, I kept seeing this flashing flight up on one of the mountains. I kept thinking it was in my head, but an hour or two later I heard screaming from up there. So then I figured that some guys had climbed the mountain and were stuck at the top which is where the light was coming from. Then I was thinking to myself, should I tell someone that they are up there? I didn’t know who to tell though cause who were these guys? How would I find their group? I figured I would wait a while and if the yelling didn’t stop, then I would go and tell someone that they were stuck. Fortunately, the boys made their way down before sunrise. Silly men had me up worrying for them. 
The other thing I should mention is that our Hajj group told us that we were forbidden from using any soap for our hands or toothpaste during Hajj. The conditions in Mina (for the women) weren’t exactly nice cause the way the sink is designed, everything splashes and these women were doing their laundry (under garments) and cutting vegetables and doing wuzu/spitting all next to each other and it’s one long sink and everything is just splashing onto you. Gross. Anyway, so we didn’t use any soap cause that’s what we were told. Lo and behold, some other Hajj groups from Europe who were sharing the same facilities as us were using soap and toothpaste and told us that we were indeed allowed to use it. We didn’t use it anyway. So just find out before you go if you are actually allowed to use soap or not. The whole reason you aren’t supposed to use anything is cause it has an artificial scent. If you can, get unscented soap.
Re: Hajj/Umrah
Re: Hajj/Umrah
:salam:
As inshallah i will be going on 17th December to perform Hajj i thought why not add some more useful links for other intending Guppies.
So here we go
A very good bayan By moulana Saleem Dhorat
More will be added later inshallah
Re: Hajj/Umrah
May Allah :swt: accept your Hajj, Ameen Summa Ameen…
What a blessing Bao Ji, what a blessing…
Re: Hajj/Umrah
May Allah (SWT) make it easy for you and accept your hajj as well as everyone else's, ameen. Please remember us all in your duaas and all the best.
May Allah (SWT) grant the remainder of us with an opportunity to perform hajj as well, ameen.
Re: Hajj/Umrah
Here are some more informative links
http://www.iad.org/PDF/HAJJ.pdf
Also if one can gethold of- These books are VERY usefull
1-Mu’alim Ul Hajjaj by mufti saeed ahmed
2-Hajj Sunnat kay mutabiq karain by mufti muhammad of Darul ifta karachi- Printed by Kitab Ghar karachi— An excellent resource and a must read for all
3- “Fadhail-e-Haj” by Shaykhul Hadeeth Muhammad Zakariya (rahmatullah alayhi)
this book really makes a person enthusiastic for hajj and visiting madina with its collections of relevant ahadith, anecdotes, stories of the pious and humble commentary from the esteemed author. good for building enthusiasm for the holy places.
“Women’s Guide to Hajj and Umra” by Mufti Muhammad Faruq
An excellent guide to Hajj which has special significance for our sisters bcos it contains a Q & A section too addressing a number of delicate womens issues aswell as common misconceptions concerning all.
even tho the book is titled with ‘Women’, it is equally applicable to men.
“Women’s Guide in Madina Munawwarah” similar to above book but regarding the 2nd haram.
Hajj Guides by Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat / fisabilillah publications.
an excellent clear, concise, pocket book guide to hajj.
check their websites for more info.
Sadiyah-
Please pray for me doing hajj e mabroora-Inshallah i will remember all of you.
Lajawab-
AAmeen, Sum’ma Ameen
Re: Hajj/Umrah
Assalam o Alaikum
Bao bhai please remeber me in your prayers as well
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Wow.
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^ been time not posting here?