How to perform Umrah, step by step

What Umrah is, and when you can do it

Umrah can be performed at any time of the year except the Hajj period. That is the rule Nusuk, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's own platform, states on its Umrah journey page.

Nusuk presents the rite in four steps, and these four are the pillars of Umrah: Ihram, Tawaf, Sa'i and Halq or Taqsir, the shaving or shortening of the hair. Everything else you will hear about is either a Sunnah within one of these four or a practical arrangement your group makes.

Where your Ihram begins: the Miqat

The Miqat is the boundary at which a pilgrim enters the state of ihram. The Prophet (peace be upon him) fixed Dhul Hulayfah as the Miqat for the people of Madinah, Al-Juhfah for the people of Sham, Qarn al-Manazil for the people of Najd, and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen. The same hadith states that these apply to the people of those places, and besides them to anyone who comes through those places intending Hajj or Umrah.

A passenger who comes in line with a Miqat from the air must enter ihram at that point. It is not permissible to pass the Miqat and enter ihram only after landing in Jeddah. If ihram is delayed until after Jeddah, the majority of scholars hold that a sacrifice must be offered in Makkah and the meat given to the poor.

The practical guidance given is to prepare and put on the ihram garments before reaching the Miqat, and to make the intention when you are in line with it, or slightly before, to be safe.

Dhul Hulayfah, also called Masjid ash-Shajarah, is about 424 km north of Makkah and serves pilgrims coming from Madinah. Yalamlam, today called As-Sa'diyyah, is about 105 km south-east of Makkah.

Entering ihram and making the intention

Nusuk's first step reads: "Start your Umrah journey with a sincere intention to enter the state of Ihram and engage in the rituals of Umrah, with the recitation of the Talbiyah. Then, put on the Ihram garments."

A man in ihram covers his body with the izar, the lower wrap, and the rida, the upper garment. Before entering ihram it is recommended to recite tasbih (Subhan Allah), tahlil (La ilaha illa Allah) and takbir (Allahu Akbar).

1. 1

   Say the Talbiyah

   Recite it abundantly on the way to Makkah. It is the sentence that marks you as a pilgrim, and it is the same wording narrated in Jabir's account of the Prophet's own pilgrimage.

   لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لاَ شَرِيكَ لَكَ

   Labbayk Allahumma labbayk, labbayka la sharika laka labbayk, inna-l-hamda wan-ni'mata laka wal-mulk, la sharika lak.

   “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.”

   Sahih al-Bukhari 1549

What women wear

A woman may enter ihram in whatever clothes she likes, black or any other colour, so long as she avoids wanton display. There is no prescribed garment and no prescribed colour.

What you may not do while in ihram

Forbidden to both men and women

• Removing or shaving hair from the head or body.
• Clipping the nails.
• Using perfume after entering ihram, whether on clothing or on the body.
• Sexual relations, and touching one's spouse with desire.
• Hunting or killing game.

Forbidden to men only

Sewn or fitted garments. The Prophet prohibited "a shirt, hooded robe (burnus), trousers, a turban or leather slippers" for a man in ihram.

Forbidden to women only

Wearing the niqab or burqa', the face veils, and wearing gloves. A woman may still cover her face and hands with a loose garment, scarf or similar in front of men who are not her mahram.

Tawaf: seven circuits of the Kaaba

These are Nusuk's own six sub-steps, in its own words.

1. 1"We enter the mataf and stand next to the black stone, making it to our left."
2. 2"We raise the hand and say 'Allahu Akbar' when aligned."
3. 3"We begin circumambulation counterclockwise."
4. 4"We pray during circumambulation."
5. 5"When we reach the same point from which we started, aligning with the Black Stone, we have completed one step, so we repeat the alignment, raising the hand, and saying 'Allahu Akbar.'"
6. 6"We continue until we complete seven rounds in the same manner."

Two Sunnahs for men

Nusuk lists both. Idtiba is showing the right shoulder while circumambulating. Ramal is speeding up the steps during the first three rounds. In Jabir's description of the Prophet's own Tawaf, "he touched the pillar and (made seven circuits) running three of them and walking four."

What to say

At the Black Stone you say الله أكبر, Allahu Akbar, raising your hand towards it when you are aligned. Between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone there is a prescribed dua.

The Shafi'i school, which most Sri Lankan Muslims follow, holds that wudu is a condition for the validity of Tawaf. If you are unsure how a ruling applies to you, ask a scholar you trust or the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama fatwa service rather than a travel brochure.

Two rak'ahs, then Zamzam

After completing Tawaf the Prophet went to the Station of Ibrahim and recited: "And adopt the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer." The Station was between him and the House. He recited Surah al-Ikhlas and Surah al-Kafirun in the two rak'ahs. Nusuk lists praying two rak'ahs behind the Station of Ibrahim after Tawaf as a Sunnah.

After the two rak'ahs the Prophet returned to the Black Stone and kissed it.

The Prophet drank Zamzam during his pilgrimage. He came to Banu Abd al-Muttalib, who were supplying water at Zamzam, "so they handed him a basket and he drank from it." Drinking Zamzam is recommended, not obligatory.

Sa'i between Safa and Marwah

Again, Nusuk's own sub-steps.

1. 1"The beginning from Mount Al-Safa: The mountain no longer exists, but there are remains of rocks on the ground floor. On the upper floors there are signs showing the location of Al-Safa."
2. 2"Walking towards Mount Marwa."
3. 3"Before Al-Marwa, when they reach the area of the two green flags visible on the roof of Al-Massa', the men run. They stop jogging after the end of Alamein."
4. 4"When we reach Al-Marwah, we will have completed one way, then we turn around and return to Al-Safa where we started."
5. 5"We continue until we complete three and a half laps that end at Mount Marwa, and the males jog every time they pass the Green Alamein area. Thus, we have completed seven rounds."

The Prophet began at Safa, having recited this verse, and said "I begin with what Allah began with." Between Safa and Marwah, when his feet came down in the bottom of the valley he ran, and when he began to ascend he walked.

In the Shafi'i school, which most Sri Lankan Muslims follow, Sa'i must come after a valid Tawaf.

Cutting your hair, and leaving ihram

Nusuk's fourth step: "After completing the tawaf and sa'i, the umrah visitor shaves or cuts his hair, thereby completing the Umrah and what was prohibited during it is permitted for him."

• Men: shaving the entire head, or shortening it.
• Women: cutting an amount of 1 to 2 cm from the ends of the hair.

Shaving is superior to trimming for men. In the Shafi'i school the minimum is a small amount from any part of the head, with a fingertip length, a little under 2 cm, preferred.

That is the Umrah complete. If you are travelling with a group, the next thing on your mind will be prayer times, meals and the coach to Madinah. What to expect on a first Umrah covers the shape of the days around the rites.