Umrah is a non-mandatory sacred Islamic pilgrimage performed by Muslims from all over the world. The Muslims from every nook and corner converge into Mecca’s Epicenter the Holy Kaaba. Their heart and soul are filled with Allah’s love and religious fervor. They supplicate, prostrate and let open before Allah (SWT) all their wishes and desires.
Umrah is not the name of devotional prayers and supplication, it is also a great source of learning and understanding our Islamic history. Each step involved in Umrah contains a thought-provoking Islamic event. Moreover, many people prefer performing Umrah with elderly members and avoid children to take with them. It is to be noted that this Umrah journey must not be undertaken for a solely religious purpose because every Umrah step contains an entire complex story that you and your children must know. If you have not experienced your Umrah with kids, then it is highly recommended to plan your Umrah Packages 2020 with your kids.
Tips to bring Kids on Umrah
If you intend to embark your 2nd or 3rd Umrah, it is highly recommended to bring your kids with you to perform this blissfully blessed Umrah journey to let them learn about their religion. For this, there are some useful tips for you to follow
Prepare Yourself Mentally
First and foremost, thing is your psycho-preparation, if you are going on Umrah, 2nd or 3rd time you must be mindful of that you may have to minimize your time of Ibadah as your focus may be diverted to your children. If you have school-going children, then this Umrah trip would be quite easy for you Insha-Allah. Especially, the kids of school-going age 6,7 or more are quite cognizant enough to understand the purpose of their spiritual journey
Purpose to Strengthen Bond with Allah
It is your mandatory duty to teach your children about the Oneness of Allah (SWT) which is the foundation of your religion. When you feast your eyes with the beatific view of the Holy Kaaba, you recite Talbiyah and sing the praise of Allah (SWT). This is your sole purpose in performing your Umrah. So you must teach your kids about this ultimate truth.
Have Religious Conversation with your Kids
When I took my 7 years old daughter, she kept asking questions about our Umrah journey. Throughout my Saudi stay time, I kept teaching her about some pleasing religious facts which I knew myself. Therefore, it is highly suggested to have a meaningful religious conversation with your kids instead of sitting silent.
Take your Kids at the Significant Places of Ziarah
Ensure that your chosen Umrah package must involve the Ziarah of all the significant Islamic holy places apart from the obvious sites for Ibadah. These holy places involve Masjid Al Haram, Jabal e Noor, Jannat ul Mualla. It is the Holy house of sacred graves of Hazrat Khadija (R.A), Prophet’s children, Prophet’s uncle Abu-Talib (R.A), Asma Binte Abu-Bakar and different individuals from the Holy Prophet (SAW)’s blessed family. Tell your children who are these pious personalities and what is their significance and contribution in the life of Holy Prophet ( SAW)
Tell Stories to Your Kids
One of the best ways to teach your kids something is Storytelling for sure. Because children love stories. The stories surely make your kids understand the significant and complex religious events more easily and effectively. Try to tell them in a simple and easy to understand words. Moreover, I had started telling stories to my daughter about the miraculous revelation of the Quran and of Prophets, angels and other significant figures in Islam for bedtime even prior to my Umrah trip with the family. So on the Umrah trip, it became easy for my daughter to understand some significant events pertaining to the Umrah ritual.
Stories for Umrah
There are some stories associated with Umrah. You can also seek guidance from the reliable/ authentic sources of information on Umrah. Furthermore, you can watch different YouTube videos together with kids to brush up yours and kids’ knowledge.
Story of Sae and ZamZam Water
There is a remarkable story to link to Saie and Zamzam water. When we take our kids to Safa and Marwah and they behold the mountain hills. Tell them the story of Prophet Ibrahim’s wife and son Hajara and Ismail (A.S) and tell them why this event is inevitably important in Islamic history. During our Sa’e we recreate or imitate the act of running of Ibharim’s wife Hajara between these mountains in search of water for his beloved wailing infant Ismail (A.S). As he was getting thirstier, he began scrapping the land with his feet, when water suddenly sprang from that portion. This swift water flow was settled after the direction of Hajara (R.A). This is really a sort of awe-inspiring phenomenon.
Stories of Prophets, Kaaba and Hajar e Aswad
The story behind the Kaaba is very important to tell because when we first step into the Masjid al-Haram, we will be eyeing the grand Holy Kaaba. Your kid would definitely ask about the Holy Black Square building. My daughter was particularly fascinated by the black stone of Hajar e Aswad. Tell your kids that the grand Holy Kaaba was first founded by first Prophet Adam (A.S) and it was built and rebuilt by Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail (A.S). And Hajar e Aswad was the stone sent from Heaven by Allah Almighty. These stories strengthen their ultimate belief in Allah’s Oneness
Story of Tawaf
We don’t know the story behind Tawaf. Because there are many intricate matters that surely belong to Allah’s wisdom so the human mind is unable to understand these matters. Allah is all-knowing and Omni-present. To quench your kids ‘thirst for knowledge, make them believe that the act of Tawaf signifies how things move in this world. The Tawaf makes me staunchly believe the Quranic ultimate claim that everything in this universe is revolving (moving) around its axis or an epicenter. Kaaba is the House of Allah so the Tawaf of humbled Umrah pilgrims show that we humans revolve around Allah’s Majesty.
Stories of Ziyarat
There are many stories of Ziyarah. It is pretty normal that we may not know all of them. So it’s suggested to seek guidance from a sensible Mutawwif (Story Teller) or your cognizant Umrah guide who would enlighten you with the stories of the events behind these holy places.
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