An analytical study of mobile applications for Hajj and Umrah services

Millions of Muslims come to Makkah in Saudi Arabia annually to perform Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage ritual. Many government, private companies, and individuals provide various services and facilities to overcome difficulties that may be encountered by pilgrims. Currently, technology has gained increasing attention as a major means to provide services. In particular, mobile applications (apps) are contemporary technologies used provide various services. Several organizations and individuals developed a number of Islamic apps that can be used on smart mobile devices to assist pilgrims to comfortably perform their Islamic rituals. This paper presents an analytical study of Hajj-related mobile apps offered by Google Play. The collected apps are analyzed using four main criteria, namely, services offered, languages supported, installation rates, and repetition of services and names of the app. The “Hajj ritual” service is found in 68.7% of the target apps, with English as the main language (51.7%). Apps supporting live video services are the most downloaded, with frequency exceeding one million times. Results also reveal a number of repetitive apps in terms of application names and services; for example, 12 apps use the same label “Hajj Guide,” and 11 application versions issued by the same publisher are found. Finally, a case study is performed to rate the quality of 10 apps selected based on five basic criteria, namely, engagement, functionality, aesthetics, information, and subjective quality. “Mutawef” and “Manasikana” apps have achieved the highest average scores, with 2.69 and 2.62 out of 3 acceptance rates, respectively.