Common Challenges of Umrah & How to Deal With Them

If you are going for the first time for Umrah prayer, this guide offers a complete solution. Umrah is a minor pilgrimage that every Muslim wishes to perform. That’s why we see a huge number of pilgrims every year in Haram, with this stat toiling around 13.5 million for the last year. To get the most out of your prayer, you need to ensure that your prayer is flawless. However, many people, especially beginners, often face challenges in having a perfect Umrah experience. This guide addresses the common challenges faced by Umrah pilgrims and their complete solutions. You will also learn whether vaccination is required for Umrah or not as well as additional guidelines for women. Let’s have a look:

Common Challenges for Umrah and Their Solutions

The following are 8 common challenges for Umrah and their solutions:

1. Accommodation-related Issues

This is one of the most typical issues that pilgrims face while going on Umrah trips, especially those who have gone with DIY Umrah packages or the ones who have made bookings via unknown and cheap travel agencies. The common accommodations issues are either related to budget or preferences.
Some people struggle to find lodging that perfectly fits their needs. For example, it should be affordable, comfortable, near to haram, and must offer enough amenities. To tackle these issues, you need to plan in advance. It is suggested that you should book a room via a travel agency. This will give you a surety in booking as well as security after your travel to Haram.

2. Transport Challenges

This is another problem that Umrah pilgrims face. Transport-related issues arise when you haven’t sorted everything in advance, albeit some may also occur during your Umrah travel. Regarding this, the most common problems are expensive transit, overcrowded cars, inability to locate the local stations, or finding alternate routes in the rush hour. To counter these issues, the best way is to sort all the transit-related things in advance. Locate the local station from your hotel to Haram. If you are interested in going to Madina or any other holy site from your place, arrange a transit in advance. If you are travelling with a tour, stick with its schedule. You can also private cabs or taxis for your travel - although, these options could be expensive. Uber is also available in the big cities of Saudi Arabia. Stay in contact with your agent to resolve any encountered issues.

3. Huge Crowds

Since Makkah is the holy centre for Muslims, it is often crowded with a large number of pilgrims. This congestion of people offers various problems. For example, you may find it difficult to move from your hotel to the Haram. Similarly, you will find a huge number of people on the floor of Haram. Owing to this experience, many people complain of a lack of focus in their prayers.To get the most out of your Umrah pilgrimage, it is advised that you should try to visit during off-peak season. This includes the months other than Ramadan, Hajj, and the school holidays in the UK. Additionally, midnight, noon, and sharp morning are the times when there is comparatively less crowd in Haram. For added convenience, stay in touch with your travel agency as they can guide you on how to perform Umrah smoothly.

4. Accessing the Black Stone

Hajre Aswad or Black Stone is a rock that is said to be brought from Jannah. Muslims believed that kissing this stone could remove their sins as is narrated by the Holy Prophet (PBUH). That’s why every Muslim wishes to kiss this holy stone. However, due to large masses, it becomes challenging for them to reach out to this spot.
To resolve this challenge, you should use off-peak times to perform your Umah like the afternoon or at midnight. Follow the crowd movements to increase your chances of reaching this stone. If you choose to go during the peak times, it is not a crucial thing to kiss the Hajre Aswad. As per the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), you can either touch this stone with your hand or just point towards it with a hand or stick to complete your Umrah.

5. Language Barrier

All the holy sites in Makkah and Madinah are managed by the Saudis and their official language is Arabic. That’s why you may face a big language barrier in navigating in the country. Also, the guards in the Haram as well as in Masjid-e-Nabwi speak Arabic. To counter this issue, it is advised that you should learn some basic Arabic phrases to interact with the natives as well as these guards. Learning some Arabic will also help you ask for directions and to buy things from the local shops. This will not only enhance your experience but also make it easy for you to communicate with others. Apart from that, you can also use translation apps such as Google Translate. Using these apps, you can interact with the locals in real time. Further, you can also seek help from your fellow pilgrims or hire a guide who knows Arabic.

6. Health and Disabilities

To have a smooth Umrah experience, you must be in the best of your health. Saudi Arabia has a hot and scorching climate with the average temperatures reaching near 40 degrees Celsius in summer.  Therefore, pilgrims often face dehydration and heat stroke. Therefore, it is advised that you should keep hydrated and bring enough water with you for your Umrah trip. For the elderly, the Grand Mosque has accessible Umrah facilities. For this, you need to go to the first floor, where you can find wheelchairs. For those who are 60 plus in age, they should get a complete health checkup before embarking on the journey. This will ensure that you are medically fit for your Umrah journey or not. Further, keep your medicines along with you and don’t forget to do enough rest to avoid a tiring day. The Saudi Ministry of Health discourages the travel of pilgrims who are 65+ or the ones with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, kidney disease, respiratory disease, diabetes as well as having immune deficiency. Further, you are also required to get vaccines for disorders such as COVID-19, Yellow Fever, Meningococcal Meningitis, Poliomyelitis, and Seasonal Influenza.

Apart from that, many pilgrims ask how to avoid getting sick in Umrah. For this, the officials have prepared a guide, given below:

• Wash your hands with soap or disinfectant with regular episodes.
• Use masks or tissues when coughing or sneezing and dispose of them in a waste bucket.
• It is advised not to touch your nose and eyes with your hands.
• Try not to come in contact with persons who are already infected or have symptoms of common flu, fever, vomiting, or diarrhoea.
• Ensure good personal hygiene.

7. Extra Luggage

Pilgrims often carry unnecessary luggage and excessive items during their journey. These things are not required and may cause stress and trouble for them. These include jewellery, gadgets, or other luxury items. It is advised that you should not take these things on your Umrah trip. First, they will increase your fare. Second, they will stir trouble in locating them. Apart from that, don’t bring things that are banned in the country. An example of such elements are fireworks, fake currency, narcotics, unregistered medicines, electric guns, armour, secret cameras, and harmful laser pens. Bringing these items may result in a confiscation and you may even get fined or deported from the country.

8. Pickpocketing and Theft

Although Umrah is a sacred journey everyone comes for blessings and more rewards. However, there has been a surge in pickpocketing and theft in the main arena. Although the authorities have control of the incidents to a large degree, people still report incidents on social media. Since the crowd is dense, pilgrims can easily get looted without a notice. Therefore, it is advised not to bring your valuable items for Tawaf. Further, keep an anti-theft bag to secure things such as mobile phones and cash. Only carry the amount of money that is required and leave the luxury things in the room. If you fall for any such incident, you should notify the law-enforcing agents as soon as possible for a quick recovery.

Guidelines for Ladies for Umrah

Apart from the above-mentioned challenges, the following are some more guidelines for ladies for Umrah:

• They should avoid using any perfumes as this can invalidate their prayers. Further, make-up or henna is also not permitted during Umrah.
• Wear loose and simple clothes for your Umrah prayer and avoid wearing any tight dresses.
• If a female is in the Iddah period, she is not allowed to leave the house as well as go for the Umrah prayer.
• In the case of menstrual periods, the females should not establish Ihram or go for any prayer.
• Face covering is not allowed; however, you should cover your head with a scarf to keep modesty.

The quick summary is that pilgrims often face various challenges during their Umrah travel. These include difficulty in finding hotels, transport issues, huge crowds, language barriers, extra luggage, and security-related problems. This guide offers complete help on these issues. If you are looking to have a smooth travel experience, contact Muslims Holy Travel. We are the UK’s leading Umrah agency, offering ATOL-protected and ministry-approved deals. Get in touch with us to avail of deals such as economy Umrah Packages or 4 Star Umrah packages.