Hajj/Umra Do’s & Don’ts

This section includes general guidelines related to stay in Makkah and UMRA:

Try to keep your rooms and surrounding clean, throw your garbage into dust bins.

Your areas HQs have complaint centres and Medical centres. Get their location from your Hotel staff.

Try to dine in designated areas in your hotel. If you need more food, you can ask the staff, but do not waste food.

Keep items in Fridge marked with your name or it will be consumed by others. However, do not take others stuff without permission.

Try to avoid peak hours for Toilets, try to make wudu and leave well before prayer timings if you are performing prayers in local mosque.

The main thing to remember is that you are not there to hurt/bother others. Our objective should be to provide ease to others throughout our Hajj journey.

GIVE WAY!! There is no harm in letting others pass. In roads, toilets, buses, and inside Masjid during Tawaf and Sa’ayi… GIVE WAY!!

When entering a Taxi/vehicle, enter yourself first then you female counterpart. While leaving let females come out first.

Whenever possible, try to accommodate female and aged pilgrims. Give them seats wherever possible. But do not ask anyone to stand/move for your partners unless extremely necessary. Don’t expect anyone to give you special treatment (whether you are male or female). You may not know but others may deserve/need rest more than you or your partners.

Normally first come first serve rule prevails in common areas like bus stops etc, if there is not enough space, wait for second bus as they move without delay. Do not fight to get into buses.

Some issues specific to Masjid-e-Haram,

Do not leave your belongings on floors or sides. Cleaning staff will throw them away while cleaning.

During Tawaf there is a lot of people moving at different pace, this creates bottlenecks at points. Stay calm and avoid pushing/cursing others. It’s normal to get pushed from behind unintentionally due to crowd, so ignore it instead of fighting people behind you.

Try to avoid getting in way of wheelchairs. Especially, during tawaf, try to stay away from wheel chairs as people tend to hit wheelchairs to get way.

Entrance to Hateem is normally choked. Don’t push others to get in. Wait at the gate for the opportunity to get in. Once you get space, offer your prayers and Dua and leave as soon as you get space. Avoid taking pictures, video calls to your relatives from inside Hateem.

Remember, you have come for Ibadah. DO NOT take pictures/selfies inside Masjid-e-Haram, doing Tawaf, or in front of Kaaba.

When you are sitting in a Saf and someone tries to pass, give them space. They can’t stand there during Salah and will get their space to leave, whether you like it or not.

Women pilgrims have designated prayer space in Haram. They should move to that place around 10-15 minutes before Azaan to avoid hassle. If a female partner/pilgrim offers Jamaat prayer beside you, it validates your prayer and other standing beside her. Haram security people normally ask women to go to their designated area. You can ask them politely to move. Leave the space/position beside them yourself if they refuse to move (due to lack of knowledge).

Toilets are normally crowded immediately before and after prayers. Don’t wait at the entrance and move to the farther parts of Toilets. Second and third floors are normally empty when first floor is heavily crowded.

Gates of Mataf get closed half hour before prayer time. Make sure you are inside before closing of gates. Gates open after 15-20 minutes of Farz prayers. For Jumma, Gates close around 2 hour before Azaan.

If you drop something during Tawaf, don't get down picking it up unless you have space and strength to do so.

Normally there are more crowds immediately after Zuhr and Isha prayers when returning from Haram, which subsides within 1-1.5 hr. Plan your movements accordingly.

Take care when getting on or off the escalators. Try to move left/right ASAP after getting off to give others space. Keep your Abaya and Ahram safe when using escalators.

There is a Lost & Found Office above the Toilets on Marwa side. When you go up the stairs above the toilet, move towards the opposite direction to Marwa. The small office at the end of walkway is used to keep all the items found within mosque. You can get you stuff back if it is found by Masjid staff from this office by telling them you item’s identification and time you lost it.

Hajj Experience Guide