Someone in your family has booked Umrah. The group chat fills with “Umrah Mubarak” and heart emojis, and you want to send something that means more than that but you are not sure what.
This covers what the phrase actually means, whether it comes from the Sunnah, and the words that are narrated, both for seeing someone off and for welcoming them home. The narrated duas are short. Most people have never been taught them, which is the only reason “Umrah Mubarak” has had to do so much work.
What does Umrah Mubarak mean?
Mubarak means blessed. So “Umrah Mubarak” is roughly “may your Umrah be blessed”, in the same shape as Eid Mubarak or Ramadan Mubarak.
It is used in two different moments, which is part of the confusion:
- Before departure, as a send off, meaning may it go well
- After return, as a congratulation, meaning may it have been accepted
Both are kind. Neither is wrong. But they are doing different jobs, and the Sunnah has a different phrase for each.
Is Umrah Mubarak from the Sunnah?
No, and this is worth knowing rather than worrying about.
There is no narration in which the Prophet ﷺ greets a departing or returning pilgrim with a fixed phrase of that kind. “Umrah Mubarak” is a cultural courtesy that grew up around the journey, the way “safe travels” did. Using it is not a problem.
What is narrated is more specific and, frankly, more useful. There are set words for the send off, set words for the return, and a hadith that tells you exactly what you are wishing for.
What should you say to someone going on Umrah?
This is the one to learn. When the Prophet ﷺ said farewell to someone travelling, he said:
Astawdi’ullāha dīnaka wa amānataka wa khawātīma ‘amalik
I entrust to Allah your religion, your trusts, and the last of your deeds.
It is narrated in Sunan Abi Dawud 2601 and Jami at-Tirmidhi 3443, and collected in Riyad as-Salihin 714.
Read what it actually asks for. Not a smooth flight. It entrusts three things to Allah: the person’s religion, the things they are responsible for while away, and the deeds they end their life on. It is a serious dua dressed as a goodbye.
Ibn Umar used to stop people on their way out of the door for it. The narration in Tirmidhi has him saying “come close to me so that I may bid you farewell as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to bid us farewell”, and then saying those words.
If you want one thing to send, send that. Transliteration and translation together, so it can be read either way.
What do you say when someone comes back from Umrah?
Here the honest answer is that there is no single narrated formula, and you will see a few phrases used:
- Taqabbal Allah (may Allah accept it), the most common and the most appropriate, because acceptance is precisely the thing in question
- Umrah Mabrura, meaning an accepted Umrah, borrowed from the wording of the hadith below
- Umrah Mubarak, used as a congratulation
All three are fine. “Taqabbal Allah” is the one I would use, because of what the Prophet ﷺ attached to acceptance:
Umrah is an expiation for the sins committed between it and the previous one. And the reward of Hajj Mabrur is nothing except Paradise.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1773, also Sahih Muslim 1349a
That hadith is why the greeting matters. You are not congratulating someone on a holiday. You are asking that what they did be counted.
What does the pilgrim say when they get home?
Worth knowing if you are the one returning, and worth sending to someone on their last day there.
When the Prophet ﷺ returned from a journey he said:
Ā’ibūna tā’būna ‘ābidūna lirabbinā ḥāmidūn
We return, repenting, worshipping, and directing praise to our Lord.
Narrated in Jami at-Tirmidhi 3440. A version appears in Sahih al-Bukhari 3084 with takbir said three times before it.
There is also the dua for setting out, said on boarding, in Jami at-Tirmidhi 3447: Subhān alladhī sakh-khara lanā hādhā wa mā kunnā lahū muqrinīn, glory to Him who has subjected this to us, for we could not have done it ourselves. People say it on planes now, which is exactly right.
Umrah Mubarak messages you can actually send
Short, sendable, and not hollow. Pick by relationship.
For anyone leaving
Astawdi’ullāha dīnaka wa amānataka wa khawātīma ‘amalik. I entrust to Allah your religion, your trusts, and the last of your deeds. Umrah Mubarak, and remember us at the Kaaba.
For parents going
You took us everywhere before we could walk. May Allah make this journey light for you and accept every step of it. Taqabbal Allah.
For a first Umrah
Your first time seeing the Kaaba is a moment you will have once. Take it slowly. May Allah accept your Umrah and bring you back to it.
For someone returning
Taqabbal Allah. May your Umrah be accepted and everything between this one and the next be forgiven.
For a group or a colleague
Umrah Mubarak. May Allah make it easy for you and accept it from you.
When you cannot go yourself
Make dua for me where dua is answered. Umrah Mubarak, and may Allah write it for me too.
That last one is worth sending. Asking a departing pilgrim to make dua for you is an old and widely practised courtesy, and most people are glad to be asked.
What to avoid
A few things that land badly, which I have watched happen.
Do not ask what it cost. It is the most common misstep in the group chat and it reframes a pilgrimage as a purchase.
Do not treat the return as a status change. In some communities a returning pilgrim gets a title and a reception. Nothing in the Sunnah establishes that, and it puts weight on the person that the journey was meant to lift off them.
Do not send a wall of forwarded graphics. One sincere line with a dua in it is worth more than nine images with gold borders.
Do not promise on their behalf. “He will make dua for all of us” puts an obligation on someone who may be exhausted and overwhelmed. Ask, do not announce.
Before you send it
If you are the one going rather than the one messaging, two things are worth having ready before you fly: the duas for each step of Umrah, and a clear picture of what actually happens from ihram to cutting your hair, so you are not learning the sequence in the crowd.
And if you are the one staying behind and want to send something physical rather than a message, we have written separately about what to give before they go and what to bring back.
Frequently asked questions
Is it correct to say Umrah Mubarak?
Yes. It is a cultural courtesy rather than a narrated phrase, and there is nothing wrong with it. If you want the narrated wording, use Astawdi’ullāha dīnaka wa amānataka wa khawātīma ‘amalik for someone leaving and Taqabbal Allah for someone returning.
Do you say Umrah Mubarak before or after?
Both are in use. Before departure it means may it go well; after return it means may it have been accepted. If you want to be precise, say the farewell dua before and Taqabbal Allah after.
What is the reply to Umrah Mubarak?
Taqabbal Allah minna wa minkum, may Allah accept it from us and from you, works in both directions and is the usual reply. Ameen, jazak Allahu khayran is also fine.
What is the difference between Umrah Mubarak and Umrah Mabrura?
Mubarak means blessed. Mabrur means accepted, and comes from the hadith in Bukhari 1773 about Hajj Mabrur. Mabrura is the more specific wish, because acceptance is the thing being asked for.
What do you say to someone who has just returned from Umrah?
Taqabbal Allah, may Allah accept it. If you want to add to it, ask them to make dua for you and ask how the Haram was, rather than what the package cost.
Can you say Umrah Mubarak to someone who went years ago?
The greeting belongs to the journey itself, so it reads oddly later. Taqabbal Allah still works at any distance, because you are asking for acceptance rather than marking an occasion.
