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.
Once you tie your ihram, called muhram, some things become forbidden, called haram, until you finish your hajj or umrah. If you do one of them, you usually have to pay for it: this is called kaffara. Sometimes it is an animal sacrifice, called damm. Sometimes it is a smaller gift of food to the poor, called sadaqah.
Things you must not do in ihram
- Do not have marital relations with your spouse, or touch or look at them with desire, while you are in ihram.
- Do not argue, get angry at people, or do or say anything sinful.Getting angry to stop a wrong, like telling someone to stop sinning, is not included in this.
- Do not cut or pull out any hair from your head or body, even a little.
- Do not cut your nails, or cut someone else's nails for them.
- Do not wear perfume, or put scented oil on your body, clothes, or even your bedding.
- Do not colour your hair with henna, or use scented hair-washes or hair oils.
- Do not eat or drink anything so strongly flavoured with spices like cinnamon or cardamom that the flavour stands out.
- For men: do not wear stitched clothes that are shaped to the body, such as a shirt, trousers, socks, or a cap, and do not cover your head or face with cloth.A man in ihram wears two plain unstitched sheets instead.
- Do not hunt land animals, point them out to a hunter, or help catch them in any way.
- Do not cut down or damage a tree that grows naturally within the Haram, the sacred area around Makkah.
- Do not deliberately kill a louse on your body or clothes, for example by leaving clothes in the sun to kill them, or by having someone else remove them for you.
| What was done | What is owed |
|---|---|
| Wearing perfume on a whole arm or leg, or on your whole body, or scenting your clothes or bedding | An animal sacrifice (damm) |
| Colouring hair with henna, washing it with a scented herb, using a lot of perfume, or scented kohl more than twice | An animal sacrifice (damm) |
| A smaller amount of any of these | A gift of food to the poor, the same as Sadaqat al-Fitr |
| Shaving a quarter or more of the head or beard, or all the hair of one whole area of the body | An animal sacrifice (damm) |
| Removing less than a quarter of the head or beard, or the nails of one hand or one foot | Half of that gift of food, or an amount matching how much was removed |
| A few hairs falling out while combing | A handful of wheat, each time it happens |
| Covering the head or face, or wearing stitched clothes, for a whole day or night | An animal sacrifice (damm) |
| The same, for less than a whole day or night | A gift of food to the poor |
| Kissing or touching your spouse with desire | An animal sacrifice (damm) |
| Hunting, or helping someone else hunt, a desert animal | The animal's value given as food to the poor, or a fast in its place |
| Cutting down a tree that grows naturally in the Haram | Its value given as food to the poor, or an animal sacrificed inside the Haram |
| Deliberately killing lice | A handful of wheat for up to three; half the usual gift of food for more than three |
Where a sacrifice is owed because of a genuine excuse, such as illness, you may choose instead to feed six poor people or fast three days, wherever you are.
Once a person enters ihram (becoming a muhrim), a set of acts become forbidden (harām) until iḥrām ends. Breaking one of them is a jināyah, a violation requiring expiation (kaffārah): usually a sacrifice (damm), sometimes charity equal to Sadaqat al-Fitr, and occasionally a fast.
Forbidden while in ihram
- Marital relations with one's spouse, desire-driven conversation, touching or looking with desire, wickedness, arguing, or losing one's temper with companions or servants over worldly matters.Anger for the sake of religion, commanding good or forbidding wrong, is excluded.
- Removing any body hair, in part or in full, and cutting one's own nails or someone else's, except hair that grows inside the eye, which may be removed.
- Wearing dyed clothing, or clothing shaped or sewn so that it covers most of, or clings to, a part of the body: a kurta, jubbah, gloves, socks, a helmet-like covering, or a single-piece cap, for instance.
- Covering the head or face with cloth, tying a tasselled cloth around the shoulder, covering the ankles with socks or shoes, or bandaging the head or face, even for illness, and wearing coloured or perfumed cloth (saffron, wers, or similar), unless it has been washed clean of the dye or no longer carries a scent.
- Scenting clothes with the smoke of oud, musk or similar; wearing, applying, or placing fragrance on the body, clothes, or bedding.A fragrance is anything intelligent people would recognise as perfume by its smell.
- Applying fragrance to the hands so that it transfers to the clothes, or perfuming the edges of a garment, except with oud.
- Eating strongly fragrant spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves or ginger, or food or drink whose fragrance dominates. Applying henna to the hair or body, washing the hair with fragrant herbs such as gul khairo, or using oil or setting gum on the hair.
- Hunting or trapping desert game, restraining it, signalling to a hunter, or helping in any way; breaking its legs, cooking or roasting its meat, or milking or trading its milk.
- Scratching in a way that makes hair fall out or kills lice on the body. A louse that falls off by itself may be killed; one deliberately struck off, washed away, or removed by someone else may not, though a louse moved (not killed) because of the pain of a bite is not an issue.
- Cutting or grazing trees inside the Haram, except the adhkhar grass.
| Violation | Penalty (kaffārah) |
|---|---|
| Perfume applied to a whole limb, the whole body in one sitting, or clothes/bedding scented, even lightly | Damm (one sacrifice) |
| Henna on the hair, washing it with a fragrant herb, a large quantity of perfume (about two handfuls), or fragrant kohl more than twice | Damm |
| Any of the above in a smaller amount | Charity equal to Sadaqat al-Fitr |
| Musk, camphor, or amber tied into clothing (oud, and eating saffron-flavoured sweets, are not included) | Charity equal to Sadaqat al-Fitr |
| Shaving or removing a quarter or more of the head or beard hair, or all the hair of the neck, one armpit, the navel area, the private area, the thighs, or the calves | Damm |
| Removing less than a quarter, one armpit only, or the nails of one hand or one foot | Half a sadaqah (half a ṣāʿ of wheat), or an amount proportionate to what was removed |
| A few strands plucked or shed while combing | A handful of wheat, for each occasion |
| Trimming the mustache | Charity equal to Sadaqat al-Fitr (proportionate for a smaller amount) |
| Stitched or shaped clothing worn, or the head/face covered, for a whole day or night | Damm |
| The same, for less than a full day or night | Charity equal to Sadaqat al-Fitr |
| A bandage over the head or face without illness, for a full day or night (other body parts: disliked, no penalty) | Charity equal to Sadaqat al-Fitr |
| Kissing or touching one's spouse with desire | Damm |
| Hunting, pointing out, or signalling towards a wild animal | The animal's value (set by two just witnesses) spent on an equivalent sacrifice in Makkah, or given as food, or fasted for in its place |
| Cutting a tree that grows naturally in the Haram | Its value given as food to the poor, or a sacrifice slaughtered in the Haram; fasting is not a substitute here |
| Deliberately killing lice | A handful of wheat for one to three lice; half a ṣāʿ of wheat for more than three |
Applying perfume to hands or mouth over the Black Stone follows the same large/small-amount split as perfume generally.
Every act in the lists above is forbidden for as long as ihram lasts, whether the person doing it knows the ruling or not, and whether they act willingly or under compulsion.
Wherever a damm is owed, a sheep or goat is sufficient, except in two cases, where a camel or a cow is required instead: intercourse taking place after the standing at Arafat but before the head is shaved, and Tawaf al-Ziyarah performed while in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah), menstruation, or post-natal bleeding.
Jināyāt are the violations of ihram for which kaffārah (expiation) is due. The obligation attaches irrespective of intent, knowledge, willingness, or compulsion, and irrespective of whether the muḥrim is male or female.
The forbidden acts of ihram
- Marital relations, desire-driven speech, touching or looking with desire, fisq, disputation, and anger with companions, servants, or worldly dealings, excepting anger exercised in commanding good or forbidding wrong.
- Removing body hair in part or in whole, and cutting one's own nails or another's; hair growing inside the eye is exempted.
- Dyed clothing, or clothing sewn or shaped to cover or cling to most or part of the body (kurtah, jubbah, angarkha, gloves, socks, a helmet-shaped covering, a one-piece cap). A cloak worn over the shoulders without inserting the arms, or with only one sleeve, is permitted though better avoided, since it is not worn 'according to habit'.
- Covering the head or face with cloth; tying a tasselled cloth at the shoulder; covering the ankle with socks, stockings, or shoes; bandaging the head or face even for illness; wearing coloured cloth, or cloth dyed with saffron or wers, unless washed clean of the dye or no longer scented.
- Taʿṭīr: scenting clothes with fragrant smoke (ʿūd, musk); applying, wearing, or placing fragrance on the body, clothing, or bedding, a fragrance being whatever an intelligent person recognises as such by smell.
- Applying fragrance to the hands in a way that transfers to the clothes, or to the edges of a garment, other than ʿūd.
- Eating strongly fragrant spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger) or food/drink whose fragrance predominates; applying henna to hair or body; washing hair with a fragrant preparation such as gul khairo; using hair oil or setting gum.
- Hunting or trapping desert game, restraining or signalling towards it, or assisting the hunt in any way (spear, arrow, guidance); breaking its legs; cooking, roasting, milking, or trading its milk.
- Scratching in a manner that dislodges hair or kills lice. A louse that falls naturally may be killed; one struck off, washed off, or delegated to another for killing may not, though moving (not killing) a louse to relieve the pain of a bite is permitted.
- Cutting or grazing trees within the Ḥaram, excepting adhkhar grass.
| Jināyah | Kaffārah | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Perfume on a complete limb, or the whole body in one sitting, or scenting clothes/bedding | Damm | For a mild or small application, a full limb is the threshold; for a strong or large application, a quarter of a limb suffices to trigger damm |
| Henna on hair, washing with a fragrant herb, a large quantity of perfume (roughly two handfuls of rose or kewra water, or musk), or fragrant kohl more than twice | Damm | 'Large' is what is commonly perceived as such, or what remains detectable on the mouth for a long time |
| Any of the above, in a smaller quantity | Sadaqat al-Fiṭr equivalent | None |
| Musk, camphor, or amber tied into the clothing | Sadaqat al-Fiṭr equivalent | ʿŪd tied into clothing, or eating saffron-flavoured sweets, is permitted outright, since musk/camphor/amber count as perfume-bases even without an inherent scent, while ʿūd and saffron sweets do not |
| Perfume added to a drink that it overpowers | Damm | If the drink keeps its original taste, charity only is due |
| Perfume added to raw food whose fragrance overwhelms it | Sadaqah | If subdued, nothing is due; in cooked food, nothing is due either way |
| A large amount of perfume on the hands or mouth from touching the Black Stone | Damm | A smaller amount: sadaqah |
| Henna applied to the head and left to harden | Two damms | One for the perfume, one for the covering of the head |
| Perfume applied to different body parts across separate sittings | One damm per sitting | None |
| Shaving or removing a quarter or more of the head or beard hair, or the whole of the neck, one armpit, the navel area, the private area, the thighs, or the calves, or several areas together | Damm | None |
| Removing less than a quarter, one armpit only, or the nails of one hand or one foot | Half a sadaqah (half a ṣāʿ of wheat), or pro-rata | If the combined value equals the price of a sacrifice, the charity may be reduced accordingly |
| A few strands plucked from head, nose, or beard, or shed while combing | A handful of wheat per instance | None |
| Trimming the mustache | Sadaqat al-Fiṭr equivalent, pro-rata for a small amount | Half the quarter of the beard shaved: half the price of a sacrifice; a full quarter: a quarter of the price |
| Stitched/shaped clothing worn, or head/face covered (including a quarter of the head), for a full day or night, as a habitual act | Damm | For less than a full day or night: sadaqah. This holds even where the covering was necessitated by cold or illness, and even if two shirts, or a turban plus head-covering, were needed, still a single damm |
| Covering a second distinct part after the first (e.g. the head, then also a garment) | A further, separate kaffārah | Applies whether the covering spans day, night, or a fraction of either, following the same full/partial split |
| A bandage tied over the head or face without illness, for a full day or night | Sadaqah | Over any other body part: disliked (makrūh), no kaffārah |
| Kissing or touching one's spouse with desire | Damm | None |
Where the same act is repeated on the same area before its first kaffārah has been discharged, only one kaffārah is owed; once discharged, a repetition owes its own.
A muḥrim who shaves the head or trims nails or the mustache, and the person who performs the act on their behalf, both owe a sadaqah, except once the rites requiring it have been completed, such as after the sacrifice, or after the saʿy of ʿumrah, when no further penalty attaches to that same shaving.
Hunting is compensated by having two just persons appraise the animal's value at the place and time it was hunted, then either buying and slaughtering an animal of equal value in Makkah, or giving half a ṣāʿ of wheat (or a ṣāʿ of dates or barley) to each poor person to that value, or fasting a day for each half-ṣāʿ of wheat or ṣāʿ of dates the value would buy. If the value equals two sacrifices, the same three options may be mixed and matched: slaughter both, donate the value of both, fast for both, or combine any two of the three.
Cutting or uprooting a tree that grows naturally, unplanted, within the Ḥaram is forbidden to the muḥrim and non-muḥrim alike. Its value is spent on wheat given to the poor, or an animal is sacrificed within the Ḥaram; fasting is not offered as an alternative here. No benefit may be taken from the felled tree, and if it stood on private land, the landowner is compensated as well. Dry grass, dry branches, leaves picked without harming the tree, and the adhkhar or khanbī grasses carry no compensation.
Wherever damm is due, a sheep or goat discharges it, except: intercourse occurring after the standing at ʿArafah but before ḥalq, and Tawaf al-Ziyārah performed in janābah, ḥayḍ, or nifās, each of which requires a camel or a cow instead. Wherever sadaqah is due, it is the equivalent of Sadaqat al-Fiṭr, except for locusts, lice, and the removal of a few hairs, which require only a handful of wheat or dates.
Terms on this page
Related
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.