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.
A woman in ihram follows almost all the same rules as a man, but in a few places the rule is different for her.
How it is different for a woman
- She may wear stitched clothes (a normal dress, gloves, and so on), but not clothes dyed with scented dye like saffron.
- She may wear shoes or socks that cover her ankles.
- She may cover her head, as long as the cloth does not touch her face. If she needs to hide her face from men who are not close family, she can hold a covering out from her face with something like a stiff brim so it does not touch her skin.
- She should say the words of Talbiyah quietly, not out loud.
- She does not do Ramal (the brisk walk) or Idtiba (baring one shoulder) during tawaf.
- She does not touch or kiss the Black Stone or the Yemeni Corner if there is a crowd of men there.
- She does not say the tawaf dua out loud near the Station of Ibrahim if men are crowded nearby.
- She does not run between Safa and Marwah during saʿy.
- She does not climb up onto Safa or Marwah if there is a crowd of men.
- She does not shave her head at the end. Instead, she gathers her hair together and trims off a length about the width of a fingertip.
- If she is on her monthly period or bleeding after childbirth, she may delay the Tawaf of Ziyarah until the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah without owing anything for the delay; a man who delays it owes a sacrifice.
- If she is on her period or bleeding after childbirth when it is time to leave Makkah, she does not have to do the Farewell Tawaf at all; a man must always do it.
A woman on her period or bleeding after childbirth must not enter the mosque to do tawaf, because tawaf takes place inside the mosque.
A woman's ihram follows the same rulings as a man's in almost every respect. The following points, however, are specific to her.
| Matter | For a woman | For a man |
|---|---|---|
| Stitched clothing | Permitted: a robe, kurta, pajama, gloves; not clothing dyed with a scented dye such as saffron | Forbidden |
| Footwear | Shoes or socks covering the ankle are permitted | The ankle must stay visible |
| Covering the head | Permitted, provided the cloth does not touch the face; a veil may be held clear of the face with a stiffener to preserve purdah from non-mahram men | The head must not be covered |
| Reciting Talbiyah | Softly | Aloud |
| Ramal and Idtibaʿ in tawaf | Neither is done | Both are sunnah |
| Touching the Black Stone / Yemeni Corner | Skipped when non-mahram men are crowded there | Done regardless |
| The tawaf duʿā near Maqam Ibrahim | Said quietly if men are crowded nearby | Said normally |
| Running in saʿy | Not done | Sunnah, between the two green markers |
| Climbing Safa and Marwah | Not done if men are crowded there | Done |
| Ending ihram | Hair is gathered and a fingertip's length is trimmed, never the whole head shaved | The head may be shaved, or a quarter of the hair trimmed |
| Delaying Tawaf al-Ziyarah to the 12th for menstruation or post-natal bleeding | No penalty | A penalty (damm) is owed for delaying |
| Tawaf al-Wadaʿ (the Farewell Tawaf) | Waived entirely if menstruating or in post-natal bleeding; she leaves the Haram without it | Obligatory in every case |
A woman who is menstruating or in post-natal bleeding is permitted to carry out every act of Hajj and Umrah except the Tawaf of the Kaʿbah, since tawaf is performed inside the mosque, which she may not enter while impure.
A woman in ihram may wear silk, gold, and silver, none of which is forbidden to her, unlike a man in ihram, for whom silk and gold remain forbidden as they are outside ihram too.
The distinctions given for a woman's iḥrām, tawaf, saʿy, and taḥallul are exceptions carved out of the general rulings covered elsewhere in this manual; where a point is not listed here, the ruling given for the man applies equally to her.
| Matter | Ruling for a woman |
|---|---|
| Stitched clothing (kurtah, pyjama, gloves) | Permitted; clothing dyed with a scented dye such as saffron remains forbidden to her as to him |
| Footwear covering the ankle | Permitted outright; the exposed-ankle condition applies only to men |
| Covering the head | Permitted provided the cloth does not touch the face; a muḥajjabah may fashion a screen held clear of the face, netting stiffened so it does not rest on the skin is a common present-day device, to preserve satr from ajānib without the covering itself becoming ḥarām |
| Talbiyah | Recited quietly (sirran), not raising the voice as a man does |
| Ramal and iḍṭibāʿ in tawaf | Neither applies to her |
| Istilām of the Black Stone / Yemeni Corner | Omitted when a crowd of non-maḥram men makes it unavoidable to press through them |
| The tawaf supplication near Maqām Ibrāhīm | Recited without raising the voice when men are crowded there |
| Harwalah (running) in saʿy between the two green markers | Not performed by her at all |
| Ascending Ṣafā and Marwah | Omitted where a crowd of men occupies the elevation |
| Ending iḥrām by taḥallul | The head is never shaved; hair is gathered together (or, per the majority of it) and cut to the length of a fingertip, as against a man's obligatory quarter, or preferable full ḥalq |
| Delay of Tawaf al-Ziyārah to the 12th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah for ḥayḍ or nifās | No damm attaches to the delay; for a man, delay past the permitted window makes damm necessary |
| Tawaf al-Wadāʿ | Dropped altogether if she is in ḥayḍ or nifās when departing; she leaves via the gate of the Ḥaram without performing it, unlike a man, an Afāqī of any iḥrām type, for whom it remains obligatory in every circumstance |
Entry into the mosque in a state of ḥayḍ or nifās is forbidden, and Tawaf being performed within the mosque, a menstruating or post-natally bleeding woman is barred from every act of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah save the Tawaf of the Kaʿbah alone; every other rite remains open to her.
Silk and gold, forbidden to a man both within and outside iḥrām, are not forbidden to a woman at all; she may wear silk, gold, and silver while in iḥrām exactly as she may outside it.
Related
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.