THE-RITES-OF-Umrah : Umrah

THE-RITES-OF-Umrah

Umrah

Umrah (the minor pilgrimage) etymologically is derived from " Al Îtimar " which means "a visit". The one who wants to perform Umrah, enters a state of Ihram since the Meeqat, perform Tawaf (circumbulation) of the Umrah, perform the Sâayi between Safa and Marwa and finally the pilgrim puts off hi

s Ihram by cutting or shaving his hair..

The Meeqaat is the place from where the pilgrims change their clothes and wear the garments of Ihram .

The Meeqats are the known, unlimited precise places for those intending to p

erform Umrah when they are on their way to the sacred house ; it is in these places that pilgrims must be in a state of sacralization before starting the performance of the rituals :

These Meeqaats are:

Dzoul Houleifa : To the pilgrims coming from Medi.

Al-Jouhfah : To the pilgrims coming from Syria.

Qarnoul Manâzil : To the pilgrims coming from Nejd.

Yalamlam : To the pilgrims

coming from Yemen.

Dzâtou Irq : To the pilgrims coming from Irak.

The best type of Hajj is the Tamattu, thanks to it we shall combine the Umrah a

nd the Hajj and perform them at the same time .

Namely, when we begin by the perfo

rmance of Umrah , being on a state of Ihram and then during t

he 8th day of Dhu Al-Hijjah, we dress on Ihram clothing and we perform Hajj.

In itself , an Umrah can be performed in a time of 2 till 3 hours . Meanwhile, when the Pilgrim takes his Ihram in A

bâr 'Aly (Dhoû-l-Houlayfa) 12 kilometres away from Medina, he/she must count about one day to this first Umrah (he/she can depart in the middle of the morning and finish the rituals of his/her Umrah by the end of the evening according to his/her own rythm ).

1-Ihram (circumbulation)

An Umrah begins by entering into the state of Ihram, even before entering the sacred city.

First of all, for men it is advisable to shave his hair, to cut his nails, to get rid of his pubes hair, to take a bath ( Gh usl), then, to w

ear two pieces of fabric called the

Upon arriving at the sacred mosque in Mecc

ccepted, so it is then of no use to push the other pilgrims , which can represent a real danger ,if we cannot reach the black stone.

a (Al-Masjid Al-Haraam), we should enter with our right foot in a manner expressing humility and gratitude to the blessings He, Almighty, conferred upon us. If it is the time of an abligatory we have to pray it , if not we shall beging Tawaf Al Kâaba (circumblation) (7 rounds a round the Kâaba) ; we start from the black stone .You will notice that there are marks on the floor that indicate the spot from where we can begin. The Kâaba is left by our left side , and we move foward the Black Stone, saying « Bismil-laahi wa Allaahu Akbar » (In the name of Allaah, Allaah is the Greatest). If we are too close we kiss the black stone if not we just touch it. If this is difficult for us, t

hould go on performing tawaf without touching it, pointing at it or even saying : « Bismi'Llah Allahu akbar wa li'Lah Al-hamad ».

hen we s These variable ways of Umrah performance are all perfectly a

2- Tawaf (Circumblation)

When reaching the black stone , we say« Bismil-laahi Allaahu Akbar » and we start by these invocations : « Oh God, with your Faith, Faith in your holy Book, an Faith in your Promises, and the obedience to your Prophet. » There are no specific invocations to be recited in each round, so do not give great importance to the libraries which sell prayer books special to Tawaf, of course they are certainly helpful but they should not restrict your prayers . The pilgrim can make invo

cations, read verses of the holy Coran, etc. - For man, it is advisable to walk rapidly among small groups and to show off his right shoulder during Tawaf. When reaching the corner of the blac k stone we should say these inv ocation s : « Our Lord, grant us good in this life and good in the hereafter and save us from the punishment of the Hellfire. ».

3- Go to Zemzem
	After the Tawaf,the pilgrim approaches Maqaam Ibraaheem (Ibraaheem’s station).Then prays two short Rak’ahs. Because there are many pilgrims, We can pray far from Maqaam Ibraaheem to avoid congestion meanwhile to enjoy a cal

m atmosphere. If this is possible, we can go to Multazam to relax and pray . There is a profoundly saint place that lies between the black stone and the door of the Kâaba,of about two metres length , where we can pray . If you succeed to reach this place , pray to allah so that he, the almighty, accords you his mercy . If, beacause if the huge number you cannot reach the Multazam, simpley turn to this place and pray.

Then we go to the Zemzem fountain to drink as much as we can , to get ourselves ready for a long and exhaustive trip .

4- Making sa’i between safa and marwa

- We climb unto mount Safaa until the Ka'bah is visible, We are facing the Qibla, we raise hands mains and say « Allaahu Akbar » (Allaah is the Greatest). - Then we can ask G

od whatever we want through invocations (Douâa) ; - Then we descend and go towards Marwah. There are two green bannsers to indicate that we have to run when we are walking. Repeat the same procedure as when ascending the Safaa mount.

5- Shaving or cutting the hair

Once sa’i is accomplised, men can shave or cut their hair . Women should cut one or two centimetres of their head hair too. (For man, if they want to immediately accomplish Hajj after the Umra, they could not shave their head hair, but simply cut and shorten it).