Pilgrimage (Hajj & Umrah)
The pilgrim's dress (ihram), the rites in order, and visiting Madinah.
The basics
- What Hajj is, and why it is the fifth pillar Hajj in a page: what the word means, why it is both a bodily and a financial worship, who owes it, and where Umrah and the visit to Madinah stand.
- The virtues of Hajj and Umrah The rewards described for Hajj and Umrah in hadith: the expiation of sin, the guarantee of Paradise for an accepted Hajj, and the special standing of the Day of Arafah.
- The obligation of Hajj Why Hajj is obligatory (fard) on every able Muslim, drawn from the Qur'an and hadith, and that it is owed only once in a lifetime.
- The conditions that make Hajj obligatory The conditions of ability (istita'ah): freedom, sanity, adulthood, physical capability, means and a safe route, plus the two further conditions for women.
- Hajj, Umrah, and the three ways of combining them How Hajj and Umrah differ, and the three recognised ways of performing them together: Hajj alone (Ifrad), Umrah then Hajj (Tamattu') and both together (Qiran).
The journey
- Preparing for the journey of Hajj What to put right before travelling for Hajj: sincerity of intention, repentance, debts, the welfare of one's family, and writing a will.
- Leaving home for Hajj The recommended prayers, supplications and farewells for the moment of leaving home on the journey of Hajj.
- Conduct during the journey to Hajj Why the money spent on Hajj must be lawfully earned, and how a pilgrim should treat companions and strangers along the way.
The pilgrim's state (Ihram)
- The boundary points (miqats) and the time for entering the pilgrim's state (ihram) The five boundary points (miqats) around Makkah, which pilgrims use each, and when the pilgrim's state (ihram) for Hajj and Umrah may and may not be entered.
- How to enter the pilgrim's state (ihram), step by step The full method of entering the pilgrim's state (ihram) for Hajj or Umrah: the garments, the preparation, the intention, and the pilgrim's chant (Talbiyah).
- How a woman's pilgrim's state (ihram) differs from a man's The points where a woman's pilgrim's state (ihram), circling (tawaf), walk between Safa and Marwah (saʿy), and hair-cutting differ from a man's, and what menstruation or post-natal bleeding change.
- What is disliked and what is allowed in the pilgrim's state (ihram) Acts that are merely disliked in the pilgrim's state (ihram), with no expiation attached, and the long list of everyday things that remain fully permitted.
- What is forbidden in the pilgrim's state (ihram), and the penalty for each The acts forbidden once the pilgrim's state (ihram) is entered (intimacy, perfume, cutting hair or nails, covering the head, hunting) and the sacrifice or charity each requires.
- Penalties for mistakes in the circling (tawaf), the walk (sa'y) and the stoning (rami) What is owed if the circling (tawaf) was made without ablution (wudu), the walk (saʿy) was left incomplete, or the stoning of the pillars (Jamarat) was missed.
Makkah, circling the Kaaba (Tawaf) and Umrah
- Entering Makkah and the first sight of the Kaʿbah The etiquette and supplications for approaching the sacred precinct (Haram), entering Makkah, walking to the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haram), and seeing the Kaʿbah for the first time.
- The seven kinds of circling the Kaaba (tawaf), and its obligatory, necessary and sunnah acts The seven named circlings (tawafs) of Hajj and Umrah, their timing, and which of the acts of circling are obligatory (fard), which necessary (wajib), and which sunnah.
- How to circle the Kaaba (tawaf), step by step The full method of circling the Kaʿbah seven times, from the intention at the Black Stone to the two units (rakats) at the Station of Ibrahim (Maqam Ibrahim) and drinking Zamzam water.
- The walk between Safa and Marwah (sa'y), and completing Umrah Walking the seven lengths between Safa and Marwah after the circling (tawaf), and finishing Umrah by cutting the hair and leaving the pilgrim's state (ihram).
- Where dua is accepted in Makkah, and sacred places to visit The places in and around Makkah where dua is said to be accepted, and the historic sites (Khadijah's house, the caves of Hira and Thawr, and more) worth visiting.
The days of Hajj, in order
- The obligatory (fard), necessary (wajib) and sunnah acts of Hajj and Umrah, at a glance The five acts Hajj cannot be valid without, the thirty-one necessary (wajib) acts, the emphasised sunnahs, and what invalidates Hajj or Umrah outright.
- The days of Hajj, from the 8th to the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah, at a glance A day-by-day timetable of Hajj's rites, from the Day of Tarwiyah to leaving Mina, together with the three sermons and the exemption from Eid prayer.
- The 8th of Dhul-Hijjah (the Day of Tarwiyah): entering the pilgrim's state (ihram) for Hajj and going to Mina How Hajj begins on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah: entering the pilgrim's state (ihram), the arrival circling (Tawaf al-Qudum), travelling to Mina, and spending the night there.
- The standing at Arafat, on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah The Day of Arafah: travelling from Mina, the sermon (khutbah) at Namira, combining the Zuhr and Asr prayers, and the standing (wuquf) itself until sunset.
- From Arafat to Muzdalifah, and the night there Leaving Arafat after sunset, the crossing of the valley of Muhassir, combining the Maghrib and Isha prayers, and the standing at the Sacred Monument (Mash'ar al-Haram) before dawn.
- The 10th of Dhul-Hijjah: stoning the great pillar (Jamrat al-Aqabah), the sacrifice, and shaving The order of rites on Eid day: throwing seven pebbles at the great pillar (Jamrat al-Aqabah), the sacrifice, and cutting the hair; and who the sacrifice is obligatory for.
- The circling of visitation (Tawaf al-Ziyarah), the pillar of Hajj When the circling of visitation (Tawaf al-Ziyarah) is performed, why it is the pillar (rukn) of Hajj, and what follows it in Makkah before returning to Mina.
- The Days of Tashriq: stoning all three pillars (Jamarat), and leaving Mina Stoning the three pillars (Jamarat) on the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah, the choice of leaving early or staying, and the stop at Muhassab.
- The farewell circling of the Kaaba (Tawaf al-Wada) The last rite before leaving Makkah: who must perform it, how it differs from other circlings (tawafs), and the parting at the Multazam.
- Performing Hajj on behalf of someone else (Hajj Badal) When a pilgrim is stopped before finishing, and when someone unable to travel must send another person to perform Hajj on their behalf.
Madinah and the journey home
- Visiting Madinah, and the etiquette of the Prophet's ﷺ grave The virtue of visiting Madinah, entering the Prophet's ﷺ mosque, and the words of greeting at his grave and those of Abu Bakr and Umar beside it.
- Jannat al-Baqi, Masjid Quba, and other places to visit in Madinah The graves in the Baqi graveyard, the martyrs of Uhud, and the historic mosques of Madinah, including Masjid Quba.
- Virtuous acts in Madinah, and the dua on leaving Fasting, seclusion in the mosque (i'tikaf) and visiting the blessed wells in Madinah, and the farewell prayer, supplication (dua) and keepsakes taken on departure.
- Returning home after Hajj The dua for arriving back in one's own city, praying at the first mosque, and what an accepted Hajj should change afterwards.