I withdrew SAR 800 which came out to £159 so the exchange rate was very close to market rates. I withdrew this much to pay a “dam” – which is a mandatory compensatory sacrifice which must be paid within the precinct of Makkah/Haram when a pilgrim violates an obligatory process/act during pilgrimage. Now this is up for debate and I’m happy to be educated on it but I initially disagreed with my umrah guide on why I had to pay this.
I think there may have been a misunderstanding from the night before as my umrah guide had thought I was already in my ihram clothes on leaving the plane/airport before I cancelled the initial time. This was not the case as I was in my normal clothing intending to go to my hotel rather than complete the Umrah immediately when landing.
My umrah guide therefore thought that I had taken off my ihram towels whilst in a state of ihram which is a violation. You should only take off the towels when your umrah is completed. However I was never wearing the ihram towels, and I had not made any intention to perform umrah prior.
I think the confusion arose when the guide asked me if I had taken off the ihram towels, but when I said yes – this was only after practicing putting them on and making sure they were done correctly. This was in the confines of my hotel room. I wanted to practice wearing them but not with the intention of performing umrah.
That was my argument which I tried to insist on with my guide however he still maintained that the “dam” needed to be paid. To keep things as peaceful and blessed as possible and for my umrah to be accepted I agreed to pay the “dam”. I’m open to anyone being able to give the correct interpretation in my specific situation.
The “dam” was SAR 400 and with all the other expenses like taxi’s and cutting the hair this came out to SAR 200 so a total amount of SAR 600 that I passed to my guide. The additional SAR 200 was purely for myself to use throughout my time here.
After handing over the money instead of walking all the way back to the hotel my umrah guide informed me that a friend of his was waiting outside that would drop me off at Emaar Elite Hotel which was just a 3 minute drive. He was very courteous and kind and his friend spoke fluent English which was very comforting as he was a bit more friendly than what I had experienced so far in Saudi Arabia.
The drive back to the hotel involved some small talk such as where I had travelled from, if I spoke Urdu and how old I was. I am 34 years old and I was informed at that point my Umrah guide was 31. It just kind of dawned on me that I still have lots to learn about my religion. That’s the realization that hit me.
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