Shifting Vs. Non-shifting Hajj Travel Package

ByAbdullah Saif

Hajj pilgrimage is obligatory for the believers as the fifth and last pillar of Islam. Therefore, anyone who can afford it, by all means, is obliged to perform it once in its lifetime at least. Hajj is a sacred pilgrimage to the city of Makkah and performing a variety of holy rituals there. Hajj gets performed by millions of pilgrims traveling through Baitullah Travel Offers Cheap Hajj and Umrah Packages during the month of Dhu-al-Hijjah. It’s the last month of an Islamic Lunar calendar and the hajj rituals are observed for a period of five days i.e., from the 8th of Dhu-al-Hijjah to the 12th of Dhu-al-Hijjah.

Why Hajj pilgrimage is necessary?

Hajj pilgrimage is among the most challenging forms of worship for a believer but also highly rewarded by Allah Almighty as well. Traveling for hajj requires a firm faith, struggle, patience, time, and wealth from a pilgrim, thus, the rewards with which pilgrims are bestowed are significant.

Understating Shifting Vs. Non-Shifting Hajj Travel Packages

In 2007, Saudi Arabia’s Government decided to demolish hotels, apartments, and other accommodation places that were built close to the Haram Shareef with the goal of constructing newer, advanced and taller buildings/hotels.

This step was taken to deal with an ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving in the region every year for the holy rituals. Yet, even today, there is not enough space available to house all of the Pilgrims close to Haram Shareef during the peak days of Hajj.

Consequently, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudia Arabia, in collaboration with certified hajj/umrah Tour operators from across the globe, decided to manage and facilitate such pilgrims by introducing two types of hajj packages;

  • Shifting Hajj Package.
  • Non-Shifting Hajj package.

Shifting Hajj Package

In a Shifting Hajj Travel package, pilgrims are given accommodation that is close to Haram Shareef initially. However, as the peak days of Hajj approach near, pilgrims would have to relocate to other location(s) present at almost five kilometers of distance from Haram Shareef known as ‘Al-Aziziya’ for their accommodation.

As the peak days of hajj pass, these pilgrims are then relocated again to the same accommodation they had been staying in before i.e., close to Haram Shareef.

As far as the shifting purposes are concerned, the Pilgrims are usually facilitated by buses as a means of transport to travel from Al-Aziziya to Haram Shareef 5 times a day to offer their Salaah in Haram Shareef and also to perform the holy rituals.

Non-shifting Hajj Package

In a non-shifting Hajj package, pilgrims have a fixed accommodation near Haram Shareef for the entire period of their stay in the kingdom. In other words, even for the peak days of hajj, there is no relocation for them to another hotel. So, pilgrims stay at only one location in Makkah and Madinah for their entire Hajj duration and don’t have to relocate many times.

The non-shifting hajj packages are usually expensive because of the fixed accommodation basis but on the other hand, shifting hajj packages are very budget-friendly.