A Pakistani has performed 3,199 Umrahs in 17 years, probably setting an enviable achievement as the one performing the highest number of Umrahs in the world, The Nation reported on Sunday.

Syed Dilnawaz Shah returned to his home in Karachi on Thursday after spending the month of fasting in Makkah and performing about three dozen more umrahs, with about three umrahs every day.

He spent the last ten days of the holy month in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.

No information is available on Google about who performed the highest number of Umrahs. The information is also not available from any other source.

A report released in April 2019 revealed that as many as 5.48 Million Muslim pilgrims have arrived in the Islam’s holiest cities, Makkah and Madinah, since the start of the current Umrah season in October 2018.

Pakistan came on top of all other countries with a total number of 1,268,763 umrah pilgrims.

It was followed by Indonesia, India, Egypt, Turkey, and Yemen.

Father of six, Syed Dilnawaz was deputy manager at a gas company in Karachi when he retired back in 2012.

For more than 17 years, the elderly pilgrim has been visiting Saudi Arabia at least once in a year.

Except on the forbidden days, he has also continually been fasting for the past 20 years. He had started fasting in June 1999.

Islamic Shari’ah describes Umrah as performing Tawaf round the Ka‘bah, and Sa’i between Safa and Marwah, both after assuming Ihram (a sacred state). It’s called the minor or lesser pilgrimage because unlike Hajj it’s not compulsory but highly recommended.

Although they share common rites, Umrah can be performed in a few hours and involves fewer rituals.

A certain type of the Umrah exists depending on whether or not the pilgrim wishes to perform Umrah in the Hajj period, thus combining their merit. When performed alongside the Hajj, Umrah is deemed one of “enjoyment” (Umrat al-tamattu) and is part of a fuller Hajj of enjoyment (Hajjul tamattu).