Performance of Umrah

Introduction:

Umrah is a “minor Hajj” and it is performed according to the Sunnah of our Holy Prophet (S.A.W). it is performed at any time in the whole year. The difference between hajj and Umrah is that, it is not performed I the five days of Hajj. Except these five days, Umrah can be performed at any time. A Muslim who come Mecca to perform Umrah is called pilgrim until he reaches back to his home. Many of the travel management companies are facilitating these people in their journey by providing Cheapest Umrah Packages for them. 

According to Hadith, the Prophet (S.A.W) said:

 "The performers of Hajj and Umrah are deputations of Allah (SWT). If they call Him, He answers them and if they seek His forgiveness, He forgives them." This hadeeth clearly shows the great significance of Umrah and how much Allah (SWT) loves those who sacrifice their time and wealth for His cause”.

Types of Umrah:

There are two types of Umrah which are performed by the Muslims of the entire world. Umrah which is performed separately from Hajj is known as al-Umrat al mufradah. Second type is Umrat al-tammatu that is performed with Hajj. Firstly Umrah is performed and then Hajj is performed with all its rituals. In another hadeeth the prophet (S.A.W) says:

“One Umrah is expiation for the sins committed between it and another Umrah”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Umrah can be performed multiple times in a Muslim’s whole life. A person can perform Umrah at any time but unfortunately most of the pilgrims do not know the virtues and blessings of many acts during Umrah. It is very important that a person who is going to perform Umrah must know the basic actions and obligations of it. 

In many cases, the pilgrims who perform Hajj are unaware that they can also perform Umrah. In this way they get a lot of more blessings of Allah and vanished their sins and come near to Allah Almighty. Umrah is a shorter pilgrimage as compare to Hajj. Umrah may be included in Hajj but it is not a substitute of Hajj. Hajj is compulsory for the Muslims who can afford but Umrah is not obligatory. Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. Muslims visit the Holy city Mecca and they offer Talbiyyah and verses during Hajj and Umrah. In Hajj, Tawaf is performed during 10th to 12th day and known as Zulhajj. On the 10th Zulhajj, an animal is sacrificed by each pilgrim. During the performance of Umrah, there are certain rules and regulations which must be kept in mind. These are as under:

A person, who is performing Umrah, must be a Muslim. The person should be of sound mind and physically healthy to perform all the rights of Umrah. There should not be any debts on pilgrim and he should be in a strong financial position to bear all the travelling and accommodation expenses during Umrah. Women can also decide to visit the house of Allah but only with her husband, or mahram like son, brother etc. the relatives by whom she cannot marry.