Your Day by Day Guide to Hajj

Hajj can feel overwhelming. We've attended the seminars. We've read through the guides. We've been there on the ground.

This is Hajj simplified - day by day.

Hajj requires movement. A lot of it. Understanding this movement is where a lot of confusion arises.

We've mapped out where you'll be going, focusing on the fundamentals. So let's begin.

Pre-Hajj: before the 8th

Foreign pilgrims typically perform Umrah on arrival, then exit Ihram and wait in Makkah for the Hajj days to begin. This is Hajj Tamattu - the most common form for visitors travelling from outside the Kingdom. You enter Ihram (for the second time) for Hajj on the morning of the 8th.

Local pilgrims based in the Kingdom often arrive directly in Makkah on the 8th in Ihram, performing Hajj Ifrad or Qiran. The rituals from the 8th onwards are largely the same; the difference is what happens before.

8th of Dhul HijjahYawm at-TarwiyahMakkah → Mina

The day of quenching. The Prophet ﷺ instructed pilgrims to drink and prepare here before the longer journey to Arafat. In practical terms:

1. Enter Mina in the state of Ihram.
2. Pray Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha in Mina, plus Fajr the next morning.
3. Spend the night in your assigned tent.

Mina is a city of tents. You'll be assigned a tent number when you arrive - keep it written down somewhere accessible and noted on your phone. Finding it again after Jamarat in the days ahead is harder than it sounds.

9th of Dhul HijjahThe Day of ArafatMina → Arafat → Muzdalifah

The day the entire Hajj rests on. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Hajj is Arafat."

The day's flow:

1. Leave Mina after Fajr for Arafat.
2. Spend the afternoon in Arafat until Maghrib. The moments before Maghrib are particularly momentous.
3. After sunset, travel from Arafat to Muzdalifah.
4. Combine Maghrib and Isha in Muzdalifah on arrival.
5. Collect 49 small pebbles for the Jamarat - and an extra 21 if you plan to stay through the 13th.
6. Spend the night resting under the open sky in Muzdalifah.

You may find that your Hajj operator has already provided a small pouch with pebbles in your Mina provisions. If so, you've got this item covered already.

10th of Dhul HijjahEidMuzdalifah → Jamarat → Haram → Mina

The busiest day of Hajj.

1. Leave Muzdalifah after Fajr and head to Jamarat.
2. Stone the large Jamarat only today - seven pebbles. Not the small or medium pillars; just the big one.
3. Wait for confirmation that your animal sacrifice (Hady) has been completed on your behalf - you should receive this by text message from the Adahi provider.
4. Shave or trim your hair. Men typically shave; women cut a fingertip's length.
5. Change into normal clothes - the major restrictions of Ihram lift after this.
6. Travel from Mina to Masjid al-Haram for Tawaf al-Ziyarah (also called Tawaf al-Ifadah) plus Sa'i if you haven't already done so as part of Umrah.
7. Return to Mina for the night.

It's a long day. The walk between the steps above can total 15 to 20 kilometres depending on your group's transport arrangements. Eat. Drink. Pace yourself.

11th & 12th of Dhul HijjahDays of TashreeqMina ↔ Jamarat

The pattern on the 11th and 12th is the same:

1. Stone the three Jamarat - after zawal (after the sun has passed its peak, around midday).
2. Order matters: small → medium → large, seven pebbles each, 21 in total per day.
3. Spend the night in Mina.

If you plan to leave Makkah by sunset on the 12th - known as the early departure - you stone all three Jamarat that day, then leave Mina before Maghrib. If you stay past sunset, you commit to staying in Mina on the 13th as well.

13th of Dhul HijjahFarewellMina → Masjid al-Haram → Hotel

The final ritual day for those who didn't take the early departure on the 12th:

1. Stone the three Jamarat one last time - same order, same pebble count, after zawal.
2. Head to Masjid al-Haram for the Tawaf al-Wada (the Farewell Tawaf). This is the very last rite - performed at any point before you leave Makkah. Most pilgrims do it on the day of departure, immediately before leaving for the airport or the long road north to Madinah.
3. Return to your hotel. Hajj complete.

If something in this guide doesn't match what your group is telling you, follow your group. Hajj has a long tradition of madhab and group-level variation, and a guide written for everyone cannot cover the small differences that matter on the day.