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Umrah is a beautiful journey of visiting the Khana Kaaba – the house of Allah (SWT). Umrah is a spiritual Islamic pilgrimage and an act of worship of Allah (SWT).
Every Muslim has a heartiest wish to visit the house of Allah (SWT) to acquire the spiritualties and blessings of Allah (SWT) and apologize in front of Allah (SWT) for all of his/her sins he/she committed in the past intentionally or unintentionally.
Umrah is based and performed on the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his Sunnah. Any Muslim can perform this pilgrimage at any time of the year. That’s why it is also known as the “minor pilgrimage” in comparison to the “greater pilgrimage” of Hajj which is performed only one time in the year in the first ten days of “Dhul Hajj”.
The main pillar of performing Umrah is “Tawaaf of Khana Kaaba”. Without the Tawaaf, the Umrah will not be considered complete in any case. The conditions of Umrah are “Ihram”, “Saa’i”, and “Shaving the head or Cutting of hair”.
The steps involved in performing the Umrah pilgrimage along with the queries are comprehensively guided below:
The Umrah pilgrimage starts with the Ihram state.
Ihram is generally and essentially making a formal heartiest “intention” of performing the Umrah. Most people think that Ihram means wearing the Ihram garments but remember that the Ihram means making a formal intention.
To enter the condition of Ihram, the pilgrim must change clothes and take a proper bath (known as Ghusl in Islam) so that all the impurities from his/her body wash away. Men will change into two white unstitched cloths known as “Ridaa (a cloth which drapes the upper body like a shawl)” and “Izaar (a cloth which covers the lower body above the ankles)”, whereas women will change into any form of clean clothes which covers their full body and head. Women who are menstruating or experiencing postnatal bleeding are also advised to perform ghusl.
When this is done, the pilgrim must offer the obligatory prayers or perform two rakaat of Nawafil. The pilgrim must have officially entered Ihram garments before leaving for Meeqat in Makkah.
When the pilgrim has reached Meeqat, he/she must make a formal intention (Niyyah) for Umrah by reciting the following:
“Labbayka llāhumma ‘umratan”
(Allah, here I am to perform Umrah)
After making the Niyyah, the pilgrim must recite the Talbiyah to validate her intention and enter the state of Ihram. The Talbiyah is as follows:
“Labbayka llāhumma labbayk(a), labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk(a), inna l-ḥamda wa n-ni’mata, laka wa l-mulk(a), lā sharīka lak”
(At Your service, Allah, at Your service. At Your service, You have no partner, at Your service. Truly all praise, favor, and sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner)
Direct perfumes or perfumed products are strictly prohibited while the pilgrim is in his/her Ihram state. It is advised that the pilgrim must keep reciting the Talbiyah as he/she enters Ihram state until he/she gets ready to perform Tawaaf. The pilgrim must abide by the rules of Ihram and not make a foul. If, in case, the Ihram rules are violated, the Damm or Sadaqah will be required as expiation.
After that, the pilgrim will enter Masjid-al-Haram to perform the Tawaf of Khana Kaaba.
To perform tawaf, the pilgrim will enter Masjid-al-Haram with his/her right foot and will recite the following supplication:
“Bismi-llāh, Allāhumma ṣalli alā Muhammad. Allāhumma-ghfir lī wa-ftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik”
(In the name of Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad. O Allah, open for me the doors of Your Bounty)
After entering the mosque, the pilgrim should keep the sight lowered with respect for Allah (SWT) until he/she reaches the Mataf area, the space where Tawaaf will take place. Then he/she will lift the sight with respect for Allah (SWT) and have the beatific vision of the house of Allah (SWT). When he/she sees the Kaaba for the first time, the pilgrim should raise his/her hands in the air and make a sincere Dua by heart with full concentration as this is among the places where the prayers are answered.
Then the pilgrim will touch and kiss the “Black Stone” (Hajr e Aswad) and start the Tawaaf. This act of touching and kissing the Hajr e Aswad is known as Istilam. The pilgrim should touch Hajr e Aswad with his/her right hand and then kiss it directly. If due to a crowd or any other reason, he/she cannot make it to kiss the Hajr e Aswad, he/she can touch it with the right hand and kiss his/her hand. Even if the touch to the Hajr e Aswad is not possible due to congestion or any other reason, the pilgrim should face his/her right hand in the direction of the Hajr e Aswad and say “Allahu Akbar”.
The pilgrim will then start the Tawaaf of Khana Kaaba with the Kaaba on the left. The Tawaaf means to take rounds around the Khana Kaaba. The pilgrim must make seven rounds around Kaaba and each round will start from Hajr e Aswad by touching and kissing it as mentioned above and each round will end at Hajr e Aswad. The pilgrim must be careful not to touch the cloth of Khana Kaaba as it is perfumed and it may rub off some perfume onto the pilgrim which may cause the invalidity of the Ihram state.
If, in case, the pilgrim has to refresh his/her Wuduu, or has to offer the obligatory prayer (Farz Namaaz) during the Tawaaf, he/she can hold the Tawaaf there and will start again from Hajr e Aswad with the same count of round at which he/she stopped.
During the Tawaaf, men should be in the state of Idtibaa which means that men should keep their right shoulder uncovered. They can do this by placing the Ridaa (the upper body cloth) beneath the right armpit and taking it up towards the left shoulder covering the upper body and the left shoulder. Also, the men should perform the first three rounds of Tawaaf in the form of “Raml” which means that men essentially have to walk faster than normal by taking small steps in the first three rounds. From the fourth round, they can walk at their normal pace.
During the Tawaaf, the pilgrim may recite supplications (Duas) of their choice in any language. During the Tawaaf, Duas are accepted, so ask to Allah (SWT) with full devotion and sincerity.
After completing the seven rounds of Tawaaf, the pilgrim must move towards the Maqaam e Ibrahim which is near the Khana Kaaba, and recite the following words:
“And take you (people) the Maqaam (place) of Ibraaheem (Abraham) [or the stone on which Ibraaheem (Abraham) stood while he was building the Ka’bah] as a place of prayer (for some of your prayers, e.g. two Rak‘at after the Tawaaf of the Ka’bah at Makkah)” (Surah Baqarah: 125)
After that, the pilgrim must offer two rakaat of prayers at Maqaam e Ibrahim such that the Maqaam e Ibrahim is in between the Khana Kaaba and the place where the pilgrim is about to offer the prayer. If there is no space to offer prayer near Maqaam e Ibrahim, the pilgrim can offer prayer anywhere in the mosque fulfilling the above-mentioned condition. The pilgrim must recite the “Surah Al-Kafirun” in the first rakat of the prayer and the “Surah Al-Ikhlaas” in the second rakat of the prayer.
After completing the prayers, the pilgrim should head back towards the Hajr e Aswad and touch it if possible. Then the pilgrim must have to drink the Aab e Zamzam (The Zamzam Water) and he/she can also put some of the water onto the body and head.
After drinking the Zamzam water, the pilgrim will head towards Masaa (the place of Saa’i).
Saa’i is the ritual of walking back and forth continuously seven times between the two small hills of Safa and Marwa. It is Sunnah to perform Saa’i right after Tawaaf. The total distance to cover during the Saa’i is over three kilometers. So, if one feels tired after Tawaaf, he/she can take some rest until he/she feels ready to continue to Saa’i. Also, it is the Sunnah to do Istilam of Hajr e Aswad one last time before Saa’i but it may be omitted if one forgets to do so or finds it difficult to reach the Hajr e Aswad.
Then the pilgrim will proceed to the hill of Safa. As the pilgrim is approaching Safa, it is Sunnah to recite the following:
“Inna ṣ-ṣafā wa l-marwata min sha’ā’iri llāh(i)”
(Indeed, Safa and Marwa are from the Signs of Allah)
(Surah al-Baqarah, 2:158)
And then the pilgrim will say:
“Abda’u bimā bad’allahu bihi”
(I begin with that which Allah has begun with)
This should only be recited before Saa’i.
On reaching Safa, the pilgrim must have to climb up the hill of Safa to the point from where the Khana Kaaba is visible. At this point, the pilgrim has to raise the hands for dua in front of Allah (SWT). The pilgrim will then recite the following dua as, according to hadith, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) recited:
“Lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdah(u), anjaza wa’dahu wa naṣara ‘abdahu wa hazama l-aḥzāba waḥdah”
(There is no deity except Allah alone. He fulfilled His promise, supported His slave, and defeated the confederates alone)
After reciting this dua, the pilgrim is free to recite any dua whatever he/she wants to. The pilgrim should recite this dua a total of three times making his/her supplications (Duas) in between each time, as this is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Then the pilgrim will start Saa’i towards Marwa. From Safa to Marwa, the pilgrim will encounter a patch of green lights. The distance is marked with two green markers. In this patch of green lights, men have to run faster than normal, as this is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), while women should continue at a normal pace. After this patch of green lights ends, men will walk up normally towards Marwa. During the Saa’i, there is no specific or fixed Dua to recite, so the pilgrim can make Duas whatever he/she desires and send the Salawat upon the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Then on reaching the hill of Marwa, the pilgrim will again face towards the Kaaba raise the hands for dua, and recite the same dua in the same manner as he/she did at Safa. This will complete the one lap of Saa’i. Then the pilgrim will return to Safa in the same manner and this will be considered the second lap of Saa’i.
The pilgrim would have to complete the seven laps by repeating the same procedure. At the end of the Saa’i, the pilgrim should be at the hill of Marwa. The pilgrim cannot break the Saa’i in between. Once started, it should be completed continuously.
After Saa’i, it is recommended to make a final Dua and offer two rakaat of Nawafil in Masjid e Haram.
At last, the pilgrim will fulfill Umrah's last condition, which is shaving the head or cutting hair.
The men are required to shave their heads completely or cut their hair from all sides of the head equally. For men, it is more virtuous to get their heads shaved completely. The women are required to cut their hair equal to the length of a fingertip.
With the fulfillment of this last condition, the Umrah of the pilgrim will be officially completed.
We, as a team of Marhaba Musafir, hope that this comprehensive guide on performing the Umrah will prove helpful to you. We also hope that this blog will be very beneficial for those who are planning to perform Umrah soon. May Allah (SWT) accept and answer your duas and good deeds. Aameen!
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