Short Haj : A milestone in journey of holy pilgrimage

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Here is good news for the Muslim devotees as the Government of India has introduced a 20-days short pilgrimage for working professionals running short of time during Haj 2026.

20-days Haj

The Haj 2026 policy announced by the Ministry of Minority Affairs on July 10 stated that the short-duration (20-days) Haj package will be for a limited number of pilgrims at select embarkation points (EPs). It has been designed to accommodate working professionals who are unable to participate in the longer standard itinerary (of 40-45 days).

According to sources, “ For many years, there had been requests from NRIs and working professionals in India for a shorter Haj to be arranged by the Haj Committee of India (HCoI). In view of this, the ministry concerned and the HCoI have decided to introduce a short Haj of 20 days. Earlier, the proposal was discussed at length in a meeting conducted by the minister Kiran Rijiju to review the Haj 2026 preparations in Delhi on July 4.”

7 Embarkation Points

Presently, 17 embarkation points have been fixed in India for the normal Haj pilgrims whose standard duration of stay in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is 40-45 days. However, for pilgrims applying for short Haj, the embarkation points have been reduced to seven - Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin and Ahmedabad.

10,000 quota for short Haj

According to the Maharashtra State Hajj Committee executive officer (EO) Meghna Gaurav Shinde said,” The quota for short Haj to India is 10,000 pilgrims. The option will be provided to the applicants while submitting the forms. The selection will be made through draw of lots (Qurrah - randomised digital selection). The period of shorter Haj is 20 days including a couple of days stay in the holy city Madina.The applicants exceeding the quota will be automatically shifted to the normal Haj package.”

Charges yet to be decided?

“ It will be too early to speak about the charges as the things have not yet been fixed for the Haj 2026. It is for sure that the charges will be on a higher side (than the normal Haj package) as special arrangements will have to be made for short Haj pilgrims (right from hotel stay to boarding and descending of flights),” said the executive officer.

It may be noted that the total expense including all things in Haj 2025 was Rs 3.80 lakh. The normal quota for India in 2025 was 1.75 lakh pilgrims.

Five days of Haj

The Haj rituals are performed in five days of the Zilhaj month (as per the Islamic calendar). The days are 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the month. The standard itinerary is 40-45 days. It includes a 10 days stay in the holy city of Madina and the remaining 30-35 days stay in the holy city Makkah. In the short haj, the stay includes 3 days stay in Madina and remaining days in Makkah.