Encyclopaedia of the Orient

 

A 

Abadan Abbas Abbas 1 Abbas 2 Hilmi Abbas, Mahmoud AbbasidsAbd al-Malik Abduh, Muhammad Abdullah 1 Abdullah 2 Abdullah (Iq.)Abdullah (S.A.)Abdu l-Karim Abdu l-Wahhab Abdul Aziz Abdülaziz Abdülhamid 1 Abdülhamid 2 Abdülmecid 1 Abd al-Qadir Abha Abraham Abu Bakr Abu Dhabi Abu Hanifa Abu Nidal Abu Simbel Abydos Acacus Achaemenid Dynasty Adana Adapazari Aden Aden, Gulf of  Adhan Adiyaman Adonis Michel Aflaq Afyon Agadir Agri Aha Ahl-e Haqq Ahmad Ibn Hanbal Ahmed 1 Ahmed 2 Ahmed 3 Ahhiyawa Ahmad bin Yahya Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud Ahmose 1 Ahmose 2 Ahriman Ahura Mazda Ahvaz Al Ain Aïn Beïda Ain Draham AIS 

UmraArabic: c umra  

Pilgrimage in Islam going to Mecca,

second to the main pilgrimage hajj.Umra is often referred to as the"little pilgrimage", and while thehajj is compulsory to a Muslim, theumra is not. However, the umra itis recommended by the Koran, andis a highly regarded practice inIslam.

KORAN, Chapter 2 153Truly, Safa and Marwa areamong the landmarks of God,therefore anyone who performs thehajj or the umra he does no harmif he circumambulates them both. 

There is a close connectionbetween the rituals of the umraand the hajj, to the extent they areoften mingled together. There areonly minor differences between thefirst part of the hajj and the entireumra, and according to some viewsa hajj automatically include theumra, while according to otherviews, the umra is only performedwhen it is as an independent ritual.

The umra which is a strongsymbol of Muslim piety, is a highlyindividual ritual, as there ispractically nothing of its acts thatrequires the presence of other

people. The only part which cannot be done all alone, is the shavingafter all the other acts. But that is also not really a part of the umra —it only serves as a symbol of leaving the ritual of the umra.

The umra can be performed all through the year, with theexception of the days of the hajj.

There were rituals that more or less resembled the umra that wereperformed in Mecca in the era before Islam became the religion of thecity. From early Islamic sources we learn that the first part, the tawaf,was most certainly performed even if we do not know if there were 7circumabulations or not. As for the other parts of umra, like the sacy,the accounts are more loose, but we know that the hill tops of Safa andMarwa were considered sacred. Early Muslim scholars were divided ofthe importance and necessity of the umra, but it became wellestablished as a ritual with an importance similar to what it has todayearly in the history of Islam.

Preparations

a. The pilgrim assumes ritual purity, called ihram, in a place which canbe inside Mecca if he/she intends to perform both umra and hajj inone go, or outside Mecca if only the umra is to be performed.

b. Uttering of the niya, which is the statement where the pilgrim tellswhat he/she is about to do. For the umra there are two possibleniyas, either he/she could be doing only the umra, or he/she couldbe doing both the hajj and the umra.

c. Uttering of labbaika, which is Arabic and normally translated with"at your service". The labbaika is followed by numerous sentences,all dealing with God or/and the prophet, Muhammad.

Part 1: Tawaf 

a. The pilgrim enters the main mosque in Mecca, through its northerndoor.

b. The pilgrim passes through the port of Banu Shaiba.

 

THIS ISLEXICORIENT 

Encyclopaedia of the 

Orient 

Atlas of the Orient 

Babel:arabic  

Adventures of Algeria 

... Egypt 

... Libya 

... Mauritania 

... Morocco 

... Tunisia 

... Sudan 

http://www.lexicorient.com/e.o/ (1 of 24)11/17/2006 11:37:37 AM

 

Encyclopaedia of the Orient

A'ishaAjdabiya Akh Akhenaten Akhetaten Akhmim Akkad Akkadian Akko Aksu, Sezen Al-Ahram Alawites Alborz Mountains Aleppo Alevism Alexandria Algeria Algiers Ali Ali l-Hadi Ali r-Rida Ali Zayni l-Abidin Alids Allah Allahu akbar Almohads Almoravids Amal Al Amarah Amarna, Tell el- Amasya Amenemhet 1 Amenemhet 2 Amenemhet 3 Amenophis 1 Amenophis 2 Amenophis 3 Amenophis 4 Amesha Spentas al-Amin Amman Ammon Amol Amon Amr Diab Anath Anatolia Andalucia Anglo treaties– Egyptian (1936) – Iraqi (1922) – Iraqi (1930) – Jordanian (1948) – Ottoman (1913) – Persian (1919) – Transjordanian Ankara Ankh Annaba Ansar al-Islam Antakya Antalya Anti-Lebanon Mountains Anu Anubis Aoun, Michel Apries Apis Aqaba Aqaba, Gulf of  al-Aqsa Mosque al-Aqsa Intifada al-Aqsa Martyrs' 

c. The pilgrim comes up to the Black Stone in the Ka'ba.

d. The pilgrim starts to circumambulate the Ka'ba seven times,walking against the clock. While doing this, prayers are said. The 3first circumabulations are done at a speed of nearly running, whilethe last 4 are done at a normal walking speed.

e. The pilgrim presses his chest against the Ka'ba at a point midwaybetween the Black Stone, and the door of the Ka'ba.

f. A short prayer, salat, is performed, consisting of 2 rakcas.

g. Water is drunk from the well of Zamzam.

Part 2: Sacy

a. The pilgrim leaves the mosque courtyard of the Ka'ba, and entersthe lane that runs between two points right outside, called 'as-Safaand Marwa. The starting point is from 'as-Safa.

b. The pilgrim walks back and forth between these two points seventimes. At each point he/she stops for a moment, in order to say afew prayers, and then continues. This ritual ends at Marwa.

Conclusion

a. The pilgrim leaves Marwa.

b. He/she will have his/her hair cut by a local barber, in order to markthe end of the umra.

 

NEW SEARCH:

© Copyright 1996-2006 LexicOrient. All rights reserved By: Tore Kjeilen 

http://www.lexicorient.com/e.o/ (2 of 24)11/17/2006 11:37:37 AM

All of the words