Hajj Immunization for 2009

Guidelines for those planning to make hajj in 2009 can be found at the Ministry of Hajj.  Do not leave getting your immunizations until the last minute.  Depending on where you are traveling from, you may be advised to have immunizations against yellow fever, or to get a single 500 mg dose of ciprofloxacin. Immunizations received within less than 10 days arrival in Saudia Arabia will not be accepted and you will not get to make hajj. Also look at other recommendations for immunizations for adults and children.

School Staged Hajj Play

The Salma K. Farid Academy, a Muslim school in Conneticut, staged a hajj reenactment with its students last year and plan to make it an annual event.  The schools head administrator, Ponn M Sabra noted that acting out the hajj gave children a better understanding of the rites than did just reading or memorizing the details of it.

Seeing  their children reenact the hajj made the event was especially meaningful for the parents who had already made hajj themselves.  Children whose parents were away making hajj gained a better understanding of what their parents how their parents fulfilled this pillar of Islam.

Hajj and the Swine Flu

The Hajj Ministry is making it known that the all efforts are being made to ease concerns about hajj during the swine flu outbreak.  Before the epidemic began, the Saudia government had already made upgrades in hospital and health care available to hajjis.  Hajj officials stress that they are experienced in successfully handling contagious illnesses and are taking every precaution during this hajj season.

Two Simple and Important Exercises for Hajj

If you are planning to go to hajj, it is not too early to start getting fit and exercising.  Hajj challanges the even the most athletic among us.  The crowds, the heat, the travel conditions and the loss of sleep drain energy from everyone.  So it is important that you make sure that, in as much as is possible for you, that your body is not fighting against you as well. 

To walk around the Kaaba 7 times, and to go back and forth between Safa and Marwah seven times doesn’t sound so bad.   Plan on taking 2 hours to accomplish just that much of your obligations.  If you get winded or tire easily, try to build your stamina. Start taking short walks now and gradually increase the length of your excursions until you can walk 2 hours or longer.

Another fitness concern relates to the restroom facilities.  Once you leave your hotel and start the hajj, you will not have access to the western “throne” type of toilets.  Instead, you will find them built down into the floor.  For older westerners who have lost flexiblity as they aged, it is important to begin re-learning an old skill so that they can use the restrooms comfortably. 

The easiest exercise for this problem is simply to remember that every time you want to pick up your shoes or anything else on the floor, you should squat down instead of bending over.  If you start now, by the time hajj season comes, you should be flexible enough so that you don’t even have to think about it.

Your Sacrifice at Hajj

Here is  information about what happens to the animal you paid to have sacrificed during hajj.  If there are 30 people or more, one of their party actually go to the slaughterhouse on behalf of the group .  On that same site, you can find why each animal is priced the way it is: 

The price per head of sheep includes the cost of the animal and the contribution of the pilgrim towards the cost of Shari’ah and veterinary-related services, as well as the cost of slaughtering, skinning, cleaning and transportation of meat for distribution to the eligible poor.