How do I perform Umrah?

Before you set out

Ibn Uthaymeen advises that you make the intention for Umrah from the moment you get into your car at home, so that the whole road becomes an act of worship from your door until you return. This is not the same as entering ihram — you are simply resolving that this journey is for Umrah, so that if something stops you reaching it, the reward is still recorded for you.

Once you reach the miqat, the boundary you pass on your route, do the following before entering ihram:

• Trim your nails and tidy your body hair: IslamWeb (fatwa 528385) lists clipping the nails and shaving the pubic hair among the recommended preparations.
• Bathe: wash as you would for major impurity. Ibn Uthaymeen notes this bathing is a sunnah for men and women alike, even for a woman in menstruation or postnatal bleeding.
• Apply perfume: on your head and beard, before ihram. Aisha رضي الله عنها described seeing the shine of musk on the Prophet's ﷺ hair while he was in ihram.
• Put on the garments: for men, an izar covering the lower body and a rida' over the upper. A woman wears her ordinary clothes, without adornment that draws attention.

Then pray — the obligatory prayer if its time is in, otherwise two rak'ahs — and after the prayer say: labbayk Allahumma 'umrah ("here I am, O Allah, for Umrah"). The intention is formed in the heart; the spoken words confirm it.

The talbiyah

After entering ihram, keep repeating the talbiyah — the call of the pilgrim. The most complete form is the one the Prophet ﷺ used:

"Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am; You have no partner; here I am. Indeed all praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You. You have no partner."— Sahih al-Bukhari 1549 and Sahih Muslim 1184, from Ibn Umar

A man raises his voice with it; a woman says it only as loudly as the person beside her can hear. Ibn Uthaymeen notes it is said especially when your state changes — going up, coming down, or as night turns to day — and that it continues until you begin the tawaf.

If you fear something may prevent you finishing — illness, a delay, anything of the sort — Ibn Uthaymeen advises making a condition when you enter ihram, saying: "If something prevents me, then I exit my ihram wherever I am held back." The Prophet ﷺ instructed Duba'ah bint al-Zubayr to do this when she was ill.

The tawaf

Enter the Sacred Mosque with your right foot and the usual supplication for entering a mosque. Then go to the Black Stone.

1. Begin at the Black Stone. Face it, and if you can reach it without harming anyone, touch it with your right hand and kiss it. If not, touch it with your hand and kiss your hand; if that is not possible either, face it and point toward it. The Prophet ﷺ told Umar رضي الله عنه, who was strong, not to push and harm the weak.
2. Circle seven times, keeping the Ka'bah on your left. Each circuit begins and ends at the Black Stone. Ibn Uthaymeen warns against passing through the area of the Hijr — the semicircular wall — because doing so shortens the circuit.
3. Men do two things during this tawaf. Idtiba: passing the middle of the upper garment under the right arm so the right shoulder stays uncovered throughout. Raml: walking briskly with short steps, in the first three circuits only.
4. Say what you wish — Qur'an, dhikr, supplication. There is no fixed supplication for each circuit; Ibn Uthaymeen calls the practice of assigning a specific du'a to each circuit an innovation. Between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, say: "Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire."
5. Pray two rak'ahs after the seven circuits, behind the Station of Ibrahim if you can, otherwise anywhere in the mosque. Recite al-Kafirun in the first and al-Ikhlas in the second, and keep them short.

The sa'i

Go out to the area of Safa and Marwah. As you approach Safa, recite: "Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah." Then:

1. Climb Safa, face the Ka'bah, raise your hands and praise Allah. Say Allahu akbar three times, then the words of tawhid, then supplicate as you wish — repeating the dhikr three times and the supplication twice.
2. Walk to Marwah. At the first green marker, men run briskly if there is room; then walk normally to Marwah. Do at Marwah as you did at Safa.
3. Count seven trips. Safa to Marwah is one, Marwah to Safa is the second, and so on until seven, ending at Marwah. Unlike tawaf, each leg is a complete circuit in itself.

Shaving or trimming

When the sa'i is complete, shave your head or trim your hair — shaving is better. This is the point at which you leave ihram completely: you return to your ordinary clothes, perfume, and everything ihram had made off-limits. IslamWeb (fatwa 528385) notes that leaving this step out obliges a sacrifice.

What the rite rests on

The recommended acts — bathing, perfume, idtiba, raml, the two rak'ahs, the talbiyah — carry reward but do not invalidate the Umrah if missed.

Key takeaways

• Enter ihram at the miqat on your route, after bathing, perfume and putting on the garments, and make the intention for Umrah.
• Tawaf is seven circuits beginning and ending at the Black Stone, with the Ka'bah on your left; men perform idtiba throughout and raml in the first three.
• Sa'i is seven trips from Safa to Marwah, each leg counting as one, ending at Marwah.
• You leave ihram only after shaving or trimming, and shaving is the better of the two.
• If you leave out a required act such as entering ihram from the miqat or the shaving, a sacrifice is owed.

Further reading

• Ibn Uthaymeen, al-Liqa' al-Shahri
• Ibn Uthaymeen, Liqa' al-Bab al-Maftuh
• Al-Shanqiti, bayan sifat al-'umrah wa ahkamiha wa fada'iliha

And Allah knows best.