Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother ASAK,

I AM LEAVING TO UMRA THIS WEEK END AND INSHALLHA MY EID PRAYERS ARE SCHEDULE THE SAME DAY.

I WANT TO KNOW IN SIMPLE THE PERFOMANCE AND PROCEDURES OF UMRAH AND THE IMPORATNCE FOR PRAYING IN HARAM ON EID.

WHEN WE SAY KISSING OBJECTS ARE A HARAM , THEN WHY ARE ALLOWED TO KISS HAJARA ASWAD,DOES THIS NOT ACCOUNT AS SHIRK..

PERFORMING UMRA ON SOME ONE`S NAME IS IT ALLOWED (PEOPLE WHO ARE ALIVE AND DEAD) AND IF SO DO WE ALSO GET THE BENFIET OF SAME..
CAN I DO UMRA IF IAM HAVING DEBTS.

AND SINCERLY ME AND MY FRIENDS APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICES BEING RENDER AND HOPE GOD BLESS YOU WITH ALL RETURNS.  

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Umrah Issues

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: I WANT TO KNOW IN SIMPLE THE PERFOMANCE AND PROCEDURES OF UMRAH AND THE IMPORATNCE FOR PRAYING IN HARAM ON EID.
1. Wherever and however you might come towards Makkah (by air, sea, or land), at the point of ‘Meeqat’ (if by air, it will be announced in most flights), you need to purify yourself with ghusl or wudu, pray a two rakah voluntary prayer at the ‘Meeqat’, wear only the two-unstiched garments of ‘ehram’, and make intention to perform the Umrah by declaring ‘Labbayka Umrah’ (Here I am to perform Umrah (O my Lord)). Please note that once you make the intention, you will be in the state of ‘ehram’ until after the full performance of Umrah rites and some things which are normally permissible become impermissible for one in the state of ‘ehram’; namely, (for males)

1. cannot apply perfume
2. cannot cover hair or head
3. cannot cut or clip nails
4. cannot cut or clip any body hair
5. cannot wear any stitched clothes
6. cannot wear closed shoes
7. cannot have sex

1. After you have declared your intention for ‘Umrah’ and dorned the garments of ‘ehram’, it is Sunnah to recite as much as you can the following supplication and testification as taught by the Messenger of Allah (saws):

‘Labbayka Allah humma labbayk. Labbayka laa-shareeka laka labbayk. Innal hamda, wan-nehmata, laka wal mulk, laa-shareeka lak.’

(Here I am O Allah, Here I am. Here I am (O Allah), You have no partner, Here I am. All Praise is due to you, All blessings are from you, Sovereignty is Yours Alone. You have no partner (O Allah))

2. When you reach your accommodation in Makkah and if you need rest or need to use the restrooms, there is absolutely no harm. Revalidate your state of wudu (if necessary) and enter the Sacred Precincts of the Sacred Mosque and the absolute first thing one should do is approach the ‘Hajar Aswad’ (Black Stone) and start the ‘tawaaf’ or seven anti-clockwise circumambulation of the Kaaba by either kissing or touching the Black Stone, and if there is too much rush by simply pointing towards it, and declaring ‘Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar’ (In the Name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest). It is Sunnah to leave uncovered or bare the right shoulder during the full tawaaf, and to slightly jog for the first three rounds of ‘tawaaf’. Please note that wudu is an obligatory requirement for the ‘tawaaf’.
3. Except for the specific supplication between the last stretch of the Kaaba, ie. between ‘rukne Yamani’ and ‘Hajar Aswad’, there are no specific or particular dua one needs to recite during the ‘tawaaf’. One may praise The Lord Most High and supplicate the Lord Most Merciful in any language and words in the ‘tawaaf’. It is Sunnah to recite this supplication during the last stretch of each ‘tawaaf’ between the ‘rukne Yamani’ and the ‘Hajar Aswad’:

‘Rabbana aatena fid-dunya hasanah, wa fil-aakherate hasanah, wa kena adaab-an-naar. Wad khilna Jannataka ma-al abraar, Ya Azeezo, Ya Ghaffaar.’

(O our Lord, give us the good in the world, and give us the good in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of the Hell Fire. And (O our Lord) enter us into Your Paradise with the righteous, O The Most Powerful One, O The Most Forgiving One.)

5. Each time you pass the ‘Hajar Aswad’, it constitutes the end of one ‘tawaaf’. It is Sunnah to kiss or touch the Hajar Aswad, but if there is too much rush, it would suffice to simply point towards it and start the next tawaaf until you complete seven circumambulation of the Kaaba.

6. Upon completion of the ‘tawaaf’, cover both the shoulders with the ‘ehraam’ and pray the Sunnah two rakah voluntary prayers near the ‘Maqaam-e-Ibraheem’ which is located opposite the main door of the Kaaba.

7. It is Sunnah to drink the ‘zam-zam’ water after the prayer.

8. Then approach the Mount Safa and start the ‘Sai’ or the walking of seven times between the Mounts Safa and Marwah. There are set of green lights between these two mounts, and it is Sunnah to do a slight jog between these two green lights. There are no particular or specific duas or supplications which have to be done euring the ‘Sai’; one may praise Allah, recite the Quran, or supplicate Allah as much as one wills.

9. Upon completion of the Sai at Mount Marwah, praise and supplicate Allah as much as one desires, and shave or cut your hair, which marks the completion of the Umrah rites.

10. The Umrah is complete and all the restrictions which were enjoined in the state of ‘ehram’ are now lifted.

Your Question: AND THE IMPORATNCE FOR PRAYING IN HARAM ON EID.
Jabir reports that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Prayer in The Inviolable Mosque [in Makkah] is like 100,000 prayers [elsewhere]. And prayers in my mosque [in Medinah] is like one thousand prayers [elsewhere]. And a prayer in Bait al-Maqdis [in Jerusalem] is like five hundred prayers [elsewhere].”

Related by alBaihaqi, and as-Sayuti.

Any prayer, including the Eid prayers, offered in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah is equivalent to 100,000 prayers offered elsewhere! Such is the importance and significance of praying in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah al-Mukkarama.

Your Question: WHEN WE SAY KISSING OBJECTS ARE A HARAM , THEN WHY ARE ALLOWED TO KISS HAJARA ASWAD, DOES THIS NOT ACCOUNT AS SHIRK..
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.673 Narrated by Salim that his father said

I saw Allah's Messenger (saws) arriving at Mecca; he (saws) kissed the Black Stone first while doing Tawaf, and did ramal (slow jogging) in the first three rounds of the seven rounds (of Tawaf).

Ibn 'Abbas (r.a.) reported that Umar al-Khattab (r.a.) bent down towards the Black Stone and said: "By Allah! I know that you are a mere stone, and if I had not seen my beloved Prophet (saws) kissing you and touching you I would have never done so."

It is indeed true that in most cases kissing an object out of reverence would tantamount to a case of ‘shirk’; but there is enough evidence in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) that he (saws) himself kissed the Black Stone whenever he started or passed it during his pilgrimage of Umrah and Hajj.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21:

There is indeed the best example for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

Allah Subhanah Himself commands and guides the believers that the absolute best example to follow is that of the Messenger of Allah (saws); and the one and only reason we kiss the Black Stone is that our beloved Prophet (saws) did so; and Allah is our witness, none believed with absolute conviction in the Supreme Oneness of our Lord more than the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Your Question: PERFORMING UMRA ON SOME ONE`S NAME IS IT ALLOWED (PEOPLE WHO ARE ALIVE AND DEAD) AND IF SO DO WE ALSO GET THE BENFIET OF SAME..
Ibn Abbas reports in an authentic narration that a woman of the Juhainah tribe came to the Prophet (saws), and said, 'My mother had vowed to perform pilgrimage, but she died before she could fulfill her vow. Should I do it on her behalf?' The Prophet (saws) said, 'Yes. Perform Hajj on her behalf. Would you not pay the debt of your mother if she had owed someone? Fulfill it. Allah is more deserving of receiving payment for what is due to Him'."

Related by Bukhari.

In light of the above evidence, the scholars in Islam hold it permissible for one to perform the pilgrimage of Umrah or Hajj on another’s behalf; especially if the person on whose behalf it is performed desired or vowed to perform it and for some reason could not perform it.

To accept one’s worship is in the Sole Domain of the Lord Most Merciful Alone; and it is expected that the Lord Most Merciful would never ever diminish the reward of anyone who does good deeds for His Sake and Pleasure.

Your Question: CAN I DO UMRA IF IAM HAVING DEBTS.
One should not take on a debt only for the purpose of paying for one’s pilgrimage to the Sacred House, regardless of whether one intends to perform the lesser voluntary pilgrimage of Umrah or the obligatory pilgrimage of Hajj.

But if one has taken a debt for any other reason, and is regularly servicing that debt by paying its installments on its committed and promised time, there is no harm if one intends to visit the Sacred House of Allah.

But if the person who is owed the money demands that his money be paid immediately, then that person has a bigger right that his dues be settled before one spends on his pilgrimage to visit the Sacred House of Allah.

Your Statement: AND SINCERLY ME AND MY FRIENDS APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICES BEING RENDER AND HOPE GOD BLESS YOU WITH ALL RETURNS. 

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan