Every year, Muslims from all over the world proceed onto the sacred journey of Umrah to the holy city of Makkah. The sacred journey is known to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience; hence, should be planned and performed appropriately to avoid any problems. In order to conduct a successful trip, one should prepare a checklist of Umrah essentials in advance. It is important that one remains mentally relaxed and physically fit to embark on the holy journey. There are a lot of items that are required to be carried for the Umrah trip. For convenience, a quick checklist of the essential items has been put together as below.
Checklist for Umrah
a) Travel documents
The following documents should be kept handy at all times:
- Passport including Umrah visa
- Vaccination certificates
- Payment receipts made for Umrah
- Passport size photographs
- Flight tickets
- Certificate of relationship (if traveling with a spouse)
- Complete travel itinerary
- Saudi currency, i.e., Saudi Arabia Riyals
- Debit/Credit or any currency cards
- Receipt of hotel booking confirmation
b) Essentials for prayer during Umrah
- The pocket-sized holy book of Quran allows the pilgrim to read it easily in his spare time
- Pocket-sized Dua’s containing prayers from the holy Quran and Sunnah for pilgrims to recite during the journey
● Tasbeeh or Digital Dhikr Counter
- Prayer mat and compass for the Qibla are other religious items that can be carried
c) Baggage
It is crucial to carry a good quality medium-sized suitcase or other baggage items like a backpack, suitcase tags, locks, and keys. Waist or neck pouch, which makes it convenient and handy to carry travel documents.
d) Clothing and accessories
It is important to enter the state of Ihram for the Umrah pilgrimage. Thus, appropriate clothing must be carried for the journey. The clothing outside the mosque should also be in sync with the culture and sentiments of the people of the country.
The following clothing items are essential:
- Ihram, it’s a plain white cloth in two pieces
- Salwar kameez along with abaya for women and men’s formal should include a shirt and a pair of trousers
- Loose-fitting clothes
- One or two pairs of slippers
- Pouch to keep the valuables
- Safety pins or clips to pin the upper garment of Ihram
- Sunglasses and umbrella to protect from heat
e) First-aid Kit
Travel sickness is very common; hence, it is essential to carry basic medicines like pain killers, paracetamol, band aids, etc.
f) Toiletries or self-care items
Essential items to maintain self-hygiene include:
- Towels, large and small
- Toothbrush and toothpaste (fragrance-free)
- Unscented shampoo and conditioner
- Fragrance-free soap
- Pocket tissues
- Fragrance-free wet wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Hairbrush/comb (only to be used outside the Ihram state)
- Mirror
- Nail cutter
- Small scissors
- Razors or shaving machine
- Sanitary pads
- An unscented moisturizer or cream
- Toiletries bag
- Alarm clock
- Notebook and pen
f) Electronic items
- Phones with cameras as smartphones are not allowed in Haram as one cannot use the camera.
- Local sim card to stay connected
- Travel iron
- Universal adaptors
- Power banks
- Headphones
Umrah checklist for ladies
There are some essential items which ladies are required to carry in addition to other necessary items, which include:
- Five to ten light and breathable hijabs
- Hijab under caps
- Hijab pins
- Hair accessories
- Socks
- light clothing or slips to be worn under abaya
- Light pajamas
- Blister patches
It is always better to remain prepared for any situation on a journey, especially Umrah. Therefore, refer to the list mentioned above and present it on official sites of the pilgrimage for a comfortable and satisfying journey. Finally, Umrah is one of the most important pilgrimages in Islam; hence, one should take care of the checklists and remain focused on the intention of the journey alone.
