Health & Safety

Additional safety notes & diary of a Pilgrim

    Reflections from a Pilgrim and words on Safety post-Hajj are detailed here by Barik Chowdhury (video credit: YouTube/RMW):

    Though there’s an incredible number of people, there’s no longer any real danger of being crushed or stampeded in Makkah (the one place this used to happen, was at the Jamrats on the 10th Dhul-Hijjah, because they used to be a bottleneck – however since 2008, the stoning area has been expanded to 5 stories, with the ‘pillar’ is now the size of 5 double decker buses).

      When walking to the Jamrat on the 11-13th Dhul-Hijjah, if you trip, the crowd is walking sufficiently slowly that they will stop, adjust and walk around you, whilst a fellow pilgrim will help you up

      Similarly when doing Tawaf round the Baituallah (centre of the Kabah), it is so busy that if you trip, it is unlikely you will fall to the ground (instead you will fall on someone’s back, then a pilgrim behind you will help you up and reset your Ihram for you). Even if you do fall to the ground, the crowd will walk round you, and over you, but not on you (indeed someone will eventually pick you up).

      The only potential danger comes from trying to touch the black cloth itself, and more-so from trying to touch the Black Stone, or trying to pray within the Hijr – due to the desperation of other people trying to do likewise. These are not mandatory requirements of Hajj.

    • When praying your two Rakats at the end of your Tawaf, try to pray as far away from the centre as possible (as a courtesy to those still doing Tawaf), however if you decided to pray right in the middle of the Tawaf circuit, you will find that no-one will touch you – they will walk round you, over you whilst you prostrate, in front of you when standing – however please be considerate when deciding where to pray your two Rakats

    Madinah is less busy then Makkah, however the one note of caution is with regards to trying to enter the Rawdah (the area next to the burial tomb of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – the Rawdah is denoted by green carpet, as opposed to red carpet for the rest of the mosque, and is said to part of Jannah).

      There is a lot of aggressiveness between pilgrims in trying to get into the Rawdah (due to their desperation in trying to get in), and there is a lot of aggressiveness from the police (in controlling these particular pilgrims). Not recommended for those of a nervous disposition.

      Inside the Rawdah, it is so crowded, that pilgrims will usually pray on top of each other. But despite this, there is no danger of a crush, as everyone within the Rawdah looks out for each other. Don’t rush your two Rakats once inside the Rawdah (otherwise you won’t notice the supernatural tranquillity that you won’t ever experience anywhere else), however don’t loiter either – be considerate of other pilgrims awaiting their turn (the police will be looking to push you on anyway).

    If you arrive early at Muzdalifah, you may think there’s plenty of space to sleep, by midnight, there will be so little space that people will literally be sleeping on top of each other (think about a pile of logs).

      This is not in itself a problem, but if your tour operator tells you that there’s a zone earmarked for your group, that is incorrect. Expect that if you had space when you lay down to sleep, that when you wake up, someone will be resting your feet, someone will have rested their feet on your head, and there will be one person either side wedged against you – remember that 4 million people will be sleeping tonight on this one plain.

    • Despite that, you will sleep like a baby (so long as you refrained from the temptation to sleep whilst at Arafat – if you didn’t, you will have the most uncomfortable/sleepless night of your life)!

    You can bring your normal mobile phone or a small camera to take pictures – damage or theft is unlikely if you’re careful. However please note that Madinah & Makkah are not tourist destinations, so be discreet when taking pictures – the police will crack-down on people who act too tourist-like at the Holy Sites.