Hajj Recap - Power Guide - part 1

Dear Friends,

Hujj is very close to my heart, this is one pillar of Islam, which requires lots n lots of patience, willpower. For some, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, for years they plan for this journey and hence everyone wants to make the most out of this opportunity !

We did Hujj in 2012 from Riyadh and it indeed was a memorable journey, every year I try my best to help out the groups leaving for Hujj by sharing our wonderful Hujj experience, so they can get an idea about Hujj, what to expect and what not to do.

Since now hujj is 30 days away, I thought I will quickly recap the 7 days of Hujj journey.

Before Departure:

We had registered with Alfaris group from Riyadh, after getting the Hujj vaccination and our Tasreeh (Hujj permit) on 3rd zilhujj (4days before departure), the group gave us a small handbag labelled with the group name, it carried a small counter, a tasbeeh and our name tags with Hujj tent and accommodation details. We had decided to travel light becase it was just 7 days and in Mina the tents are small, so we had to take that into consideration. So instead of taking hand-carries, we took the 2 small handbags that Alfaris gave us and one backpack for Arafat and Muzdalfa.

What we Packed:
Hajj List - What to carry for 2 people (7 day trip)

Departure from Riyadh to Jeddah - 7th Zilhujj:

Our group, AlFaris, departed from Riyadh on 7th Zilhujj for our first leg of the hujj journey. The entire group was taken by Saudi Airlines to Jeddah. Since we just hand handbags so we all took the luggage in the plane. IT WAS THE BEST DECISION, because the baggage waiting at Jddah airport is KILLER. When we landed, we all had our bags with us so it was easier for us to gather at the meeting point and into our buses, ready for departure. However, a couple of people in our group, had bigger bags and they had checked it in, hence we had to wait for another 1.5hours for them to come out with their luggage. Later, they also regretted checking in their baggage because the carousel was a mess with so many local flights coming in at the same time.

So I will advise you all to travel LIGHT. Carry handbags that can be taken in the plane and not supposed to be checked-in.

The bus took us to Haram for Umrah (Must before Hujj). We all performed Umrah and came back to our bus stop and left for Mina. Here, I will like to mention, as you know there are 3 kinds of Hujj. We did Hujj Qiran, stayed in Ihram from 7th till 10th zilhujj.

Hajj-e-Qiran:  Literally Qiran means to combine two things. A pilgrim who performs this kind of Hajj combines Hajj and Umrah. After performing Umrah a Qarin (person who is performing Hajj-e-Qiran) will perform Hajj with that same Ihraam. (Ref: http://www.dalil-alhaj.com/en/qa.htm)

The Logical Plan for the Pilgrim performing Qiran Hajj

Before the 8th of Dhul Hijjah

Ihram from Miqat intending ‘Umrah and Hajj together and saying Talbiyah

Before the 8th of Dhul Hijjah

Tawaf of ‘Umrah Two rak‘as of Tawaf Al Multazam – Zamzam Sa‘y of ‘Umrah (Do neeyah for sa,y Hujj also, because of same Ihram)

Before the 8th of Dhul Hijjah

To stay in the state of Ihram in Makkah until the eighth of Dhul Hijja

8th of Dhul Hijjah

The pilgrim goes to Mina after Fajr prayer where he prays (Zuhr - Asr - Maghrib - Isha and Fajr of the 9th day)

9th of Dhul Hijjah

The pilgrim goes to Arafat after performing Fajr prayer Arrival in Arafat Combining in advance Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers at the time of Zuhr To say as many supplications and invocations till sunset He goes from Arafat to Muzdalifah after sunset (Ifadah) Combining Maghrib and Isha prayers in Muzdalifah by postponement at the time of Isha

10th of Dhul Hijjah

Heading to Mina after Fajr prayer and before sunrise Throwing of Jamrat Al-Aqaba Slaying of al-Hady (Sacrificial animal) Shaving hair or shortening Tawaf Al-Ifadah Sa‘y (if he didn’t perform it after Tawaf Al-Qudum) Retuning to Mina and spending the night there

From the 11th till the 13th of Dhul Hijjah

Throwing pebbles at the three Jamarat (Al-Soughra, Al-Wusta, Al-Kubra)

Returning to Makkah for The Farewell Tawaf (Tawaf Al-Wida) - End of pilgrimage

Hajj-e-Tamattu: Tamattu literally means to enjoy or take advantage of a facility. A pilgrim who performs Hajj-e-Tamattu combines both Umrah and Hajj. The difference between Hajj-e-Qiran and Hajj-e-Tamattu is that after performing Umrah the Mutamatti (person who performs Hajj-e-Tamattu) relinquishes his/her Ihraam and on the 8^th of Dhul Hijjah he/she resumes that Ihraam.


Hajj-e- Ifrad: The person who performs Hajj-e-Ifrad is called a Mufrid. Before passing through Miqaat (the place for assuming Ihraam) one will enter in the state of Ihraam and with the Niyyah of performing Hajj alone. A Mufrid does not combine Umrah with their Hajj. Hajj-e-Ifrad is the only kind of Hajj allowed for the residents of Makkah and the Hills (those who reside between Miqaat and the precincts of Haraam) for example Jeddah.

After Tawaf e Qudoom (First Umrah) we left for Mina around 5pm KSA time.

Mina - 8th ZilHujj:
The Hajji, has to stay in Mina for a day and pray Fajr (if arrived before Ishraaq), Zuhr, Asar, Maghrib, Isha and Fajr of next day before departure to Arafat. Our tent was in Maktab 1, very close to Jamarat. We entered in our tents, very pumped up but tired. Our rooms had bunk beds, which made the room less congested and more comfortable for us.

Our tent in Mina

Since we travelled LIGHT, it was easier for us to put our bags on ours beds because the rooms aren't big to accommodate huge bags.

In Mina, pray as much as you can. Read all the duas, best is to carry a pocket Quran Pak, which you can easily recite whenever you want.

9th Zilhujj - The day of Arafah and rest of Hujj steps, Ill recap in the next post. Next Post Uploaded