Hajj And Umrah - The Reason For Their Importance In Islam

If you know the main pillars of Islam, you must know that Hajj is the 5th pillar of Islam. First, you should understand the difference between Hajj and Umrah to keep them distinct. Both are the Islamic religious pilgrimage to Makkah (also written as Mecca), Saudi Arabia.

Hajj has specific dates to perform, while Umrah can be performed anytime in a year other than Hajj days. Hajj can be attended by more than one to three million people. Hajj starts on the 8th day of Dhul Hijjah (the twelfth and the last month of the Islamic calendar), which ends on the 13th day of Dhul Hajj. Umrah can be performed anytime and will take a few hours. 

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Difference between Hajj and Umrah

Hajj and Umrah are almost alike; instead, a few of the components make them different from each other. Let’s have a look at them:

Dates of Hajj and Umrah:

Umrah does not have any specific dates. You can perform Umrah anytime and any day of the year. The only time you can not do Umrah is when the Hajj is in progress. 

Hajj has a specific time in the year. It starts on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah (the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar) and ends on the 12th of Dhul Hijjah.

Umrah takes only a few hours to perform, while Hajj has different components to fulfil at different times.

Umrah and Hajj are different from each other. Some parts of Hajj and Umrah are the same, but Hajj has some more essential components and duties to perform; it takes a few days to complete the Hajj, while Umrah is just a few hours.

Importance of Umrah and Hajj:

The purpose of Umrah is to seek the blessings of Almighty Allah, pray for forgiveness, and restore faith in Islam. Pilgrims collect the blessings of Umrah and Sawab after completing the pilgrimage.

Allah himself as a host:

As narrated by Abu Huraira, in Hadith number 2626, Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said that there are three guests of Allah. The Ghazi (who do Jihad i-e fight in path of Allah), the Hajj (the pilgrim who performs Hajj) and the Mu’tamir (the pilgrim performing Umrah).

What else a Muslim needs when Allah himself is the host? SubhanAllah

This is a great opportunity to gather all the blessings and prayers and wishes we thought all of life. 

Forgiveness of all sins:

Umrah and Hajj are great opportunities to be clean from all of your past sins. You can purify and clean your soul from all the sins and bad habits by asking for forgiveness at these times. Allah is the Great Forgiver, and he will definitely forgive you. In Hadith number 2630, Narrated by Abu Huraira, Muhammad SAW said that From one Umrah to another is expiation for what comes in between, and ‘Hajj Al-Mabrur’ brings no reward less than Paradise.

End of poverty:

Another benefit of Umrah that a person can get is the eradication of poverty. It is said that Allah gives the pilgrims wealth as a reward for the money they spend on the arduous spiritual journey of Umrah. According to Ibn Abbas, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said Perform Hajj and Umrah consecutively; for they remove poverty and sin as bellows remove impurity from iron.

Remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim:

During both pilgrimages, there are many occasions that are done in remembrance of the great Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hajrah, and the son Ismail. 

The 7 rounds of two mountains, Saffah and Marwah, are called the Sa’ee. It is to remember when Ismail and Hajrah were alone in the desert, and there was nothing to drink. Hajra ran from Saffah to Marwah and from Marwah to Saffah 7 times to find any water, and eventually, the Holly water Zam Zam appeared from the ground. This well is still available and provides water to millions of pilgrims every day. 

Other than that, the Muqam e Ibrahim is the spot where the footprints of Ibrahim are placed in front of Kabbah gate, and Ibrahim and his son built Kabbah itself.

During the Hajj, another memory and must be doing activity is making the sacrifice to Allah and slaughtering a goat. This is to remember when Ibrahim, on the command of Allah, tried to sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah, and all of a sudden, Allah replaced Ismail with a goat and accepted his sacrifice.

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