Umrah

According to a saheeh Hadith: The warrior who fights for the sake of Allah, and the pilgrim performing Hajj or Umrah are guests of Allah Who invited them and they responded to Him; they asked of Him and He gave that to them. [Ibn Maajah; see al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1920]

Leaving Home Dua In the Name of Allah, I place my trust in Allah, and there is neither might nor power except with Allah.

Travelling Dua How Perfect is He, The One Who has placed this [transport] at our service and we ourselves would not have been capable of that; and to our Lord is our final destiny.

When the time for prayer arrives travellers are recommended to combine and shorten prayers as the following:

Dhuhr (2 rakaats) & Asr (2 rakaats) prayed together with a two rakaat interval to separate Dhuhr and Asr Maghrib (3 rakaats) & Ishaa (2 rakaats) prayed together with a three rakaat interval and a two rakaat interval to separate Maghrib and Ishaa Fajr may not be shortened or combined with any other prayer

It is also recommended to make dhikir (remembrance of Allah) and dua many times and it is also recommended to read as much from the Holy Quran as this is a spiritual journey to gain closeness to the Creator Allah SWT.

Before reaching the Meeqat (a meeqat are places just outside the borders of Masjid Al Haram) Ghusl and Intention- At the hotel or in homeland begin the grooming process - removing unwanted hair in pubic area and underarms, clip the finger nails and toe nails short, perform ghusl (purity bath) and wuduh (ablution) then put on the ihram garments (you do not need to make intention for ihram until you have reached the meeqat). Ihram- For men, the ihram garment are the two pieces of un-sewn white cloth and for women there is no specified ihram garments as long as it covers her entire body except for her hands and face she may wear it as her ihram garment. Once the pilgrim arrives at the meeqat they may enter into the state of ihram by stating their intention to enter ihram and to perform Umrah (or Hajj) seeking the pleasure and forgiveness of Allah SWT. Performing Umrah There are four steps of Umrah which are: 1. Ihram 2. Tawaf 3. Saee 4. Trimming of the hair

Talbiyah Pilgrims then continually recite the Talbiyah until they have reached the doors of Masjid alHaram. The men recite the Talbiyah out loud while the women recite the Talbiyah in a low voice. Here I am O Allah Here I am, here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Surely all praise, grace and dominion is Yours, and You have no partner

Entering Masjid al Haram (W/Right Foot) In the Name of Allah, O Allah exalt the mention of Your Messenger Muhammad. O Allah forgive my sins and open the doors of Your Mercy for me.

When entering the Masjids the Prophet (may the peace and mercy of Allah be upon him) said: O Allah, I seek Your pleasure and Paradise and I seek protection in You.

Sighting the Kabah for the first time At the first glance of the sacred Kabah concentrate on its magnificence and recite the Takbir three times and the Tahlil three times.

Then moving aside so as not to obstruct any clearways, proclaim the salawat on the Prophet (the blessings of Allah upon Prophet Muhammad) which is stated as the following: O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibraaheem, verily You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem, verily You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.

Then make any other duas to Allah in all humility and obedience as this is an especially prosperous time to supplicate to Allah.

For example-

When all supplications have been said, move towards the Kabah reciting the Talbiyah once more.

Iztaba- Also at this time, the men will pass the rida' (upper ihram garment) under their right arm and over their left shoulder which leaves their right shoulder bare, this is known as Iztaba. Also, there should not be anything covering the head of a man or the arches of a mans feet. The women must ensure that every part of her body that must be covered is covered in a satisfactory manner - which means that the garments must not be clear or see through, revealing or attractive.

If it is time for prayer pilgrims will delay the Tawaf until the obligatory prayer has been performed.

After Azan Dua O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and established prayer. Grant Muhammad the intercession and favour, and raise him to the honoured station You have promised him. Verily You do not neglect promises.

Allahumma Rabba Haazihid Daawatit Taam Mati Was Salaatil Qaiymati Aati Mohammadan-nil Waseelata Wal Fadeelata Wad Darajatar Rafeeaata Wab As Hu Maqamam Mahmooda Nil Lazi Wa At Tahoo War Zuqna Shafa Atahu Yaomal Qiyamah. Innaka La Tukhliful Meeaad.

Tawaf

Start at Hajar Aswad (Black Stone, which was brought down from Paradise), make the necessary intention: to perform Tawaf of Umrah seeking the pleasure and mercy of Allah then attempt to kiss or touch the Black Stone while reciting if the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w had not kissed you, I too would not have kissed you.

Otherwise simply raise both hands or just the right hand towards the Black Stone while reciting Bismillah, Allahu akbar. During Tawaf there is no particular dua so any duas may be mentioned in any language, reciting verses from the Holy Quran or dhikir (remembrance of Allah) are the other permissable options. The men should walk briskly in the first three rounds of their Tawaf and then at normal pace for the remaining four rounds of their Tawaf. The women should walk at normal pace for all seven rounds of their Tawaf.

Dhikir of Allah: NOTE: There are no specific dua that must be said during tawaf or saee but I have created a list for myself and my fellow brothers and sisters in Islam for inspiration, though Allah is the best of Inspirers and it is recommended to make dua that comes from the heart.

Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah. There is no deity worthy of worship besides Allah. Allah is Supreme. There is no strength or power besides Allah.

Miscellaneous duas during Tawaf:

At the door of the Kabah recite

At Hijr Ismael recite

At the back wall of the Kabah recite

At Rukn Yamani recite O Allah grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of Hell-Fire.

Once at the Black Stone again, raise the right hand towards it and recite Bismillah, Allahu akbar to begin the second Tawaf. Repeat this process seven times reciting many and any dua, dhikr or from the Holy Quran.

Once Tawaf is completed the Iztaba for men has ended and they will cover both their shoulders once more.

Maqam Ibraaheem- Proceed to Maqam Ibraaheem (the station of Ibraaheem, on which he stood whilst building the Kabah) reciting the Quranic verse: (Quran 2: 125)

Then offer a short two rakaat prayer reciting Al-Kafiroon in the first rakaat and Al-Ikhlaas in the second rakaat. If it is too crowded pilgrims may offer their prayers anywhere behind Maqam Ibaaheem.

Drink zamzam water- Pilgrims often go down to the Zamzam well which is situated in the basement of Masjid al Haram about 200 feet from the Ka'bah door in order to replenish and revitalize their energy. This is another good time to supplicate to Allah for forgiveness, good health and mercy before drinking the zamzam water. Leaving the Masjid In the Name of Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. O Allah I ask for Your favour, guard me from the accursed shaytaan. Bismillahi wassalatu was salamu ala rasullillah. Allhumma inni as aluka min fadlik, Allahumma- a simnii minashaytaani rajim.

Saee The Saee is the walking back and forth between the two hills of Safa and Marwah seven times as done by Ibraaheems wife, Hajar who was in search of relief for her upset baby son Ismael; therefore the Saee is to commemorate the struggle faced by Hajar and baby Ismael.

Proceed towards Mount Safa while reciting the Quranic verse: (Quran 2: 158)

At the top of Safa, turn to the Kabah and recite: Allah is the Greatest x3. There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, Alone. He has no partner, To Him belongs the kingdom, & all praise belongs to Him, & He has power above all things, There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, He fulfilled His promise, granted victory to His servant, And alone He defeated the allied army.

And then any other dua as desired. Then decend Safa and at the green marker the men, if they are able, should run until they reach

the next green marker, whereupon they should revert to a normal walking pace and the women should proceed throughout at normal walking pace. At the top of Marwah, face the Kabah recite as
was done at Safa along with any other duas. This process is repeated seven times whereupon the pilgrims will end their Saee at Marwah.

Qasr - Trimming of the hair

Women should clip their hair one or two centimeters while men have the option of shaving off all their hair or just trimming their hair. However, if the Umrah is a precursor to performing Hajj, men should clip their hair so that there will be enough hair to shave when performing Hajj.

The steps of Umrah are now fulfilled and the code of conduct during Umrah has ended. Pilgrims may change into everyday clothing. May our pilgrimages be accepted by Allah Taala inshallah.

Dua O Allah verily I ask You for all the good things which I know of and that which I do not know of. And I seek refuge in You from all the evil things which I know of and of that which I do not know of. I ask You for Paradise and protection against the sayings and actions that takes one away from Paradise and I seek refuge in You from the Hell-Fire and whatever sayings and actions brings one closer to the Hell-Fire. I ask You for the good which Your slave and Messenger Muhammad (s.a.w) asked and I ask that whatever You have destined for me in my affairs that You make its end result right guidance. O Allah I ask of You all the good things asked of You by Your Messenger Muhammad (s.a.w) and I seek Your Protection from all the evil things from which Your Messenger Muhammad (s.a.w) sought Your Protection, and Yours is the final argument and there is no power [to do good] or strength [to avoid evil] but with Allah. O Allah forgive me for what I have put forward and what I have delayed, what I have kept hidden and what I have revealed, what I have wasted and what You know better than I do. You are The Advancer and The Delayer. There is no god but You. O Allah I ask of You guidance, piety, chastity and independence from Your creation and write me and my family down as among Your righteous slaves who performs the prayer regularly and is in full submission and obedience to You. O Allah. I seek Your Protection from inability, laziness, cowardice, decrepitude and miserliness. And I seek Your Protection from the punishment of the grave and of the mischief of life and death. O Allah set aright my religious life which is a safeguard in all my affairs. Set aright my worldly life in which is my subsistence. Set aright my Hereafter in all good and make my death a refuge from every evil. O Turner of hearts, turn my heart and the heart of my parents, my family and the mumineen towards Your obedience. O Allah pour on me patience and cause me to die as a Muslim. O Allah pour Your light into my heart, my eyes, my ears and shed it on my right, my left, behind me, before me, beneath me and above. O Allah I beg of You Your Love and the love of those who love You and I ask of You such deeds which will bring me Your Love. O Allah forgive me, my family and the Muslims establish our feet firmly and give us victory over those that reject faith. O Allah make us not a test and a trial for the disbelievers but forgive us O Allah You are The Exalted in might, The Wise. O Allah make me one who performs regular prayer and also from my offspring. O Allah accept my invocations and forgive me and my parents and family members and all the believers on the Day when the Reckoning will be established.

O Allah inspire me that I may be grateful for Your favours which You have bestowed on me and on my parents and that I may work righteousness that will please You and admit me by Your Mercy among Your righteous slaves. O Allah You comprehend all things in knowledge so forgive those who repent and follow Your way and save them from the torment of the blazing fire. O Allah make them enter the adn (eden) Paradise (everlasting gardens) which You have promised them and to the righteous among their fathers, their wives and their offspring. Verily You are the All-Mighty The All-Wise.

Sujud As-Sahwi This is a prostration between Tashahhud and Taslim which is due to forgetfulness in an obligatory prayer. Recite:

Sujud Al Tilawah This is a prostration made after reciting certain verses from the Quran; the prostration may be done during a prayer or outside of prayer. Recite Takbir before and after the prostration, Recite the following during the prostration: O Allah, unto You I have prostrated and in You I have believed, and unto You I have submitted. My face has prostrated before Him Who created it and fashioned it, and brought forth its faculties of hearing and seeing by His Might and Power. Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.

The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite the usual dhikir whilst in prostration as well as other duas along with the above dua.

The following are forbidden whilst in ihram and performing Umrah, or Hajj 1 Shaving the hair of the head [al-Baqarah 2:196] 2 Using perfume after entering ihram, whether on ones clothes or body, or in one's food or when washing the deceased muhrim 3 Intercourse [al-Baqarah 2:197] 4 Touching ones wife with desire, because this comes under the general meaning of the phrase he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), and because it is not permissible for the muhrim (person in ihram) to get married or to propose marriage so it is more likely that it is not permissible for him to touch his wife with desire 5 hunting [al-Maa'idah 5:95] 6 A prohibition which applies exclusively to men is wearing shirts, hooded robes, trousers, turbans and leather slippers, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about what the muhrim should wear. He said: He should not wear a shirt, hooded robe (burnous), trousers, a turban or leather slippers. But he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made an exception for one who cannot find an izaar (lower garment or waist wrapper), who may wear trousers, and one who cannot find sandals, who may wear leather slippers 7 One of the prohibitions of ihram that applies only to women is niqaab refers to a veil that covers the face and leaves the eyes uncovered, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade that. A similar prohibition applies to the burqa. When a woman enters ihram, she should not wear a niqaab or burqa. It is prescribed for her to leave her face uncovered except when a non-mahram man passes by her, then she must cover her face and it does not matter if this cover touches her face. With regard to the one who does any of these forbidden things out of forgetfulness or ignorance or because he is forced to do so, he does not have to offer any expiation, because Allah says: And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend [al-Ahzaab 33:5]

Funeral prayer: NOTE: In Makah and Medina there will be a funeral prayer possibly after every fard prayer. How to perform the Funeral Prayer Make the intention. First takbir: subhanakal-laa humma wa bi hamdika wa tabarakas-muka wa ta-aala jaddu ka wa la illaha Ghayrruk. (Glory to You O Allah and Yours is the praise and blessed is Your Name and exalted is Your Majesty and there is none to be served besides You). Then recite Al-Fatihah Second Takbir: Allahumma salli alaa Muhammad wa alaa ali Muhammad kama salayta alaa ibraaheema wa alaa ali Ibraaheem. Innaka hamedum majeed. Allahumma barik alaa Muhammad wa alaa ali Muhammad kama barakto alaa Ibraaheema wa alaa ali Ibraaheem. Innaka hamedum majeed. (O Allah exalt Muhammad and the true followers of Muhammad as You did exalt Abraham and the true followers of Abraham. Verily You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allah bless Muhammad and the true followers of Muhammad as You did bless Abraham and the true followers of Abraham. Verily You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory). Third Takbir: Allahumma firli hayyina wa mayyitina wa shaahidina wa ghaaibina wa shagherina wa kaberina wa dhakarina wa unthaana. Allahumma man ahyaytahu mina fah yeehi alal Islam wa man tawaffaytahu mina fa tawiffahu alal emaan. Allahumma ighfir lahu warhamhu wa aafihi wa afu anhu. Wa akrim nuzulahu wa wassi madkhalahu waghsilhu bil-maa wal thalj wal barad. Wa naqqihi min al-khataaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb alabyad min al danas. Allahumma abdihu daaran khayra min daarihi wa ahlan khayra min ahlihi. Allahumma adkhilhu al Jannah wa aidhhu min adhaab il qabri wa min adhaab il naar wa afsah lahu fi qabrihi wa nawwir lahu fihi. Allahumma laa tahrimna ajrahu wa la tadillanaa badahu (O Allah forgive our living and our dead those who are present among us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah whoever You keep alive keep him alive in Islam and whoever You cause to die cause him to die with faith. O Allah forgive him and have mercy on him keep him safe and sound and forgive him, honour the place where he settles and make his entrance wide; wash him with water and snow and hail and cleanse him of sin as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah give him a house better than his house and a family better than his family. O Allah admit him to Paradise and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of the Hell-Fire, make his grave spacious and fill it with light. O Allah do not deprive us of the reward and dont cause us to go astray after this). Forth Takbir: pause for a while then turn head to right to recite Taslim assalaamu alaykum

Whilst in Medina O you who come to the City of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), you have come to a good place and you are going to earn great reward. May Allah accept your righteous deeds and fulfill your greatest hopes. Welcome to the land of Hijrah and victory, the land of the Chosen Prophet, the land to which the righteous Companions migrated and the home of the noble people of Ansaar. Visiting Masjid Al Nabawi (W/Right Foot) The Prophet said: prayer in the Prophet Muhammads Masjid is better than a thousand prayers anywhere else, apart from al-Masjid al-Haraam. [Muslim] In the name of Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, forgive my sins and open to me the gates of Your mercy. I seek refuge in Allah the Almighty and in His noble Face and in His eternal Power, from the accursed Shaytaan.

Pray in Al Rawdah: This is an area between the mimbar of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the room in which is his grave, because this area is one of the gardens (riyaadh, snglr. rawdah) of Paradise.

Visiting the grave of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) At the grave of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); stand in front of it in a dignified manner and say, Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings. O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem, verily You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem, verily You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. I bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah, that you conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah and strove truly for the sake of Allah. May Allah reward you on behalf of your Ummah better than any Prophet is rewarded on behalf of his nation.

Move a little to the right and send salaams upon Abu Bakr al Siddeeq and pray that Allah be pleased with him. Then move to the right once more and send salaams upon Umar ibn al Khattab and pray that Allah be pleased with him, i.e. Peace be upon you O Abu Bakr / O Umar ibn al Khattab may Allah be pleased with you.

Visiting or passing by the graveyard of Al Baqee Peace be upon you, people of this abode, from among the believers and those who are Muslims, and we by the will of Allah shall be joining you. [May Allah have mercy on the first of us and the last of us]. I ask Allah to grant us and you strength.

Visiting Mount Uhud If visiting Mount Uhud then it is recommended to remember what happened there to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions in their jihad their trials and martyrdom; there are many brothers there who are ready to tell the stories of the battle of Uhud, and send salaams upon the martyrs there, such as Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the paternal uncle of the Prophet, Musab ibn Umair and Abdullah bint Jash (peace and blessing of Allah upon them all). Mosque of Quba The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, whoever purifies himself in his house then comes to the mosque of Quba and prays there, he will have a reward like that for Umrah. *Ahmad, al Nasaai,
Ibn Maajah and al Hakim]

Medina is rich in Islamic history and it is very beneficial (to ones knowledge and imaan) to visit the sites in which are full of the history of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) such as visiting the date farms (dates that were from Paradise), visiting the places where the ansars used to live and visiting mosques i.e. Masjid Jumah (where he s.aw first prayed Jumah), Masjid Quba (where he first arrived and built the foundations of that mosque) and Masjid Ghamamah (where he first prayed out in the open spaces for eid).