Understanding the obligation of Hajj and Umrah is quite essential in Islam. In Islam, both Hajj and Umrah hold a significant meaning. They both are holy acts of worship and are performed to find a spiritual connection between people and Allah. There are a few Islamic pilgrimage obligations required when you perform either Hajj or Umrah.
Not every obligation of Hajj and Umrah are same. You will find similarities in a few. Just to be clear though, in Islam Hajj is an obligation that every Muslim must perform at least once in their lifetimes. Hajj obligation is necessary because it is among one of the 5 pillars of Islam. If you are physically and financially competent, you are required to complete your obligations for Hajj.
Whereas in the context of Umrah, it is not a mandatory thing in Islam. However, Islam states that just like Hajj, performing Umrah can help you earn credits in life and the afterlife. Umrah takes a shorter span of time. The pilgrims can complete their journey within a few hours. Whereas, obligations for Hajj are quite many. If someone is willing to perform Umrah, they can surely perform this act of worship. It will give them spiritual peace and will help them cleanse their past sins and seek blessings from Allah.
Moving forward, if you are planning to pay your visit to the pilgrimages, you must know about the obligation of Hajj and Umrah. The blog explains the obligation of Hajj and Umrah. Read further to understand what these obligations are and how to perform them.
Obligation of Hajj and Umrah
The obligations of Hajj and Umrah are similar to some extent. As a matter of fact, both these Islamic pilgrims obligations are performed to form a spiritual connection between Allah and the pilgrims. Also, the motive of the spiritual journey is the same and everyone visits there for a common interest, i.e., to seek forgiveness from Allah for past sins. Islamic pilgrimage obligations for Umrah are quite similar to Hajj.
Hajj obligation is quite different from Umrah as there is a specific period of the year when you are entitled to perform this obligation. Whereas for Umrah, there is no particular time to perform the obligation. Below are the obligation of Hajj and Umrah:
Hajj Obligation
- 1- Enter the Ihram with the intention of performing Hajj.
- 2- Standing in Arafah to perform du’a and seek forgiveness from Allah for the past sins.
- 3- Stay in Mina for an overnight.
- 4- Stay in Muzdalifah for overnight after leaving Arafat.
- 5- Rajm al-jamarat is throwing pebbles at the 3 pillars representing Shaitan.
- 6- Halq and Taqsir where males shave their heads and females chop their hair strands.
- 7- Tawaf which is circling around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque of Mecca as a sign of farewell.
Umrah Obligation
- 1- Entering Ihram with the intention of performing Umrah.
- 2- Performing Tawaf, i.e., circling the holy Kaaba 7 times in the Grand Mosque of Mecca in the counterclockwise direction.
- 3- Performing Sa’i where pilgrims walk between the hills of Safa and Marwah.
- 4- Men perform Halq and shave their heads whereas women perform Taqsir and cut their hair to the length of their fingertips.
Major 3 Obligations of Hajj
Hajj obligation of farz is simply the acts that are performed by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable of fulfilling their duties at least once in their lifetimes. As mentioned above, there are 7 obligations of Hajj but the 3 obligations of Hajj are quite necessary to follow. These obligations ensure that the pilgrims are fulfilling their farz or responsibilities of the journey. These obligatory acts are also known as the pillars of Hajj where the pilgrims are required to perform them to show their commitment to Allah. Below are the 3 Obligations of Hajj:
1- Ihram
Ihram is the foremost important pillar among the 3 obligations of Hajj. Although, Ihram is an obligation of Hajj and Umrah, showing the intentions of pilgrims in performing the acts of worship. Ihram is the sacred state where the pilgrim has to show their devotion towards this first step before commencing their journey to this major pilgrimage of Islam. Both men and women have to wear the Ihram clothes, clip their nails, and clean themselves. They must show their intention to perform Hajj without keeping any social differences in mind against other pilgrims.
2- Rajm al-jamarat
Rajm al-jamarat, commonly known as the stoning of the devil is one of the essential Islamic pilgrimage obligations. When the pilgrims enter the valley of Mina, they see 3 walls or pillars. For this ritual, the pilgrims throw pebbles towards the pillars as a symbol of paying respect to Ibrahim, rejecting temptations, and abandoning evil thoughts.
3- Halq and Taqsir
Halq and Taqsir is an obligations of Hajj and Umrah. Pilgrims have to fulfil this duty after the completion of their Hajj journey. According to this, the male pilgrims are required to shave their heads. Even if someone is already bald, they have to apply razors on their heads as a symbol of performing the ritual. On the other hand, women perform Taqsir where they chop their hair to an inch or the size of their fingertips. This ritual is the significance of change or transformation. Pilgrims do this to show Allah that they have transformed themselves and have shown disinterest in the materialistic world.
The Concept of Tawaf in Umrah
Tawaf is an integral obligation of Hajj and Umrah which the pilgrims perform around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque of Mecca. For this obligation of Hajj and Umrah, the pilgrims circumambulate around the holy Kaaba 7 times as a ritual. When Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to this pilgrimage, he moved in circles 7 times in a counterclockwise direction as a ritual. Since then, all the pilgrims have been following this ritual as an obligation of Hajj and Umrah.
It is the mandatory obligation of Hajj and Umrah as it has a significant meaning in Islam. Pilgrims do this to seek blessings from Allah and ask for his mercy on them for the sins they have committed in the past. Also, the pilgrims do this to represent that they are no longer interested in the materialistic world and the temptations cannot influence them any longer. From now on, all they want to focus on is the powers of Allah and his divine powers.
