When is umrah 2011

Starting last Friday and continuing through Wednesday, some 3 million Muslims from around the globe are participating in several rituals, including the Tawaf -- the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the enormous cube-shaped building in the center of the Masjid al-Haram mosque.

The pilgrims are are also taking part in the Sa'i, traveling back and forth between the mountains of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, and Ramy al-Jamarat, in which they throw pebbles at three walls in the city of Mina to show their defiance of the Devil. The feast honors Abraham who, according to Muslim tradition, was prepared to sacrifice his son Ishmael before God sent a ram in his place. To commemorate this event, worshippers sacrifice sheep, cows, and camels, and share the meat among family, neighbors, and the needy.

Collected here are scenes of this year's Hajj and Eid al-Adha, from Mecca and around the globe. According to tradition, Islam's Prophet Mohammed received his first message to preach Islam while he was praying in the cave. An aerial view shows the Mecca Clock Tower as Muslim pilgrims walking around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque of the holy city of Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage rituals on November 7, This aerial image taken through a window of a helicopter shows thousands of tents housing Muslim pilgrims crowded together in Mina, near the Saudi holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on November 7, Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims perform the evening prayer in Mecca's Grand Mosque, on November 2, The annual Islamic pilgrimage draws 2.

Workers embroider the Kiswa, a silk cloth covering the Holy Kaaba, in the holy city of Mecca, on October 29, Saudi police officers monitor screens connected to cameras set up at all the holy places in Mina, near the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on November 7, A man is silhouetted against the sun while selling livestock at a cattle market ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 29, Muslims around the world celebrate the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael on God's command.

Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayers at a mosque in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, on November 7, Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, marking the end of the Hajj.

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier stands guard as Muslims offer Eid prayers at a mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 7, Girls attend prayers marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, on November 6, Muslim women attend prayers on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu, on November 6, The hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the largest pilgrimage in the world.

More than 2. The pilgrimage is a demonstration of solidarity between Muslim people, as well as their submission to Allah. Mecca cannot therefore be on your list of tourism visits. While Islam is the one qualification required, the rest is a veritable feast of multiculturalism and social cohesion as all manner of nationalities and creeds stand shoulder to shoulder.

Early arrival is encouraged as things to tend to get crowded: Most pilgrims who come for the Hajj arrive a few days before it actually starts and perform Umra first. The passage or pilgrimage begins just outside Mecca, at Miqat, or entry station to the Hajj. Debut of the Hajj: The 1st day, the 8th day of the month Dhul-Hijjah in the Hijri calendar, scheduled 4th November, , opens up with the pilgrim's arrival at 'Mina'- another Hajj milestone - and stay until Fajr dawn.

After, the pilgrim moves to the valley of Arafat to submit 'Waqoof', a supplication to Allah in the open. One leaves Arafat after sunset, reaching Muzdalifah by evening of 9th Dul-Hajj. Prayers are offered. The pilgrims spend the night, not before gathering together 49 or 70 small stones for use the next day. These represent the devil. This act of casting stones is called Rami. A symbolic sacrifice called a Qurbani should be made at this point.

If the pilgrim intends to sacrifice an animal, whereby usually a lamb or sheep is slaughtered and the meat distributed among the poor, they do so after casting stones when they have technically all but fulfilled their hajj requirements. After offering the sacrifices, a male pilgrim should have his head shaven and female pilgrims are required to cut a small part of her hair, say a lock of their hair.

Female pilgrims are not permitted to have their heads shaven. After the hair cut, one can remove the Ihram and may now wear regular clothes. Pilgrims by now can in theory step out of their pilgrim attire and 'state' of Ihram. Many people then go to the 'Prophet's Mosque' in Medina, but this is optional. A man who has completed the Hajj is called a Hajji, and a woman, a Hajjah.

It becomes a title for life, the spiritual kin if you like to the academic PhD, and said to endow more much wisdom. Once back home, people pay their respects and congratulate the honorable Hajjis. During such visits they drink ZamZam water, eat dates, hold prayer beads. Set to fall November 6th, At the end of the Hajj, Muslims from all over the world celebrate the holiday known as the Eid ul Adha or Festival of the Sacrifice.

For the Hajj, he has reached a state of new enlightenment and reaffirmed faith and his Eid is spent with Allah at the Haram. View the discussion thread.