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How to Perform the
Rituals of Hajj and Umrah
Introduction Praise be to Allah, Lord of
the Universe, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved
Prophet, Muhammad, the last of all the prophets and messengers; and upon his
noble family and esteemed companions. May Allah be pleased with all of them. Hajj is one of the best forms of E’badah
(worship & devotion) and is one of the most sublime deeds, because it is
one of the pillars of Islam that Allah sent Muhammad with .(May the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) . A servant's deen (religion) is incomplete
without it. Any form of worship is only acceptable with the following
conditions:
Tamattu', Ifraad and Qiran.
Even if the pilgrim makes
intentions to perform Qiran or Ifraad he is allowed to change his intentions
to Tamattu'. He can do this even after he has performed Tawaf and Sa'ee. When the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) performed Tawaf and Sa'ee during the year of the Farewell Hajj with
his companions, he ordered all those who hadn't brought sacrificial animals,
to change their intentions from Hajj, to intentions for Umrah; and to cut
their hair, and disengage from Ihram until the day of Tarwiyah. He said,
" If I hadn't brought the sacrificial animals, I'd have done what I've
ordered you to do." The Pilgrim should now prepare
for the rituals of Umrah. He should take a Gusl (a bath) as he would normally
do after sexual defilement. From North America, he takes a bath and on
arrival at one of the transit points in the Middle East— He should perfume his head and
body and beard with the best oil he can find. There is no harm in what
remains of it after Intention of Ihram. Bathing for Ihram is Sunnah for both
men and women, including menstruating women and those experiencing postnatal
bleeding. After bathing and preparing
himself, the pilgrim, other than those menstruating or experiencing post-
natal bleeding, prays the obligatory prayer, if the time steps in. Otherwise,
he makes his intention after praying the two Units of Sunnah Prayer (two
Rakaats) which are made each time the Wudhu (Ablution) is performed. When he finishes his prayer he
should say: “Labbaik Allahumma Umrah Labbaik” (Here I am Oh Allah for
Umrah--here I am) Then he recites the Talbiyah: Labbaikallumma Labbaik. Labbaika
Laa Shareeka laka Labbaik. Innal Hamda, wan-ni’mata laka wal mulk. Laa
Shareeka lak. (Here I am, Oh Allah, here I am. Here I am. You have no partner.
Here I am. Surely all Praises, Bounties and the Dominion are Yours, and You
have no partners" [Talbiyah]. The male person raises his voice when
proclaiming this, and the woman lowers her voice so that only the one beside her may hear. The Muhrim or Muhrimah (One who is in a state of Ihram)
should say the Talbiyah as often as possible, especially when times and
places change. For example: when descending or ascending hills and valleys,
or winding roads during travel or when day or night approaches. He should
also ask Allah, The Generous and Merciful, for His Pleasure, for His
Paradise, and seek refuge in Allah's Mercy from the blazing Fire of Hell. He should say the Talbiyah
during Umrah, starting from the time he puts on his Ihram till he starts the Tawaf.
The Talbiyah is discontinued after sighting the K’aabah. During Hajj, from
the 8th of Zil Hijjah, he should proclaim it again, starting from
the time he dons his Ihram until he starts to stone The Jamrah When the Pilgrim enters the Grand
Holy Mosque (Al-Haram Ashshareef), he puts forth his right foot first and
says: "In the name of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon the
Messenger of Allah. Oh Allah, forgive me my sins and open for me the doors of
Your Mercy. I seek refuge in Allah the Almighty, and in His Eminent Face, and
in His Eternal Dominion, from the accursed Satan." He approaches the
Hajr Aswad (Black Stone) faces it, and kisses it. If not possible, he touches
it with his right hand and kisses it, i.e. the hand. If this isn't possible,
he should face the Black Stone and point to it. It is extremely important not
to push and shove, causing harm and being harmed by other people. When kissing or touching the
Black Stone, or pointing to it, the Pilgrim should say the following:
"In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest.” Before beginning the
first circuit, add the following words “Oh Allah, with faith in You, belief
in Your Book, loyalty to You, and compliance according to the way of your
Prophet Muhammad--may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him." The Pilgrim must walk, keeping
the Ka'bah on his left. When he reaches the Rukn Al Yamani corner (Yamani
stone) he should touch, but not kiss it, and say: “Bismillah Allahu Akbar”
then between this stone and the Black stone he must recite the Quranic du’a, "
Our Lord, grant us goodness in this life (this world) and goodness in the Hereafter,
and save us from the punishment of the Hell-fire. Oh Allah, I beg of You for
forgiveness and health in this life and in the Hereafter." Each time he
passes the Black Stone he should say: " Bismillah, Allahum Akbar." During the Tawaf (which is
seven circuits), he may say what he pleases of supplications, Zikrullah, and
recitation of The Quran. This is because Tawaf, Sa'ee, and Stoning the
Jamaraat have been devised for the purpose of Zikrullah. During this Tawaf
Al-Qudoom (Tawaf of Umrah) it is necessary for the male to do two things:
He ascends As-Safaa until he
is able to see the Ka'bah. Facing the Ka'bah and raising his hands, he
praises Allah and makes any form of supplications he chooses. The
Prophet--may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him--prayed thus:
"There is no God, but Allah alone," three times, supplicating in
between whatever he desires. He descends from As-Safaa and
heads in the direction of Al- Marwah at a normal pace, until he reaches the
green marker. He should then run fast until the next green marker. He
continues toward Al- Marwah at a normal pace. When he reaches Al-Marwah, he
ascends it, faces the Qibla, raises his hands and repeats what he said on
As-Safaa. He descends Al-Marwah heading towards As-Safaa, taking care to walk
where walking is designated, and run where running is designated, that is
between the green markers. He continues this procedure
until he completes seven laps. Going from As-Safaa to Al-Marwah is a lap and
returning is another lap. During his Sa'ee he may recite what he wills of any
form of supplications, recitation of Qur'an, and mentioning the name of Allah. In completion of the Sa'ee
(now he is at Al-Marwah) he clips or shaves his head. A woman clips her hair
the length of a finger tip. As a rule of Sunnah, shaving is better than
clipping. Shaving is preferable, except when Hajj time is drawing near and
there isn't sufficient time for hair to grow back. In this case it's best to
clip, so that hair will remain for shaving during Hajj. After shaving or
clipping, the Pilgrim is now deconsecrated. Umrah is now completed. The Pilgrim
is free to change and dress in other clothing, use perfume and engage in
marital relations, etc. once again.
“Labbaik Allahumma Hajjaa
Labbaik” (Here I am Oh Allah for Hajj--here I am) Then he recites the
Talbiyah: Labbaikallumma Labbaik. Labbaika Laa Shareeka laka Labbaik. Innal
Hamda, wan-ni’mata laka wal mulk. Laa Shareeka lak. (Here I am, Oh Allah,
here I am. Here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Surely all Praises,
Bounties and the Dominion are Yours, and You have no partners"
[Talbiyah]. The male person raises his voice when proclaiming this, and the woman
lowers her voice so that only the one
beside her may hear. If he fears that something
will prevent him from completing his Hajj he should make a condition when he
makes his intentions, saying: " If I am prevented by any obstacle, my
place is wherever I am being held up." If he has no such fear, he
doesn't make this condition. The Pilgrim goes to Mina and
there he prays five prayers, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha and Fajr, shortening
his four unit prayers to two units each, without combining them. Maghrib
remains at 3 rakaats and Fajr remains at 2 rakaats. On the 9th day of
Zil Hijjah, after sunrise, he goes to Arafah and there prays Dhuhr and Asr
combined at the time of Dhuhr, making each one two units. This is called
Jam’u Taqdeem wa Qasr. He remains in Arafah until sunset. If he can go to
Masjid Namirah, and remains until sunset, then that is okay, if possible. He
remembers Allah and makes as many supplications as possible while facing the
Qiblah. The Prophet-may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him-prayed
thus: "There is no God but Allah alone. He has no partner. All dominion
and praise are His, and He has Power over all things. If he grows weary, it is
permissible for him to engage in beneficial conversation with his companions,
or reading what he can find of beneficial books, especially those concerning
Allah's grace and abundant gifts. This will strengthen his hope in Allah. He
should then return to his supplications and be sure to spend the end of
the day deep in supplication, because the best of supplications is the
supplication on the Day of Arafah. And the best that the Messenger said, and
all the prophets before him said wa: "There is no God but
Allah alone. He has no partner. All dominion and praise are His, and He has Power
over all things. At sunset the Pilgrim goes
from Arafah to Muzdalifah and there prays Maghrib & Isha combined in Isha
time, and with Qasr (shortening). If he fears that he will not reach
Muzdalifah until after midnight, he should pray before he reaches it for it
is not permissible to delay prayer until after midnight. He remains there, in
Muzdalifah, making supplications and remembering Allah. He sleeps and rest a
while until Fajr. He prays Fajr and praises Allah till just before sunrise. If he is weak and cannot
handle the crowd during Ar-Ramy, it is permissible for him to go to Mina at
the end of the night to stone the Jamrah Al-Aqabah before the arrival of the
crowd. Near sunrise, a pilgrim goes from Muzdalifah to Mina. Upon reaching
Mina, (this is the 10th of Zil Hijjah) he does the following:
These three should be done in the
above order if convenient, but there is no restriction if one precedes
another. This is from the Sunnah of Muhammad, (May the peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) With that, one is allowed to
come out of Ihram. He can wear other clothing and do everything that was
lawful before Ihram except engaging in marital relations. He goes to With the completion of this
Tawaf and Sa'ee, the Pilgrim is allowed to do everything that was lawful
before Ihram, including engaging in marital relationship. After performing the
Tawaf and Sa'ee, he returns to Mina to spend the nights of the eleventh &
twelfth of Zil Hijjah (in Islam the night precedes the day) and on the
twelfth day, after Zawal, he stones the Jamaraat and proceed to He stones the three Jamaraat
in the afternoon of both the eleventh and twelfth days. He starts with the
first Jamrah, which is furthest from It is not permissible to stone
before noon on these two days. It is best to walk to the
Jamaraat, even though riding is permissible, but not possible. If he is in a hurry after
stoning on the twelfth day, he leaves Mina before sunset. But if he wishes to
prolong his stay, which is best, he spends the night of the thirteenth in
Mina (one extra night) and stones the Jamaraat after noon in the same manner
as on the twelfth day. During the days of Tashreeq,
11, 12 & 13 the Pilgrim prays all the prayers as Qasr in their own times
without combining them. This is indeed a Mercy from Allah, and a great
concession from the Lord of Compassion and Mercy. The Pilgrim returns to Makkah,
and all the rituals of Hajj is complete, except the farewell tawaf, and when
he is ready to depart Makkah, whether to go to Medina, or to return to his
country, he performs the Tawaf Al-Wadaa, which is seven circuits around the Kaa'bah
followed by two short rakaats. Menstruating women and women experiencing
postnatal discharge are not obligated to perform Tawaf Al -Wadaa. This Tawaf
is Wajib, and must be done. The penalty for not performing this Tawaf is a
budna, a sacrifice of a camel or bull. The Hajj is now complete with
all rituals. May Allah accept it from us. Ameen.
Visiting
The Prophet's Mosque in
3. He goes to the grave of the
Prophet --may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him --and he stands
before it. He greets him saying: "May the peace, mercy, and blessings of
Allah be upon you, oh Prophet. May Allah grant you a good reward on behalf of
your people. " He then takes a
step or two to his right to position himself before Abu-Bakr As-Siddique—may
Allah be pleased with him--and greets him saying : "May the peace, mercy,
and blessing of Allah be upon you, oh Abu-Bakr, Caliph of the Messenger of
Allah. May Allah be pleased with you and grant you a good reward on behalf of
Muhammad's people." Then he takes a step or two to his right to position
himself before Umar Al-Khattab—may Allah be pleased with him--and greets him
saying: " May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you, oh
Umar, Prince of the believers, and Caliph of the Messenger of Allah. May
Allah be pleased with you and grant you a good reward on behalf of Muhammad's
people." Masjid Quba In a state of Wudhu, (ablution)
he goes to Masjid Quba and offer salah (prayers) for the salah in Masjid Quba
carries the reward of Umrah. Al-Baqee’ The Pilgrim goes to Al-Baqee
and visit the grave of Uthman Ibn Affan--may Allah be pleased with him—and
greets him saying: "May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon
you, oh Uthman- Prince of the believers, and Caliph of the Messenger of
Allah. May Allah be pleased with you and grant you a good reward on behalf of
Muhammad's people." He greets the Sahaba (Companions) of the Prophet,
and all the other Muslims in Al-Baqee’. Only Muslims are buried in Al-Baqee’.
Nearly 10,000 of the companions of Rasoolullah are buried in Al-Baqee’. May
Allah forgive them all, and grant them a high place in Jannah. The Pilgrim goes to the battle
fields of Uhud and visits the grave of Hamza Al-Muttalib, the uncle of
Rasoolullah--may Allah be pleased with him and the other martyrs that are buried
there with him. The Pilgrim greets them and prays to Allah to grant them forgiveness,
mercy, and pleasure, and reward them with a high place in Jannah
General
Advice & Matters of Great Importance
1. To be conscious at all
times, of his religious obligations towards Allah, The Almighty, such as
prayer in its earliest time and in congregation. (for males). 2. To avoid all things that
Allah has prohibited, such as obscenity, wickedness, inequity, and
disobedience, as Allah says: “If
anyone undertakes Hajj therein, let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness,
nor wrangling during Hajj” [2:197]. 3. That he avoids harming the
Muslims with words or actions especially within the Masha'ir (the Holy
Shrines) or elsewhere. 4. That he abides by all of
the restrictions of Ihram : a. He should not clip or cut
his hair or nails while in this state A prick by a thorn and the like is
unobjectionable, even if there is bleeding. b. He should not perfume
himself, his clothing, his food or his drink after entering Ihram. He should
also abstain from cleansing himself with scented soap. There is no harm in
what remains of the effect of perfume used prior to Niyatul Ihram. c. He should not touch, kiss,
etc. his spouse out of passion and, even worse, shouldn't have sexual
intercourse. This nullifies the Ihram. d. He should not wed, or
propose to a woman for himself or others. He must concentrate on Allah and
the Great Hajj only. e. He should not wear gloves,
although there is no harm in wrapping the hands in cloth. This ruling goes
for both men and women. The following pertains
specifically to men: a. He should not cover his
head with something that touches it, although there is no harm in using an
umbrella, the roof of a car or tent for shade. There is also no harm in
carrying his baggage on top of his head. b. He should not wear a shirt,
turban, hooded cloak trousers, or shoes. Only if he is unable (this does not
apply today) to obtain an Ezar (lower garment) or sandals, can he wear
trousers or shoes. c. He should not wear anything
with the same qualities and description of the above-mentioned, such as an Abaya,
hat, undershirt, etc. It is permissible for him to
wear sandals, rings, glasses, a hearing aid. a watch, worn on his wrist or
hung from his neck, or a speech aid. It is permissible for him to
cleanse himself with unscented cleansers and to wash and scratch his head and
body, even if some of his hair falls unintentionally. In such a case there is
no obligation on him for that. A woman cannot wear a Niqab or
Burqa'. The Sunnah is for her to uncover her face except if men, not related
to her might see her, in which case it is obligatory for her to cover her
face during Ihram. Allah is the giver of success.
He is Allah the Al-Mighty. We perform Hajj for His sake. We bow to no one but
Him. We prostrate to no one but Him. We seek help only from Him. May His Blessings
and Mercy be upon all of us. And may His Blessings & Mercy be upon our
Prophet Muhammad, and all of his family and his noble companions. Please direct any questions
regarding Hajj & Umrah to Abu Mu’aaz. This article is only a guide how to
perform the Hajj & Umrah according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah. We do not apply short cut to our Hajj. We do not have Express Hajj. We
have Hajj according to the authentic Sunnah insha Allah.
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