How to perform Umrah (Minor Pilgrimage)

Umrah  (Minor Pilgrimage)

·Preparation for Ehraam :

Before making intention for Ehraam take two white cloth sheets, one sheet around the lower half of the body and another over the shoulder. Must wear this before entering hadde Haram. Those who are traveling directly from their countries must wear this before boarding the flight.  After wearing the clothes : 

• Recite two Rakats of Nafil Salat
• During reciting salat cover head with the cloth
• No sooner you finish salat by saying salam ,remove the sheet over the head (for men only)and then MAKE INTENTION (Niyyat) for Umrah. Now a person is in Ehraam.

INTENTION  (Niyyat)  “ `O` Allah, I make intention for Ehraam to perform Umrah to please You. Please make the things easy for me and guide me to perform Umrah in the most right manner. Please also accept it with all your kindness “ Then recite Talbiyah loudly for three times :  لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، انَّالْحَمْدَ، وَالنِّعْمَةَ، لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ

Transliteration :

Labbaik Allah humma Labbaik ! Labbaik Laa sharika laka Labbaik ! Innal Hamda Wan Nemata Laka wal Mulk ! Laa Sharika Laka !

Translation :

I respond to Your call O Allah, I respond to Your call, and I am obedient to Your orders, You have no partner, I respond to Your call All the praises and blessings are for You, All the sovereignty is for You, And You have no partners with you. Immediately after this Talbiyah the person is in Ehraam . As a matter of fact this Talbiyah is a reply to the call of Prophet Ibrahim as he called the people by the decree of Allah to perform Hajj.

The things restricted after the person is in Ehraam are as under :

1. Stitched clothes (for men only )
2. Covering head or face with a cloth (for men Only)
3. Wearing a shoe which hides the back of foot's bone
4. Going for haircut or plucking any hair of body
5. Nail cutting
6. Applying scent
7. Doing the things which enhances your hormonic activity which leads to some sort of sexual satisfaction
8. Hunting the animals or killing of head louse
9. Sharing bed with the wife
10. Quarrel with other people

For Women : The Ehraam of women is like men only with only three exceptions .

1. They can wear stitched clothes
2. They have to hide their heads with scarves
3. They should keep their faces exposed
4. TheyShould not share bed with their husbands 

Border of Haram : 

20 KM ahead of Mecca there is a big arched gate, on the top you will find one huge structure resembling a stand (Rahel) of Quran. From here the border of Haram Sharif starts and very near to it there is a place where the Mushrekeen of Mecca had stopped the Prophet (saws) to proceed to Mecca for Umrah in 6 AH . This is a place where the agreement of Hudaibiyah was signed.

As soon as you reach here,  recite a dua : “ `O` Allah ! This Haram belongs to You and Your apostle. I Pray that the blazing fire to be forbidden on my flesh ,on my blood ,on my skin and on my bones. “  When you enter Mecca bring inert feeling of love and respect for this sacred city  and recite a dua : “ `O Allah ! I am your slave and came here to perform and seek your kindness and blessings. Please open all the doors of blessings and forgive me and help me to complete my Umrah in a perfect way. .Attendance in Masjid e Haraam and Tawaaf :

• Enter the Masjid with your right leg first .

• When you see the K`abatullah for the first time ,recite the following : 

          اللّهُ اَكْبَرُلآ اِلهَ اِلّا اللّهُ، وَ اللّهُ اَكْبَرُ Translation : “ Allah is the Greatest ,There is no God except Allah ,Allah is the Greatest .”

• Make another dua :

Translation : “ O `Allah you are the peace and the peace is from you only. O` Lord Keep us alive peacefully and O Allah enlighten the respect, honour and the dignity of this house of yours and give reward to those who are paying respect to this house. I seek refuge of the owner of this house from any borrowings , poverty and from punishment in the graves.

TAWAAF :

• TAWAAF : Now you are ready for doing tawaaf. Tawaaf means taking a round of any fixed object. Completing seven anti clockwise rounds makes one tawaaf of Ka`aba .

Method of doing Tawaaf

• Before tawaaf you must make intention (Niyyat) as under :

“ O` Allah I am doing this tawaaf to please you and seek your help to make this tawaaf easy for me. “  After making intention , one has to do Izteba (One end of the sheet of Ehraam should be under the right arm and another end should be put over the left shoulder ). If possible, go straight to Hajre Aswad (Black stone) which is embedded in one the corner of the holy Ka`aba, then kiss it (This action is known as ISTELAAM ). If you are not able to reach Hajre Aswad then on the opposite side of Hajre Aswad there is a green light, you be in the line of that light, face your both palms towards Hajre Aswad and do Istelaam and make this dua : “ Bismillahe Allaho Akbar ! Laa ilaha illallaho ! Wa lillahil Hamd.” Then kiss your both hands and start the Tawaaf.

• Care should be taken to avoid facing chest towards Ka`aba during tawaaf.

• During first three rounds of tawaaf the men should do the Ramal,which means make your body stiff and raise shoulder and walk quickly. In rest of the four rounds there should be a normal walk.
• Please bear in mind that no sooner you start the tawaaf reciting of talbiyah comes to an end.

VII . ONE IMPORTANT THING  There are no specific dua in tawaaf however, it is better if you make dua at different spots and While making various dua you should use your own language so that you can understand them and can concentrate. DUA IN TAWAAF :  1. When you start encompassing (tawaaf) and when you reach in line with the door of Ka`aba , then recite :  “ O ` Allah ! The peace is only from you therefore please save me from the punishment in the Hell with your mercy.” 2. When you reach infront of Place of Ibrahim ( Muqaam e Ibrahim), then you make this dua : “ O` Allah ! This is the place of your Ibrahim, Please restrict the fire to approach my body and my flesh. 3. By the time you finish the above dua, you reach the first corner of the Ka`aba which is known as “Rukne Iraqi “here you can make the following dua : “ O` Allah, I seek your refuge from the doubts and from any association with you of any partner. 4. In the meantime you will reach infront of “ Meezabe Rahmat “ this is a place where water from the roof of Ka`aba falls in Hateem through a pipe. You make a dua here : “ O`Allah ! I seek nearness to your apostle in his Paradise ( Jannatul Khuld). O` Allah ,I also seek your shadow in the day of judgement. That day ,none will be there except You . Please offer me drink from kausar so thereafter I will not feel thirst. 5. When you reach the next corner of the Ka`aba which is known as “Rukne Shaami “ then make the following dua “ “ O ` Allah ! My Umrah should be great, please accept my labour, forgive my sins. Yaa` Aziz, Yaa` Ghafoor “ 6 . You will be reaching at the third corner Which is known as “ Rukne Yamani ” here you can make the following dua “ O ` Allah Please forgive me and also relax me, in this world and also in the life Hereafter 7 . From here you move towards hajre Aswad and while walking you recite o رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ Transliteration : “Rabbana Aatena fid duniya hasanatau wa fil aakharate hasanatau wa qena azaaban naar “ Translation :

"Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the fire!"

8.. You will reach back at Hajre Aswad means one round is completed . This is known as “ Shooth ” When you complete seven shooths then one tawaaf is finished. 9 . Please remember that Taawaf can be performed without reciting anything . VIII.  Reciting two rakats of Wajib salat : 1. After completion of the tawaaf you recite two rakats of wajib salat possibly at the place of Ibrahim otherwise recite it wherever you get place in Mataaf (Space around Ka`aba). After reciting these two rakats you seek Allah's blessings, make dua for best reward in the life Hereafter, request Allah for forgiveness and for life long and real faith,and finally for welfare of your children and other relatives and friends. IX.  After dua, if possible you can go to Multazim (this part of Ka`aba is between Hajre Aswad and the door of Ka`aba) and make dua. If it is not possible to go near the Multazim then you may keep yourselves in line with Multazim in mataaf and make dua from there itself. While making dua, you request for Jannatul Firdous, Mercy from Allah, relief from blazing fire of Hell, forgiveness from all the sins, Welfare for your children, relatives, friends etc. X . Zamzam Sharif After Multazim you come near the taps of Zamzam, recite Bismillah then face ka`aba and drink zamzam in three instalments. Then make following dua : “ Yaa Allah ! Help to increase my knowledge, give sustenance and give me relief from all diseases. “ XI . Sa`i Safa and Marwa are two hills near the Masjide Haram. The literal meaning of Sa'i is to run. To make seven rounds between Safa and Marwah, is called Sa'i. This action is observed as a memorial of Hazrat Hajra, the wife of Hazrat Ibrahim and mother of Hazrat Ismail. The Sa'i is 'Wajib' both in 'Hajj' and Umrah. You must keep in mind that one round is complete when you run from Safa to Marwa , and second round is finished when you run from Marwa to Safa. How to Perform Sa`i It is to be performed after Tawaaf ,if it is performed before Tawaaf it will not be valid. It is not necessary to perform a Sa'i immediately after Tawaaf, though it is a Sunnat to do so, but there is no harm if there is a pause in between on account of any human necessity. Although Sa'i is 'Wajib' to be performed on foot but in case of some excuse the person is allowed on wheel chair. If someone performs Sa'i on a wheel chair without any valid reason ,he will be liable to give Dum .i.e. offering a sacrifice. 1. After Tawaaf ,when you drink Zamzam Water you are ready to go for Sa'i. You have to go again to Hajr-e-Aswad ,if possible kiss it . In case it is not possible then face both your hands towards hajre Aswad ,kiss them and proclaim. “ Yaa Allah ! I am making this sai to please you, therefore You make this easy for me and approve my action. 2. Lift both your hands as you do in dua and recite :

لا الهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيْكَ لَهْ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْى وَ

يُمِيْتُ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَهُوَ عَلى كُلِّ شَئ ٍ قَدِيْرٌ

Transliteration :

“ La ilaha illal-laho wahdahu la šharika lahu lahul-mulko wa lahul-hamdo yohi wa yumito be yadehil-khayr wa howa ala kulle šhayin qadeer. “

Translation :

There is no God but Allah. He is only One. He has no partners. For Him (is) the Kingdom. And for Him (is) the Praise. He gives life and acuses death. In His hand (is) the goodness. And He has power over everything..

While doing sai, which ever dua you have in memory you can make and along with it remember Allah also. When you reach the green pillars, you are to start running and keep running upto the other green pillars. (for men only) Then again you have to walk with normal speed . When seven rounds are completed then to offer two Rak'ats of salat by the side of 'Mataaf' (where Tawaaf is performed in the Haram). 

Now all the restrictions pertaining to Ehraam of Umrah have come to end .

After being free from Sa'i you may shave your head or at least have hair cut equal to a finger's joint (about an inch) in length. For women the hair cut is equal to one fold of hair over the finger. You have now completed Umrah therefore the Ehraam formality has ended.

Article by: islamforamal.com

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