Madinah & Makkah, mapped for your visit

How to perform Umrah

Every step from your apartment in Madinah to the last snip of hair: ihram at Dhul-Hulayfah, seven circuits of Tawaf, prayer at Maqam Ibrahim, Zamzam, seven laps of Saʿi, then shaving or trimming. Allow 3 to 5 hours in Makkah. Tap the counters as you go so you never lose count.

1. Before you leave Madinah

   1

   Book your Umrah permit in Nusuk

   An Umrah permit is required. Book it in the Nusuk app for the day and time you expect to reach Masjid al-Haram, allowing for the journey (about 4.5 hours by road, about 2.5 hours by train plus taxis). The permit is free.

   • Screenshot the permit's QR code in case your signal drops.
   • Carry your passport or Iqama: staff may check it with the permit.
2. 2

   Get ready for ihram at the apartment

   Do this before you set off. Take a full bath (ghusl), trim your nails, and remove underarm and pubic hair. Men may put perfume on the body (head and beard), never on the ihram cloth. Then change into ihram clothing.

   • Men: two white unstitched sheets, one wrapped around the waist (izar), one over the shoulders (rida'). No underwear, no cap. Sandals that leave the ankle and the top of the foot uncovered.
   • Women: any loose, modest clothing in any colour, with hijab. Keep the face and hands uncovered (no niqab or gloves); you may lower a cloth over your face when men pass close by.
   • Pack: small bag for your shoes, water bottle, phone and power bank, permit, ID, a little cash, and safety pins or an ihram belt.

   Not sure how to do ghusl? See the Ghusl guide. Putting on the clothes is not yet ihram: you enter ihram with the intention at the miqat.

3. Ihram at the miqat

   3

   Stop at Dhul-Hulayfah and make your intention

   The miqat for anyone leaving Madinah is Dhul-Hulayfah, at Masjid al-Miqat (Abyar ʿAli), about 20 minutes south-west of the Prophet's Mosque on the road to Makkah. It has washrooms and wudu areas. Make wudu, pray two rakʿahs (or the obligatory prayer if it is due), then face the qiblah and make the intention.

   • By car or bus: ask the driver to stop at Masjid al-Miqat.
   • By train: the Haramain station is not at the miqat. Stop at Masjid al-Miqat on your way to the station, or at the latest make the intention on the train before it leaves the Madinah area. Never pass the miqat without ihram.
   • If you fear an illness or delay may stop you finishing, add the condition below.

   لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ عُمْرَةً. اللَّهُمَّ فَإِنْ حَبَسَنِي حَابِسٌ فَمَحِلِّي حَيْثُ حَبَسْتَنِي

   Labbayka Allāhumma ʿumrah. (Optional:) Allāhumma fa-in ḥabasanī ḥābisun fa-maḥillī ḥaythu ḥabastanī

   Here I am, O Allah, for Umrah. (Optional condition:) O Allah, if anything stops me, then my release is wherever You stop me. (Sahih al-Bukhari 5089, Sahih Muslim 1207)

4. 4

   Recite the Talbiyah and keep the rules of ihram

   You are now in ihram. Repeat the Talbiyah often on the way (men aloud, women quietly) until you start Tawaf. Until your Umrah is finished, avoid everything below.

   • No perfume or scented soap, shampoo, wipes or cream.
   • No cutting or pulling out hair or nails.
   • Men: no stitched, fitted clothing and nothing touching the head (an umbrella is fine).
   • No marriage contract, no marital relations or intimacy.
   • No hunting. Keep calm: no arguing or foul words.

   لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ

   Labbayk Allāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna al-ḥamda wan-niʿmata laka wal-mulk, lā sharīka lak

   Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. All praise, blessings and dominion are Yours. You have no partner. (Sahih al-Bukhari 1549)

5. Arriving at Masjid al-Haram

   5

   Use the toilet and make wudu first

   Tawaf needs wudu, and there are no toilets inside the prayer halls: they are in blocks outside the gates, usually underground. Go before you enter, then make wudu there.

   • Agree a meeting point with your group: every gate has a number and a name (for example King Fahd Gate, no. 79).
   • Put your shoes in your bag rather than leaving them at the door: you will probably leave by a different gate.
6. 6

   Enter with your right foot

   Enter with your right foot and say the duʿa for entering a mosque. Follow the signs to the Mataf, the white marble courtyard around the Kaʿbah. When you first see the Kaʿbah, take a moment: raise your hands and ask Allah for whatever you wish.

   بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ، اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ

   Bismillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Allāhumma iftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik

   In the name of Allah, and peace and blessings on the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy. (Sahih Muslim 713)

   At busy times the ground-floor Mataf is kept for people in ihram. You can also do Tawaf on the first floor or the roof: it is valid, but each circuit is much longer.

7. Tawaf: seven circuits

   7

   Men: uncover the right shoulder

   Just before you start, men pass the upper sheet under the right arm and over the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder bare (idtibaʿ). Keep it like this for all seven circuits only. Women stay as they are. Stop saying the Talbiyah from here.

8. 8

   Find the Black Stone corner

   Tawaf starts and ends at the Black Stone. Look for:

   • The corner of the Kaʿbah with the silver frame set in it, usually with the biggest crowd. It is the corner to the left of the Kaʿbah's door.
   • A green light on the wall of the mosque facing that corner: it marks the start line.
   • Stand in line with it, with the Kaʿbah on your left and facing the Black Stone. Make the intention for Tawaf in your heart.
9. 9

   Start: face the Black Stone and say Allāhu Akbar

   Face the Black Stone, raise your right hand towards it and say the words below. If you can reach it easily, touch or kiss it; if not, pointing is the Sunnah. Never push or hurt anyone to reach it. Then turn so the Kaʿbah is on your left and start walking.

   بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ

   Bismillāh, wallāhu akbar

   In the name of Allah, and Allah is the Greatest.

10. 10

    Walk the circuit

    Walk anticlockwise round the Kaʿbah. There is no fixed duʿa for each circuit: make duʿa, dhikr or read Quran in any language, as much as you like.

    • Keep the Kaʿbah on your left the whole way. Don't turn to face it or walk backwards.
    • Walk outside the low semicircular wall (Hijr Ismaʿil). It is part of the Kaʿbah, so a circuit that cuts through it does not count.
    • Men: walk briskly with short steps (ramal) in the first three circuits if there is room, and normally in the last four.
    • On the way you pass the Kaʿbah's door, Maqam Ibrahim (the gold and glass dome), and the Hijr Ismaʿil.
11. 11

    From the Yemeni Corner to the Black Stone

    The corner just before the Black Stone is the Yemeni Corner. Touch it with your right hand if you can reach it easily; don't kiss it, and don't point to it if you can't. Between it and the Black Stone, say this duʿa.

    رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

    Rabbanā ātinā fid-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fil-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ʿadhāban-nār

    Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (Quran 2:201; Sunan Abi Dawud 1892)

12. 12

    Back at the Black Stone: one circuit done. Now six more

    Reaching the green light line again completes one circuit. Face the Black Stone, point with your right hand and say “Allāhu Akbar”, then carry straight on into the next circuit. Do this seven times in total. After the seventh, you finish at the Black Stone (no pointing needed at the very end).

    Not sure if you did five or six? Go with the smaller number and do one more.

13. After Tawaf

    13

    Men: cover both shoulders again

    The bare shoulder is only for Tawaf. Put the upper sheet back over both shoulders before you pray.

14. 14

    Pray two rakʿahs, ideally facing Maqam Ibrahim

    Walk towards Maqam Ibrahim reciting the verse below. Best is a spot where the Maqam is between you and the Kaʿbah, but don't block people still doing Tawaf. If it is crowded, pray anywhere in the mosque; it is just as valid. In the first rakʿah recite al-Fatihah then al-Kafirun (109), in the second al-Fatihah then al-Ikhlas (112).

    وَاتَّخِذُوا مِنْ مَقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

    Wattakhidhū min maqāmi Ibrāhīma muṣallā

    And take the standing place of Ibrahim as a place of prayer. (Quran 2:125)

15. 15

    Drink Zamzam and pour some on your head

    Zamzam coolers line the Mataf and the whole mosque, marked cold and not cold, with cups beside them. Face the qiblah, say Bismillāh, drink your fill in three breaths and make duʿa: Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for. It is Sunnah to pour a little over your head, as the Prophet ﷺ did.

    اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا، وَرِزْقًا وَاسِعًا، وَشِفَاءً مِنْ كُلِّ دَاءٍ

    Allāhumma innī asʾaluka ʿilman nāfiʿā, wa rizqan wāsiʿā, wa shifāʾan min kulli dāʾ

    O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, plentiful provision and a cure for every illness. (Reported from Ibn ʿAbbas; any duʿa is fine.) Hadith: “Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for.” (Sunan Ibn Majah 3062)

16. 16

    Head to Safa

    If it is easy, go back to the Black Stone and touch it once more; if it is crowded, skip this. Then follow the green signs for al-Masʿa / Safa. Safa is at the end of the long Saʿi gallery nearest the Black Stone corner.

17. Saʿi: seven laps between Safa and Marwah

    17

    At the foot of Safa, recite the verse

    As you approach Safa for the first time only, recite this verse and say “Abdaʾu bimā badaʾa Allāhu bih” (I begin with what Allah began with). Wudu is recommended for Saʿi but not required.

    إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ وَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ

    Inna aṣ-ṣafā wal-marwata min shaʿāʾirillāh, fa-man ḥajjal-bayta awiʿtamara fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayhi an yaṭṭawwafa bihimā, wa man taṭawwaʿa khayran fa-innallāha shākirun ʿalīm

    Indeed Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs Hajj or Umrah, there is no blame on him for walking between them. And whoever does good voluntarily, Allah is Appreciative, Knowing. (Quran 2:158)

18. 18

    On Safa: face the Kaʿbah and make duʿa

    Climb onto the rocky area of Safa until you can see the Kaʿbah through the arches if possible. Face it, raise both hands as in duʿa (not as in the takbir of prayer) and say the dhikr below three times, making your own duʿa between each. This is a time when duʿa is answered, so take your time.

    اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ الْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ

    Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar. Lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamd, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr. Lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdah, anjaza waʿdah, wa naṣara ʿabdah, wa hazamal-aḥzāba waḥdah

    Allah is the Greatest (×3). There is no god but Allah alone, without partner; His is the dominion and the praise, and He has power over all things. There is no god but Allah alone; He fulfilled His promise, gave victory to His servant and alone defeated the confederates. Say it three times, making your own duʿa in between. (Sahih Muslim 1218)

19. 19

    Walk to Marwah, men run between the green lights

    Walk towards Marwah (about 400 m). Partway along, green lights run across the ceiling and pillars: men jog between the first and second green markers, then walk normally again. Women walk the whole way. Make any duʿa or dhikr you like.

    • Wheelchairs and electric carts have their own lanes in the middle; keep out of them on foot.
    • The first floor and the roof are usually calmer and count the same.
20. 20

    On Marwah: the same again. That is one lap

    At Marwah, face the qiblah, raise your hands and repeat the same dhikr and duʿa as on Safa (without the verse). Safa to Marwah is lap 1; Marwah back to Safa is lap 2, and so on. Lap 7 ends at Marwah. Altogether about 3 km.

21. Finishing your Umrah

    21

    Shave or trim your hair

    Barbershops are just outside the Marwah end of the mosque, where Saʿi finishes. Choose a proper shop that opens a new blade.

    • Men: shaving the whole head is best (the Prophet ﷺ prayed three times for those who shave). Or trim hair from all over the head, not just a few strands.
    • Women: gather your hair and cut about a fingertip's length (2 cm) from the ends, in private, yourself or with a mahram or another woman.
22. 22

    Your Umrah is complete

    All the restrictions of ihram are lifted: change your clothes, use perfume, live normally. May Allah accept it from you. While in Makkah, pray as much as you can in Masjid al-Haram: one prayer there is worth 100,000 elsewhere.

    اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ

    Allāhumma innī asʾaluka min faḍlik

    O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty. (Sahih Muslim 713)

Quran 2:125, 2:158, 2:196, 2:201. Hadith: Sahih Muslim 1218 (Jabir's description of the Prophet's ﷺ pilgrimage), Sahih al-Bukhari 1549, 1727, Sunan Abi Dawud 1892, Sunan Ibn Majah 1406, 3062.