what is umrah

The ʿUmrah (Arabic: عُمرَة, lit. '"to visit a populated place"') is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the Ḥaj, which has specific dates according to the Islamic lunar calendar.
In accordance to Sharia law, as for both pilgrimages, a Muslim must first assume Ihram, a state of purification achieved by completing cleansing rituals, wearing the prescribed attire, and abstaining from certain actions. This must be attained when reaching a Miqat, a principal boundary point in Mecca, like
Zu 'l-Hulafa,
Juhfa, Qarnu
'l-Manāzil,
Yalamlam,
Zāt-i-'Irq,
Ibrahīm Mursīa, or a place in al-Hill.
Different conditions exist for air travelers, who must observe Ihram once entering a specific perimeter in the city.
Umrah requires Muslims to perform two key rituals, Tawaf and Saee.
Tawaf is a circling round the Ka‘bah (Arabic: كَـعْـبَـة, "House of God"). For men, it is recommended to do the first three circuits in a hurried pace, followed by four rounds of a more leisurely pace.
This is followed by #Saee between Safa and Marwah in the Great Mosque of Mecca, a walk to commemorate Bibi Hagar's (rda) search for water for her son and God's mercy in answering prayers. Pilgrims conclude the pilgrimage with Halq, a partial or complete shortening of the hair.
Umrah is sometimes considered the "lesser pilgrimage", in that it is not compulsory, but is still highly recommended.
It is generally able to be completed in a few hours, in comparison to Ḥajj, which may take a five days. It is also not meant to be interpreted as a substitute for Hajj. However, both are demonstrations of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah).
Contents
1 Differences between the Hajj and Umrah
2 Types of Umrah
3 Rituals
4 History
4.1 The Treaty of Hudaibiya
4.2 The First Umrah
Differences between the Hajj and Umrah
Both are Islamic pilgrimages, the main difference is their level of importance and the method of observance.[2]
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is obligatory for every Muslim once in their lifetime, provided they are physically fit and financially capable.
Hajj is performed over specific days during a designated Islamic month. However, Umrah can be performed at any time.
Although they share common rites, Umrah can be performed in less than a few hours while Hajj is more time-consuming, and involves more rituals.
Types of Umrah
A certain type of the Umrah exists depending on whether or not the pilgrim wishes to perform Umrah in the Hajj period, thus combining their merit.
When performed alongside the Hajj, Umrah is deemed one of “enjoyment” (Umrat al-tamattu) and is part of a fuller Hajj of enjoyment (Hajjul tamattu). More precisely, the rituals of the Umrah are performed first, and then the Hajj rituals are performed.
Otherwise, when performed without continuing to perform Hajj, the Umrah is considered a “single” Umrah (Umrah Mufradah).
Rituals
The pilgrim performs a series of ritual acts symbolic of the lives of Ibrahim (Abraham) and his second wife Hajar, and of solidarity with Muslims worldwide. Pilgrims enter the perimeter of Mecca in a state of Ihram and perform:
Tawaf (Arabic: طواف), which consists of circling the Ka'bah seven times in an anticlockwise direction. Men are encouraged to do this three times at a hurried pace, followed by four times, more closely, at a leisurely pace.
Sa'i (Arabic: سعي), which means rapidly walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah. This is a re-enactment of Hajar's frantic search for water. The baby Ismael (Ishmael) cried and hit the ground with his foot (some versions of the story say that an angel scraped his foot or the tip of his wing along the ground), and water miraculously sprang forth. This source of water is today called the Well of Zamzam.
Halq or taqsir: Taqsir is a partial shortening of the hair typically reserved for women who cut a minimum of one inch or more of their hair. A halq is a complete shave of the head, usually performed on men. Both of these signify the submission of will to God over glorifying physical appearances. The head shaving/cutting is reserved until the end of Umrah.
These rituals complete the Umrah, and the pilgrim can choose to go out of ihram. Although not a part of the ritual, most pilgrims drink water from the Well of Zamzam. Various sects of Islam perform these rituals with slightly different methods.
The peak times of pilgrimage are the days before, during and after the Hajj and during the last ten days of Ramadan.
History
According to the Muslim traditional accounts, access to the Holy Site, and thus the right to practice the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages have not always been granted to Muslims. It is reported in the Muslim traditional accounts that throughout Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) era, the Muslims wanted to establish the right to perform Umrah and Hajj to Mecca since the latter had been prescribed by the Quran. During that time, Mecca was allegedly occupied by Arab Pagans who used to worship idols inside Mecca.
The Treaty of Hudaibiya
In the early days of Islam, it is claimed that tensions arose in Mecca between its pagan inhabitants and the Muslims who wished to perform pilgrimages within. According to the traditional Muslim stories, in 628 AD (6 AH), inspired by a dream that Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) had while in Madinah, in which he was performing the ceremonies of Umrah, he and his followers approached Mecca from Medina. They were stopped at Hudaibiya, Quraysh (a local tribe) refused entry to the Muslims who wished to perform the pilgrimage. Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) is said to have explained that they only wished to perform a pilgrimage, and subsequently leave the city, however the Qurayshites disagreed.
Diplomatic negotiations were pursued once the Muslim Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) refused to use force to enter Mecca, out of respect to the Holy Ka'aba.In March, 628 AD (Dhu'l-Qi'dah, 6 AH), the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was drawn up and signed, with terms stipulating a ten-year period free of hostilities, during which the Muslims would be allowed a three-day-long access per year to the holy site of the Ka'aba starting the following year. On the year it was signed, the followers of Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) were forced to return home without having performed Umrah
The First Umrah
The next year (629 AD, or 7 AH), our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) ordered and took part in the Conquest of Mecca in December 629. Following the agreed-upon terms of the Hudaibiya Treaty, Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) and some 2000 followers (men, women and children) proceeded to perform what became the first Umrah, which lasted three days. After the
transfer of power, the people of Mecca who had persecuted and driven away the early Muslims, and had fought against the Muslims due to their beliefs, were afraid of retribution. However, Beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallahu ali wasslam) forgave all of his former enemies.