Umrah is a holy journey that Muslims perform as an act of worship of Allah Almighty. It is an Islamic pilgrimage based on the teachings and Sunnah of Allah’s beloved Holy Prophet (PBUH). In this journey, Muslims can visit Allah’s house at any time of the year. Hajj is the greater pilgrimage while Umrah is known as the minor one. Regardless of the difference, Umrah still holds a great value of virtue and mercy in the eyes of Allah.
Umrah’s steps
The Umrah comprises of four basic pillars:
Umrah fundamentally comprises of major pillars named Ihram, Tawaaf, Saa’I and shaving the head.
Step 1: Ihram
Ihram is a formal indicator of the Muslims intention to perform Umrah. Muslims enter in the state of Ihram by taking a proper bath known as ghusl as an act of washing away all the impurities before entering the Holy House of Allah (SWT). After that, they fold themselves into two unstitched clothes known as Ridaa and Izaar. Once fully cleaned, Muslims then perform two rakaat of Sunnah prayer as an obligatory prayer. Once entering the state of Ihram perfumed products are strictly prohibited. After that Muslims leaves for Miqat in Makkah.
At Miqat the pilgrims must recite these words,
“Labbayk Allaahumma bi ‘Umrah”.
After this, they should recite the Talbiyah in line with the Sunnah:
“Labbayka Allaahumma labbayk, labbayka laa shareeka laka labbayk. Inna al-hamd wa’l-ni’mata laka wa’l-mulk, laa shareeka lak”
Step 2: Tawaaf
In this step Muslims enter the Masjid Al-Haram with their right foot first. They must also keep reciting
“Bismillaah wa’l-salaatu wa’l-salaam ‘ala Rasool-Allaah. Allaahumma ighfir li dhunoobi waftah li abwaab rahmatika. A’oodhu Billaah il-‘Azeem wa bi wajhih il-kareem wa bi sultaanih il-‘qadeem min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem”
Here they touch Hajr-e-Aswad, the black stone with their right hand, kiss it, say Allahu Akbar and start their Tawaaf. If because of any reason as they are unable to kiss it, they can touch it with their right hand and then kiss their hand as there is a great virtue in touching Hajr-e-Aswad.
They can then begin their Tawaaf in counter clockwise direction which means that while taking rounds around Kaaba, Kaaba will be on their left side. However, one should avoid touching the cloth of Kaaba as it is prohibited. The cloth is perfumed and if touched, pilgrims might rub off some of the perfume on their hands which while make your state of Ihram invalid.
Men place Ridaa beneath their armpit and take it up on their left shoulder as they have to keep their right shoulder uncovered during Tawaaf. This is known as Idtibaa. Men also have to practice Raml, this means that they have to walk faster for the first three rounds and for the rest of rounds they can walk with normal pace. After that the pilgrims offer two rakaat prayer behind Maqaam-e-Ibrahim reciting Surah-al-Kafirun during first and Surah-al-Ikhlaas during second rakaat.
Step 3: Saa’I
The pilgrim should then head for the place of Saa’i (Masaa) and when he/she nears the hill of Safa, the following should be recited:
Muslims then travel toward Masaa to perform Saa’I between Safa and Marwah and must climb up on the hill of Safa to the point where Ka’bah is visible.
Pilgrims must offer dhikr and supplicate and repeat this process for three times. They must then run towards two green markers and repeat circling around these two hills for seven times.
Step 4: Shaving their head
Upon completing the seven circles round Safa and Marwa Muslims then perform the last step of Umrah which is shaving their head entirely equally. While women cut their hair equal to a length of fingertip. After this step their Umrah is officially completed.
How to perform Umrah for ladies?
Any kind of makeup, jewelry or fragrance is prohibited for women performing Umrah. To enter the state of Ihram, women must wear any cloth that covers their whole body and head. Those who are menstruating or having a postnatal bleeding should perform ghusl to enter the state of Ihram.
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