What are the Rules for Lady Pilgrims Performing Umrah

Umrah is a fecund practice that is bestowed upon a Muslim brother or sister and is obligatory for him or her to perform the journey and become close to Allah. Umrah may be performed more than once and have a set of rules that must be followed while performing Umrah. Although the rules set forth for performing Umrah are the same for both the genders, there are however some rules that are specific to the Muslim women that instruct them on performing Umrah. While there are a lot of rules, some of them are listed below.

1. Niyyat and Talbiyat should be done in the same way as instructed for men. The clothes to be worn by women may be normal when performing ihram. The nadhr of women may be validated by her husband’s consent if it violated the rights of the man in form of conjugal rights. 2. The woman is allowed to wear stitched clothes during ihram only on the condition that the clothes are not made of silk.

3. The female counterpart may wear socks to cover their feet, a contrast to the rule set for covering feet for males.

4. Jewellery is forbidden for women during ihram except regular jewellery; however, wearing extra of the ornaments would not attract penalty but it will be considered haram.

5. Covering the face is strictly not allowed by wearing anything like niqab or burqa; partial covering of the face by tissue or napkin is also not allowed. During salat, the lady may cover the forehead in order to cover her hair but after salat, it must be removed. She can cover her face in presence of a non-mahram person but the covering should be removed after that.

6. Masks are not allowed to be worn by the lady for any purposes as it amounts to covering the face partially. However, partial covering of the face by putting tissue due to sneezing is okay.

7. Women may travel in covered vehicles in any conditions, unlike the rules for doing the same set forth for men.

8. Bleeding in forms of post-natal nature or due to monthly cycle restrains a woman from performing tawaf but she may carry out Umrah or hajj, that is, she is allowed to put ihram from the miqat, perform the sa’i that is done between Safa and Marwah and can also live in Arafat and Muzdalifa. She may also complete the rituals of Mina while in her periods.

9. If a lady experiences her cycle during Umrah at-tamattu and does not have sufficient time before commencing the hajj, then she has to wait until she again becomes pure. Once she is pure, she is allowed to carry out the rituals of tawaf, sa’i and taqsir.

10. After putting on ihram, if the lady experiences her menses, then Umrah be continued by performing all the rituals except tawaf or salat of tawaf.

11. If the woman is sure that her cycle will prolong and she would be unable to do tawaf even upon returning from Mina, then she can appoint someone on her behalf to do the tawaf and the salat of tawaf. Sa’i can be done by herself once the tawaf is over.

12. It is allowed to take pills to stop menses during the phase of pilgrimage.

13. Walking briskly between pillars is required only by males to carry out the ritual; hasty walking is not needed for the women.

14. In contrast to trimming or completely shaving off their heads, women should perform taqsir by cutting just a little of her hair. Shaving her hair off totally is not permitted. All these points should be considered for a lady pilgrims performing umrah. Therefore, plan your umrah pilgrimage accordingly and be close to Allah.