Many Muslims cherish the opportunity to travel to Makkah during the month of Ramadan, to perform the Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage). A saying attributed to the Prophet, peace be on him is "Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to Haj or a Haj with me.”

A brief guide to the rituals of Umrah is presented below:

The pilgrim should perform a ritual bath for the ihram and declare his or her intention. A prayer of two raka should be offered. On the completion, one should recite the Talbeyah*:

"Here I am for Umrah--here I am, Oh Allah, here I am. Here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Surely all praise, grace and dominion is Yours, and You have no partner.

The Talbeyah should be spoken out so as to be audible.
A person in Ihram should say it as often as possible, especially when on the move, for example on descending or ascending a vehicle during travel or when day or night approaches. One should also ask Allah for His pleasure, for Heaven, and seek refuge in Allah's mercy from Hell.

One should recite the Talbeyah during Umrah, starting from the time of donning the Ihram till the start of Tawaf. [During Hajj one should say it starting from the time of donning Ihram till the start of stoning the Jamrah Al- Aqaba on the Eid day].

When a pilgrim enters the Holy Mosque he puts forth his right foot first and says: "In the name of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Oh Allah, forgive me my sins and open to me the doors of Your mercy. I seek refuge in Allah the Almighty and in His Eminent Face and in His Eternal Dominion from the accursed Satan." he then approaches the Black Stone, touches it [if possible] with his right hand and kisses it. If this isn't possible, he should face the Black Stone and point to it. It is best not to push and shove, causing harm and being harmed by other people.

When touching the Stone, a pilgrim should say the following: "In the name of Allah, Allah is the greatest. Oh, Allah, with faith in you, belief in Your Book, loyalty to You, compliance to the way of Your Prophet
Muhammad--may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."

A pilgrim must walk, keeping the Ka'bah on his left. When he reaches the Rukn Al Yamani he should touch, but not kiss it, and say: " Our Lord, grant us good in this life and good in the hereafter and save us from the punishment of the Hell-fire. Oh Allah, I beg of You for forgiveness and health in this life and in the Hereafter." Each time he passes the Black Stone he should say: "Allah is the Greatest."

During the remainder of his Tawaf he may say what he pleases of supplications, mentioning Allah, and recitation of Qur'an. This is because Tawaf, Sa'yi, and Stoning the Jamrah have been devised for the purpose of mentioning Allah. During this Tawaf it is necessary for a man to do two things:

Al-ldhtebaa' from the beginning of Tawaf until the end. Al-ldhtebaa' means placing the middle of one's Reda' under his right arm and the ends of it over his left shoulder. When he is finished performing Tawaf, he may return his Reda' to its original state because the time for Idhtebaa' is only during Tawaf.

Al-Raml during the first three circuits. Al-Raml means speeding up one's pace with small steps. A pilgrim should walk at a normal pace during his last four circuits. When he completes seven circuits of Tawaf, he approaches Maqam Ibrahim and recites: "And take ye the station of Abraham as a place of Prayer" . He prays two short Rakaas, as close as conveniently possible, behind Maqam Ibrahim. During the first Rakaa he recites Surah Al-Kafirun and during the second one Surah Al- lkhlas. When he completes the two Rakaas he should return to the Black Stone and touch it, if convenient. He goes out to the Mesa'a and when he nears As-Safaa he recites: " Verily As- Safaa and Al-Marwah are among the shrines of Allah"

He ascends As-Safaa until he is able to see the Ka'bah. Facing the Ka'bah and raising his hands, he praises Allah and makes any supplications he chooses. The Prophet--may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him--prayed thus: "There is no Deity but Allah alone," three times, supplicating in between.

He descends As-Safaa and heads for Al- Marwah at a normal pace until he reaches the green marker. He should then run fast until the next green marker. He continues toward Al- Marwah at a normal pace. When he reaches it, he ascends it, faces the Qibla, raises his hands and repeats what he said on As-Safaa. He descends Al-Marwah heading towards As-Safaa, taking care to walk where walking is designated, and run where running is designated.

He continues this procedure until he completes seven laps. Going from As-Safaa to Al-Marwah is a lap and returning is another lap. During his Sa'yi he may recite what he wills of supplications, recitation of Qur'an, and mentioning Allah.

In completion of Sa'yi a man shaves his head [except when Hajj is near and there isn't sufficient time for hair to grow back. In this case it's best to clip so that hair will remain for shaving during Hajj. A woman clips her hair the length of a finger tip. With that, Umrah is completed. and a pilgrim is free to dress in other clothing, wear perfume and engage in marital relations, etc.