Umrah guide

The five steps

1. 1. Enter Ihram at the Miqat

   Bathe, put on the two unstitched white cloths (men) or modest plain clothes (women), make the intention for Umrah before crossing the miqat, and begin the talbiyah.

   What to do

   1. 1.Take a ghusl with the intention of ihram. Apply unscented lotion if you wish, once in ihram, perfume is forbidden.
   2. 2.Men: izār (waist cloth) + ridāʾ (shoulder cloth). Both unstitched. Sandals leave the ankle bone exposed. No underwear with elastic, no fitted shirts.
   3. 3.Women: ordinary modest clothing. Face uncovered around non-mahrams. Hands uncovered.
   4. 4.Pray 2 rakaʿāt of ihram if not at a forbidden time. Recite al-Kāfirūn (109) and al-Ikhlāṣ (112).
   5. 5.Make the niyyah for Umrah in your heart. Speaking it aloud is not a Sunnah.
   6. 6.Begin the talbiyah and continue reciting it constantly until you reach the Black Stone for tawaf.
   7. 7.Restrictions until you exit ihram: no perfume, cutting hair or nails, hunting, marrying, sexual relations, arguing, or (for men) covering the head or wearing stitched clothing.

   Supplications for this step

   Niyyah at the miqat

   اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ ٱلْعُمْرَةَ، فَيَسِّرْهَا لِي وَتَقَبَّلْهَا مِنِّي

   Allāhumma innī urīdu-l-ʿumrah, fa-yassirhā lī wa taqabbalhā minnī.

   O Allah, I intend to perform Umrah. Make it easy for me and accept it from me.

   Source · Recommended supplication.

   The talbiyah, recited constantly until the Black Stone

   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. Truly all praise, all favour, and all sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner.

   Source · Sahih Muslim 1218.

   Adab, etiquette

   • ·Renew the talbiyah after every salah, when meeting fellow pilgrims, and at the start of every new day.
   • ·Stay focused, you are a guest of Allah from this moment.
   • ·Men should not raise the talbiyah so loud that it disturbs others; women recite it quietly.

   Common mistakes

   • ·Putting ihram on AT the miqat instead of BEFORE crossing. The miqats are fixed boundaries, entering them in regular clothes when you intended Umrah requires a sacrifice (dam).
   • ·Men wearing stitched belt with elastic or pockets, this voids the ihram garment requirement. Use a plain unstitched belt.
   • ·Cutting nails or trimming a beard after ihram. Each requires fidya (compensation).

   Practical tip

   On flights to Saudi Arabia, the captain announces the miqat ~30 minutes before crossing. Change into ihram before boarding if your flight stops at Jeddah; the airline often makes a designated announcement.

   Primary source · Sahih Muslim 1218 (the talbiyah).

2. 2. Tawaf, seven circuits around the Kaaba

   Enter Masjid al-Ḥarām with your right foot, begin at the Black Stone corner, walk seven times around the Kaaba (counter-clockwise, with the Kaaba on your left), end where you began.

   What to do

   1. 1.Enter Masjid al-Ḥarām with your right foot, reciting: 'Allāhumma-ftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik', O Allah, open for me the gates of Your mercy (Sahih Muslim 713).
   2. 2.Walk to the Mataf area around the Kaaba. Stop the talbiyah on reaching the Black Stone.
   3. 3.Perform iḍṭibāʿ, uncover the right shoulder by passing the upper portion of the ridāʾ under the right arm and over the left shoulder.
   4. 4.Face the Black Stone, raise your right hand or both, say 'Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar', and begin walking with the Kaaba on your left.
   5. 5.Men do raml (slightly hurried short-stepped walk) for the first three circuits. Walk normally for the remaining four. Women walk normally throughout.
   6. 6.Each pass at the Black Stone corner: gesture toward it with the right hand and say 'Allāhu akbar'. Don't push, pointing fulfills the sunnah.
   7. 7.Touch the Yemeni Corner with the right hand if you can without pushing, no takbīr or kissing here, only touching.
   8. 8.Between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone, recite Quran 2:201: 'Rabbanā ātinā fi-d-dunyā ḥasanah…'
   9. 9.After 7 circuits, complete tawaf at the Black Stone corner with one final takbīr.

   Supplications for this step

   Entering Masjid al-Ḥarām

   اللَّهُمَّ ٱفْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ

   Allāhumma-ftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik.

   O Allah, open for me the gates of Your mercy.

   Source · Sahih Muslim 713.

   Starting tawaf

   بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ، ٱللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ

   Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar.

   In the name of Allah; Allah is the Greatest.

   Source · Bukhari 1605.

   Between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone (recited each circuit)

   رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي ٱلْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

   Rabbanā ātinā fi-d-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fi-l-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ʿadhāba-n-nār.

   Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

   Source · Quran 2:201; Abu Dawud 1892.

   Adab, etiquette

   • ·There's no fixed dhikr for each circuit, the Prophet ﷺ did not assign one. Make duʿāʾ in your own language.
   • ·Keep your eyes on the Kaaba, not on your phone. This is the moment.
   • ·Don't take selfies. The Saudi authorities discourage it actively.

   Common mistakes

   • ·Counting circuits incorrectly. Use a tally as you pass the Black Stone each time.
   • ·Pushing the crowd to kiss or touch the Black Stone. The Prophet ﷺ said: if you can without harming people, touch it; otherwise, point and proceed.
   • ·Forgetting wuḍūʾ. Tawaf requires wuḍūʾ in three of the four schools.

   Practical tip

   If the Mataf is packed, use the upper levels, they have multiple floors. Each floor counts as a valid tawaf. Going at 2 AM is also viable; the Masjid is open 24/7.

   Madhab note

   Wuḍūʾ is required for tawaf in the Shafiʿi, Maliki, and Hanbali schools. Hanafis hold it strongly recommended (a sacrifice owed if skipped).

   Primary source · Bukhari 1610 (the Prophet ﷺ kissed the Black Stone, did raml on the first three, walked the rest).

3. 3. Two rakaʿāt at Maqam Ibrāhīm

   After tawaf, pray two short rakaʿāt behind the Maqam (Station of Ibrāhīm, marked by a small gold structure). If too crowded, pray anywhere in the Masjid.

   What to do

   1. 1.First rakaʿah: recite Sūrat al-Kāfirūn (109) after al-Fātiḥah.
   2. 2.Second rakaʿah: recite Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (112) after al-Fātiḥah.
   3. 3.Then go to Zamzam and drink standing, facing the qibla, in three breaths.
   4. 4.Make duʿāʾ before drinking, Zamzam is for whatever you drink it for (Ibn Majah 3062).
   5. 5.After drinking, return to the Black Stone and gesture to it one more time before heading to Ṣafā.

   Supplications for this step

   Before drinking Zamzam

   اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا، وَرِزْقًا وَاسِعًا، وَشِفَاءً مِنْ كُلِّ دَاءٍ

   Allāhumma innī as'aluka ʿilman nāfiʿan, wa rizqan wāsiʿan, wa shifāʾan min kulli dāʾ.

   O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, ample provision, and a cure for every disease.

   Source · Reported as a duʿāʾ of Ibn ʿAbbās at Zamzam.

   Common mistakes

   • ·Praying at the Maqam itself, blocking traffic. Move 5–10 metres back if you can't get directly behind the small gold structure.
   • ·Drinking Zamzam while sitting. The Prophet ﷺ drank standing (Bukhari 1637); some scholars hold it's a Sunnah specific to Zamzam.

   Primary source · Sahih Muslim 1218.

4. 4. Saʿī between Ṣafā and Marwah

   Walk seven trips between the hills of Ṣafā and Marwah. Starts at Ṣafā, ends at Marwah. Commemorates Hajar's frantic search for water for her infant Ismaʿīl.

   What to do

   1. 1.From Maqam Ibrāhīm, walk to the gate of Ṣafā. As you approach, recite Quran 2:158: 'Inna ṣ-Ṣafā wa-l-Marwata min shaʿāʾiri-llāh…'
   2. 2.Climb Ṣafā until you can see the Kaaba. Face it, raise your hands, and say takbīr three times.
   3. 3.Recite the Prophet's ﷺ duʿāʾ on Ṣafā three times: 'Lā ilāha illa-llāhu waḥdahu…' (full text below).
   4. 4.Between each repetition, make personal duʿāʾ, for parents, family, the ummah, your own struggles.
   5. 5.Walk toward Marwah. Between the two green markers, men jog briskly. Women walk normally throughout.
   6. 6.On Marwah, repeat the same duʿāʾ pattern. That's one trip.
   7. 7.Each one-way walk counts as one trip. Seven trips total, finish on Marwah.

   Supplications for this step

   Approaching Ṣafā the first time

   إِنَّ ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ ٱلْبَيْتَ أَوِ ٱعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا

   Inna ṣ-Ṣafā wa-l-Marwata min shaʿāʾiri-llāh. Fa-man ḥajja-l-bayta awi-ʿtamara fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayhi an yaṭṭawwafa bihimā.

   Indeed Ṣafā and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs Hajj or Umrah at the House, there is no blame on them in walking between these two.

   Source · Quran 2:158.

   On Ṣafā and on Marwah, after takbīr × 3

   لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ ٱلْحَمْدُ، يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ ٱلْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ

   Lā ilāha illa-llāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah. Lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-ḥamd. Yuḥyī wa yumīt, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shay'in qadīr. Lā ilāha illa-llāhu waḥdah, anjaza waʿdah, wa naṣara ʿabdah, wa hazama-l-aḥzāba waḥdah.

   There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. To Him belongs all sovereignty and all praise. He gives life and gives death, and is over all things capable. There is no god but Allah alone, He fulfilled His promise, helped His servant, and defeated the confederates Alone.

   Source · Sahih Muslim 1218, recited on Ṣafā three times by the Prophet ﷺ with personal duʿāʾ between each.

   Adab, etiquette

   • ·Wuḍūʾ is recommended but not required for saʿī.
   • ·Make personal duʿāʾ between the green markers, Hajar ran here in despair. Mirror her sincerity.
   • ·If you tire, the Masjid provides wheelchairs and electric carts at both ends.

   Common mistakes

   • ·Counting trips in pairs and ending up doing 14 instead of 7. Each one-way walk is one trip.
   • ·Doing the men's brisk jog outside the green markers. The brisk gait is only between those two specific markers.
   • ·Skipping the duʿāʾ on the hills because of crowds. Even if you can't climb to the top, face the qibla wherever you stand.

   Practical tip

   The full saʿī is a ~3.5 km walk in air-conditioned marble corridors. Wear good sandals (not flip-flops).

   Primary source · Sahih Muslim 1218; Quran 2:158.

5. 5. Halq or Taqsir, exit ihram

   After saʿī, men shave the head (halq, preferred) or trim hair short (taqsir). Women clip a fingertip's length from the ends. Umrah is now complete.

   What to do

   1. 1.Men: shave the head fully. The Prophet ﷺ prayed for those who shaved three times (Bukhari 1691).
   2. 2.Men preferring trim: cut hair from the entire head, not just one spot. A single tuft does not suffice.
   3. 3.Women: gather hair in a ponytail and clip about a fingertip's length (~2 cm) from the bottom. Women never shave.
   4. 4.Once cut: change into normal clothes, perfume yourself if desired. All ihram restrictions lift.

   Supplications for this step

   After cutting the hair

   ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِي قَضَىٰ عَنَّا نُسُكَنَا

   Al-ḥamdu lillāhi-lladhī qaḍā ʿannā nusukanā.

   Praise be to Allah Who has completed our rites for us.

   Source · Recommended general supplication after completing rites.

   Adab, etiquette

   • ·Men should shave at the licensed barbers near Marwah. Use a fresh razor for every head, don't share blades.
   • ·Take a moment of gratitude. Hajar walked between these hills, and you have just retraced her steps.

   Common mistakes

   • ·Cutting just a few strands. The cutting must be visible and represent the whole head.
   • ·Women shaving, this is not for women.

   Madhab note

   Halq (full shave) is preferred for men by all four schools. Taqsir is valid but takes you out of more reward.

   Primary source · Bukhari 1691; Sahih Muslim 1218.