The Pillars and Obligations of Umrah

Umrah has three pillars:

1- Ihram: Ihram signifies the intention to begin Umrah. The evidence for its necessity is the Hadith: "Actions are judged by intentions." (Bukhari, Muslim)

2- Tawaf: This will be elaborated below.

3- Sa'i: This is because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said about Tawaf and Sa'i: "Whoever has not brought a sacrificial animal should perform Tawaf around the Kaaba and make Sa'i between Safa and Marwa." (Bukhari, Muslim) Regarding Sa'i, he also said: "Perform Sa'i as Allah has ordained it for you." (Musnad)

There are two obligatory acts of Umrah:

1- Entering ihram for Umrah from outside the Haram boundaries:

This is because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) commanded Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) to perform Umrah from Tan'im. (Bukhari, Muslim) Tan'im is the closest boundary to the Kaaba outside the Haram boundaries, approximately seven kilometers away from it. Today, there is a mosque named Aisha Mosque in that area. Additionally, the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the times of ihram also necessitates this.

2- Shaving or trimming the hair:

This is because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Let him shorten his hair and exit from the state of ihram." (Bukhari, Muslim) Whoever neglects any of these pillars, their Umrah is incomplete. If one neglects an obligatory act of Umrah, they must compensate for it by sacrificing an animal. If someone engages in sexual intercourse without trimming or shaving their hair during Umrah, they must sacrifice a sheep. This is based on the fatwa of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), and only by doing so can their Umrah be valid. (Bayhaqi) If someone engages in sexual intercourse with their spouse before Tawaf but after Ihram, their Umrah is invalid by consensus. If intercourse occurs after Tawaf but before Sa'i, their Umrah is also invalid according to the majority opinion. In both cases, they must complete their Umrah, make it up, and offer a sacrifice.