Saee in Umrah: History & Importance

 Umrah is a spiritual journey towards the house of Allah SWT in which pilgrims perform many rituals according to the command of Allah SWT and the great Sunnah of the last prophet Muhammad SAW. In these rituals, Saee is one of the significant rituals of Umrah after Tawaf. Muslims perform this great ritual in remembrance of the great effort of Hazrat Hajra RZ in the search for water for his child Ismail AS. Muslims perform this ritual and recall that great historical incident of struggle and trust in Allah. The best seasons to perform Umrah are those which are less crowded and have pleasant weather, the month of September is one of those, so September Umrah Packages provide a great chance for pilgrims to perform their rituals such as tawaf and saee with full deviation.

Background of Sayee:

If we study the Islamic traditions and historical events, we will find that Allah SWT’s command to leave their family in Makah is the start of a great era for Muslims because after that Allah SWT commanded Hazrat Ibrahim AS to build the Kaaba there.

Ibrahim AS left their family in Makah with a few bunches of dates and little water, which soon consumed, and Ismail AS started to cry due to hunger. At that moment a moth could not bear the position of Ismail AS, and she started to search for food in nearby places. In this search, one thing was extraordinary that was the trust and the belief of Hazrat Hajra AS in Allah SWT. During his search, Hazrat Hajra AS moved between two nearby hills called Safa and Marawa. She completed a total of seven laps of these mountains in search of water, and on each lap, she asked for Allah’s mercy and shows complete conviction on Allah SWT’s greatness. On the last lap, when she returned back to Ismail (AS) she observed that water was pouring out near the feet of Ismail (AS). She gave this water to her son, drank herself, and thanked Allah Almighty, who is the creator of everything. Later Hajra RZ called this water to stop flowing in Arabic ZAMZAM.

Performing Sayee during Umrah or Hajj:

Allah SWT made this great incident of Islamic history a compulsory ritual named Sayee. Muslim pilgrims perform this ritual after Tawaf and offer Two Rakat of Nafal near Muqam-e-Ibrahim. After heaving plenty of water Zamzam pilgrims refresh themselves and get ready to perform Sayee. Sayee started from the Safa Mountain after praying special supplications and prayers and moved towards the Marwa Mountain. On reaching Maraw mountain, pilgrims again asked for special prayer facing toward the Kaaba and move back to Safa Mountain. In this way, they complete seven laps. The total distance between these mountains of seven laps is near about 3 to 4 KM, which pilgrims coved during sayee.

Significance of Sayee:

This ritual reflects the great effort of Hazrat Hajra RZ, which teaches us a great lesson that we should never lose our faith and trust in Allah SWT. With the efforts and blessing of Allah SWT, we can overcome all the difficulties and struggles of this world. At the same time, while performing Sayee pilgrims get spiritually touched by the moments through which Hazrat Hajra AS passed, and Allah SWT liked this course of action with high regard.