Perform the Minor Pilgrimage with Easter Umrah Packages

by Safeena Rahman Travel Addict

Easter is a time in the United Kingdom (UK) when both school-going children and their parents get to enjoy a long holiday. It begins with Good Friday and ends with Easter Monday, giving the young and old plenty of opportunities to plan some exciting activities over the weekend, such as travelling to a new destination or spending quality time with family members or close friends. Muslims living in the UK can make good use of this long holiday to embark on a journey to the holy city of Makkah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to accomplish their Umrah or the minor pilgrimage.

Umrah can be performed at any time of the year unlike the major pilgrimage of Hajj, which is performed only in the month of Dhu Al-Hijjah. Muslims residing in the UK can fulfil their intention of performing Umrah in Easter by booking any of the suitable packages offered by reliable travel companies for this season. While there are several travel companies in the UK who offer such packages, it is extremely necessary to verify the authenticity of a particular company before booking any of the packages for Umrah. The UK Muslims can book with any of the travel companies that have been authorised by the Ministry of Hajj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The minor pilgrimage involves lesser rituals as compared to Hajj. Among them is the 'Tawaf', performed by going around the Kaabah anti-clockwise seven times. Men are expected to go around three times at a hurried pace, and then, four times at a normal pace. Another ritual called 'Saee' is accomplished by walking back and forth at a rapid pace between the Safa and Marwah hills, located in the Masjid Al-Haram. The rituals of Umrah end with the ritual of 'Halq' or 'Taqsir'. Men complete the ritual of 'Halq' by shaving their heads and women accomplish 'Taqsir' by cutting a minimum of one inch or more of their hair. After booking one of the suitable Easter Umrah packages, it is advisable for Muslims of the UK to pack light-shaded cotton clothes to counter the extreme heat in Makkah before leaving for their Umrah.

As the schools are closed around this time of the year in the UK, the opportunities for Umrah Easter season provide for Muslims of the country are tremendous. This would certainly help the UK Muslims to perform Umrah with other members of the family. Taking the children in the family along and introducing them to all the rituals associated with the minor pilgrimage can be extremely useful for the kids in the future. As they get to learn everything about Umrah at an early age, they would benefit from this knowledge the next time they go for their pilgrimage. However, it would be helpful to decide a particular meeting point at the Masjid Al-Haram before performing Umrah, in order to avoid getting separated from each other in the midst of heavy crowds of pilgrims.

You can click here to know more about Ramadan Umrah packages and the benefit of performing the minor pilgrimage in the holy month.