things to do in makkah and medina

[heaven2002]

Need a looong list of things to do

I'l start of

1) Do umrah
2) Sit and look at Kabah
3) Visit small mosques outside Makkah/Medina like Masjide Aisha or Masjjide Jinn
4) Do tawaaf on upper floor as well as lower
5)......

[ur_yusra]

Spend as much time in the masjid as possible. No need to do anything else..

[Al-Irhaab]

bump into people at medina masjid *rotfl*

[Roadshow Team]

Assalamu alaikum dear Sister,

It's great to hear you're going to Makkah and Madinah, mashaAllah you're very fortunate...spend as much time as you can in the harams, reading Qur'an and remembering Allah!

Only three masjids have been legislated to visit in the shari'ah, being Masjid Al Haram, Masjid An-Nabwi and Masjid Al Aqsa:

Abu Huraira (Allaah be pleased with him) reported it directly from Allaah's Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) that he said: Do not undertake journey but to three mosques: this mosque of mine, the Mosque of al-Haram and the Mosque of Aqsa (Bait al-Maqdis).

(Sahih Muslim, The Book of Pilgrimage: 3218)

However, there are places to visit once you're in Madinah:

1. Masjid Al Qubaa
2. Mount Uhud

There's a pocket sized book which i highly recommend you get, inshaAllah it will be useful for your umrah and ziyarah (and hajj):

'Verifying & explaining many matters of Hajj, Umrah & Ziyarah, In the Light of the Qur'an & the Sunnah'
By Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz
Published by Darussalam

Assalamu alaikum

[tangents]

Is there daily tahajjud prayers at Harum? Also, it's open 24/7; do people sleep there as well? Just curious. Also For ummrah, is it done alone or in groups like hajj because every package I see never mentions any sort of guide helping you, its just hotel reservations and transportation they take care of.

[tangents]

http://wikitravel.org/en/Makkah

[wleedhaq]

Salam,

There is congregational tahajud prayer in the harmams in ramadan but outside ramadan there is only an azzan for tahajud prayer so you can pray by yoursef or either together with your friends.

Masjid al haram is open 24/7 it is difficult to sleep there because the guards try and move you on, better chance on 1st floor. However, after fajr nobody really says anything as everybody has been up in the night doing ibada and you can sleep more or less aywhere at reasonable distance away from the kaba. Masjid nabawi closes apx 1.5 hrs after isha; this has generally been the case since Caliph Umar (RA) wit the exception of ramadan when open 24/7.

Most ummrah operators only provide hotel and flights the rest is upto you. Don't expect them to pick you up from the airport even if they say. If you arrive at the Saudi Airline terminal either go straight out the doors and get a taxi (decent price 140 SR) or go out and take a right and walk up into the car park and then outside to the buses if your agent has provided you transport (although I think if you show your visa and hotel booking the buses will take you but don't give your passport to anybody to keep, only show it and then take it back as you may forget to get it back). Hope this is helpful.

[skelly]

salams

shopping and more shopping (only joking) if you get a chance visit the museums in Mecca its called zohra tul kabah its got all the old relics, cloth,the silver bosa corner (forgot the name) and loads of old photos of zam zam etc etc.. the only problem I had was they (workers) keep pushing you forward to the end, take your camera with with you.

[skelly]

Is there daily tahajjud prayers at Harum? Also, it's open 24/7; do people sleep there as well? Just curious. Also For ummrah, is it done alone or in groups like hajj because every package I see never mentions any sort of guide helping you, its just hotel reservations and transportation they take care of.

salams

open all hours and as for ummrah it can be preformed alone or with a group, groups can slow you down a bit thou, if you decide to go solo the public bus will take you to masjid ayesh for about 2-3rs one way and thers always bus loads going, a leg up in the street will get you there for about 15-20rs (in my experience) but always haggle

[Joha]

Need a looong list of things to do

I'l start of

1) Do umrah
2) Sit and look at Kabah
3) Visit small mosques outside Makkah/Medina like Masjide Aisha or Masjjide Jinn
4) Do tawaaf on upper floor as well as lower
5)......

Do what the others have told you, spend time in the the Haram etc...

But (I'll get slated for this but...) take a day trip to Jeddah or something as well.

Relax on the beach, you won't find clean (and I mean *clean* of...erm certain filth) beaches anywhere in the world.

Apologies for suggesting this, but along with 3ibaadah, a little bit of 'worldism' is often useful :p

As for Madinah, if you have time, take a cab and just explore the city, you'll find soooo many gems hidden all over the place.

[tangents]

Also, do you guys recommend signing up for a hotel that provides food or can you get by with cheap food outside? Also the same goes for the transportation, is it cheaper paying about $50 for limo or whatever from jeddah to makkah or to find your own when you get there and haggle? Also where you get the clothes for ummrah and what duas does one need to memorize as well?

[wleedhaq]

Normal taxi (limo - nothing special) costs good price 130SR from airport but I have had bad experiences with the saudi taxi drivers, they tend to grab as much money as possible sometimes with no regard that your in state of ihram although there must be good ones as well. Prebooked is more expenssive but saves the hassel. fOR ummrah need ihram - 2 unstitched pieces of pieces of white cloth for men (get 2 white plain towels) can get from iskamic bookshops. If hotels do food saves the hassel but loads of food shops most meals cost apx 12 SR (£2-3)- cheap but you get plenty. SO Annoying when you go to some hotels and they have large pictures of the Kings hanging up in the lobby especially Dar al Tawhid - may Allah guide them do they really want to prevent the angels of mercy from entering the buildings

[jzcasejz]

Spend as much time in the masjid as possible. No need to do anything else..

^ That is the best advice anyone can give you. :up: I remember I wasted most of my time in the Hotel...and when you get to where you live, you completely regret it. Best thing is to spend the majority of your time in the Mosque.

[ajnabee]

^ That is the best advice anyone can give you. :up: I remember I wasted most of my time in the Hotel...and when you get to where you live, you completely regret it. Best thing is to spend the majority of your time in the Mosque.

i agree! when ur in the haram u just dnt wana leave it anyway. take a pocket sized qur'an with u. pray ur maghrib salah on the rooftop of the haram as the sun sets and u'll feel the cool breeze.

wait for esha on the rooftop too and i.allah u will see birds flying over the haram in the dark sky subhanallah.

foodwise, try habba dujaaj with rice... aaaahh my mouth is watering now lol.

when u get to madinah u so have to climb the hill of ainain in uhud... such an exhilirating feeling when u get to the top and u just imagine what happened during the latter part of the battle of uhud! and also khalid bin al-waleed, the military genius that he was.

dnt forget to visit masjid qiblatain (the mosque of two qiblahs) where the direction of the qiblah was changed from masjid al-aqsa to the ka'bah during prayers.

[Roadshow Team]

Also where you get the clothes for ummrah and what duas does one need to memorize as well?

There's a pocket sized book which i highly recommend you get, inshaAllah it will be very useful for your umrah and ziyarah (and hajj):

'Verifying & explaining many matters of Hajj, Umrah & Ziyarah, In the Light of the Qur'an & the Sunnah'
By Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz
Published by Darussalam

There's also The Hajj and Umrah Roadshow coming up in July (UK), exhibiting will be tour operators and, islamic clothing and bookshops where you can purchase your umrah necessities. Talks will also be held alongside inshaAllah. Check out the thread on 'The Hajj & Umrah Roadshow' there's a flyer attached too.