Hajj & Umrah
Ihram, the rites in order, and visiting Madinah.
Basics
Ihram
- What is disliked and what is allowed in ihram Acts that are merely disliked in ihram, with no expiation attached, and the long list of everyday things that remain fully permitted.
- How to enter Ihram, step by step The full method of entering Ihram for Hajj or Umrah: the garments, the preparation, the intention, and the Talbiyah.
- The miqats and the time for entering Ihram The five miqat boundaries around Makkah, which pilgrims use each, and when Ihram for Hajj and Umrah may and may not be entered.
- Penalties for a tawaf, saʿy or rami done incorrectly What is owed if tawaf was made without wudu, saʿy was left incomplete, or the stoning of the Jamarat was missed.
- What is forbidden in ihram, and the penalty for each The acts forbidden once ihram is tied (intimacy, perfume, cutting hair or nails, covering the head, hunting) and the sacrifice or charity each requires.
- How a woman's ihram differs from a man's The points where a woman's ihram, tawaf, saʿy, and hair-cutting differ from a man's, and what menstruation or post-natal bleeding change.
Journey
- 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.
- Leaving home for Hajj The recommended prayers, supplications and farewells for the moment of leaving home on the journey of Hajj.
- 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.
Makkah and Madinah
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Virtuous acts in Madinah, and the dua on leaving Fasting, itikaf and visiting the blessed wells in Madinah, and the farewell prayer, dua and keepsakes taken on departure.
- 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.
Obligation
- 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.
- The obligation of Hajj Why Hajj is fard on every able Muslim, drawn from the Qur'an and hadith, and that it is owed only once in a lifetime.
Rites
- The Day of Tarwiyah: entering ihram for Hajj and going to Mina How Hajj begins on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah: entering ihram, Tawaf al-Qudum, travelling to Mina, and spending the night there.
- The Days of Tashriq: stoning all three Jamarat, and leaving Mina Stoning the three Jamarat on the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah, the choice of leaving early or staying, and the stop at Muhassab.
- Entering Makkah and the first sight of the Kaʿbah The etiquette and supplications for approaching the Haram, entering Makkah, walking to Masjid al-Haram, and seeing the Kaʿbah for the first time.
- The fard, wajib and sunnah acts of Hajj and Umrah, at a glance The five acts Hajj cannot be valid without, the thirty-one wajib acts, the emphasised sunnahs, and what invalidates Hajj or Umrah outright.
- Tawaf al-Wada, the farewell tawaf The last rite before leaving Makkah: who must perform it, how it differs from other tawafs, and the parting at Multazam.
- Hajj Badal: performing Hajj on behalf of someone else When a pilgrim is stopped before finishing, and when someone unable to travel must send another person to perform Hajj on their behalf.
- Hajj, Umrah, and the three ways of combining them How Hajj and Umrah differ, and the three recognised ways of performing them together: Ifrad, Tamattu' and Qiran.
- How to perform tawaf, step by step The full method of circling the Kaʿbah seven times, from the intention at the Black Stone to the two rakats at Maqam Ibrahim and drinking Zamzam.
- The seven kinds of tawaf, and its fard, wajib and sunnah acts The seven named tawafs of Hajj and Umrah, their timing, and which of tawaf's acts are fard, which wajib, and which sunnah.
- From Arafat to Muzdalifah, and the night there Leaving Arafat after sunset, the crossing of Wadi Muhassir, combining Maghrib and Isha, and the standing at Mash'ar al-Haram before dawn.
- Saʿy between Safa and Marwah, and completing Umrah Walking the seven lengths between Safa and Marwah after tawaf, and finishing Umrah by cutting the hair and removing ihram.
- The standing at Arafat, on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah The Day of Arafah: travelling from Mina, the khutbah at Namira, combining Zuhr and Asr, and the standing (wuquf) itself until sunset.
- The 10th of Dhul-Hijjah: stoning Jamrat al-Aqabah, the sacrifice, and shaving The order of rites on Eid day: throwing seven pebbles at Jamrat al-Aqabah, the sacrifice, and cutting the hair; and who the sacrifice is obligatory for.
- Tawaf al-Ziyarah, the pillar of Hajj When Tawaf al-Ziyarah is performed, why it is the rukn of Hajj, and what follows it in Makkah before returning to Mina.
- 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.