The sourced guide, free, from the first step to the last.
The Guide walks through the ʿumrah in the order of its six stages: Prepare and enter ihram · Arriving at the Sacred Mosque · The tawaf · After the tawaf · The saʿī · The shaving. That makes 22 steps, each with its source.
| # | The rite | In brief | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grooming beforehand | Before the bath, take time to groom: nails, moustache, underarm and pubic hair. | Sunnah | Bukhari 5889 · Muslim 257a · Muslim 258 |
| 2 | The full bath | Before entering ihram, take a full bath (ghusl), as the Prophet ﷺ did for his ihram. | Sunnah | Tirmidhi 830 |
| 3 | The ihram garments | The garments mark entry into the sacred state. | Required | Bukhari 1838 |
| 4 | Your miqat | The miqat is the sacred boundary one does not cross without ihram. | Required | Bukhari 1524 · Bukhari 1531 · Bukhari 1785 · Muslim 1181 · Muslim 1211 · Abū Dāwūd 1739 · haj.gov.sa · Lajna Dāʾima |
| 5 | What becomes forbidden | From your intention until the haircut that closes your Umrah: cut nothing, neither hair nor beard nor nails. | Bukhari 1838 · Muslim 1177 · haj.gov.sa | |
| 6 | The intention | At the miqat (or on the plane before crossing it), state the intention for your Umrah. | Pillar | Muslim 1232 · Muslim 1184 |
| 7 | The talbiya | Repeat the talbiya on the way to Makkah, until the tawaf begins. | Sunnah | Bukhari 1549 · Muslim 1184 |
| 8 | Enter with the right foot | The Prophet ﷺ liked to begin with the right in everything: enter with your right foot and the invocation for entering. | Sunnah | Muslim 713 · Bukhari 168 · Ḥākim · Bayhaqī |
| 9 | Which gate? | No gate is prescribed. | Muslim 713 · Bukhari 168 | |
| 10 | The first sight of the Kaaba | No particular invocation is reported from the Prophet ﷺ for this first sight. | Muslim 1218 · Nasāʾī 2939 | |
| 11 | The talbiya stops here | For Umrah, the talbiya continues until the very start of the tawaf: it stops when you touch the Black Stone, or reach its line. | Sunnah | Tirmidhi 919 · Abū Dāwūd 1817 |
| 12 | The ablutions for the tawaf | The tawaf is performed in a state of purity, like the prayer. | Required | Tirmidhī 960 · Bukhari 305 |
| 13 | The line of the Black Stone | Stand on the line of the Black Stone, the Kaaba on your left. | Muslim 1218 · Bukhari 1613 · Abū Dāwūd 1889 · haj.gov.sa | |
| 14 | The uncovered shoulder, the brisk step | Two sunnah gestures accompany this arrival tawaf, and only two. | Sunnah | Abū Dāwūd 1889 · Abū Dāwūd 1890 · Muslim 1218 · haj.gov.sa |
| 15 | The two corners | The Prophet ﷺ touched only two corners of the Kaaba. | Sunnah | Bukhari 1611 · Bukhari 1613 · Abū Dāwūd 1874 · haj.gov.sa |
| 16 | The seven circuits | Seven circuits around the Kaaba, each starting from the line of the Black Stone and returning to it. | Pillar | Muslim 1218 · Abū Dāwūd 1892 · haj.gov.sa |
| 17 | Two rakahs at the Maqām of Ibrahim | Once the seventh circuit is done, walk towards the Maqām of Ibrahim reciting the verse, then pray two short rakahs with the Maqām between you and the Kaaba. | Sunnah | Muslim 1218 · Nasāʾī 2939 · Quran 2:125 · Official ʿumrah guide (haj.gov.sa) |
| 18 | Drink Zamzam water | Zamzam fountains and dispensers are spread through the Sacred Mosque: you will find one without looking long. | Sunnah | Bukhari 1637 · Ibn Mājah 3062 · haj.gov.sa |
| 19 | Going up to Ṣafā | Leave the mataf towards Ṣafā. | Muslim 1218 · Quran 2:158 | |
| 20 | The seven legs | Ṣafā to Marwa counts as one leg, Marwa to Ṣafā as the second, and so on. | Pillar | Muslim 1218 · Bukhari 3364 · haj.gov.sa |
| 21 | The last step | This is the last rite. | Required | Quran 48:27 · Muslim 1303 · Bukhari 1727 · Abū Dāwūd 1985 · haj.gov.sa |
| 22 | Where to have it done | Nothing requires the cut to be done in the saʿī area: licensed barbershops surround the Sacred Mosque. | haj.gov.sa · Muslim 1305a |
At home, on the plane, at the miqat
Before the bath, take time to groom: nails, moustache, underarm and pubic hair. These are acts of fitra, and ihram puts them out of reach until the haircut. Doing them now means setting off clean. For the woman as for the man.
Bukhari 5889 · Muslim 257a · Muslim 258Before entering ihram, take a full bath (ghusl), as the Prophet ﷺ did for his ihram.
Tirmidhi 830The garments mark entry into the sacred state. They differ for men and women.
For men. Two unstitched pieces of cloth, one around the waist, one over the shoulders. Nothing else: no underwear, nothing fitted, head uncovered.
For women. Your ordinary modest clothing. In ihram, no niqab and no gloves: the veil stays, and the niqab and the gloves are the only things the ihram takes away.
The miqat is the sacred boundary one does not cross without ihram.
Bukhari 1524 · Bukhari 1531 · Bukhari 1785 · Muslim 1181 · Muslim 1211 · Abū Dāwūd 1739 · haj.gov.sa · Lajna DāʾimaFrom your intention until the haircut that closes your Umrah: cut nothing, neither hair nor beard nor nails. No perfume, no hunting, no marriage or intimacy. Men: nothing stitched, head uncovered. Women: your veil stays, only the niqab and gloves come off; face and hands uncovered.
Bukhari 1838 · Muslim 1177 · haj.gov.saAt the miqat (or on the plane before crossing it), state the intention for your Umrah.
لَبَّيْكَ ٱللَّهُمَّ عُمْرَةً
Labbayka Llāhumma ʿumratan
Here I am, O Allah, for an Umrah.
Muslim 1232 · Muslim 1184Repeat the talbiya on the way to Makkah, until the tawaf begins.
For men. Aloud.
For women. Softly, to yourself.
لَبَّيْكَ ٱللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ ٱلْحَمْدَ وَٱلنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَٱلْمُلْكَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ
Labbayka Llāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna l-ḥamda wa n-niʿmata laka wa l-mulk, lā sharīka lak
Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Truly praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You. You have no partner.
Bukhari 1549 · Muslim 1184Makkah, Masjid al-Haram
The Prophet ﷺ liked to begin with the right in everything: enter with your right foot and the invocation for entering. For leaving, the reverse practice is reported from Anas, the left foot first, with the invocation for leaving.
ٱللَّهُمَّ ٱفْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ
Allāhumma ftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik
O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy.
Muslim 713ٱللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
Allāhumma innī as’aluka min faḍlik
O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty.
Muslim 713No gate is prescribed. The sunnah sets the invocation and the right foot, never which entrance you take: use the nearest and least crowded one. Bab as-Salam is often suggested out of habit, without anything making it binding.
Muslim 713 · Bukhari 168No particular invocation is reported from the Prophet ﷺ for this first sight. What is reported is that on entering he went straight to the Black Stone and began his tawaf. Supplicate freely, in your own words.
Muslim 1218 · Nasāʾī 2939For Umrah, the talbiya continues until the very start of the tawaf: it stops when you touch the Black Stone, or reach its line. That is what Ibn Abbas reported, and it is what the practice of most scholars follows.
Tirmidhi 919 · Abū Dāwūd 1817Around the Kaaba, the mataf
The tawaf is performed in a state of purity, like the prayer. Before you begin, make sure you have your ablutions.
Tirmidhī 960 · Bukhari 305Stand on the line of the Black Stone, the Kaaba on your left. You turn counterclockwise: each of the seven circuits starts on that line and returns to it. At every pass, turn towards the Stone, point to it and say the takbīr.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Bismi-Llāhi wa-Llāhu akbar
In the name of Allah, and Allah is the greatest.
Bukhari 1613 · Abū Dāwūd 1889 · Bayhaqī · ṬabarānīTwo sunnah gestures accompany this arrival tawaf, and only two. The second one applies to the first three circuits only.
For men. Idtiba: pass the middle of your cloth under your right armpit and throw both ends over your left shoulder, right shoulder uncovered, for the whole tawaf. Raml: walk briskly with short steps for the first three circuits; walk normally for the other four.
For women. Neither of these two gestures is asked of women. Walk normally and with dignity for all seven circuits; your clothing stays as modest as usual.
The Prophet ﷺ touched only two corners of the Kaaba. The Black Stone: kiss it if you can reach it, otherwise touch it with your hand and kiss your hand, otherwise simply point to it and say the takbīr. The Yemeni corner: touch it if you can reach it; no takbīr and no kiss are reported there. If it is out of reach, pass by without any gesture and without pushing, there is nothing on you.
Bukhari 1611 · Bukhari 1613 · Abū Dāwūd 1874 · haj.gov.saSeven circuits around the Kaaba, each starting from the line of the Black Stone and returning to it. The invocations of the tawaf are free: no supplication is fixed for any given circuit, your heart comes first. The cards shown here are recommended, sourced invocations. Between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, the Prophet ﷺ used to say “Rabbana atina”.
Muslim 1218 · Abū Dāwūd 1892 · haj.gov.saMaqām Ibrahim, Zamzam
Once the seventh circuit is done, walk towards the Maqām of Ibrahim reciting the verse, then pray two short rakahs with the Maqām between you and the Kaaba. If it is crowded, pray them anywhere in the Sacred Mosque. The Prophet ﷺ recited al-Kafirun and al-Ikhlas in them. He then went back to the Black Stone to touch it.
وَٱتَّخِذُوا۟ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَٰهِۦمَ مُصَلًّۭى
Wa ttakhidhū min maqāmi Ibrāhīma muṣallā
And take, O believers, from the standing place of Abraham a place of prayer.
Quran 2:125 · Muslim 1218Zamzam fountains and dispensers are spread through the Sacred Mosque: you will find one without looking long. The Prophet ﷺ drank from it, and said that Zamzam water is for whatever it is drunk for. Drink your fill, and ask.
Bukhari 1637 · Ibn Mājah 3062 · haj.gov.saBetween Ṣafā and Marwa
Leave the mataf towards Ṣafā. As he came near, the Prophet ﷺ recited the verse of Ṣafā and Marwa, then said: “I begin with what Allah began with.” The saʿī always starts from Ṣafā.
إِنَّ ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَآئِرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ ٱلْبَيْتَ أَوِ ٱعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًۭا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ
Inna ṣ-Ṣafā wa l-Marwata min shaʿā’iri Llāh, fa-man ḥajja l-bayta awi ʿtamara fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayhi an yaṭṭawwafa bihimā, wa man taṭawwaʿa khayran fa-inna Llāha shākirun ʿalīm
Indeed, as-Ṣafā and al-Marwa are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever makes Hajj to the House or performs Umrah, there is no blame upon him for walking between them. And whoever volunteers good, then indeed, Allah is appreciative and Knowing.
Quran 2:158 · Muslim 1218أَبْدَأُ بِمَا بَدَأَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِ
Abda’u bimā bada’a Llāhu bih
I begin with what Allah began with.
Muslim 1218Ṣafā to Marwa counts as one leg, Marwa to Ṣafā as the second, and so on. Seven legs in all: the seventh ends at Marwa, never at Ṣafā. Here too the invocations are free.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ ٱلْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ ٱلْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ
Lā ilāha illā Llāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu l-mulku wa lahu l-ḥamd, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shay’in qadīr. Lā ilāha illā Llāhu waḥdah, anjaza waʿdah, wa naṣara ʿabdah, wa hazama l-aḥzāba waḥdah
There is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion, His is the praise, and He has power over all things. There is no deity but Allah alone: He fulfilled His promise, granted victory to His servant, and defeated the confederates alone.
Muslim 1218Around the Sacred Mosque
This is the last rite. As long as the cut is not done you are still in ihram, and everything that was barred to you at the miqat still is. As soon as it is done you leave it: what was withheld from you since the miqat is yours again, and your Umrah is complete.
For men. Shave the whole head, or shorten it over the whole head. Never one lock, never one side: Allah says “having shaved your heads”, and the Prophet ﷺ shaved his own entire head. He asked Allah’s mercy for those who shave, said it again unchanged when he was questioned, and only joined those who shorten to it on the third time. Shaving is better, and shortening is good.
For women. Shaving is not asked of you, and it never was: the Prophet ﷺ said there is no shaving for women, only shortening. Your hair is an adornment, and the Law keeps it for you. Gather your hair and cut about a fingertip length, one to two centimetres, from the end. Gather it well: that is what makes the cut take on your whole head of hair and not on a single lock.
Nothing requires the cut to be done in the saʿī area: licensed barbershops surround the Sacred Mosque. The official guide asks there for a new blade for every pilgrim, sterilised scissors and hands washed before each haircut. Nothing stops you from checking with a glance.
haj.gov.sa · Muslim 1305aThe invocations of the tawaf are free: no supplication is fixed for any given circuit, your heart comes first. The Guide shows you the recommended invocations at the right moment in the circuit, each with its source.
On site, the Guide stays with you step by step: the 22 steps in order, every step with its source, offline once installed. For the conditions that depend on your situation, refer to the people of knowledge.
Mounis reports and sources, in order: the Quran, then the Sunnah. It never gives rulings: for jurisprudence, refer to the people of knowledge.
On site, the Guide stays with you step by step: the 22 steps in order, every step with its source, offline once installed. For the conditions that depend on your situation, refer to the people of knowledge.
The invocations of the tawaf are free: no supplication is fixed for any given circuit, your heart comes first. The Guide shows you the recommended invocations at the right moment in the circuit, each with its source.
Aloud for men; softly, to yourself, for women. The Guide reminds you at the moment itself, with its source.
Each situation has its own precise rules: if you think you have missed a step, refer to the people of knowledge. The Guide is built to spare you the oversight: each rite waits to be completed before the next one opens.
Written from the certified corpus of Mounis · Mustapha Fenzar
