The meaning
Umrah (عُمْرَة) is often translated as "the lesser pilgrimage", in contrast to Hajj, the greater pilgrimage. The word carries a sense of visiting a populated or sacred place. It is a visit to the Kaaba in Masjid al-Haram, Makkah, performed according to a defined set of rites.
Unlike Hajj, Umrah is not one of the five pillars of Islam and is not obligatory in the same way. It is highly encouraged, and may be performed at any time of year other than the days of Hajj.
What the rites consist of
Umrah has four components, performed in order:
- Ihram — entering the sacred state at a designated miqat, with the intention (niyyah) and the talbiyah. Men wear two unstitched white cloths; women wear ordinary modest dress.
- Tawaf — circling the Kaaba seven times, anticlockwise, beginning and ending at the Black Stone.
- Sa'i — walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, commemorating Hajar's search for water for her son Isma'il.
- Halq or taqsir — shaving the head, or trimming the hair, which releases the pilgrim from ihram.
Performed without crowds, this takes a few hours. In Ramadan, when the Haram is at its fullest, the same rites can take most of a day.
Its place in practice
Umrah is widely understood as a means of spiritual renewal, and there is well-known guidance on the merit of performing it, particularly during Ramadan. Many pilgrims perform Umrah more than once in a lifetime, and repeat it during a single visit.
Madinah is not part of Umrah
Almost every UK Umrah package includes several nights in Madinah, visiting Masjid an-Nabawi and the Ziyarat sites. This is a visit of great significance, but it is not a rite of Umrah and is not required for the pilgrimage to be complete.
It is included because pilgrims travelling from the UK are unlikely to make the journey twice, and few would choose to be that close and not go.