My first Umrah ✨️

 I had been called along with my husband to visit Allah's home in Makkah Al-hamdulilah.

It was my first ever umrah, our visit was 10 days long, we stayed in Makkah for 5 days and Madina for 4 days and traveled back on the 5th day.

My husband had already performed his umrah, so he guided me a lot throughout, but this blog is for anyone who hasn't yet performed Umrah and is planning to go, may Allah call all of us again and again.

So, here are some tips and hacks for your first umrah.

1. Pack light, some abayas, depending on how long your stay is, don't take full 3 piece dresses, just some t shirts and pajamas will work too. I saw many women not wearing abayas too and that's up to them,but in Mataf, it gets really crowded and there's no idea of segregation between men and women, so it's more comfortable to wear Abaya. I also noticed that many women didn't wear much at all underneath abayas which is again a personal preference but sometimes it becomes obvious and doesn't look good and that cannot be the state of ihram either.

2. I noticed this in women, they tend to get greedy and not let other women sit and pray, while you are invited to His house, respect ALL, and make space for all as well.

3. Try to do as many good deeds as you can, a lot of people distribute dates and whatnot, if you cannot purchase anything, Zamzam is available literally everywhere in Makkah, fill the cups and distribute among the elderly and those who are praying

4. Educate yourself about the premises of Makkah as it can get really confusing, gate no. 79 is the easiest way to enter mataf, but the guards will not let men in if they are not in Ihram, you can enter Masjid al Haram through another gate, but you cannot enter Mataf (the place around Kabah, where you do tawaf).

5. I saw many people walk with slippers in Kabah, and 99% of the people were walking in slippers in Masjid e Nabwi as well, show some respect and remove your slippers before entering masjid and put it in your bag, the floor in Masjid e Nabwi tends to get really hot (but it does not at all in Makkah, no matter how hot it is, the white floor in Masjid al Haram stays cool), for that reason you can wear socks.

6. You can purchase packed and ready to ship Zamzam from the airport for 12.5 SAR, no need to fill your bottles and pack them with your luggage. Each person is allowed one bottle of Zamzam only.