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.
All the rites described in this topic fit into three levels: fard (must-do, or Hajj does not count), wajib (must-do, but Hajj still counts if missed, though a sacrifice is owed), and sunnah (the Prophet's way, best not to skip, but nothing owed if you do).
| Fard act | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ihram | Putting on ihram with the right intention; this is a condition for everything else |
| Standing at Arafat (Wuquf) | Being present anywhere on the plain of Arafat for even a moment, between midday on the 9th and dawn on the 10th |
| Tawaf al-Ziyarah | The tawaf done between the 10th and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah |
| Doing these three in the right order | Ihram, then Wuquf, then Tawaf al-Ziyarah |
| Doing each one at its proper time | Late is better than never, but delay can mean owing a sacrifice |
If any one of these five is left out completely, Hajj is not valid.
Hajj is not valid if any of its five fard acts is missing.
Beyond these five, there are many wajib acts: things like entering ihram at the miqat, doing saʿy after tawaf and starting it at Safa, staying at Muzdalifah, stoning the Jamarat in the right order, shaving or trimming the hair, and the Farewell Tawaf. Missing one of these does not undo the Hajj, but a sacrifice or gift of charity becomes owed, as explained in the earlier sections on penalties.
Umrah is simpler: it has just two fard acts (ihram, and tawaf) and two wajib acts (saʿy, and cutting the hair).
| No. | Fard act | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ihram | A condition (shart) for Hajj, not an act performed within it |
| 2 | Wuquf (the standing at Arafat) | Presence anywhere on the plain of Arafat, even for a moment, from the sun's decline on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah until dawn on the 10th, whether knowingly or not, conscious or delirious |
| 3 | Tawaf al-Ziyarah | Performed between the 10th and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah |
| 4 | The correct order of Ihram, Wuquf and Tawaf al-Ziyarah | Wuquf carries the greater weight of the two rukns: intimacy before Wuquf invalidates Hajj; intimacy after Wuquf but before Tawaf al-Ziyarah does not |
| 5 | Each act within its appointed time | Delaying ihram past the miqat, or Tawaf al-Ziyarah past the 12th, requires a sacrifice (damm) but does not invalidate Hajj |
Imam al-Shafiʿi additionally counts saʿy after tawaf, and ḥalq, as fard.
The absence of any one of these five acts makes Hajj invalid.
| No. | Wajib act |
|---|---|
| 1 | Passing the miqat already in ihram |
| 2 | Performing saʿy between Safa and Marwah |
| 3 | Performing saʿy after tawaf, not before |
| 4 | Starting saʿy at Safa |
| 5 | Performing saʿy on foot, absent an excuse |
| 6 | Staying at Arafat from zawal until sunset and a little into the night |
| 7 | Not moving off from Arafat ahead of the Imam |
| 8 | Delaying Maghrib and Isha until Muzdalifah is reached |
| 9 | Spending the night at Muzdalifah, even briefly |
| 10 | Performing the Rami (stoning) |
| 11 | Performing the first Rami before shaving or cutting the hair |
| 12 | Performing each day's Rami on that same day, during the days of Nahr |
| 13 | Keeping the correct order of the first Rami, ḥalq, and tawaf (according to some) |
| 14 | Keeping the correct order among all three days of Rami |
| 15 | Shaving the head or cutting the hair (ḥalq or taqsir) |
| 16 | Performing this during the days of Nahr |
| 17 | Performing it within the Haram (Sunnah, per Imam Abu Yusuf) |
| 18 | Performing Tawaf al-Ziyarah during the days of Nahr |
| 19 | Including the Hijr (Hateem) within the tawaf circuit |
| 20 | Performing tawaf from the right-hand side |
| 21 | Performing tawaf in a state of wudu |
| 22 | Covering the private parts during tawaf |
| 23 | Wearing clothing during tawaf that fully covers the private parts and is clean |
| 24 | Performing tawaf on foot, absent an excuse |
| 25 | Praying two rakats after tawaf |
| 26 | Performing the Farewell Tawaf, for a pilgrim from outside Makkah |
| 27 | For Qiran and Tamattu: performing Rami before the sacrifice |
| 28 | For Qiran and Tamattu: offering the sacrifice |
| 29 | For Qiran and Tamattu: shaving or cutting the hair before the sacrifice |
| 30 | For Qiran and Tamattu: offering the sacrifice during the days of Nahr |
| 31 | Abstaining from everything forbidden in ihram |
Two exceptions stand out: no penalty attaches to missing the two rakats after tawaf, or to delaying Maghrib until Isha without a valid reason, even though both appear as wajib acts above.
| No. | Sunnah mu'akkadah act |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tawaf al-Qudum (the arrival tawaf) |
| 2 | Ramal during tawaf of the Kaʿbah |
| 3 | Saʿy between Safa and Marwah |
| 4 | Staying overnight in Mina |
Neglecting these makes a person sinful, but no kaffarah (expiation) is required.
| Level | Acts |
|---|---|
| Fard (2) | Ihram (a condition); Tawaf of the Kaʿbah (the rukn) |
| Wajib (2) | Saʿy between Safa and Marwah; shaving or cutting the hair |
The sunnahs and recommended acts of Umrah mirror those of Hajj.
Sexual intercourse before the standing at Arafat invalidates Hajj entirely; the same act before tawaf invalidates Umrah entirely.
| No. | Rukn | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iḥrām | A shart (condition), not itself an act performed within Ḥajj |
| 2 | Wuqūf bi-ʿArafah | Presence anywhere on the plain, even momentarily, from zawāl on the 9th to dawn on the 10th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, whether the pilgrim is aware of it or not, conscious or delirious |
| 3 | Tawaf al-Ziyārah | Performed within its window of the 10th to the 12th |
| 4 | The correct tartīb (order) of iḥrām, wuqūf, and Tawaf al-Ziyārah | Wuqūf outranks Tawaf al-Ziyārah in weight: jimāʿ before wuqūf voids the Ḥajj; jimāʿ after wuqūf but before Tawaf al-Ziyārah does not |
| 5 | Timeliness within each act's own window | A delayed iḥrām past the mīqāt, or a delayed Tawaf al-Ziyārah past the 12th, necessitates damm without voiding the Ḥajj |
Imām al-Shāfiʿī additionally counts saʿy performed after tawaf, and ḥalq, among the farāʾiḍ.
The Ḥajj is void if any one of these five arkān is entirely absent.
| No. | Wājib |
|---|---|
| 1 | Passing the mīqāt already in iḥrām |
| 2 | Saʿy between Ṣafā and Marwah |
| 3 | Saʿy performed after tawāf, never before |
| 4 | Saʿy begun at Ṣafā |
| 5 | Saʿy on foot, absent a genuine ʿudhr |
| 6 | Remaining at ʿArafah from zawāl until sunset and a little into the night |
| 7 | Not departing ʿArafah ahead of the Imam |
| 8 | Delaying Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ until Muzdalifah |
| 9 | Spending a portion of the night at Muzdalifah |
| 10 | Ramy al-Jamarāt |
| 11 | The first Ramy preceding ḥalq or taqṣīr |
| 12 | Each day's Ramy performed on that day, within the Ayyām al-Naḥr/Tashrīq |
| 13 | Tartīb among the first Ramy, ḥalq, and tawāf, per some jurists |
| 14 | Tartīb maintained across all three days' Ramy |
| 15 | Ḥalq or taqṣīr |
| 16 | Both performed within the Ayyām al-Naḥr |
| 17 | Both performed within the Ḥaram: sunnah rather than wājib, per Abū Yūsuf |
| 18 | Tawaf al-Ziyārah performed within the Ayyām al-Naḥr |
| 19 | The Ḥijr included within the tawāf circuit |
| 20 | Tawāf performed from the right |
| 21 | Tawāf performed in wuḍūʾ |
| 22 | Satr al-ʿawrah maintained during tawāf |
| 23 | Clothing during tawāf sufficient and clean |
| 24 | Tawāf on foot, absent ʿudhr |
| 25 | Two rakʿahs after tawāf |
| 26 | Tawaf al-Wadāʿ, for the Āfāqī |
| 27 | For Qārin/Mutamattiʿ: Ramy preceding the sacrifice |
| 28 | For Qārin/Mutamattiʿ: the sacrifice itself |
| 29 | For Qārin/Mutamattiʿ: ḥalq/taqṣīr preceding the sacrifice |
| 30 | For Qārin/Mutamattiʿ: the sacrifice offered within the Ayyām al-Naḥr |
| 31 | Abstention from every prohibition of iḥrām |
Two of these thirty-one are, in practice, without kaffārah: the two rakʿahs after tawāf (item 25) and an unexcused delay of Maghrib to ʿIshāʾ (subsumed under item 8), a qualification the manual states explicitly, distinguishing the general rule (a wājib's omission requires damm) from these specific exceptions.
| No. | Sunnah mu'akkadah |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tawaf al-Qudūm |
| 2 | Ramal in Tawaf al-Kaʿbah |
| 3 | Saʿy between Ṣafā and Marwah |
| 4 | The nights spent at Minā |
Neglect is sinful but incurs no kaffārah, the defining mark separating a sunnah mu'akkadah from a wājib in this scheme.
| Level | Acts |
|---|---|
| Farḍ (2) | Iḥrām (shart); Tawaf of the Kaʿbah (rukn) |
| Wājib (2) | Saʿy between Ṣafā and Marwah; ḥalq or taqṣīr |
The sunan and mustaḥabbāt of ʿUmrah mirror those of Ḥajj.
Jimāʿ occurring before the wuqūf voids the Ḥajj outright; the same act occurring before tawāf voids the ʿUmrah outright. This distinction (wuqūf as the graver rukn for Ḥajj, tawāf as the sole rukn for ʿUmrah) explains why the prohibition of intimacy is treated with particular gravity throughout the jināyāt of iḥrām.
Related
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.