Labbaik Allahumma labbaik means “Here I am, O Allah, here I am”. It opens the talbiyah, which pilgrims say from the moment they enter ihram for Umrah or Hajj. Men say it aloud and women quietly.
لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ
Labbayk Allāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, innal-ḥamda wan-niʿmata laka wal-mulk, lā sharīka lak
Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Truly all praise, all blessings and all sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1549; Sahih Muslim 1184, from Ibn Umar
لَبَّيْكَ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ، وَالْخَيْرُ بِيَدَيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ وَالرَّغْبَاءُ إِلَيْكَ وَالْعَمَلُ
Labbayka labbayka wa saʿdayk, wal-khayru bi-yadayk, labbayka war-raghbāʾu ilayka wal-ʿamal
Here I am, here I am, gladly at Your service. All good is in Your hands. Here I am: our longing is for You, and our deeds are for You.
Sahih Muslim 1184. Ibn Umar added these words after the Prophet's ﷺ talbiyah
Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.
Guide
Labbaik Allahumma labbaik (لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ) means "Here I am, O Allah, here I am". It is the opening of the talbiyah, the words a pilgrim says on entering ihram for Umrah or Hajj and repeats until the rites begin. The full wording, from the hadith of Ibn Umar in al-Bukhari and Muslim, is above.
| Arabic | Say | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| لَبَّيْكَ | Labbayk | Here I am, answering You, again and again |
| اللَّهُمَّ | Allāhumma | O Allah |
| لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ | Lā sharīka lak | You have no partner |
| إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ | Innal-ḥamda | Truly, all praise |
| وَالنِّعْمَةَ | Wan-niʿmata | and all blessings |
| لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ | Laka wal-mulk | are Yours, and all sovereignty |
Labbayk is a word of answering. It means "I answer You, again and again, ready to obey". Scholars say it answers the call Ibrahim made to the people to come for Hajj (Quran 22:27). Lā sharīka lak, "You have no partner", is the heart of it: the pilgrim declares tawhid with every step.
Make the intention for Umrah or Hajj at or before the miqat, then say the talbiyah. In the Hanafi school this pairing is what puts you into ihram.
Entering ihram needs the intention together with the talbiyah, or another phrase of dhikr said in its place, so saying it once is a condition (shart) of ihram. Repeating it often after that is sunnah, and men raising their voices with it is sunnah.
After that, say it often: when you climb a slope or come down into a valley, when you meet other people or groups, after each prayer, and at dawn and dusk. Each person says it on their own; there is no need to chant it in unison.
أَتَانِي جِبْرِيلُ فَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ آمُرَ أَصْحَابِي أَنْ يَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَهُمْ بِالإِهْلَالِ وَالتَّلْبِيَةِ
“Jibril came to me and told me to command my Companions to raise their voices with the ihlal and the talbiyah.”
Jami at-Tirmidhi 829, graded hasan sahih by al-Tirmidhi; Sunan Abi Dawud 1814; Sunan Ibn Majah 2922. From al-Sa'ib ibn Khallad.
Men raise their voices with it, without straining or shouting. Women say it so that they themselves can hear it, without raising their voices. A woman on her period, or after childbirth, still enters ihram and says the talbiyah; she only waits to be clean before tawaf.
In Umrah, stop the talbiyah when you start tawaf, at the first touching of, or pointing to, the Black Stone. In Hajj, stop it with the first pebble thrown at Jamrat al-Aqabah on 10 Dhul Hijjah.
Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet ﷺ kept saying the talbiyah until he stoned Jamrat al-Aqabah (Sahih al-Bukhari 1544; Sahih Muslim 1281). For Umrah, al-Tirmidhi reports from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet ﷺ stopped it when he touched the Stone (Jami at-Tirmidhi 919). Al-Tirmidhi graded it sahih, but one of its narrators, Ibn Abi Layla, was weak in memory, so some scholars graded it weak; most scholars act on it, as al-Tirmidhi notes.
The Prophet's ﷺ wording is best. Ibn Umar added the words in the second card, and the Prophet ﷺ heard people add other words of praise without objecting. In the Hanafi school, adding praise after the sunnah wording is fine, while dropping part of it is disliked.
Labbaik Allahumma labbaik, labaik allahuma labaik, labbayk Allahumma labbayk and labaik are the same words. See it in context in the Umrah guide, and the places where it is said on the Makkah map.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Labbayk means answering a call and being ready to obey.
Labbayk Allahumma labbayk, labbayka la sharika laka labbayk, innal-hamda wan-ni'mata laka wal-mulk, la sharika lak (Sahih al-Bukhari 1549; Sahih Muslim 1184).
In the Hanafi school: in Umrah when you begin tawaf at the Black Stone, and in Hajj with the first pebble at Jamrat al-Aqabah on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah.
Women say it so that they can hear themselves, without raising their voices. Men raise their voices with it.
In the Hanafi school saying it once with the intention is a condition of entering ihram, and repeating it is sunnah. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools count it as sunnah, and the Maliki school as wajib.
Yes. A woman on her period enters ihram, says the talbiyah and does every rite except tawaf, which waits until she is clean.