Going for Umrah in Ramadan is a dream come true for any muslim. It is a great experience indeed to spend one of the most sacred days of the year in the Haram al Makki. However if you are planning on going for Umrah in Ramadan theen there are few things you need to bear in mind especially if you are going for the first time.

You first of all need to be prepared for the finance that will be required because all the prices for Umrah related stuff during Ramadan go sky high, you your flight costs, hotel accomodation, internal travelling you name it, you will be paying slightly more than what you would pay normally.

You also need to be aware that the crowds you will see during Ramadan are very similar to that of Hajj, so it will feel like you have come for Hajj. To give you an example, if you don’t arrive in the Haram say half an hour to 45 minutes before Salah, then you will have difficulty entering Haram altogether because of the amount of people that start praying their Salah in the court yard.

Another thing you need to be prepared for is the long queues after Iftar, unless you have a package which is serving you Iftar you will face some trouble . The best piece of advice I can offer is that try going for light stuff rather than heavy food from the hotels/restaurants.

When I was there last year, I would just nip into Bin Dawood and get naan and cheese and a drink and suffice on that.  Since you need to bear in mind that toilets are quite far between and obviously you will want to spend as much time as possible inside the Haram.

Let me  tell you something, if you want to spend as much time as possible inside the Haram then you will have to come for Salah quite early, grab your place and then stay there until all Salah including taraweeh have been performed, you will notice everyone is doing this, and if you go for the same spot each day, you will start making friends there and then they will be happy to reserve your place whilst your for to the toilet or for Wuzu. Now you will see why I am saying to eat light.

None the less, regardless of the hardships, it is a great virtue to undertake if one goes for Umrah in Ramadan, as the Noble Prophet (SAW) said as related by Ibne Abbas to the nearest meaning that performing Umrah in Ramadan is like performing Hajj with me. May Allah give everyone the opportunity to perform Umrah during the bless month of Ramadan.