PRACTICAL TIPS ON HAJJ

PRACTICAL TIPS FROM SAFA HOUSE FOR THE HUJJAJ:

Dear Valued Customer, as salaamu 'alaikum -

May Allah swt allow you to complete your hajj and accept it from you.

We wanted to share with you a few useful practical TIPS that we have put together
for brothers and sisters like yourself who will be heading for HAJJ soon.

We hope you benefit from them and make dua for us.

Advice for Medina for ladies:

Only go to the Rawda (where the prophet (S) is buried with the guided group (that
meet inside the masjid in the morning at the appointed day for ladies) and not on
your own. There can be too much pushing and chaos on your own. OR, the other great
time to go is right before the Rawda is closed to the ladies. It is so empty then,
and you can have a better experience. 

Advice in Mekkah for everyone:

We don't recommend going to the 2nd floor (where the wheel chairs are) when
possible. It is quite narrow in there and the wheelchairs go everywhere, not only
where they are allowed, so choose another floor whenever possible.

At the 1st floor (the floor of the Ka'bah), most of the crowding is in the periphery
of the Ka'bah WITHIN maqam Ibrahim, so there can be squeezing there. You can choose
to stay outside of that area, but still around the Ka'bah at its level for less
squeezing.

Husband and wife should stay together during tawaf, with the husband behind the
wife, and his arms around her. I also recommend using a lightweight canvas messenger
bag for sisters to keep over their shoulders in front of them as a buffer in case
there is squeezing in the crowd, so they don't get 
pushed to the people (possible men) in front of them and there is always a barrier.

Advice for Jamarat:

We recommend to go to Jamarat during non-peak times, The scholars now allow stoning
through midnight every day of Jamarat. Go at the
non-conventional times (i.e., when the sunnah was to go before noon (in the past),
go after noon, and vice versa).

Advise for Arafat:

Do not climb Jabal Arafat. Unfortunately, it is very crowded and gets very very
dirty. There is nothing to see and no religious reason to climb it. Stay on another
hill somewhere else.
 
General advice:

1. Take granola bars, nuts and water with you at all times (except when you are
settled in the hotels in Mekkah and Medina - the bus rides can take hours and you
might need to replenish your energy). I also recommend rehydrating electrolytes.  
2. Change your money in Medina, the exchange offices are more crowded in Mekkah (if
you are going to Medina first).
3. We don't recommend taking travellers' cheques. Cash is good as long as you hold
on to it securely.
4. Take lots of ziplog bags with you. You need them for the stones, nuts, etc...

5. Do NOT go outside of your tents to "explore" in Mina - just stay in your tents
(except to go to the Jamarat, of course). There is nothing to explore, you can get
lost and plus, it is very very dirty and crowded outside the tents.
6. They say be patient, I'd say be patient as though you were DEAD. People will push
you , etc... esp. during tawaf, don't try to teach them their lesson, etc.. just
pretend you are dead, otherwise you might do or say something that you regret later.
Try not to talk to anyone during tawaf, try to focus on your dhikr and duas.

7. We recommend getting a Saudi cell phone when you arrive at the airport (they sell
them at booths for very cheap) instead of changing the sim card of your US phone
(ours did not work). It can buy you a lot of freedom and flexibility for a small
price. Just leave it for the room service personnel at the hotel when you are
leaving with a note so they know it is not stealing and that they can use it. 

8. READ a lot on hajj now. Once you go, you'll see most people don't know the
rulings. Stay on top of it. There is a FREE hajj fatwa line in Saudi (can't recall
the number now). You can call them from your cell ANYTIME as an ambiguity arises
(let's say your group is late to a certain manasik, what is the best course of
action to be taken, etc...)to ask their ruling. It is staffed by scholars whose job
is to answer to questions of the hujjaj - they are excellent ( you might need to ask
an Arabic speaker to ask on your behalf). 

Please do make dua for the writers of these tips if you find them any useful.