Muslims can do Umrah, also called the “lesser pilgrimage” or “minor pilgrimage,” to Makkah at any time of the year. Umrah in Arabic means to go to a large place, and according to Shariya, Umrah means to do rituals after entering a holy state called Ihram. But making Umrah during Ramadan is very important, both in terms of reward and merit. When compared to other Islamic months, Allah Almighty gives a great reward to those who do it in the Holy month. Its reward is the same as Hajj, but it can’t be seen as a replacement for Hajj. You can be performed the Umrah after booking 15 Days Cheap Ramadan Packages.
Hadith On Umrah
Every year, millions of Muslims from all over the world do Umrah and go to Makkah and Madinah, which are considered to be the holiest places in Islam. Umrah is not a religious requirement, but it is one of the best Sunnahs of our beloved Prophet, who did it four times in his life. Hazrat Abu Huraira R.A. said that the Messenger of Allah said:
“Sins that happen between one Umrah and the next will be forgiven by the second Umrah.”
With the above Hadith, it’s easy to see that Umrah is a way to get rid of your sins. Umrah cleans your body and soul of the sins you’ve done in the past, just like a baby is born without any sins. On a different occasion, our beloved Prophet said:
“The person who fights for Allah, the pilgrim, and the person who is doing Umrah are all Allah’s. He called them, and they answered. They asked for His blessings, and He gave them.
Allah SWT has never left a believer alone. If a person moves one step closer to Allah, He moves ten steps closer to that person. So, if someone does Umrah with good intentions and only for the sake of their Lord, He SWT will give them a lot in return. When we go on Hajj and Umrah, we leave our home, family, and other comforts behind and only think about Allah day and night. It’s possible that when things get hard, Allah will leave us alone.
Umrah can be done at any time of the year, as long as the person has enough money and isn’t sick in any way (physically or mentally). However, he or she must be taking care of their family duties and responsibilities. But our beloved Prophet (PBUH) does four Umrahs during his life. Mujahid said that Urwa bin Az-Zubair and I went to the Mosque (Masjid e Nabwi) and saw Abdullah bin Umar sitting near where Ayesha R.A. lived while people were praying the Dhuhr prayer. When we asked him about their prayer, he said it was different. Urwa then asked him how many times the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had done Umrah. He answered:
“Four times,” and one of those times was in the month of Rajab.” We disliked gainsaying him. Then we heard Ayesha R.A., the Mother of Faithful Believers, using Siwak to clean her teeth in the place where people stayed. ‘ Urwa said, “O Mother! O Mother of all Christians! What is Abu Abdur Rahman saying? Don’t you hear him?” “What does he say?” she asked. ‘ Urwa said, “He says that Allah’s Messenger did four Umrah, and one of them was in the month of Rajab.” ‘Ayesha R.A said, “May Allah be merciful to Abu Abdur Rahman! The Prophet SAW didn’t do Umrah unless he was with him, and he never did Umrah in Rajab.
Qatada said the following:
I once asked Anas how many Umrahs the Prophet (PBUH) had done. “Four times,” he said. Umrah of Hudaibiya in Zill-Qad, when the pagans held him up; Umrah the next year in Zill-Qad, after the peace treaty with them (the pagans); Umrah from Al-Ja’rana, where He PBUH gave out the war booty.” I think he was talking about the spoils of Hunain. I asked him, “How many Hajjs did he do?” Anas answered, “Once.”
Every Muslim wants to go to Jannah, also called Paradise, when they die. Performing the Umrah is one of the ways to get into Jannah. Through Umrah, Allah SWT gives us a chance to get into Paradise. With Umrah, pilgrims can get two rewards: one is that they follow the beautiful Sunnah of our Prophet (PBUH), and the other is that they earn the key to Jannah. Um ul Momeneen Prophet PBUH once said, according to Hazrat Ayesha RA:
“Whoever leaves his home only to keep going on Hajj or Umrah and then dies, nothing will be given to him, and he won’t be held responsible for anything on the Day of Reckoning. Instead, he will be told to go to Jannah.”
With this Hadith, it is clear that anyone who dies on the way to Hajj or Umrah will go to paradise. Umrah is also a way to get out of poverty, because Allah SWT gave His people the best gifts. Allah’s Messenger said:
“Don’t stop doing hajj and umrah, because they get rid of poverty and sins as well as hollers get rid of impurity from iron.”
So, this hadith shows that Umrah is both a way to get out of poverty and a way to get rid of sins from your body and soul.
Umrah is a great act of worship on its own, and when it’s done during the Holy Month of Ramadan, it’s like getting a double treat. The pilgrim will get a lot of good things, like inner happiness and a lot of peace of mind and soul.
When the Prophet PBUH got back from hajj, he asked Umm Sinan Al-Ansari, “What did you do?”
“What kept you from going on hajj?” She said, “My husband had two camels. He did hajj on one of them, and the other one is used to water our land.” Allah’s Messenger told her, “Do umrah during the month of Ramadan. It’s the same as coming with me on Hajj.”
As we’ve already said, Umrah is the best way to worship, and Jihad is the best way to worship just like Umrah. However, you can’t really do Jihad anymore, and those who aren’t strong enough to do Jihad can do Umrah, as our Prophet PBUH said:
“Hajj and Umrah are the Jihad of the old, the young, the weak, and the women.”
