Umrah (Lesser Pilgrimage)
The lesser pilgrimage to Mecca, which can be performed at any time of the year.
Umrah is the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca, which unlike Hajj can be performed at any time of the year. It consists of four main rituals: ihram (entering the state of pilgrimage), tawaf (seven circumambulations of the Kaaba), sa'i (walking between Safa and Marwa), and halq/taqsir (shaving or shortening the hair).
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "An Umrah to the next is an expiation for what is between them, and the accepted Hajj has no reward other than Paradise" (Sahih al-Bukhari). Prayer at Masjid al-Haram during Umrah has a special virtue — the Prophet said: "One prayer in my mosque is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except Masjid al-Haram" (Sahih al-Bukhari).
The four Sunni schools of law disagree on whether Umrah is obligatory (wajib) or merely strongly recommended (sunnah mu'akkadah). The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools consider it obligatory at least once in a lifetime, while the Hanafi and Maliki schools regard it as strongly recommended.
Related terms
Rak'ah (Prayer Cycle)
A single cycle of movements and recitations in the Islamic prayer.
Ma'ad (Resurrection)
Belief in resurrection and judgment day — the fifth article of faith in Shia Islam.
Hajj (Pilgrimage)
The annual pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam, obligatory for every Muslim with the ability.
Salat al-Istikhara (Guidance Prayer)
A prayer where one asks Allah for guidance to make the right decision.
Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence)
Islamic legal theory that defines the methods for deriving legal rules from the sacred sources.
Adl (God's Justice)
The doctrine of God's absolute justice — the second article of faith in Shia Islam.