Complete Umrah Guide – Step by Step for Beginners

Step 1 of 8

Get into Ihram

📍 At home, at the airport or on the plane, before the Miqat

• Have a bath (ghusl), trim your nails and tidy your hair.
• Men: put on the two white Ihram sheets and sandals that leave the top of the foot open. Perfume on the body only, before the intention.
• Women: wear your normal modest clothes, in any colour.
• Flying from the UK or US straight to Jeddah? Put the Ihram on before you board or on the plane. The crew announce when the plane nears the Miqat.

Women: Women do not cover the face with a niqab or wear gloves while in Ihram.

💡 Keep the Ihram in your hand luggage, not in the hold.

Step 2 of 8

Make the intention and say the Talbiyah

📍 At the Miqat (on the plane, when the crew announce it)

• Make the intention for Umrah in your heart and say it.
• Say the Talbiyah often: men aloud, women quietly. Keep saying it until you start Tawaf.
• From now on: no perfume, no cutting hair or nails, no arguing. Men do not cover the head or wear stitched clothes.

Step 3 of 8

Enter Masjid al-Haram

📍 Makkah, after you check in to the hotel and rest

• Go in with your right foot first and say the du'a.
• When you first see the Kaaba, stop for a moment and make du'a. It is a special moment.
• Walk to the Mataf (the open area around the Kaaba) or the upper floors if it is very busy.

💡 Agree a meeting point with your family (a gate number) in case you get separated.

Step 4 of 8

Tawaf: 7 rounds around the Kaaba

📍 The Mataf, or the first floor or roof

• Men: put the Ihram under the right arm, so the right shoulder is uncovered (for Tawaf only).
• Start at the Black Stone corner (a green light on the wall marks the line). Face it, raise your right hand towards it and say "Bismillah, Allahu Akbar".
• Walk anti-clockwise, with the Kaaba on your left. Each time you pass the Black Stone line is one round. Do 7 rounds.
• Men walk a little faster in the first 3 rounds if there is space.
• Make du'a in any language. Between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, say "Rabbana atina…".

💡 Not sure how many rounds you have done? Go by the lower number. Our Tawaf counter on your phone helps you keep count.

Step 5 of 8

Pray two rak'ahs

📍 Behind Maqam Ibrahim if there is space, or anywhere in the mosque

• Men: cover the right shoulder again.
• Pray two rak'ahs. Many pilgrims read Surah al-Kafirun in the first and Surah al-Ikhlas in the second.
• Do not push to pray close to Maqam Ibrahim when it is crowded. Anywhere in the mosque is fine.

Step 6 of 8

Drink Zamzam water

📍 Zamzam coolers all around the mosque

• Drink Zamzam water, facing the Kaaba if you can, and say Bismillah.
• Make du'a for anything you wish. The Prophet ﷺ said Zamzam water is for whatever it is drunk for (Sunan Ibn Majah).

Step 7 of 8

Sa'i: 7 lengths between Safa and Marwa

📍 The Mas'a, inside the mosque (ground floor, first floor or roof)

• Go to Safa. As you get near, say "Innas-Safa wal-Marwata…" (only at the very start).
• On Safa, face the Kaaba, raise your hands, say the du'a and make your own du'a.
• Walk to Marwa: that is length 1. Men jog lightly between the green lights.
• Marwa back to Safa is length 2. You finish at Marwa after length 7.
• On Marwa, do the same as on Safa: face the Kaaba and make du'a.

Women: Women walk at a normal pace all the way, including between the green lights.

💡 You can rest during Sa'i, and wheelchairs and carts are allowed. The Tawaf counter has a Sa'i mode too.

Step 8 of 8

Halq or Taqsir: cut the hair

📍 Barbers near Marwa and around the mosque, or in your hotel

• Men: shave the head (best) or cut the hair short all over.
• Women: cut about a fingertip's length (2 to 3 cm) from the end of the hair, in private.
• Your Umrah is complete and the Ihram rules end. Alhamdulillah! May Allah accept it.
• Leave the mosque with your left foot first and say the du'a.