Umrah or the minor pilgrimage is a visit to the Sacred House of Allah to perform the worship of God Almighty, and is based on Ihram, by circumambulating around the Ka ’bah, moving between Safa and Marwah, and fulfilling the required conditions before performing the Umrah, such as shaving or shortening the hair, and Umrah is considered obligatory and legitimate and this was the opinion of the scholars, and the evidence for That is what Allah Almighty said: (Complete the pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage for Allah), and there was another opinion saw that it is a Sunnah, so that any able Muslim person can perform it for one time in his life or more according to his physical and financial capabilities and abilities, and if he can perform it more than once then this is something that comes back For him and it will be counted in his book of the good deeds, and the ninth year of migration was the year in which the Umrah was imposed.
The virtue of Umrah
All the sins between two Umrahs are forgiven, Continuity and between Hajj and Umrah removes poverty, sins and sins. Umrah in the month of Ramadan is equal and identical to Hajj with the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and that in a narration on the authority of Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him, said: “When the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, returned from his Hajj, he said to Umm Sinan al-Ansariyya: What prevented you from Hajj? – You mean her husband – he had two mature women performing Hajj on one of them and the other irrigated land for us. He said: “Umrah in Ramadan performs Hajj with me.”
The time for Umrah
The hadiths indicate the great virtue of Umrah and the resulting reward. Umrah does not have a special and specific time for performing it, any person can do it at any time he wants during the year, but he must know that he cannot do it at the time of Hajj (pilgrimage) ; Because it (the time of pilgrimage) is specified for performing the Hajj only, and this indicates the distinction between Umrah and Hajj in repetition in the same year. This is from the bounty of Allah Almighty over His servants. Because Umrah is not limited to a specific time of the year, rather it can be performed in any month. The best month for performing Umrah is Ramadan, because it has a great reward that Allah has promised.
Conditions for Umrah:
That the performer is a Muslim.
To be an adult.
To be sane.
To be capable and able to do it physically and financially.
Things to do before and after Ihram:
Nails must be trimmed.
Ablution.
Perfuming the body.
Talbiyah (to say: Labayk Allahum Labayk, Labayk La shareek lak Labayk, inn al Hamd wal Ne’mat lak wal Mulk, la Shareek Lak) with raising the voice.
Kissing the Black Stone if there is no crowd.
Speed up walking in the first three rounds.
A lot of Du’aa and invocation.
Praying two rak’ahs.
Ascending As-Safa.
Running between the two green flags.
Increase the dhikr.
Steps of Umrah:
First: Ihram
Ihram is the intention to get into the Umrah journey, and it is desirable for a Muslim who is performing the Umrah to utter the saying, “Labayk Allahum Umrah, Labayk Allahum Umrah”(I want to perform an Umrah, Iwant to perform an Umrah) when he is starting ihram. It is supposed in ihram for men to wear Ihram garments, which are made of upper and lower clothing which are unstitched , and it is desirable for their color to be white, and in addition to that, washing, perfume and cleaning are considered from the well-loved Sunnahs that you follow before the Ihram, and the pilgrim must say after the Ihraam: “Labayk Allahum Labayk, Labayk La Shaeek Lak Labayk, Inn Alhamd Walne’mata Lak Wal Mulk La Shareek Lak”
As for the woman’s Ihram clothes, she does not have a specific dress for the Ihram, as some believe, but it is not permissible for her to wear gloves or wear the niqab, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, stated: “as for woman in Ihram, Do not wear the niqab and do not wear gloves.”
Second: Tawaf
The circumambulation is seven circuits around the Kaaba, where each of these circuits begins in front of the Black Stone and ends at that stone. As for the Kaaba, it is to the left of the pilgrim during the circumambulation phase, and it is Sunnah for the pilgrim to walk quickly with the convergence of the steps, and that is in Exactly the first three rounds.
Third: Praying at the shrine of Ibrahim, peace be upon him:
Prayer at the shrine of Ibrahim, peace and blessing be upon him, is from the Sunnah for the person who is performing the Umrah or the pilgrimage when he goes to the prayer in the shrine begins to recite the Almighty’s saying, “And ˹remember˺ when We made the Sacred House1 a centre and a sanctuary for the people ˹saying˺, “˹You may˺ take the standing-place of Abraham2 as a site of prayer.” It is also the Sunnah for the pilgrim to pray two rak’ahs after completing his circumambulation, and after the prayer he can drink from the water of Zamzam and touch the Black Stone.
Fourth: Al-Sa’yi
And it is going back and forth seven times between Safa and Marwah, start at Safa and ends at Marwah, and that from the Prophet’s Sunnah in doing Sa’yi to recite the Almighty saying “Indeed, ˹the hills of˺ Ṣafa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs the pilgrimage or minor pilgrimage,2 let them walk between ˹the two hills˺. And whoever does good willingly, Allah is truly Appreciative, All-Knowing.”
Fifth: shaving or shortening the hair
Shaving or shortening the hair is considered one of the rules of Umrah, but shaving is better than shortening for men. As for a woman, it is not a must for her to cut her hair short, and it is not permissible for her to shave it.