Hajj is
one of the best acts of worship. It is
one of the pillars of Islam with which
Allaah sent Muhammad and without which
a person’s religious commitment is
incomplete.
Worship
cannot bring a person closer to Allaah
and cannot be accepted unless it meets
two conditions:
1 –
Sincerity towards Allaah alone, i.e.,
it is done to seek the Countenance of
Allaah and the Hereafter, and is not
done to show off, to enhance one’s
reputation or for worldly gain.
2 –
Following the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) in word and deed. Following the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) can only be achieving by knowing
his Sunnah.
Hence the
one who wants to worship Allaah by
doing any act of worship – Hajj or
anything else – has to learn the
teachings of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) concerning it, so that his
actions will be in accordance with the
Sunnah.
We will
sum up in these few lines the
description of Hajj as narrated in the
Sunnah.
In the
answer to question no.
31819 we have already described
‘Umrah – please refer to that question
also.
Types of
Hajj
There are
three types of Hajj: Tamattu’, Ifraad
and Qiraan.
Tamattu’
means entering ihraam for ‘Umrah only
during the months of Hajj (the months
of Hajj are Shawwaal, Dhu’l-Qi’dah and
Dhu’l-Hijjah; see al-Sharh al-Mumti’,
7/62). When the pilgrim reaches Makkah
he performs tawaaf and saa’i for
‘Umrah, and shaves his head or cuts
his hair, and exits ihraam. Then when
the day of al-Tarwiyah, which is the 8th
of Dhu’l-Hijjah, comes, he enters
ihraam for Hajj only, and does all the
actions of Hajj. So Tamattu’ involves
a complete ‘Umrah and a complete Hajj.
Ifraad
means entering ihraam for Hajj only.
When the pilgrim reaches Makkah he
performs tawaaf al-qudoom (tawaaf of
arrival) and saa’i for Hajj, but he
does not shave or cut his hair and
does not exit ihraam, rather he
remains in ihraam until he exits
ihraam after stoning Jamarat al-‘Aqabah
on the day of Eid. If he delays the
saa’i of Hajj until after the tawaaf
of Hajj, there is nothing wrong with
that.
Qiraan
means entering ihraam for ‘Umrah and
Hajj both together. Or entering ihraam
for ‘Umrah first then including Hajj
in that before starting the tawaaf of
Hajj. That is done by intending that
his tawaaf and saa’i will be for both
Hajj and ‘Umrah.
The
actions done in Qiraan are the same as
those done in Ifraad, except that the
pilgrim doing Qiraan has to offer a
hadiy (sacrifice) whereas the pilgrim
doing Ifraad does not.
The best
of these three types of Hajj is
Tamattu’. This is what the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) enjoined upon his companions and
urged them to do. Even if a person
enters ihraam for Qiraan or Ifraad,
then it is strongly recommended for
him to change his intention to ‘Umrah,
then complete ‘Umrah and exit ihraam,
so that he will then be doing Tamattu’.
He may do that after doing tawaaf al-qudoom
and saa’i – because when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did tawaaf and saa’i during his
Farewell Pilgrimage, and his
companions were with him, he told
everyone who did not have a
sacrificial animal (hadiy) to change
his intention and make his ihraam for
‘Umrah and to cut his hair and exit
ihraam, and he said, “Were it not that
I have brought the hadiy with me, I
would do what I have commanded you to
do.”
Ihraam
The
pilgrim should observe the Sunnahs of
ihraam which are mentioned in the
question referred to above, namely
doing ghusl, applying perfume and
praying. Then he should enter ihraam
after he finishes the prayer or after
boarding his means of transportation.
Then if he
is doing Tamattu’, he should say, “Labbayk
Allaahumma bi ‘Umrah (Here I am, O
Allaah, for ‘Umrah).”
If he is
doing Qiraam, he should say, “Labbayk
Allaahumma bi Hijjah wa ‘Umrah
(Here I am, O Allaah, for Hajj and ‘Umrah).”
If he is
doing Ifraad, he should say, “Labbayk
Allaahumma Hajjan (Here I am, O
Allaah, for Hajj).”
Then he
should say, “Allaahumma haadhihi
hijjah laa riyaa’a fiha wa la sum’ah
(O Allaah, this is a pilgrimage in
which there is no showing off or
seeking reputation).”
Then he
should recite the Talbiyah as the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did: “Labbayka Allaahumma
labbayk, labbayka laa shareeka laka
labbayk. Inna al-hamd wa’l-ni’mata
laka wa’l-mulk, laa shareeka lak
(Here I am, O Allaah, here I am. Here
I am, You have no partner, here I am.
Verily all praise and blessings are
Yours, and all sovereignty, You have
no partner).”
The
Talbiyah of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) also included the words, “Labbayka
ilaah al-haqq (Here I am, O God of
Truth).”
Ibn ‘Umar
used to add to the Talbiyah the words,
“Labbaayk wa sa’dayka, wa’l-khayr bi
yadayka, wa’l-raghba’ ilayka wa’l-‘aml
(Here I am and blessed by You, and all
good is in Your hands, and desire and
action are directed towards You).”
Men should
raise their voices when saying this,
but a woman should recite in such a
manner that those who are beside her
can hear it, unless there is a man
beside her who is not one of her
mahrams, in which case she should
recite it silently.
If the
person who is entering ihraam fears
some obstacle that may prevent him
from completing his pilgrimage (such
as sickness, an enemy, being stopped
from proceeding any further, etc),
then he should stipulate a condition
when entering ihraam by saying, “If I
am prevented then my exiting ihraam is
where I am prevented” – i.e., if
something prevents me from completing
my pilgrimage such as sickness or
delay etc, then I will exit my ihraam.
The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) commanded Dubaa’ah bint al-Zubayr,
when she wanted to enter ihraam but
she was sick, to stipulate such a
condition, and he said, “Your
condition is valid with your Lord.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5089) and
Muslim (1207).
If he
stipulates this condition and
something happens to prevent him from
completing his pilgrimage, then he
exits his ihraam and does not have to
do anything (i.e., offer a sacrifice
in compensation).
But the
one who does not fear that some
obstacle may prevent him from
completing his pilgrimage does not
have to stipulate any conditions,
because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did not stipulate conditions nor
did he command everyone to do so.
Rather he told Dubaa’ah bint al-Zubayr
to do that because she was sick.
The muhrim
(person who has entered ihraam) should
recite the Talbiyah a great deal,
especially when circumstances and
times change, such as when going up to
a high place or going down to a low
place, or when night or day begin.
After that he should ask Allaah for
His good pleasure and for Paradise,
and seek refuge in His Mercy from the
Fire.
The
Talbiyah is prescribed in ‘Umrah from
the moment one enters ihraam until one
starts Tawaaf. In Hajj it is
prescribed from the moment one enters
ihraam until one stones Jamarat al-‘Aqabah
on the day of Eid.
Ghusl when
entering Makkah
When the
pilgrim approaches Makkah, he should
do ghusl before entering, if possible,
because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did ghusl before entering Makkah.
Narrated by Muslim, 1259.
Then when
he enters al-Masjid al-Haraam he
should do so with his right foot
first, and say, “Bismillaah
wa’l-salaatu wa’l-salaam ‘ala
Rasool-Allaah. Allaahumma ighfir li
dhunoobi waftah li abwaab rahmatika.
A’oodhu Billaah il-‘Azeem wa bi
wajhih il-kareem wa bi sultaanih
il-‘qadeem min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem
(In the name of Allaah, and blessings
and peace be upon the Messenger of
Allaah. O Allaah, forgive me my sins
and open to me the gates of Your
mercy. I seek refuge with Allaah the
Almighty and in His noble Countenance
and His eternal power from the
accursed Satan).” Then he should go to
the Black Stone in order to start
tawaaf… The description of Tawaaf is
given in Question no.
31819.
Then after
he has done tawaaf and prayed two
rak’ahs, he should go to the Mas’a
(place for doing saa’i) and perform
saa’i between al-Safa and al-Marwah.
The description of saa’i is given in
question no.
31819.
The
pilgrim who is doing Tamattu’ should
do saa’i for ‘Umrah; those who are
doing Ifraad and Qiraan should do
saa’i for Hajj, and they may delay it
until after Tawaaf al-Ifaadah.
Shaving
the head or cutting the hair
When the
pilgrim who is doing Tamattu’ has
completed seven circuits of saa’i, he
should shave his head if he is a man,
or cut his hair. If he shaves his head
he must shave his entire head, and if
he cuts his hair he must cut from all
over his head. Shaving is better than
cutting because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) made du’aa’ three times for those
who shaved their heads and once for
those who cut their hair. Narrated by
Muslim, 1303.
But if the
time of Hajj is so close that there
will be no time for the hair to grow
back, then it is better to cut one’s
hair at this point, so that there will
be some hair left to shave during
Hajj. The evidence for that is the
fact that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) commanded his companions, during
the Farewell Pilgrimage, to cut their
hair during ‘Umrah, because they
arrived on the morning of the 4th
of Dhu’l-Hijjah.
Women
should cut the length of a fingertip
from their hair.
With these
actions, the ‘Umrah of the one who is
doing Tamattu’ is concluded, after
which he should exit ihraam completely
and do everything that those who are
not in ihraam do, such as wearing
regular clothes, wearing perfume,
having intercourse with their wives,
etc.
Those who
are doing Ifraad or Qiraan should not
shave their heads or cut their hair,
or exit ihraam, rather they should
remain in ihraam until they exit
ihraam on the day of Eid, after
stoning Jamarat al-‘Aqabah and shaving
their heads or cutting their hair.
Then when
the day of al-Tarwiyah comes, which is
the 8th day of
Dhu’l-Hijjah, the one who is doing
Tamattu’ should enter ihraam for Hajj
in the morning from the place where he
is in Makkah. It is mustahabb for him
to do the same when entering ihraam
for Hajj as he did when entering
ihraam for ‘Umrah, namely doing ghusl,
putting on perfume and praying. He
should form the intention of entering
ihraam for Hajj and recite the
Talbiyah, and say, “Labbayk
Allaahumma Hajjan (Here I am, O
Allaah, for Hajj).”
If he
fears some obstacle that may prevent
him from completing his Hajj, he
should stipulate a condition by
saying, “If I am prevented then my
exiting ihraam is where I am
prevented.” If he does not fear any
such obstacle then he should not make
any such condition. It is mustahabb to
recite the Talbiyah out loud until he
starts to stone Jamarat al-‘Aqabah on
the day of Eid.
Going to
Mina
Then the
pilgrim should go out to Mina and pray
Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, ‘Isha’ and Fajr
there, shortening the prayers but not
joining them, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to shorten his prayers in
Mina but he did not join them.
Shortening the prayers means making
the four-rak’ah prayers two raka’ahs.
The people of Makkah and others should
shorten their prayers in Mina, ‘Arafah
and Muzdalifah because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to lead the people in prayer
during the Farewell Pilgrimage and
there were people from Makkah with
him, but he did not tell them to offer
their prayers in full. If it had been
obligatory for them to do so, he would
have told them to do so as he did on
the day of the Conquest of Makkah. But
since the city has spread and
incorporated Mina so that it is like
one of the quarters of Makkah, then
the people of Makkah should not
shorten their prayers there.
Going to
‘Arafah
When the
sun rises on the day of ‘Arafah, the
pilgrim travels from Mina to ‘Arafah
and stops in Namirah until the time of
Zuhr (Namirah is a place just before ‘Arafah),
if he can do so. If he cannot do it,
it does not matter because staying in
Namirah is Sunnah but it is not
obligatory. When the sun passes its
zenith (i.e., when the time for Zuhr
prayer begins), he should pray Zuhr
and ‘Asr, two rak’ahs each, and join
them together at the time of Zuhr, as
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did, so as to leave a lot of time
for standing and making du’aa’.
Then after
the prayer he should devote his time
to making dhikr and du’aa’ and
beseeching Allaah, and praying as he
likes, raising his hands and facing
the qiblah even if the mountain of
‘Arafah is behind him, because the
Sunnah is to face the qiblah, not the
mountain. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) stood by the mountain and said,
“I am standing here, but all of
‘Arafah is the place of standing.”
Most of
the Prophet’s du’aa’ in that great
place of standing was: “Laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah,
lahu’l-mulk, wa lahu’l-hamd, wa huwa
‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There
is no god but Allaah alone, with no
partner or associate; His is the
Dominion, all praise is due to Him,
and He is able to do all things).”
If the
pilgrim gets tired and wants to have a
break by talking to his companions
about useful things or by reading from
some useful books, especially things
that have to do with the generosity
and great bounty of Allaah, in order
to increase his hopes on that day,
this is good. Then he can go back to
beseeching Allaah and praying to Him.
He should strive to make the most of
the end of the day by making du’aa’.
The best of du’aa’ is du’aa’ made on
the day of ‘Arafah.
Going to
Muzdalifah
When the
sun sets, the pilgrim should go to
Muzdalifah. When he reaches there, he
should pray Maghrib and ‘Isha’ with
one adhaan and two iqaamahs. If he
fears that he will not reach
Muzdalifah before midnight, he should
pray on the way, because it is not
permissible to delay ‘Isha’ prayer
until after midnight.
He should
stay overnight in Muzdalifah, then
when dawn comes he should pray Fajr
early, with the adhaan and iqaamah,
and then head for al-Mash’ar al-Haraam
(which is the site of the mosque in
Muzdalifah) and proclaim the oneness
and greatness of Allaah (by saying Laa
ilaaha ill-Allaah and Allaahu akbar),
and making du’aa’ as he likes, until
it has become very light (i.e., when
the light of day appears before the
sun has actually risen). If it is not
easy for him to go to al-Mash’ar al-Haraam,
he should make du’aa’ where he is,
because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) stood there and all of Muzdalifah
is the place of standing. When he is
reciting dhikr and making du’aa’ he
should face the qiblah and raise his
hands.
Going to
Mina
When it
has become very light, before the sun
rises, he should go to Mina and hasten
through Wadi Mahsar (which is a valley
between Muzdalifah and Mina). When he
reaches Mina he should stone Jamarat
al-‘Aqabah, which is the last one that
is closest to Makkah, throwing seven
pebbles one after another, each of
which should be approximately the size
of a fava bean, saying “Allaahu akbar”
with each throw. (The Sunnah when
stoning Jamarat al-‘Aqabah is to face
the Jamarah with Makkah to one's left
and Mina to one one’s right). When he
has finished this stoning, he should
slaughter his sacrificial animal, then
shave his head or cut his hair if he
is male; women should cut the length
of a fingertip from their hair. This
is the first stage of exiting ihraam,
in which it becomes permissible to do
everything except have intercourse
with one's wife. Then the pilgrim
should go back to Makkah and do tawaaf
and saa’i for Hajj. Then comes the
second stage of exiting ihraam, after
which everything becomes permissible
which was forbidden whilst in ihraam.
The Sunnah
is to put on perfume when one wants to
go to Makkah to do tawaaf after
stoning the jamarat and shaving one’s
head, because ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her) said: “I used to
apply perfume to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) before he entered ihraam and when
he exited ihraam, before he
circumambulated the House.” Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1539; Muslim, 1189.
Then after
tawaaf and saa’i, he should go back to
Mina and stay there for two night, the
11th and 12th of
Dhu’l-Hijjah, and stone the three
jamarats during those two days, when
the sun has passed its zenith. It is
better for him to go to the jamarats
walking, but if he rides that is
acceptable. He should stone the first
jamarah, which is the one that is
furthest away from Makkah and next to
Masjid al-Kheef, with seven pebbles,
one after another, and say “Allaahu
akbar” after each throw. Then he
should go forward a little and say a
lengthy du’aa’, saying whatever he
likes. If it is too difficult for him
to stand for a long time and make
du’aa’, he should say whatever is easy
for him, even if it is only a little,
so that he will have done the Sunnah.
Then he
should stone the middle jamarah with
seven pebbles, one after another,
saying “Allaahu akbar” with every
throw. Then he should move to his left
and stand facing the qiblah, raising
his hands, and offer a lengthy du’aa’
if he can. Otherwise he should stand
for as long as he can. He should not
omit to stand and make du’aa’ because
it is Sunnah. Many people neglect that
because of ignorance or because they
take the matter lightly. The more the
Sunnah is neglected the more important
it becomes to do it and spread it
among the people, lest it be abandoned
and die out.
Then he
should stone Jamarat al-‘Aqabah with
seven pebbles, one after another,
saying “Allaahu akbar” with each
throw, then he should go away and not
offer a du’aa’ after that.
When he
has completed the stoning of the
Jamaraat on the 12th day of
Dhu’l-Hijjah, if he wants he may
hasten and leave Mina, and if he wants
he may delay his departure and stay
there for another night, the night of
the 13th, and stone the
three Jamaraat after noon as he did
before. It is better to delay, but it
is not obligatory unless the sun has
set on the 12th and he is
still in Mina, in which case it is
obligatory to stay until one has
stoned the three Jamaraat after noon
on the following day. But if the sun
sets on the 12th and he is
still in Mina but not by choice, such
as if he had already started out and
boarded his means of transportation,
but got delayed because of crowded
conditions and traffic jams etc., then
he is not obliged to stay there,
because the delay until sunset was not
by his choice.
When the
pilgrim wants to leave Makkah and go
back to his country, he should not
leave until he has performed the
farewell tawaaf (tawaaf al-wadaa’),
because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “No one should leave until
the last thing that he does is (tawaaf)
around the House.” Narrated by Muslim,
1327). According to another version,
he told the people that the last thing
they should do was (tawaaf) around the
house, but he made an exception for
women who were menstruating. Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1755; Muslim, 1328.
Women who
are menstruating or bleeding following
childbirth do not have to do the
farewell tawaaf; neither should they
stand by the door of al-Masjid al-Haraam
to bid farewell, because that was not
narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him).
The last
thing the pilgrim should do when he
wants to leave is to circumambulate
the House. If after the farewell
tawaaf he stays and waits for his
companions or to load his luggage or
to buy something he needs on the way,
there is nothing wrong with that, and
he does not have to repeat the tawaaf,
unless he intends to delay his
journey, such as if he intended to
travel at the beginning of the day and
he did the farewell tawaaf, then he
delays his travelling until the end of
the day, for example; in this case he
has to repeat the tawaaf so that it
will be the last thing he does in
Makkah.
Note:
The
pilgrim who enters ihraam for Hajj or
‘Umrah has to do the following:
1-
He has to adhere to
that which Allaah has enjoined of
religious laws, such as praying on
time in congregation.
2-
He has to avoid all
that Allaah has forbidden of obscene
and immoral speech and sin, because
Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“So
whosoever intends to perform Hajj
therein (by assuming Ihraam), then he
should not have sexual relations (with
his wife), nor commit sin, nor dispute
unjustly during the Hajj”
[al-Baqarah
2:197]
3-
He should avoid
annoying the Muslims with his words or
actions, at the holy sites and
elsewhere.
4-
He should avoid all
things that are forbidden when in
ihraam:
a.
So he should not cut
anything from his hair or nails, but
removing thorns and the like is fine,
even if that results in some bleeding.
b.
He should not apply
perfume after entering ihraam, either
to his body, his clothes, his food or
his drink. He should not wash with
perfumed soap either. But if any
traces of perfume remain from that
which he put on before entering ihraam,
that does not matter.
c.
He should not hunt.
d.
He should not have
intercourse with his wife.
e.
He should not touch her
with desire or kiss her etc.
f.
He should not enter
into a marriage contract for himself
or arrange a marriage for anyone else,
or propose marriage to a woman for
himself or on behalf of another.
g.
He should not wear
gloves, but wrapping one’s hands with
a piece of cloth does not matter.
These
seven prohibitions apply equally to
men and women.
The
following apply only to men:
-
Men should not cover
their heads with something that stays
on the head. Shading their heads with
umbrellas, car roofs and tents, and
carrying mats etc. (on one’s head,
when moving them from one place to
another), is acceptable.
-
They should not wear
shirts, turbans, burnouses, pants or
leather slippers, unless someone
cannot find an izar (waist wrapper),
in which case he may wear pants; and
if he cannot find sandals he may wear
shoes.
-
They should not wear
anything that is akin to the above,
such as abayas, cloaks, hats, t-shirts
and the like.
-
It is permissible for
men to wear sandals, rings, eyeglasses
and hearing aids, and to wear
wristwatches, or to put watches on
strings around their necks, and to
wear money belts.
-
It is permissible for
them to wash with unperfumed soaps,
and to scratch their heads and bodies,
and if any hairs fall unintentionally
as a result, there is no sin on them.
Women
should not wear niqaab, which is what
they use to cover their faces, with
holes cut for the eyes. They should
not wear the burqa’ either.
The Sunnah
is for them to uncover their faces
unless non-mahram men can see them, in
which case they should cover their
faces whilst in ihraam and at other
times.
See
Manaasik al-Hajj wa’l-‘Umrah by
al-Albaani
[available in English as The Rites of
Hajj and ‘Umrah, published by
International Islamic Publishing
House, Riyadh]; Sifat
al-Hajj wa’l-‘Umrah and al-Manhaj
li Mureed al-‘Umrah wa’l-Hajj by
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy
on them all).
