Is উমরাহ ওয়াজিব (wajib) once in a lifetime or a মুস্তাহাব Sunnah?

This is a well-known point of scholarly disagreement among the four schools. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold that উমরাহ is ওয়াজিব (wajib) once in a lifetime for every Muslim who has the physical and financial ability — similar to হজ্জ but without the specific time restriction. The Hanafi and Maliki schools consider উমরাহ to be a confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah mu'akkadah) that is highly মুস্তাহাব but not ওয়াজিব.

Sheikh Ibn Baz held the position that উমরাহ is ওয়াজিব once in a lifetime, following the Hanbali and Shafi'i position. He cited the hadith where a bedouin asked নবী করীম about উমরাহ: 'Is উমরাহ ওয়াজিব?' and নবী করীম said: 'No, but if you perform উমরাহ, it is better for you.' However, he noted that other narrations and আল-কুরআন's command 'And complete the হজ্জ and উমরাহ for Allah' support the obligation. He reconciled the evidence by concluding that উমরাহ is ওয়াজিব.

Sheikh Al-Fawzan similarly held উমরাহ to be ওয়াজিব, stating that the conjunction of উমরাহ with হজ্জ in আল-কুরআনic verse — 'And complete the হজ্জ and উমরাহ for Allah' (Al-Baqarah, 2:196) — indicates that they share the same ruling of obligation. He acknowledged the opposing view but considered the evidence for obligation to be stronger. Those who hold উমরাহ to be Sunnah note that নবী করীম's statement 'No' in response to 'Is it ওয়াজিব?' is explicit, while those who hold it ওয়াজিব interpret that hadith differently.