Umrah is a Pilgrimage to Makkah.

Essentially in a nutshell Umrah is,

1. Paying a visit to the Kabah
2. Performing Tawaaf around it
3. Walking between the hills of Safaa and Marwah seven times,
4. And then shaving one’s head or cutting one’s hair short

Furthermore,

• Linguistically – Umrah means ‘Visit‘ (it is derived from the Arabic word Al-I’timar of the same meaning)
• Legally – Visit to Makkah in performance of specific rites

Wait, you might be thinking isn’t that the same as Hajj? Yes & No – there are some key differences,

• Umrah can be performed anytime in the year
• Umrah’s physical performance is confined to the vicinity of the Masjid Al-Haram (in Makkah)
• Whereas Hajj can only be undertaken during a specific Islamic month and is performed over several days, in several geographical locations.

Umrah is sometimes referred to as the Minor Hajj

Related

• What is Hajj?

Ref

1. “My Hajj – Part 1 – Introduction”, By The Wahy Project, 2017
2. “Getting the Best out of Al-Hajj (Pilgrimage)”, By Abu Muneer Ismail Davids, Published by Darussalam, Second Edition – August, 2006. [10004]
3. “Getting the Best out of Al-Hajj Seminar Notes”, By Abu Muneer Ismail Davids, Published by AMID Inspirations, November, 2015.