What are the Four Rituals of Umrah

Umrah is free from time restrictions in terms of performance. There is no set time to perform it. Umrah is a combination of four rituals: Ihram, Tawaf, Sa'i, and Halq/Taqseer. The word “ritual” means “series of activities”.

What is Umrah?

The word Umrah is a journey to Mecca. All Muslims should perform Umrah at least once in their lifetime due to Sunnah. Sunnah means an action that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed in his life. So joining this holy journey is worship in Islam. Although Umrah is relatively less important than Hajj as Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Note: The Saudi ministry has changed the old Umrah rules for men and women. Type Umrah packages in your search bar to get a complete Umrah guide.

Four Rituals of Umrah?

These are four rituals of Umrah:

• Ihram
• Tawaf
• Sa’ee
• Halq/Taqseer

Ihram

A Muslim must wear Ihram to perform Hajj and Umrah, which is considered a sacred state. The form of this state is different for both sexes (male and female).

Men will wear two unstitched white sheets for Ihram. Here unstitched means they cannot even wear any stitched clothes i.e. underwear. But it is permissible to use a belt around the waist to keep mobile, money or documents.

Women can wear any modest dress following the Islamic way. Tight, shorts and skimpy clothing are not allowed even if it is an abaya. Therefore, women should avoid wearing pants or trousers (pyjamas) during this time.

Entering into this holy state is necessary before crossing the miqat. In addition to clothing, pilgrims must also observe several prohibitions in the state of Ihram to complete their journey.

Tawaf

Tawaf is an act of walking around the Kaaba in a counterclockwise circle seven times. In this ritual, Muslims walk unitedly around the Kaaba and pray to God. The circumambulation of the people around the Kaaba represents the unity of the believers in worshipping one God. The beginning and end of these seven cycles are on the black stone which is also known as Hajre Aswad. This stone is counted among the three sacred stones that were sent from heaven to earth.

Sa’ee

Safa and Marwah are two small hills that are now part of the Great Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Walking back and forth between these hills is the third ritual of Umrah. Walking here doesn't feel like you're walking on your terrace or in your back garden. Muslims should take steps between these two hills quickly, i.e. like someone walking a little faster than normal speed in search of someone. 

But women should keep their speed normal here like Tawaf. The story behind the fast walk is particularly related to the existence of a prophet's wife and a prophet's mother among these hills. The name of this wife and mother was Bibi Hajra (R.A.) whose husband was Ibrahim (A.S.) and her son was Ismail (A.S.).

Halq/Taqseer

The third ritual you must perform on your Umrah journey is to shave or trim your hair after performing Sa'i. For men, there are two options trim or head shave, but women have only one trim.

For women, it is prescribed to cut hair up to one inch in length only. Remember that cutting hair is called “Taqsir” and shaving the head is called “Halq''. Muslims do not need to go to Mina for this last rite as they can perform it wherever they want. Cutting the hair is like complete submission to Allah.

Umrah is a shortened form of Hajj as it consists of only 4 rituals as opposed to Hajj rituals. These activities are Ihram, Tawaf, Sa'i and Halq/Taqseer. Muslims perform them at those places that are described according to Islam. The Saudi ministry has relaxed Umrah rules for foreigners. Now, one can also arrange their travel but it is still better to get Umrah Packages 2023 from a travel agency.