Umrah itself is a Sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad (SAWW). Meaning that performing Umrah is not a religious obligation for any Muslims but it’s done in the love, faith and commitment to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAWW). Whether you are travelling for umrah from UK or any other country of the world, remember that although it’s a sunnah Ibadah, it holds great rewards for pilgrims. Therefore, one should never miss out on the opportunity of performing umrah whenever offered.
Rituals of Umrah.
There are four primary rituals of Umrah;
1. Entering the State of Ihram.
2. Performing Tawaf of the Holy Kaabah.
3. Doing Sayee of the Safah and Marwah.
4. Halq (shaving) the head properly or trimming the hair.
Ihram;
Entering the State of Ihram is necessary for the performance of Hajj and Umrah. Some people prefer wearing Ihram from Meeqat while others depart from the airport while already wearing it. Before entering into Ihram, a person should;
• Trim its fingernails and toenails.
• Shave unnecessary hair from the body.
• Bathe i.e. perform Ghusl.
• Wear Ihram clothes.
• Offer 2 Rakat Salah without covering the head.
• Make Niyyah for Umrah.
Tawaf;
Tawaf of the Holy Kaabah is circumambulation around it for 7 rounds in an anti-clockwise direction.
• A pilgrim (male) should keep its right shoulder uncovered from Ihram.
• Male pilgrims have to do Raml for the first 3 rounds of Tawaf.
• Women cannot cover their face or hands.
• Kaabah should be on the left-hand side during the entire Tawaf.
• Every circuit of the Kaabah must begin and end at the position of Hajar-e-Aswad.
After the completion of Tawaf, every pilgrim must offer 2 Rakat Salah behind Maqam-e-Ibrahim.
Sayee;
Sayee is walking/running across the hills of Safah and Marwah for 7 times. In such a way that, the 7th round ends at the hill of Marwah. While it is permissible to perform Sayee while riding but walking is preferred by Hazrat Muhammad (SAWW).
Halq;
Halq means shaving the head completely while Taqsir is the trimming of Hair. It’s the last ritual of Umrah and thus marking its completion. After trimming of the hair, one can leave the state of Ihram.
For men, it is advised to shave their head completely (it’s a sunnah) while if they want, they can also trim the hair but equally from all the sides of the head.
For women, they can only trim a fingertips’ length of their hair.
It is the basic, Sunnah way of performing Umrah. So, if you are travelling for 5 star Ramadan Umrah packages, these are the necessary things to do in order to perform Umrah. However, for the proper method according to sunnah, one must consult an Umrah guide book or seek knowledge through a religious scholar on particular matters.
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