25 January 2023 at 18:59
THE VIRTUES OF PERFORMING UMRAH IN RAMADAN
In The Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation—may He extol the Messenger in the highest company of Angels and send His peace and blessings upon him—likewise upon his family, Companions, and true followers.
Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that:
“When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) returned after performing Hajj (major pilgrimage), he asked Ummu Sinan Al-Ansariyyah, ‘Why did you not perform Hajj?’ She replied, ‘The father of so-and-so [i.e., her husband] had two camels and he went on pilgrimage on one of them, and the second is used for the irrigation of our land.’ The Prophet said [to her]: ‘An Umrah (minor pilgrimage) in Ramadan is akin to Hajj with me [in terms of reward].’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Likewise, it was reported by Ummu Ma‘aqil, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said to her:
“Perform Umrah in Ramadan, as it is equal to Hajj.” [Abu Dawud]
Imam Ibn Battal commented on the aforementioned Hadiths, saying:
“The sentence that Umrah “then is equivalent to Hajj”, proves that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was actually encouraging her to perform a voluntary Hajj (Umrah), as the whole Ummah (Muslim nation) has unanimously agreed that the Umrah can never be a substitute for the obligatory Hajj. Moreover, what he meant is that they are like each other in reward, but virtues cannot truly be perceived through analogy; and Allah The Almighty bestows His Bounty upon whom He Wills.”
“So race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return altogether.” [Qur’an, 5:48]
“And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord.” [Qur’an, 3:133]
And among the greatest arenas for this race is visiting Al-Bait Al-Haram (Sacred House in Makkah) to perform Umrah (Minor Pilgrimage), owing to the great reward and the expiation of sins involved in doing that. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“Performing two Umrahs expiates the sins committed in the interval between them.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
And he (Peace be upon him) said:
“Alternate between Hajj and Umrah, for they exterminate poverty and sins as the (blacksmith’s) bellows removes impurities from iron, gold and silver.” [Ahmad and others]
The Umrah that is performed in Ramadan has a special merit over that which is performed in any other month. There are narrations encouraging Muslims to perform it in this month (Ramadan), showing its merit and reward and clarifying that it incurs a reward equal to that of performing Hajj.
This was the practice of the righteous predecessors (As-Salafus Salih) who used to perform Umrah in the month of Ramadan. It was authentically reported that:
“Sa’id Ibn Jubair and Mujahid used to perform Umrah in the month of Ramadan (and observe Ihram for it) from Al-Ji‘irranah (a place 10 miles from Makkah). It was also narrated that Abdul-Malik Ibn Abu Sulaiman said that he and Ata’ set out in Ramadan (to perform Umrah) and observed Ihram from Al-Ji‘irranah.”
This discloses the secret behind the Muslim’s race towards the Sacred House to do this act of worship in the month of Ramadan. With that great scene, one feels as if in a major season of Hajj.
Allah knows best and he is the Lords of the universe and May His peace and blessing be on His Messenger, his family, his companions and those who follow them.
