ʿUmra

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ʿUmra. Muslim pilgrimage, specifically the ‘lesser pilgrimage’ within the boundaries of the Masjid al-Ḥarām in Mecca. The rites of ʿUmra consist of: ṭawāf (‘circumambulation’ of the Kaʿba); kissing the Black Stone; saʿy (running) between the two elevations of al-Ṣafāʾ and al-Marwa. ʿUmra, along with the ḥajj itself, has origins in the pagan period, but the rites were given an Islamic character by the Qurʾān and by Muslim practice.