Excellence
of Ṣalāt-‘Alan-Nabī صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم
The Holy Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم has stated, 'Whoever
recites Ṣalāt upon me one time, Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
sends ten mercies upon him, forgives his ten sins and raises his ten ranks.'
(Nasāī,
vol. 1, pp. 222, Ḥadīš 1294)
Three sayings of Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم
1. ‘Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to
Hajj with me.
(Bukhārī,
vol. 1, pp. 614, Ḥadīš 1863)
2. He who departed to perform ‘Umrah
and died on the way, the reward of ‘Umrah will be written continually for him
until the Day of Judgement.
(Abū
Ya’lā, vol. 5, pp. 441, Ḥadīš 6327)
3. All sins committed in between one
‘Umrah and the other are expiated, and the reward of Hajj Mabrūr is nothing but
Paradise.
(Bukhārī,
vol. 1, pp. 586, Ḥadīš 1773)
Prepare
for ‘Umrah
Method
of putting on Iḥrām
The way of putting on Iḥrām for Hajj
and ‘Umrah is the same. However, there is a slight difference in intention and
its wording.
The details of intention are
described in the next pages. First note the method of putting on Iḥrām.
4. Trim nails.
5. Remove armpits’ hair and pubic hair
including the hair of the rear private part.
6. Use Miswāk.
7. Make Wuḍū.
8. Perform Ghusl thoroughly.
9. Apply fragrance to the body and
Iḥrām shawls as it is a Sunnaḥ but don’t use any perfume that stains clothing
like dry ambergris (umber).
10. Removing sewn clothes, Islamic
brothers should put on a piece of new or washed shawl to cover the upper body
and use a similar cloth as Tahband1 (i.e. a piece of cloth used to cover the
lower part of the body).
11. A belt with a pocket may also be
worn to keep the passport or money etc. in it. Use a nylon or leather belt with
a pocket on the front as it is strong and durable. A low-quality belt may tear,
causing trouble.
Iḥrām
of Islamic sisters
Islamic sisters are to wear their
sewn clothes as usual. They may wear socks and gloves as well. They should keep
their heads covered but should not wear such a veil that touches their face.
However, they may use a book or a handheld fan in order to conceal their face
from non-Maḥram men, when necessary. It is Ḥarām for women to hide the face in
the state of Iḥrām with such a thing that is in contact with the face.
Nafl Ṣalāḥ
of Iḥrām
If it is not a Makrūḥ time, offer
two Rak’āt Nafl Ṣalāḥ with the intention of Iḥrām (men should also keep their
heads covered whilst offering this Ṣalāḥ). It is better to recite Sūrah
al-Kāfirūn and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ after Sūrah al-Fātiḥah in the first and the
second Rak’at respectively.
Intention
for ‘Umrah
Now the Islamic brothers with their
heads uncovered and the Islamic sisters with their heads covered should make
the following intention of ‘Umrah.
أَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أُرِيْدُ الْعُمْرَةَ فَيَسِّرْهَا لِيْ
وَتَقَبَّلْهَا مِنِّيْ وَ أَعِنِّيْ عَلَيْهَا وَبَارِكْ لِيْ فِيْهَا ط نَوَيْتُ
الْعُمْرَةَ وَأَحْرَمْتُ بِهَا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ط
Translation:
Yā Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ,
I make the intention of ‘Umrah, make it easy for me and accept it from me. Help
me in performing it and make it blessed for me. I have made intention for
‘Umrah and put on its Iḥrām for the sake of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
Labbayk
After making the intention, it is
essential to recite Labbayk at least once; reciting it thrice is preferable.
Labbayk is as follows:
لَبَّيْكَ ط أَللَّهُمَّ ط لَبَّيْكَ ط لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ
لَبَّيْكَ ط إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ ط لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ ط
I am in attendance. Yā Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ I am in attendance. I am in attendance
(and) You have no partners. I am in attendance. No doubt, all glorification and
bounties are for You and also the sovereignty (is Yours), You have no partners.
O pilgrims to Madīnah! You are now
in the state of Iḥrām. This Labbayk is the most important invocation for you.
Recite it abundantly while sitting, standing and walking.
Two
sayings of Holy Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم
1. When the reciter of Labbayk recites
it, he is given a piece of good news. It was asked, ‘Yā Rasūlallāh! Is he given
the good news of being blessed with Paradise?’ He صَلَّى
اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم replied, ‘Yes.’
(Mu’jam
Awsaṭ, vol. 5, pp. 410, Ḥadīš 7779)
2. ‘When a Muslim recites Labbayk, each
and every stone, tree and clod up to the edge of the earth towards his right
and left, all recite Labbayk.’
(Tirmiżī,
vol. 2, pp. 226, Ḥadīš 829)
Recite
Labbayk considering its meaning
It is better to recite Labbayk with
extreme humility of heart and full concentration of mind instead of reciting it
inattentively looking here and there. When the person who has put on Iḥrām
recites Labbayk, it is as if he humbly addresses Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ and says: ‘Labbayk’ that is, I am in
attendance. If someone addresses his parents with the same words, he will
certainly be attentive whilst saying them. This shows that the person imploring
his Creator عَزَّوَجَلَّ by saying Labbayk
should be greatly attentive. This is why Sayyidunā ‘Allāmaḥ Mullā ‘Alī Qārī عَلَيْهِ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ الْبَارِی has stated, ‘If a
person recites the words of Labbayk aloud so that others would also be
repeating each word loudly in the form of a group, this is not Mustaḥab.
Everyone should recite it individually.’
(Al-Maslak-ul-Mutaqassiṭ
lil-Qārī, pp. 103)
One
Sunnaḥ after reciting Labbayk
It is a Sunnaḥ to make Du’ā after
reciting Talbiyah (i.e. Labbayk). It is stated in a blessed Ḥadīš that our
Beloved Rasūl صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم would make Du’ā to Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
after reciting Labbayk, for the attainment of Allah’s pleasure, bounties and
Paradise and for protection from Hell.
(Musnad
Imām Shāfi’ī, pp. 123)
Without doubt, Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ is pleased with the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم.
Doubtlessly, the Most Blessed Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ
تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم is not only predestined to enter Paradise
but he صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم
is also the Master of Paradise by the grace of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
In fact these Du’ās are also aimed at teaching us, so that we would also make
Du’ā with the intention of acting upon a Sunnaḥ.
9
Madani pearls of Labbayk
1. Recite Labbayk in abundance whilst
sitting, standing and walking both with and without Wuḍū.
2. Recite it especially when climbing a
higher place, going down a slope or stairs, when your caravan meets the other
one, at dawn, dusk and at night and after the daily five Ṣalāḥ. In short,
recite it whenever there is a change in conditions.
3. Whenever you recite Labbayk, recite
it at least thrice.
4. When performing ‘Umrah, as soon as a
Mu’tamir and a Mutamatte’ perform first Istilām of Ḥajar-ul-Aswad for
commencing Ṭawāf of ‘Umrah, they should give up reciting Labbayk.
5. A Mufrid and a Qārin should stay in
Makkaḥ and keep reciting Labbayk. Their recitation of Labbayk will end on 10th
of Żul-Ḥijjah when they hurl the first stone at Jamarāt-ul-‘Aqabah
(big
Satan).
6. Islamic brothers should recite
Labbayk loudly but it should not be so loud as to cause discomfort to
themselves or others.
7. Islamic sisters should recite
Labbayk in a low voice. Both Islamic brothers and sisters should note down the
following ruling. In addition to Hajj and ‘Umrah, whenever you recite anything,
it is essential to recite it loud enough for you to hear but not so loud as to
disturb others. However, there is no harm if one cannot listen to his recitation
due to impaired hearing or due to noise around him but he should recite it at
least in such a voice that he could hear himself when there is no such problem.
8. Intention is a condition for Iḥrām.
If Labbayk is recited without intention, Iḥrām will not be valid. Similarly, a
mere intention is not sufficient unless Labbayk or its alternative is recited.
(‘Ālamgīrī,
vol. 1, pp. 222)
9. For Iḥrām, it is essential to recite
Labbayk at least once. If, in lieu of Labbayk, someone recited لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللهُ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ، سُبْحَانَ الله
or some other invocation regarding glorification of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ, making intention of Iḥrām, his Iḥrām will
be valid but Sunnaḥ is to recite Labbayk.
(ibid)
صَلَّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْب! صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى مُحَمَّد
