I did my entire trip by myself as a solo traveller as I have done with my holidays so far. This has pros and cons during Umrah I would say. Pros are that as described it can be more spiritual. You won’t be forced to adhere to someone else’s timeline and it gives you a bit of freedom.
The cons however is that if you go by yourself not having done the pilgrimage before it can get very confusing or perhaps you may miss doing certain things in a proper way. For example my visit to the Uhud mountains, whilst still enjoyable, could have been better had I gone with someone who had been before and knew where to go specifically.
One other thing which is a regret and that I didn’t manage to do was visit Al-Baqi cemetery next to Masjid an-Nabawi to pay respects to the companions and wives of the prophet (PBUH). The reason being is that visiting times were very short and they were either very early in the morning or a short window after evening prayers. Going with someone I think I might have been a bit more disciplined and better planned in order to visit these sights and do these religious rituals.
My personal takeaway is that, if you can go with someone who’s gone before, especially if you go for the first time. However, I would suggest going by yourself again at some point so you can reap the benefits of being closer to the spiritual side of things.
I wasn’t alone in doing the Umrah alone. When I was at Madinah airport I met a brother who was from Leicester who had done the Umrah for the first time by himself. So it’s not really unusual, and men and women I might add can do it by themselves and I would recommend this if you have the opportunity.
For the first time, try and go with someone else who has gone before. I think another benefit that I experienced going by myself was that it gave me some insights about the changes I need to perhaps make in my personal life to lead a better life as a muslim.
I don’t mean necessarily like praying 5 times a day, reading nafl prayer etc, but I mean situational/life shifts. For example, becoming more independent I feel would support my soul and my spiritual endeavors. I think being in solitude has great benefits physically and mentally/spiritually/emotionally. This gave me the incentive to make a life move and shift in my life to move forward I guess into the next stage of myself and personal growth.
Leave a Reply