Umrah in brief
- Ihram at the miqat: take a bath, apply perfume to the body, put on the ihram garments, then say "Labbayka 'umrah" and recite the talbiyah often.
- Tawaf around the Kaaba: seven rounds, starting and ending at the Black Stone, then two rak'ahs behind Maqam Ibrahim.
- Sa'i between Safa and Marwah: seven laps, starting at Safa and ending at Marwah.
- Shaving or shortening the hair: this completes the Umrah, and everything forbidden by ihram becomes permissible again.
Before you set off
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Ihram at the miqat
Ihram is the intention to enter the rites; it is made at the miqat or when level with it.
Before ihram (sunnah acts)
- Take a bath (ghusl) as for major impurity; it is recommended even for women in menses or postnatal bleeding.
- Apply perfume to the body, not to the ihram garments. al-Bukhari 1539; Muslim 1189
- Trim any hair and nails you need to before ihram, because this is forbidden once you are in ihram.
- Men wear two clean white sheets — a waist wrap (izar) and an upper wrap (rida') — and sandals. Women wear any modest clothing that covers them, without a face veil (niqab) or gloves.
Intention and talbiyah
When you reach the miqat, make the intention for Umrah in your heart and say: "Labbayka 'umrah" (Here I am, O Allah, for Umrah). If you fear you may be unable to complete it because of illness or the like, you may add a condition:
اللَّهُمَّ مَحِلِّي حَيْثُ حَبَسْتَنِي
Allāhumma maḥillī ḥaythu ḥabastanī
O Allah, my place of leaving ihram is wherever You stop me.
al-Bukhari 5089; Muslim 1207Then recite the talbiyah often — men aloud, women quietly — until you begin tawaf:
لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ
Labbayk Allāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna l-ḥamda wa n-niʿmata laka wa l-mulk, lā sharīka lak
Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. All praise and blessings are Yours, and all dominion. You have no partner.
al-Bukhari 1549; Muslim 1184The miqats
The Prophet ﷺ fixed them and said: "These Mawaqit are for the people at those very places, and besides them for those who come through those places with the intention of performing Hajj and Umra." al-Bukhari 1524; Muslim 1181
| Miqat | Known today as | For | Distance to Makkah |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhul-Hulayfah | Abyar Ali | People of Madinah and those passing through it | about 420 km |
| Al-Juhfah | Near Rabigh (pilgrims enter ihram at Rabigh today) | People of Syria, Egypt and North Africa | about 187 km |
| Qarn al-Manazil | As-Sayl al-Kabir / Wadi Muhrim | People of Najd, Taif and the Gulf | about 94 km |
| Yalamlam | As-Sa'diyyah | People of Yemen and those coming from the south | about 115 km |
| Dhat 'Irq | Ad-Dariba | People of Iraq and the East | about 92 km |
On a plane: put on the ihram garments at the airport or on the plane, and make the intention for Umrah when the plane is level with the miqat — the crew usually announce it a few minutes before. Someone who passes the miqat by air may not delay ihram until Jeddah.
If you live inside the miqats, such as the people of Jeddah, you enter ihram from where you are. If you are in Makkah, go out beyond the Haram boundary (to al-ḥill) — such as at-Tan'im (Masjid Aisha) — and enter ihram there, as the Prophet ﷺ instructed Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). al-Bukhari and Muslim
What is forbidden in ihram — 9 things to avoid until you leave ihram
Whoever does one of these out of forgetfulness or ignorance owes nothing for most of them according to the majority of scholars. Whoever does one deliberately owes the expiation (fidyah); ask a scholar about the details.
Tawaf around the Kaaba
Seven rounds, starting and ending at the Black Stone, with the Kaaba on your left.
Entering al-Masjid al-Haram
Step in with your right foot and say:
اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ
Allāhumma ftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik
O Allah, open for me the gates of Your mercy.
Muslim 713Stop the talbiyah when you begin tawaf, and be in a state of purity (wudu); according to the majority of scholars it is a condition for tawaf to be valid.
How to perform tawaf
- Idtiba' (men): place the middle of your upper sheet under your right armpit and its ends over your left shoulder — for this tawaf only. Abu Dawud; at-Tirmidhi
- Start at the Black Stone: touch and kiss it if you can do so without pushing; otherwise touch it with your hand; if that is not possible, point to it with your right hand and say "Allāhu akbar". al-Bukhari 1613
- Raml (men): walk briskly with short steps in the first three rounds, and walk normally in the remaining four. al-Bukhari and Muslim
- The Yemeni Corner: touch it with your hand if you can, without kissing it or pointing to it.
- Between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone say: ﴿رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ﴾ — "Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire." Abu Dawud 1892, graded hasan by al-Albani; Qur'an 2:201
- During the rest of the tawaf remember Allah and make any du'a you wish; there is no specific du'a for each round.
- Walk around the outside of Hijr Ismail, not through it, because it is part of the Kaaba. al-Bukhari 1584; Muslim 1333
Tawaf round counter
After tawaf
- Cover your right shoulder, then pray two rak'ahs behind Maqam Ibrahim if you can, otherwise anywhere in the mosque. After al-Fatihah, recite Surat al-Kafirun in the first and Surat al-Ikhlas in the second. Muslim 1218
- Drink Zamzam water, then go back to the Black Stone and touch it if you can. Muslim 1218
"And take, [O believers], from the standing place of Abraham a place of prayer." Qur'an 2:125
Sa'i between Safa and Marwah
Seven laps, starting at Safa and ending at Marwah; going is one lap and returning is another.
On Safa
As you approach Safa, recite: ﴿إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ﴾ — "Indeed, aṣ-Ṣafā and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allāh" — and say: "I begin with what Allah began with." Then climb Safa until you can see the Kaaba if possible, face it, raise your hands, say "Allāhu akbar" three times, and say:
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ الْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ
Lā ilāha illa llāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahu l-mulku wa lahu l-ḥamd, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr. Lā ilāha illa llāhu waḥdah, anjaza waʿdah, wa naṣara ʿabdah, wa hazama l-aḥzāba waḥdah
There is no god but Allah alone, without partner; to Him belong the dominion and the praise, and He is over all things competent. There is no god but Allah alone; He fulfilled His promise, supported His servant, and defeated the confederates alone.
Muslim 1218Between Safa and Marwah
- Walk down towards Marwah. When you reach the green light, move quickly (men) until the next green light, then walk.
- Make any du'a and dhikr you wish. It is authentically reported that Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said during sa'i:
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْأَعَزُّ الْأَكْرَمُ
Rabbi ghfir wa rḥam, innaka anta l-aʿazzu l-akram
My Lord, forgive and have mercy; You are the Most Mighty, the Most Generous.
Ibn Abi Shaybah, with an authentic chain to the Companions- When you reach Marwah, climb it, face the qiblah, and do as you did on Safa. Muslim 1218
- Purity (wudu) is not a condition for sa'i, but it is better. Doing sa'i on the upper floors is permissible.
Sa'i lap counter
Shaving or shortening the hair
This completes the Umrah, and everything that ihram made forbidden becomes permissible.
- Men: shave the head, which is better, or shorten the hair from all over the head. The Prophet ﷺ prayed three times for those who shave and once for those who shorten. al-Bukhari 1727; Muslim 1301
- Women: gather the hair and cut a fingertip's length (about 2 cm) from the ends; women do not shave. Abu Dawud, graded sahih by al-Albani
- If Hajj is close (for someone performing tamattu'), shortening is better in the Umrah, so that there is hair left to shave in Hajj.
"with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened" Qur'an 48:27
Your Umrah is complete — may Allah accept it from you. The Prophet ﷺ said: "(The performance of) Umra is an expiation for the sins committed (between it and the previous one)." al-Bukhari 1773; Muslim 1349
Rulings specific to women
- She wears any modest clothing she wishes, but not a niqab or gloves, and covers her face from non-mahram men by letting her head-cover hang down. al-Bukhari 1838
- She does not raise her voice in the talbiyah, and there is no raml or idtiba' for her in tawaf, and no quick walking between the green lights.
- A woman in menses or postnatal bleeding enters ihram at the miqat and takes a bath, and does everything the pilgrim does except tawaf; she waits until she is pure, then performs tawaf and sa'i. The Prophet ﷺ told Aisha: "So do what all the pilgrims do except that you do not perform the Tawaf round the Ka'ba till you are clean." al-Bukhari 305; Muslim 1211
- She cuts a fingertip's length from the ends of her hair; she does not shave.
Common mistakes in Umrah
Scholars warn against these in their books on the rites.
Frequently asked questions about Umrah
Is Umrah obligatory?
Scholars differ: the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold that it is obligatory once in a lifetime for whoever is able, based on the verse "And complete the ḥajj and ʿumrah for Allāh" (2:196); the Hanafi and Maliki schools hold that it is a confirmed sunnah.
What are the pillars and obligations of Umrah?
Umrah has three pillars: ihram, tawaf and sa'i. It has two obligations: entering ihram from the miqat, and shaving or shortening the hair. Everything else is sunnah.
How long does Umrah take?
Usually between two and four hours depending on the crowds: tawaf about 45–90 minutes, sa'i about 45–60 minutes, then shaving or shortening.
Do I need wudu for tawaf and sa'i?
According to the majority of scholars, purity from ritual impurity is a condition for tawaf. For sa'i it is not a condition, only recommended.
What if I am unsure how many rounds I have done?
Go by what you are certain of, which is the lower number: if you are unsure whether you did six or seven, count six and do a seventh. If the doubt comes after you have finished, ignore it.
Can I perform Umrah on behalf of someone else?
Yes — for someone who has died, or someone permanently unable to do it — provided you have already performed Umrah for yourself, based on the hadith of Abu Razin: "Perform Hajj on behalf of your father and perform Umrah." (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi, who graded it sahih).
How does a woman in menses perform Umrah?
She enters ihram at the miqat like everyone else and does what the pilgrim does, except that she does not perform tawaf until she is pure and has taken a bath; then she performs tawaf and sa'i and shortens her hair.
What is the reward of Umrah?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Umra is an expiation for the sins committed (between it and the previous one)" (al-Bukhari and Muslim), and "Umra in Ramadan is equal to Hajj (in reward)" (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Related pages
Based on the manuals of the rites by scholars such as Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on them). Where scholars differ, both views are given. Qur'an translation: Saheeh International (QuranEnc). Hadith translations: Muhsin Khan and Abdul Hamid Siddiqui; du'a translations are translations of meaning.