One day we will be there
Just too share what my friend wrote about performing the hajj. It's one of our life aims. InsyaAllah.
- Ayah -
Hajj with Children
by Qhaireel Anwar Khalib on Sunday, 02 January 2011 at 20:00
This is my comment on a Hajj website for our Hajj operator (British Hajj and Umrah Services). Got an email from the operator about some biased comments on them. Some people expects 100% trouble free journey just because they've paid for the trip and the Hajj Operators are therefore responsible for everything. Performing Hajj with Children is indeed an interesting (& rewarding) experience.
Assalamualaikum. My family and I travelled with British Hajj and Umrah Services for Hajj in 2010. As we are taking children (aged 13, ,10 and 7), I was particularly careful from the beginning in selecting the company we are going with. After a lot of researches and calls to the various companies, I finally decided to use BHUS even though we are based in London. Brother Shabbir whom I spoke to on the phone took the time to understand my concerns and gave some suggestions and advices on how to handle things (including against bringing children if possible because Hajj is going to be challenging).
We ended up taking the 19 days 4 and 5 stars package and never stopped asking Allah to make things easy for us. 19 days is just nice in our view to balance between constraints in days away from work/school and getting proper rest during the journey.
We did have our worries and ultimately, being the guest of Allah, only to him can we ask for help and assistance. I went through the itinerary many times to the extend that I nearly memorised it...and around the itinerary given by BHUS, we made notes of the activities and ibadah that we will perform.
There are glitches along the way and sometimes communication could have been better but overall they've been great but nothing is unexpected.
Enroute to Jeddah, in Cairo airport, my family and I were behind in the queue (think - kids, toilets, salat) when changing terminals and ended up on a different bus. To my relief, upon arriving at the other terminal, Brother Ibraheem from BHUS was standing there waiting for us. At the same time in Cairo, a brother from London travelling with another group got separated from his group and even when we were in Jeddah he was alone trying to figure out what to do - no number to call etc.
At Jeddah we missed the flight to Madinah. It was a disappointment but again I asked Allah to make things easy for us and the words of the rep from the Ministry of Hajj Saudi is something I can never forget, "Brothers, if Allah has written that you will take a flight you would, if He has written that you take a bus, you would. Insha-Allah on a bus, you'll be performing Asr in Masjid Nabawi." Could BHUS done better? Probably. Would it changed what Allah has written for us....NO.
We ended up taking a coach and my 2 young boys told me in Madinah that they were glad we took the coach instead of flight as "it would have been boring and we got to know all these nice uncles and aunties better on the bus". Alhamdulillah. Did BHUS planned for the group to be closer-knitted? NO but it did happen with the 'adversity'.
We got to Madinah less than 12 hours after immigration. My friend from London who went on another package costing 50% more told me he waited 12 hours at Jeddah airport for the bus to Makkah. Again, it's what our Host has in store for us, His guest.
Mubarak Silver hotel in Madinah is comfortable and more importantly, is literally 5 minutes walk to the mosque. Food were there 3 times a day (and hot drinks 24/7) though we did get bored with it and for a couple of meals we had something outside, but that's our choice. In Madinah too we had a day when we did the ziarah as promised.
I had my concern with the planning for Fajr prayer during the journey from Madinah to Makkah (hopefully BHUS can improve further).
THE BEST arrangement of all by BHUS is the Shisha building. I have many friends on other packages that have 3, 4 and 5 stars accommodations during the days of Hajj near Haram. But they either spend all their times in the Mina tents or most of their times commuting from the hotels to the Jamarat. While the Shisha accommodation is basic, as promised (well, better than basic - basic would not have aircon, proper beds, no queue for toilets except for sister on the top floor), the location is excellent for the 4 days of Hajj. Again, meals are there 3 times a day (which I did not expect as we have meals in Mina tent as well).
The 1st walk from Shisha to Mina could have been better if BHUS told us the '45 mins estimates' walk is without luggages. As minimal as the luggages can be, some sleeping bags are quite bulky and walking with them to a new location was a challenge. We should know as we were always the last in the group; again my 7 year old cannot walk as fast as adults.
The Mina tent were great and on a few nights, I brought my family to walk along the roads around the tents areas on purpose for them to see 'the world'. For us to see our fellow muslims and hujjajs sleeping on the road, in hot tents, on cardboard and makeshift mats....we were blessed with luxury. Air-conditioned tents, sofa-beds, packed meals, hot teas and coffees. My children decided to give-away 3 of our 5 sleeping bags to the hujjajs sleeping on the road. Great! Less things to carry to Arafah and Muzdalifah. Cannot fault BHUS on anything in Mina.
Arafah was great - that's all I can say. We took buses there from Mina and from there to Muzdalifah. The wait was shorter (a lot) than what I had braced myself for. To BHUS credit? probably not. Alhamdulillah. Muzdalifah was basic - with only 2 sleeping bags for 5 of us, we slept on mats and slept we did. BHUS folks were always around if we have questions or needed help.
For the 4 days (10-13 Zulhijjah), we walked from Mina to the Jamarat and then to Shisha for a rest before returning to Mina (3km - rest - 3 km instead of 6 km straight). Great experience even for my 2 boys and the main reason I said Shisha is the best of all BHUS' arrangements.
Dar Tawheed in Makkah was a great hotel. We waited for 3-4 hours at the lobby before checking-in. I wish we did not have to wait but then, a brother from another company sitting next to me told me that his group arrived there the day before to find out that their booking did not start until the next day. They ended up in a temporary hotel somewhere else and he was not happy.
During preparation for Hajj, I heard the followings from a scholar; "Brother, don't rely on me, your agent, your group leader, your family members, your friends or anyone. You are going to be a guest of Allah and rely on Him alone because what you experience during Hajj is from Allah. Every single experience, good or bad, is what Allah has ordained for you and nobody can change it. If you have a bad experience, ask yourself, why Allah has given such experience for you - for you to learn from and improve yourself. Similarly if you have good experience. You can be on the same package, same company, traveling together etc...but all your experiences will be different as Allah has meant for each of you!"
At the end of Hajj, I asked my children, 'How was it like and would you want to come again?' Their answer was they enjoyed it thoroughly and definitely they want to do it again. And their only experience was doing it with BHUS. My wife and I agree with them as well. We are planning for Umrah....insha-Allah with BHUS.
Assalamualaikum. My family and I travelled with British Hajj and Umrah Services for Hajj in 2010. As we are taking children (aged 13, ,10 and 7), I was particularly careful from the beginning in selecting the company we are going with. After a lot of researches and calls to the various companies, I finally decided to use BHUS even though we are based in London. Brother Shabbir whom I spoke to on the phone took the time to understand my concerns and gave some suggestions and advices on how to handle things (including against bringing children if possible because Hajj is going to be challenging).
We ended up taking the 19 days 4 and 5 stars package and never stopped asking Allah to make things easy for us. 19 days is just nice in our view to balance between constraints in days away from work/school and getting proper rest during the journey.
We did have our worries and ultimately, being the guest of Allah, only to him can we ask for help and assistance. I went through the itinerary many times to the extend that I nearly memorised it...and around the itinerary given by BHUS, we made notes of the activities and ibadah that we will perform.
There are glitches along the way and sometimes communication could have been better but overall they've been great but nothing is unexpected.
Enroute to Jeddah, in Cairo airport, my family and I were behind in the queue (think - kids, toilets, salat) when changing terminals and ended up on a different bus. To my relief, upon arriving at the other terminal, Brother Ibraheem from BHUS was standing there waiting for us. At the same time in Cairo, a brother from London travelling with another group got separated from his group and even when we were in Jeddah he was alone trying to figure out what to do - no number to call etc.
At Jeddah we missed the flight to Madinah. It was a disappointment but again I asked Allah to make things easy for us and the words of the rep from the Ministry of Hajj Saudi is something I can never forget, "Brothers, if Allah has written that you will take a flight you would, if He has written that you take a bus, you would. Insha-Allah on a bus, you'll be performing Asr in Masjid Nabawi." Could BHUS done better? Probably. Would it changed what Allah has written for us....NO.
We ended up taking a coach and my 2 young boys told me in Madinah that they were glad we took the coach instead of flight as "it would have been boring and we got to know all these nice uncles and aunties better on the bus". Alhamdulillah. Did BHUS planned for the group to be closer-knitted? NO but it did happen with the 'adversity'.
We got to Madinah less than 12 hours after immigration. My friend from London who went on another package costing 50% more told me he waited 12 hours at Jeddah airport for the bus to Makkah. Again, it's what our Host has in store for us, His guest.
Mubarak Silver hotel in Madinah is comfortable and more importantly, is literally 5 minutes walk to the mosque. Food were there 3 times a day (and hot drinks 24/7) though we did get bored with it and for a couple of meals we had something outside, but that's our choice. In Madinah too we had a day when we did the ziarah as promised.
I had my concern with the planning for Fajr prayer during the journey from Madinah to Makkah (hopefully BHUS can improve further).
THE BEST arrangement of all by BHUS is the Shisha building. I have many friends on other packages that have 3, 4 and 5 stars accommodations during the days of Hajj near Haram. But they either spend all their times in the Mina tents or most of their times commuting from the hotels to the Jamarat. While the Shisha accommodation is basic, as promised (well, better than basic - basic would not have aircon, proper beds, no queue for toilets except for sister on the top floor), the location is excellent for the 4 days of Hajj. Again, meals are there 3 times a day (which I did not expect as we have meals in Mina tent as well).
The 1st walk from Shisha to Mina could have been better if BHUS told us the '45 mins estimates' walk is without luggages. As minimal as the luggages can be, some sleeping bags are quite bulky and walking with them to a new location was a challenge. We should know as we were always the last in the group; again my 7 year old cannot walk as fast as adults.
The Mina tent were great and on a few nights, I brought my family to walk along the roads around the tents areas on purpose for them to see 'the world'. For us to see our fellow muslims and hujjajs sleeping on the road, in hot tents, on cardboard and makeshift mats....we were blessed with luxury. Air-conditioned tents, sofa-beds, packed meals, hot teas and coffees. My children decided to give-away 3 of our 5 sleeping bags to the hujjajs sleeping on the road. Great! Less things to carry to Arafah and Muzdalifah. Cannot fault BHUS on anything in Mina.
Arafah was great - that's all I can say. We took buses there from Mina and from there to Muzdalifah. The wait was shorter (a lot) than what I had braced myself for. To BHUS credit? probably not. Alhamdulillah. Muzdalifah was basic - with only 2 sleeping bags for 5 of us, we slept on mats and slept we did. BHUS folks were always around if we have questions or needed help.
For the 4 days (10-13 Zulhijjah), we walked from Mina to the Jamarat and then to Shisha for a rest before returning to Mina (3km - rest - 3 km instead of 6 km straight). Great experience even for my 2 boys and the main reason I said Shisha is the best of all BHUS' arrangements.
Dar Tawheed in Makkah was a great hotel. We waited for 3-4 hours at the lobby before checking-in. I wish we did not have to wait but then, a brother from another company sitting next to me told me that his group arrived there the day before to find out that their booking did not start until the next day. They ended up in a temporary hotel somewhere else and he was not happy.
During preparation for Hajj, I heard the followings from a scholar; "Brother, don't rely on me, your agent, your group leader, your family members, your friends or anyone. You are going to be a guest of Allah and rely on Him alone because what you experience during Hajj is from Allah. Every single experience, good or bad, is what Allah has ordained for you and nobody can change it. If you have a bad experience, ask yourself, why Allah has given such experience for you - for you to learn from and improve yourself. Similarly if you have good experience. You can be on the same package, same company, traveling together etc...but all your experiences will be different as Allah has meant for each of you!"
At the end of Hajj, I asked my children, 'How was it like and would you want to come again?' Their answer was they enjoyed it thoroughly and definitely they want to do it again. And their only experience was doing it with BHUS. My wife and I agree with them as well. We are planning for Umrah....insha-Allah with BHUS.
Comments
The Hajj can only be accomplished during the Islamic 30 days of Dhu al-Hijjah. A pilgrimage to Paradise at any other time is known as Umrah (عمرة), and while not necessary is suggested.
british hajj and umrah services