All You Need To Know About Umrah and Hajj

By Alia Khan

This book is a first hand account of how to perform Umrah and Hajj. The methods are researched and confirmed by an Islamic scholar. Through various texts, online information, classes, lectures, and scholar input I have sifted through many sources to give you something comprehensive yet easy to follow. If I have succeeded, then this should be the only book you need to take with you on your Hajj or Umrah journey. My Hajj with my siblings will remain my most special memory with them. I have tried to give you a realistic approach to your pilgrimage yet ensure optimal results InshaAllah. In this book, any Muslim brother or sister will find what they are looking for. You will find a step by step 'how to' guide, then there are details to what makes the processes complete, I have also included 'my view' on the many experiences that my siblings and I had. You will also find 'pearls' here and there with interesting historical facts, and useful quotes from hadeeths and Quranic verses. There are also many explanations on why we perform certain rituals, etc. Wherever possible, all information is backed by evidence from various sources. All the sections of this book should help you to understand what you are about to encounter and how to make the most of it, though every journey is tailor made by Allah for each of His servants. I ask for your sincerest prayers for my family, friends, loved ones, and myself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alia Khan
• Release date: Mar 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310675201

Book preview

My View

I compiled this book only for private use before my siblings and I performed our Hajj in 2012. However, when I came back from Hajj, and since more family and friends wanted to use this booklet to prepare for their own Hajj and Umrah, I decided to add a My View page in each section. I hope, now that I’ve experienced Umrah and Hajj, this will give a better perspective on the different aspects of the Pilgrimage – though I agree with my mother when she says, Nothing can ever truly prepare you for Hajj; because everyone has a different experience that is tailor made by Allah. Allah gives you what you need in order to show you something about yourself. How correct she is, only after going to Hajj and seeing/experiencing all the different stories, do I really understand how my mother was spot on with this advice!

When you return, you may get asked how did you come back changed from your Hajj? Start thinking about this answer from today. The best advice I can give you about your Hajj is have a high opinion of EVERYONE and EVERYTHING and hope that that is what you will bring back with you from your Hajj. Amongst the many beautiful things you will see and feel there, you will also see chaos, pushing, rude behavior, and the list goes on. Do not complain. Do not dispute with anyone. FORGIVE. Give everything the benefit of the doubt. You will find that everyone has a story, and only when you start delving into people’s lives will you understand why they are the way they are – so just always let it go. Remember, you want to be on your best behavior because this is what counts with Allah, and that’s all that should matter to you. When you can come back from Hajj and say with honesty that you did not even say uff to anyone or about anything, only then can you find some comfort in the thought that your pilgrimage may have been accepted…and an accepted Hajj is the most ultimate thing in life! An accepted Hajj means you get to come back with a clean slate and pure soul. How wonderful would it be to have your duas answered quickly because now there is nothing (no sins, no doubts, no trials) in the way between you and Allah. Now the challenge is to keep your Hajj with you for the rest of your life; live your life having the highest opinion of everyone and everything and be the best human being under all circumstances. So excuse the pushers, shovers, and chaos makers of life – and if you can’t excuse them, then avoid them for the love of Allah and His peace.

The best intention you can make for your Hajj is to do everything to please Allah. Intend to do khidmah (service) for people: take food to feed the many poor people that come, take sadaqa money to give away, study your deen really well so when you go there you can share your knowledge.

Finally, I’ll end this page by emphasizing to you the importance of trying to do your Hajj and Umrah as closely as you can to the Prophet’s (SAW) pilgrimage.

There is immense barakah in this. You will be given options and rulings from scholars to take shortcuts, or avoid crowds, or bypass things altogether – don’t take alternatives! They aren’t optimal and you will still hit the crowds and get into all sorts of other potential difficulties; but when you follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), miracles happen. You won’t believe how you will get partings of the sea amongst the crowds and how opportunities will be created that seem tailor made just for you – and I believe that’s exactly what Allah has done for you as a reward for you following His beloved Rasool (SAW). I hope you will deeply consider this point, it is probably the profound thing you can do to add the special power to your Hajj and Umrah.

Remember it isn’t a mechanical thing, there are reasons, stories, rulings, laws of the Supernatural, prophets’ journeys, and so much more that factor into each step. In the humblest and most imperfect way, I have attempted to explain the full picture to you in this booklet so you can really understand the profound meaning behind all the rituals you will be doing and what you should be feeling, saying, doing, and why. I have covered information in this booklet with the intention of helping you through a pilgrmage based on the Sunnah. However, if for some reason you choose to take shortcuts or follow other rulings, please be very careful. I was shocked at the amount of misinformation being offered so freely; and not just by common people, but by people who were brought there to be scholars and guides. One scholar in our group gave us some grave misinformation. Thankfully I was able to confirm it was wrong as I had valid information with me, but I was shy to say anything to him. Sure enough, another couple who had done quite a bit of study on their own spoke up loudly and took out a well accepted book and read from it to confirm that we had been misinformed. This is one case where the scholar/guide was corrected, there are many many cases where people did things completely inaccurately and it was simply too late to correct – for example, a woman in our group did 14 Sai between Safa and Marwa because she was told that one round is from Safa to Marwa and back!

It would truly be a tragedy to go through all the effort, expense, and emotions of Hajj and Umrah to only later find out that it was done incorrectly – though Allah is most forgiving, wouldn’t you want to be as perfect as possible for Him?

This booklet is organized in a way so that you will know how to direct yourself quickly through it should you need to. The green pages are the instructional pages that you will need to refer to on a day to day basis. You will see there are very few green pages, as Hajj and Umrah is not complicated and very easy to perform. The best way to use this booklet is to read it entirely at least once before you leave for your trip. Maybe even do a study group – as we my siblings and I did. Then I highly recommend that the night before each ritual day, you take out the green page that pertains to that day. Read only this page and get familiar with what you are required to do. If you follow this simple system, InshaAllah you will have an enjoyable and blessed Pilgrimage with no doubts and confusion on what you need to do.

Pearls

You will find that your love of God heightens…as you start preparing for your pilgrimage journey, with the sole intention of pleasing Allah. With your heart longing to reach your goal, you become purer in thought and deed. You repent for past sins, seek forgiveness from people whom you might have wronged, and try to render your due to others where necessary so as not to go to God’s court burdened with injustices that you may have done to your fellow beings. In general, the inclination for doing good intensifies and abhorrence for doing evil increases.

After leaving home, the closer you get to the House of God, the more intense becomes your desire to do good. You become careful so that you harm nobody, while you try to render whatever service or help you can to others. You avoid abuse, indecency, dishonesty, squabbles and bickering, because you are proceeding on the path of God. Thus your entire journey constitutes an act of worship. How can, then you do wrong? This journey, in contrast to every other, is a continuing course through which a Muslim attains a progressive purification of the self. On this journey, then, you are pilgrims to God.

Pearls

UMRAH – The lesser pilgrimage. Linguistically means to visit a populated place. In the Islamic context, Umrah means to perform the lesser pilgrimage. The Hajj being the ‘major’ pilgrimage. The Prophet (SAW) performed 4 Umrahs in his lifetime.

HAJJ – The greater pilgrimage. It is the Fifth Pillar of Islam. Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said the best type of Hajj is Hajj At Tamattu’. This is where Umrah must be performed as a condition for this type of Hajj to be completed. Hajj At Tamattu’ is optimal because it allows us to do Umrah in full, then we can come out of ihram as we wait to commence our Hajj rites on 8th Dhul Hijjah (the first day of the Hajj rituals). Therefore, we will go through the complete process of Umrah in this book first then following this section we will go through the complete process for Hajj InshaAllah. The Prophet (SAW) did only one Hajj in his lifetime as a prophet.

The word Hajj, linguistically, means heading to a place for the sake of visiting; in the Islamic context, it implies heading to Mecca to observe the rituals of the greater pilgrimage.

Hajj is made obligatory by Allah upon every Muslim, male and female, who is physically and financially capable. It is obligatory only once during the lifetime of a Muslim. Allah Almighty Says : Hajj thereto is a duty mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the journey, but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures. (Quran 3:97)

Hajj was prescribed in the sixth year after Hijrah (migration) upon the revelation of the following verse in which Allah Says : And complete the Hajj and ‘Umrah for Allah... (Quran 2:196)

Hajj is not a new institution introduced by Islam, rather it is as old as the Kabah itself. Allah Almighty Says : Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Bekkah [i.e., Mekkah] – blessed and a guidance to the worlds. (Quran 3:96)

The whole origin of Hajj is rooted to the acts of devotion of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). This demonstrates that Muhammad (SAW) did not innovate this institution, all he did was to clear it of all the evil practices that had crept into it after the pagans took over the Kabah. After a few centuries of the death of Ibrahim (AS) and his son Ismail (AS) (who rebuilt the Kabah in their time), people abandoned their teachings and gradually went astray. Hundreds of idols were installed in the Kabah. Ironically, idols were made after the image of Ibrahim (AS) and Ismail (AS) too, whose whole lives had been spent eradicating idol-worship. The Kabah was turned into a type of temple for idol-worship and superstition though ultimately the pagans used the idols to reach Allah so it was still seen as the House of Allah. This predicament lasted for about two thousand years, until the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Muhammad (SAW) was known to regularly perform the Umrah, even before he began receiving revelation. In 630 CE, Muhammad (SAW) led his followers from Medina to Mecca, it was the first Hajj to be performed by Muslims alone, and the only Hajj ever performed by Muhammad (SAW). When he got there, he (SAW) and the Muslims cleansed the Kabah, destroyed all the idols, and re-ordained the building as the house of God. It was from this point that the Hajj became one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Prophet (SAW) was asked, What deed is the best? He said, Iman in Allah and His Messenger. Then what? Jihad for the sake of Allah. Then what? Hajj Mabroor, a Hajj accepted by Allah.

Abu Sha’thaa’ said, I contemplated the good deeds that a person does. I found that Salat as well as fasting are a jihad of the body. And that sadaqa is a jihad of someone’s wealth. But Hajj is a jihad of both body and wealth.

The dua of the one in Hajj shall be accepted. The Prophet (SAW) said, "The

Reviews for All You Need To Know About Umrah and Hajj

[Muhamad Muszaki · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

open my mind for hajj