How to perform Umrah, step by step

Umrah has four rites, always in this order: ihram, tawaf around the Kaaba, sa'i between Safa and Marwah, and shaving or cutting the hair. Most pilgrims finish in a few hours, longer when the mosque is crowded.

The steps below follow the guidance of the Presidency for the Religious Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. Where the schools of law differ, the last section says so.

Before you set off

• Book your Umrah permit in the Nusuk app. It holds your time slot and a QR code that the staff check at the gates of Masjid al-Haram.
• Know your miqat, the point where ihram begins. From Madinah it is Dhul Hulayfah (Abyar Ali), on the edge of the city. Flying in from abroad, you pass yours in the air before landing in Jeddah, and Jeddah airport is not a miqat.

Ihram at the miqat

Wash fully (ghusl) before the miqat if you can. It is recommended for women too, even during a period: a woman on her period enters ihram like everyone else, and waits until she is pure and has bathed before tawaf. Men may put perfume on the body, but not on the ihram clothes.

Men wear two white unstitched sheets, one wrapped round the waist and one over the shoulders, and leave the head uncovered. Women wear their ordinary clothes, loose, plain and not see-through, without a face veil or gloves (al-Bukhari 1838).

At the miqat, make the intention in your heart and say "Labbayka 'umrah": here I am, for Umrah. If you fear that illness could stop you finishing, you may add a condition: "If anything holds me back, my ihram ends wherever You hold me back."

Then begin the talbiyah, in the Prophet's ﷺ words (al-Bukhari 1549):

"Labbayka Allāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna l-ḥamda wa n-ni'mata laka wa l-mulk, lā sharīka lak." Here I am, O Allah, here I am. You have no partner, here I am. All praise and blessing are Yours, and the dominion. You have no partner.

Say it often on the way, men aloud and women quietly. From now until the Umrah is done, avoid what ihram forbids: cutting hair or nails, perfume and marital relations among them, and for men, fitted clothes and covering the head.

Tawaf: seven rounds of the Kaaba

Stop the talbiyah when you reach the Kaaba. You need wudu for tawaf, as for prayer.

Start at the corner of the Black Stone; on the upper floors, green lights mark its line. Face it, point to it with your right hand and say "Allāhu akbar" (al-Bukhari 1613). Touching or kissing the Stone is Sunnah when you can reach it without pushing, and there is no blame on anyone who can't in the crowd.

Go round seven times with the Kaaba on your left, each round starting and ending at the Black Stone's line. Men keep the right shoulder bare throughout (idtiba') and walk briskly with short steps in the first three rounds (ramal) if the crowd allows.

When the mosque is busy, the floor around the Kaaba is kept for pilgrims in ihram. Rounds on the upper floors are longer but calmer.

There is no set dua for each round: pray in your own words and language, read Quran, remember Allah. Between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, say what the Prophet ﷺ said there (Abu Dawud 1892): "Rabbanā ātinā fi d-dunyā ḥasanah, wa fi l-ākhirati ḥasanah, wa qinā 'adhāba n-nār." Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire (al-Baqarah 201). Touch the Yemeni corner if you can reach it, without kissing it, and don't point to it if you can't.

After the seventh round, men cover the right shoulder again. Pray two rak'ahs behind the Station of Ibrahim if there is room, or anywhere in the mosque, reading Surat al-Kafirun in the first and Surat al-Ikhlas in the second. Then drink Zamzam.

Sa'i between Safa and Marwah

Follow the signs to Safa. As you begin, recite "Inna ṣ-Ṣafā wa l-Marwata min sha'ā'iri llāh" (al-Baqarah 158) and say "Abda'u bimā bada'a llāhu bih": I begin with what Allah began with. Face the Kaaba, raise your hands, say "Allāhu akbar" and then the words the Prophet ﷺ said there (Muslim 1218):

"Lā ilāha illa llāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu l-mulku wa lahu l-ḥamd, wa huwa 'alā kulli shay'in qadīr. Lā ilāha illa llāhu waḥdah, anjaza wa'dah, wa naṣara 'abdah, wa hazama l-aḥzāba waḥdah."

Say it three times, with your own duas in between. Then walk to Marwah and do the same there. Between the green lights, men go at a jog if they can; women walk as usual.

Safa to Marwah is one lap and the way back is the second, so the seventh ends at Marwah. Each way is about 395 metres. You can do it on any floor, and in a wheelchair if you need one. Wudu is recommended for sa'i but not required.

Shaving or cutting the hair

Men shave the whole head, which is better, or shorten the hair all over. Women gather their hair and cut a fingertip's length from the ends. There are barbers just outside the mosque, near Marwah.

With that, your Umrah is complete, and everything ihram forbade is allowed again. There is no prayer to offer after it.

Where the schools differ

• Most scholars hold that tawaf counts only with wudu. The Hanafi school holds that it counts without, and that the pilgrim then owes an animal sacrifice (dam).
• For a man who cuts rather than shaves, the Shafi'i school accepts three hairs and the Hanafi a quarter of the head; the Maliki and Hanbali schools ask for the whole head. Shaving, or cutting all over, satisfies every school.

Practical tips

• Go when it is quieter, such as mid-morning on weekdays or after midnight. There is more in our article on the best time for Umrah.
• Carry your shoes in a small bag, as you may leave by a different gate.
• Agree on a clear meeting point with your group, such as a gate number.
• Wheelchairs and electric carts are available for tawaf and sa'i; see our article on Umrah with elderly parents.

If you arrive tired after a long journey, you can rest at your hotel first and perform the Umrah afterwards, as long as you stay in ihram until it is done.