The Rihla Fellowship
Three students standing together near the Kaaba during Umrah.

The pilot journey

Before there was a fellowship, there was a journey.

In 2024, a student-led Yale Umrah journey brought together approximately thirty Muslim students for ten days across Jeddah, Madinah, and Makkah. That experience became the pilot from which The Rihla Fellowship was shaped.

Makkah · 2024

Three fellows pause together near the Kaaba during the Umrah portion of the pilot journey.

The origin

It began as a smaller student idea. It grew into a group of more than thirty students travelling together, many of them performing Umrah for the first time, and some travelling internationally for the first time.

The pilot was student-organised: pre-departure preparation, travel logistics, religious guidance, a fiqh of Umrah class, halaqas, communal worship, shared meals, visits to religious and historical sites, and group reflection.

It was meaningful and foundational. It was also the experience that revealed what a more structured, more selective, and more enduring programme could become.

Students seated together on an aircraft during the flight to Saudi Arabia.
In transit · 2024Fellows begin the journey together during their flight to Saudi Arabia.

Ten days

How the journey unfolded

Origin

A student idea

A small group of Yale students set out to organise an Umrah journey for their peers. Interest grew well beyond what was first imagined.

Students gathered with luggage at the airport after arriving in Jeddah.
Jeddah · 2024Fellows gather at the airport upon arriving in Jeddah for the start of the pilot journey.

Jeddah

Arrival and the opening days

The group arrived and began the journey together, with orientation, shared meals, a walking tour of the historic city, and the first sessions of the trip.

Students walking past coral-stone buildings with wooden balconies in historic Jeddah.
Jeddah · 2024The cohort explores the architecture and streets of historic Jeddah on a guided walking tour.

Madinah

Worship, history, and learning

Days of worship and visits to sites of religious and historical significance, including lessons taught in the places they belong to.

Three students standing together outside Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in the evening.
Madinah · 2024Three fellows stand together outside Al-Masjid an-Nabawi during an evening in Madinah.

Makkah

The miqat, and Umrah

Preparation for ihram, the fiqh of Umrah, and the performance of Umrah, which for many participants was their first.

Students in ihram sharing a joyful moment together while performing Umrah in Makkah.
Makkah · 2024Members of the cohort share a joyful moment together while performing Umrah in Makkah.

Hospitality

Learning and local welcome

Small-group lessons, museum visits, and evenings hosted by local families who opened their homes to the group.

Students seated with local hosts in a majlis for an evening gathering.
Jeddah · 2024Fellows join local hosts for an evening gathering centered on conversation, hospitality, and community.

The record

Photographs from the pilot cohort

A student holding a Saudi flag during an evening walk in Madinah.
A group of students standing together in open desert during an excursion near Jeddah.
Students sharing tea and conversation at an old tea shop in historic Jeddah.
Students looking out over the water during an outing along the Red Sea waterfront in Jeddah.
Three students standing together in front of the Kaaba in Makkah.

Madinah · 2024 · Pilot journey

See the full documentary record

Lessons carried forward

From journey to fellowship

The pilot was not a finished programme, and it was never meant to be. What it produced was clarity about what a serious fellowship would require.

  • Stronger pre-departure preparation
  • More intentional cohort formation
  • Clearer expectations for group life
  • More structured mentorship
  • Greater space for reflection
  • A stronger intellectual component
  • Better integration of the sacred and professional dimensions of the journey
  • More intentional cultural learning
  • More support before, during, and after travel
  • A clearer post-return experience
  • Longer-term community among fellows
  • A sustainable funding model
  • More formal partnerships
  • More thoughtful impact evaluation
How the fellowship was shaped