HAJJ UPDATE 6/10/2022
Upon further examining the packages being offered on the saudi motawif website.
Here is the link : https://www.motawif.com.sa/home/en-sa
My recommendation for everyone is to register for the platinum package as your first preference. The silver and the gold package does not include any stay in Madinah. It is just a recommendation but it would be nice to visit the city of the Prophet when going for Hajj.
As far as the dates , my recommendation is to select jun 29th to july 14th. This is the package that goes to Madinah first and then Makkah/ Hajj Later.
The cost of the platinum package starts at around $10,000. The only option for a hotel is LeMeridian in Makkah. This hotel is a 50 min walk (almost an hour) to haram but there is a shuttle that normally goes back and forth from this location. As far as the meals, Madinah Hotel includes breakfast and Dinner but the Makkah hotel is not very clear if the meals are included in this price.
If most of the people select the same type of package and inshaAllah gets selected in the draw, then maybe we can assign an imam or a group leader for some training and guidance throughout the trip. I'm sure they will also have some type of instructions.
As far as the airlines , there are 3 options that you can choose from . New York , Los Angeles & Washington DC. Looks like the tickets have to be purchased from them directly. I will call the airline on Monday to start the ticket cancellation process.
Below is my recommended selection:
Upon further examining the packages being offered on the saudi motawif website.
Here is the link : https://www.motawif.com.sa/home/en-sa
My recommendation for everyone is to register for the platinum package as your first preference. The silver and the gold package does not include any stay in Madinah. It is just a recommendation but it would be nice to visit the city of the Prophet when going for Hajj.
As far as the dates , my recommendation is to select jun 29th to july 14th. This is the package that goes to Madinah first and then Makkah/ Hajj Later.
The cost of the platinum package starts at around $10,000. The only option for a hotel is LeMeridian in Makkah. This hotel is a 50 min walk (almost an hour) to haram but there is a shuttle that normally goes back and forth from this location. As far as the meals, Madinah Hotel includes breakfast and Dinner but the Makkah hotel is not very clear if the meals are included in this price.
If most of the people select the same type of package and inshaAllah gets selected in the draw, then maybe we can assign an imam or a group leader for some training and guidance throughout the trip. I'm sure they will also have some type of instructions.
As far as the airlines , there are 3 options that you can choose from . New York , Los Angeles & Washington DC. Looks like the tickets have to be purchased from them directly. I will call the airline on Monday to start the ticket cancellation process.
Below is my recommended selection:
A Long-Awaited update Hajj 2022.
There have been a lot of developments that happened in the past few weeks. I’ll try to summarize the events as best as I can and share with you our current position.
With all that is happening, this is just a reminder for me and All of us that, as believers, we put our trust in Allah, the Most High. We know with absolute certainty that while we make a sincere effort towards specific objectives, the outcome is in the Hands of Allah, the Most Gracious. As believers, we accept the outcome wholeheartedly without second thoughts or resentment. And Allah knows best!
What Does This Mean?
With a heavy heart, we want to share that we are not allowed to be facilitating the Hajj trip in 2022. We have made Hotel reservations and Airline reservations for this year's Hajj. We will be starting to request refunds from these Hotels, and we have complete confidence that we will be getting a full refund from them very soon. As far as the airline, I am not planning on canceling them right away, and I hope most of you will continue their Hajj plans for this year even if that means that it comes with many uncertainties and you can use your airline ticket.
What’s Next?
I encourage you to register at the below link and fill out the interest form.
https://www.motawif.com.sa/home/en-sa
We are not sure of the exact pricing to be released on this website, nor do we know the actual services offered. What we can do is pair up some people together who were planning on so they can have an idea of their roommates and better cost. (if interested).
InshaAllah, if many of our group decide to go forward once we have more details, we can also look into adding a slight cost to the package and maybe send a guide or an Imam to help throughout the way as much as the Saudi Authorities allow. We also have staff in Madinah & Makkah that we may be able to leverage if we get the permission to assist. More details to follow.
Final Comments:
This is just a reminder and a request to everyone to increase your Dua concerning Hajj this year. We ask Allah to grant us Aafiyyah in all the affairs primarily related to Hajj. We intend to perform Hajj this year, and it is only He who can assist us in this regard. We ask him to make it easy for us all and accept it from us.
Working and performing Hajj for over a decade now, I have come across many times when things look incredibly bleak, and somehow Allah, the Most Gracious, makes a way better than what we had initially hoped for. I have also witnessed situations where the customers having a visa in their hand with a flight ready to take off, a person was not able to go multiple times.
At the end of the day, we are confident that if He has decided for us to perform Hajj this year, No portal, company, or government can stop that from happening. If He has decided that It is best that this does NOT happen this year, then no one on the face of the earth can change it somehow.
I can only imagine the frustration that this uncertainty will be causing you and your loved ones and I just like to personally apologize to everyone that we are so close only couple of weeks shy of our departure date and I don’t really have any concrete information to share with you guys at this moment.
There have been a lot of developments that happened in the past few weeks. I’ll try to summarize the events as best as I can and share with you our current position.
- By the end of Ramadan, Saudi Government had announced that a little over 9 thousand Hajjis would be welcomed to Hajj this year from the US.
- Based on that reduction, we, along with other Tour Operators, started taking applicants based on this limited updated number shared with us.
- The Mo’assassa, which is Saudi government regulated, was transferred over to a private Equity company with shareholders and investors.
- This New Private Mo’assasa, let's call it Hajj INC, took over managing ALL aspects of global Hajj this year.
- The first step they took was to raise the cost of services during the Manasik days, and that price increase was shared with everyone.
- Once the cost increased, their next step was to release the Motawwifs of their duties and services, which they have been performing for generations. Motawwif is an agent under the ministry of Hajj who operates with their staff all the aspects of hospitality during the time in Mina, Arafa & Muzdalifa.
- Once they had the Motawwif out of the picture, HAJJ INC went after All the Tour operators in the US, UK & Australia, and all the Tour Operators that the Ministry of Hajj previously licensed no longer are allowed to conduct any business.
- It is a Huge endeavor for HAJJ INC to deal directly with the consumer and create and sell packages and issue visas —all done electronically.
- During the past week, they had turned on the Hajj Portal system for Tour Operators for a couple of days which gave us a lot of hope for our group. However, that was also shut down within a matter of days.
- We were promised that Today on the 6th of June, All the details would be published, and the website would be live for everyone to apply. However, we have found only a landing page with an interest form with no details of any package or procedure.
With all that is happening, this is just a reminder for me and All of us that, as believers, we put our trust in Allah, the Most High. We know with absolute certainty that while we make a sincere effort towards specific objectives, the outcome is in the Hands of Allah, the Most Gracious. As believers, we accept the outcome wholeheartedly without second thoughts or resentment. And Allah knows best!
What Does This Mean?
With a heavy heart, we want to share that we are not allowed to be facilitating the Hajj trip in 2022. We have made Hotel reservations and Airline reservations for this year's Hajj. We will be starting to request refunds from these Hotels, and we have complete confidence that we will be getting a full refund from them very soon. As far as the airline, I am not planning on canceling them right away, and I hope most of you will continue their Hajj plans for this year even if that means that it comes with many uncertainties and you can use your airline ticket.
What’s Next?
I encourage you to register at the below link and fill out the interest form.
https://www.motawif.com.sa/home/en-sa
We are not sure of the exact pricing to be released on this website, nor do we know the actual services offered. What we can do is pair up some people together who were planning on so they can have an idea of their roommates and better cost. (if interested).
InshaAllah, if many of our group decide to go forward once we have more details, we can also look into adding a slight cost to the package and maybe send a guide or an Imam to help throughout the way as much as the Saudi Authorities allow. We also have staff in Madinah & Makkah that we may be able to leverage if we get the permission to assist. More details to follow.
Final Comments:
This is just a reminder and a request to everyone to increase your Dua concerning Hajj this year. We ask Allah to grant us Aafiyyah in all the affairs primarily related to Hajj. We intend to perform Hajj this year, and it is only He who can assist us in this regard. We ask him to make it easy for us all and accept it from us.
Working and performing Hajj for over a decade now, I have come across many times when things look incredibly bleak, and somehow Allah, the Most Gracious, makes a way better than what we had initially hoped for. I have also witnessed situations where the customers having a visa in their hand with a flight ready to take off, a person was not able to go multiple times.
At the end of the day, we are confident that if He has decided for us to perform Hajj this year, No portal, company, or government can stop that from happening. If He has decided that It is best that this does NOT happen this year, then no one on the face of the earth can change it somehow.
I can only imagine the frustration that this uncertainty will be causing you and your loved ones and I just like to personally apologize to everyone that we are so close only couple of weeks shy of our departure date and I don’t really have any concrete information to share with you guys at this moment.
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