Umrah – A Holy journey

Umrah comes from Arabic and it is a pilgrimage performed by Muslims to Mecca located in Saudi Arabia. It can be done at any time of the year. During the Umrah the pilgrim performs a number of ritualistic acts. These acts stand for some of the milestones in the life of Ibrahim (Abraham) and his second wife Hajar. Through these acts the pilgrims also show camaraderie with Muslims around the world. The pilgrim performs a Tawaf in which the pilgrim moves around the kaaba seven times in an anti clockwise direction. The next act of faith performed by the pilgrim is a ‘sai’. In this ritual, the pilgrims walk briskly in between the hills Safa and Marwah. Through this ritual the pilgrims remember Hajar’s troubled hunt for water in the desert. The baby Ishamel who was with her cried and his foot touched the ground. Water came out from the ground. This is what is known to the Muslims today as the well of Zamzam. The third ritual that the pilgrim performs is a halq or taqsir. When pilgrim performs a Halq, he shaves his hair completely or cut them short at least. Women cut a small part of their hair like one or two inches of hair. A taqsir is a ritual in which the hair is just shortened and nails are to be cut. Cutting of the hair and nails shows that all the previous sins are now forgiven and a new life waits. There are two types of Cheap Umrah Packages 2016 Umrat Al-tammatu is the Umrah which is performed along with Hajj Al-Umrat Al-Mufradah is the type of Umrah Packages 2016 which is doene independently. When a pilgrim is about to perform umrah, before entering the holy city i.e. Mecca, the pilgrim should be in a sacred state. This state is called Ihram. The pilgrim must enter the holy sanctuary or Al Masjid Al-Haram. He/she should try to put the right foot first. Putting the foot first is preferable. The pilgrim recites a prayer known as the Talbiyah “Here I am O Allah, (in response to your call), here I am. Here I am, you have no partner, and here I am. Verily all praise, grace and sovereignty belongs to you. You have no partner “When the pilgrim sees the Kaaba, he/she should stand to one side and say “Allahu Akbar” Three times and “La ilaha illa”llah” three times. Then the pilgrim offers prayers to Allah after offering the Prophet a Salawat which is a blessing. The umrah is a very old ritual and has been performed from the beginning of Islam. An Umrah undertaken during Ramadan is considered equal to Hajj.