Umrah Preparation for key rituals

In Arabic, the word Umrah means ‘visiting a populated space.’ It provides pilgrims with an opportunity to seek forgiveness from Allah and offers them a chance to reaffirm their faith in the almighty. During the Umrah trip, worshippers perform four main rituals that include:

• Ihram – Cleansing to attain physical purity before starting the journey
• Tawaf – Circling the Holy Kaaba seven times to show devotion to the almighty
• Sai – Walking back and forth between Marwa and Safa
• Halq – Shaving or clipping the hair

All of the above rituals can be completed in just a few hours.

Ideal Season to plan Umrah trip

Umrah can be performed at any time of year but sometimes Umrah becomes an obligatory act, and thus becomes timebound. To know more about this, it is important to understand the types of Umrah.

A lot of pilgrims choose to perform Umrah during the holy month of Ramadan or in the sacred months following Muharram and Safar as these times are considered more rewarding. Many pilgrims also plan Umrah trip in December because in this month the weather is pleasing and the mosque is crowd-free.

Reaching the House of Allah in Makkah

Jeddah to Makkah: For those going on an Umrah trip, it is essential to note that Makkah does not have its own airport. Flights are available to Jeddah. Pilgrims arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED/OEJN), situated 95km west of Makkah. One can reach Makkah from Jeddah via taxi.