Defining Umrah
The term “Umrah” is an Arabic word which is derived from I’timaar. I’timaar means visit or travel. It is basically an Islamic religious terminology and symbolizes a visit to Ka;bah.
Timing of Umrah
It is allowed to perform Umrah anytime during a whole year. There is no settled or restricted time for Umrah. Muslims all around the word come to now to perform Umrah throughout the year. One can aslo perform Umrah during Hajj das accommodation in Mecca.
Pillars of Umrah
There are four pillars are Umrah as derived from hadith and sunnah.
There pillars are:
• Ihraam: First one is Ihraam which is supposed to b wore at Meeqat, a place few kilometers away from Mecca. Pilgrimage makes intention of Umrah after wearing Ihraam.
• Tawaaf (circumambulation): Once pilgrimage enters, Kabah, he has to perform the second pillar of Umrah, which is Tawaaf. Tawaaf is characterized by five rounds around the Kabah.
• Sa’s: third pillar is Sa’y which is characterized by seven rounds of walking between two mountains Safa and Marwa situated inside Masjidul Haram.It is perform in the memory of Hazrat Hajra, wife of Prophet Ibraheem(PBUH). She waled between two mountains in search of water for his little son, Ismail, who later became propher of Allah.
• Tahal-lul: Tahal-lul is the fourth and last pillar of Umrah. After performing Sa’, performer comes out the state of Ihraam and cut or shave his hair. Now the things becomes lawful for him which became unlawful during the state of ihram. Women need to cut shorten their hair by a fingertip length only. After performing these four obligations, Umrah is completed.
Umrah is different from Hajj. During umrah, pilgrimages are not required to travel to Minaa, Arafaat and Muzdalifah. These places are visit during Hajj only. A pilgirage of Umrah is also exhibited form throwing stones on Jamaraat (pillars made of stone which symbolizes devils) and offering animal sacrifice. These acts are only performed by those who come for Hajj.
It is considered a great blessings for going to Mecca to perform Umrah. Many people prefer to perform Umrah before Hajj to become familiar with different places and obligations so it comes easier during Hajj for Hajj is a hard due to more obligations and huge crowd of pilgrimages. If you want to perform Umrah, then there are many Umrah packages offered by different travel agencies. These travel agencies make sure to make all the arrangements including travel and accommodation in Mecca and Medina.
Quick detail for Umrah Packages visit this link: http://umrahpackage.info/
Umrah Guide 