Going for Hajj or Umrah is a very special journey. For one thing, it is a form of worship and rememberance of Allah, who made it an obligation. It is Allah, Jella Jalaloh, who made it possible for you to come to His House. Second, it is a journey for hard work, not a vacation for comfort and relaxing. For instance, performing Tawaf and Saey requires good health, patience, and great manners. If one of the pilgrims stepped on your toes, while in Tawaf, you must have a great patience to say "Brother, may Allah forgive you and accept your hajj.", and absolutely not feeling that your dignity is harmed.

And brother, whether this will be your first pilgrim or your tenth, please read the following tips which will Insha Allah help you overcome any difficuly and prepare you well for performing a Hajj that will Insha Allah be accepted, and this must be your ultimate goal:

1.

Avoid places where you see high crowd. This is particularly at the Haram gates, when people are finishing prayers and on their way out, and when people are coming to the Haram before the prayer starts. Being caught in a high crowd can be a source of catching a disease, may Allah forbid.

2.

On Eid day, your schedule will be full, because most of the Hajj activities fall on this day: Ramey Jamarat, Qurbany, Tawaf, Saey, Shave or Cut, and release from Ihram. Then at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you go back to Mina before midnight to sleep the night of the 11th.

If you choose transportation to take you back to Mina, you may end up spending the whole night on the road stock in the traffic. The distance from Haram to Mina is around one hour walk. If you are elderly, it may take you two hours. The best tip here is please rely on walking and not transportation and you will be Insha Allah in Mina before midnight.

3.

Always wear your Id and your Motawwaf bracelet. In case you get lost, you can call the leader in your group. If you cannot find your group leader at all, you can call the Motawwaf office and give him your Id number and the Motawwaf will be able to dispatch someone to assist you and bring you back to your tent or your hotel. Your Motawwaf phone number is inscribed on your Motawwaf bracelet.

4.

If you go with a friend or a group of friends to Haram in Makkah and you want not to lose your company, you can arrange with your company that if any gets lost, he or she can wait at a certain gate after prayer is ended. Each of the Haram gates has a number and a name. You can use Haram gates as a land mark to find your company if any of you gets lost.

5.

If you are performing Hajj or Umrah with your young children, make sure to assign each child to one adult member, such that the child won't get lost. If you are having a medical problem and on drug, please make your group leader aware of that. When you enter Haram for Tawaf and Saey, make sure not to leave your shoes anywhere. Always carry your shoes in a plastic bag while you are performing Tawaf and Saey.