Umrah Guide for Women

Umrah is a sacred and holy pilgrimage to the land of Makkah where all Muslims dream of going. Although it is not an obligatory part of the religion, many men and women wish to perform this Sunnah of the prophet (PBUH). Here is an easy guide for all those women who wish to perform Umrah 2014:

You should know that Umrah can only be performed in a pure state and that is the meaning of Ihram as well, that a women should be in a state of purity. If you have confirmed that you are pure, then you should know a few guidelines on things to do before you wear the Ihram. You should perform a ghusl or full body bath, wherein you remove any unwanted hair and trim your nails. If you so wish, you can use a very light scent on the body only and never on the clothes. In order to perform Umrah, it is obligatory that you remove your Niqab and any gloves covering your hands. A woman is not required to wear a special garment for Ihram, so wear comfortable clothing in which you can walk and will not irritate your skin. Once you have donned the Ihram, you are required to make the intention of Umrah and this will complete your state of Ihram. You MUST be in a state of Ihram when you are crossing the Meeqat, therefore either change int Ihram at airport or at the various mosuqes or points at Meeqat. Once you are in this state, you are required to be careful that no hair falls from your body, nor do you harm anything or anyone intentionally. You can not trim your nails, use any perfume or scented soap, marry or propose marriage, any act that stimulates desire etc. However, you can take a bath and even change your clothes.

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Once you are in Ihram, start to recite the Talbiyah and keep reciting it until you start the Tawaaf. The Talbiyah is as following:

“Labayk Allahumma labayk, labayka la shareeka laka labayk. Innal-hamda wani’mata laka wal mulk. La shareeka lak.”

For women, it is required to recite the Talbiyah softly and not loudly as men do it. The rest of the Umrah is performed as the men perform it and there is no difference, except you should recite duas softly in a whisper and not loudly. Umrah's tawaf starts at the Hajra e Aswad and you take seven rounds in anti clockwise direction around the Kaabah. After completing that you should pray in the Maqaam e Ibrahim, however if there is lack of space, you can perform it anywhere in the mosque with the intention of 2 Nawafil of Maqaam e Ibrahim. After that, you should head towards the Sa'ee, which is running to and fro between the mountains As-Safa and Al-Marwa. While men are required to run or jog between the green lights or markers, women are required to only walk but at a fast pace at those points.

After completing the Sa'ee, you should go to the barber shops. Borrow a scissor from them and cut a lock of your hair. Women are not required to cut lots of hair and shaving of head is prohibited. Once this process is done you have completed the Umrah. However, make sure that you are given a booklet informing you of the various obligatory duas that are to be recited between Safa and Marwa, as well as during Tawaaf etc.

How to perform Umrah and places to visit ?

Umrah is one of the beloved and virtuous acts of worship in the religion of Islam. It is the dream of many Muslims to perform this pilgrimage and follow the steps of the Prophet (PBUH). Till this time and day, the methodology down to the smallest details has been preserved by the Hadith and Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). All Muslims follow the proper method as Umrah was performed by the Prophet (PBUH).

The most important and first step towards performing Umrah is the Ahram, which is an Arabic word for state of purity. Every Muslim should be pure before making the intention of Umrah, and this is done by performing ghusl or wudhu before donning the garment known as Ahram. It is highly recommended that you trim your nails and remove unwanted hair because this will not be allowed when you have entered the state of Ahram. This garment is worn at a meeqat whether it is at the airport, in your home or in a mosque. The next step is to perform the Salaah tul Ahram, which is 2 Nafl rakaah and has a proper method to it. Once you have completed the Nafl Salaah, make this dua, known as Talbiyah:

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"Allahumma inni uridil umrahta fa-yassisra le wa taqabbalah minni"Thereafter, recite the talbiyah thrice: Labbaik allahumma labbaik. Labbaik la sharika laka labbaik. Innal hamda wanaimat laka wal mulk.La sharika lak (Here I am, O Allah here I am -- here I am, you have no partner, here I am -- Surely all praise, favor and authority belongs to you. You have no partner.)

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Another Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) is to recite this dua after the Talbiyah O Allah I seek your pleasure and jannah (paradise) and seek protection in you.

When you enter Makkah, you will be taken to your accommodation to lodge your belongings. It is preferred to perform ghusl in Makkah once you have reached your hotel or room, however, be careful because in the state of Ahram you can not shave, nor use soap and make sure that no hair falls off your body. The most awaited part comes once you are done with all of this, which is entering the Masjid e Haram.

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Preferably, enter the mosque with your right foot first.

Before you start the circumambulation or Tawaaf of the Kaabah, you should head towards the Hajr-e-Aswad and will see a green light there and a brown line. Stand right before the brown line and green light, that will be the starting point of your Tawaaf. Face the Kaabah, and recite this dua:

“O' Allah I intend performing tawaf of your sacred house, (seven rounds) so make my tawaf easy for me and O' Allah accept it from me.”

You perform Tawaaf or seven rounds around the Kaabah in anti-clockwise direction. While doing the Tawaaf, recite dua's and Quran. Once that is complete, perform two Nafl Rakaahs at Maqaam-e-Ibrahim. After this, you should go ahead to perform the Sa'ee, a ritual in honor of Hazrat Hajra, the wife of Hazrat Ibrahim. Sa'ee requires one to run or walk seven times between the Mountains of As Safa and Al Marwa. One distance from As-Safa to Al-Marwa is counted as one round.

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After the Sa'ee, is the hair cutting or trimming ritual. The male pilgrim is required to trim most of his hair or shave his head. The female pilgrim is required to cut off a lock of her hair and should NOT shave her head. In the Kaabah you can visit the Hateem, Mataaf and Hajr-e-Aswad. Try to perform Nawafil prayers when there is less rush. In Makkah, you can also visit the Cave of Hira, where the Prophet received his first revelation from Allah.

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Ministry of Hajj to Approve Contracts Electronically

Umrah is a lifelong dream of many, and while Hajj is an obligatory act for those who can afford it, Umrah is a pilgrimage that is looked forward to by all Muslims. If you are going to perform Umrah on 2014, you should know that you will have to apply for the visa and pilgrimage through an agent in your country. You can not do this on your own or as an individual. These agents are registered with trustworthy local agents in Saudi Arabia, and everything happens through correspondence between your agent and Saudi agents. They are responsible for your stay in Saudi, and will often take your passports to ensure your safety and that no fraudulent people stay back. This is method devised by the Saudi authorities to ensure that pilgrims return to their homeland and to reduce the case of illegal migrants. The Saudi authorities, particularly the Ministry of Hajj is always working hard to provide the best facilities and services to the esteemed pilgrims.

In latest news, the Ministry of Hajj has confirmed that all local Saudi agents and their contracts with the foreign agents have to be registered and processed electronically. The local agencies in Saudi contact the Ministry of Hajj through electronic mail and then they are given the go ahead to start a contract with the foreign agents. Once the ministry has confirmed that the foreign agents are trustworthy and non-fraudulent, they will issue visas to external agents. The Saudi embassies abroad are not allowed to charge any money for issuance of Umrah 2014 visas and can only be done through the Hajj Ministry.

Adnan bin Momammed Hariri, who is the director of administration of Hajj Ministry has announced that the ministry starts the documentation and processing at the beginning of the year. If you are planning a Hajj or Umrah trip in 2014, you should make sure that the agency you are applying through is appropriate and works under the supervision of Ministry of Hajj in Saudi. In cases when it is not approved by the ministry, these tour operators charge much more money and do not provide the pilgrims with appropriate facilities. Due to this, new rules and regulations for Umrah process have been introduced to ensure that pilgrims do not overstay illegally which is a huge offense in Saudi Arabia. Through this process, the number of pilgrims overstaying has been reduced from 25 percent to 0.17 percent with the diligent work of the ministry and its administration.

Adnan bin Mohammed Hariri said,“Since these regulations took effect 13 years ago, the number of overstaying cases has decreased significantly, especially since the Kingdom has invested large sums of money to improve services for pilgrims.” He also announced that along with this, the ministry has been able to provide pilgrims with better accommodation and other facilities. The ministry is working on improving the valued pilgrims stay in the holy land and ensuring that they get maximum output from the money and time they spend in Makkah and Madinah. He said the administration has imposed strict rules on agencies who have a reputation of even 1 percent of their pilgrims overstaying in Saudi and will not issue any visas in the future to these agencies. They have introduced a fool-rpoof method for pilgrims to register their complaints in the ministry’s branches in major cities of Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah.

The ministry will be issuing more licenses to local Saudi agents and organizations and they will be strictly monitored by a company call Tasheel. More construction is also being done to allow more pilgrims to perform Hajj and Umrah every year. All steps to resolve pilgrims problems are being taken care of by the Hajj Ministry, who realize the importance of the pilgrims.

Arrangements Made in Makkah for Pilgrims

Hajj or pilgrimage to Makkah is a sacred duty incumbent upon every Muslim – possessed of means – once in his lifetime. Where millions of devoted Muslims strive hard for their lives to enable themselves to fulfill the obligation, equally considerate measures are taken in the holy city of Makkah to accommodate an influx of pilgrims from every corner of the world and provide them with adequate facilities during their sojourn.

Ministry of Hajj along with subservient departments works in a well organized manner with specialized departments dealing in all the aspects pertaining to the ease and well being of the pilgrims. As the Umrah season of 2014 approaches, Makkah is already well prepared to give an open armed welcome to the pilgrims putting in a lot of their efforts and money for the sake of sacred ritual. The Makkah municipality assures that all the ends are met before the pilgrims begin to set their foot on the revered land.

For all those who are prepared to perform either Umrah 2014 or Hajj 2014, the biggest concern for the authorities in Makkah is the provision of a healthy and disease free environment so that no hurdle can be posed to the pilgrims in discharge of their spiritual exercise. For this purpose a labor force of 7000 workers has been assigned the task of sanitizing the city, whereas a fleet of 550 garbage trucks is set to work twenty-four hours a day to keep the chances of epidemics minimal. Besides, 300 electrically operated compressor garbage storage tanks have been deployed in the city for environmental friendly incineration of the waste.

In order to maintain infallible hygienic conditions for Hajj 2014, the authorities have arranged for about hundred teams that will spray insecticides and pesticides to check the growth of infectious disease producing insects and microbes. Though several Hajj and Umrah packages provider companies offer packages promising the provision healthy food, yet it is assured through the strict surveillance of food sellers by the concerned authorities at Makkah so that substandard or unhygienic food is not supplied to the pilgrims by any means. Punitive measures are taken against those who are not meeting with the standards. Hotels and restaurants are not spared of the checks and the samples of food are examined in laboratories before being allowed to be sold. Even butcheries are watched over to assure the supply of good meat.

Several other amenities and facilities that do not necessarily fall in the domain of Hajj and Umrah Packages will be provided to the pilgrims for Hajj 2014 season. Such facilities include continuous power and water supply, well maintained roads and parking lots, smoothly running traffic, enough mosques and toilets to accommodate thousands of pilgrims etcetera. Concerned authorities are putting in all their resources to make the upcoming Hajj or Umrah season maximally convenient so that pilgrims can devout themselves completely to the divine worship thousands of miles away from their respective homes.

If you are planning to perform Hajj or Umrah this year, all you need to do is find a reputed hajj and umrah packages providing company, select a most suited package and prepare for the divine travel to the holy land that is all prepared to embrace the keen pilgrims.