The Fourth Topic
The Appointed Times of Hajj and ‘Umrah
The miqats: plural of miqat; originally the time of an act, and also applied to the place of an act.
The miqats are of two types: temporal and spatial.
The temporal miqats: ‘Umrah has no fixed time or season; the whole year is its time, by night or by day, so whenever a Muslim wishes to perform ‘Umrah he may do so if it is possible for him.
As for Hajj, it has appointed times, as Allah mentioned in His Book, glorified be He: ﴿ٱلۡحَجُّ أَشۡهُرٞ مَّعۡلُومَٰتٞۚ فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ ٱلۡحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي ٱلۡحَجِّۗ﴾ [The Hajj is [during] well-known months. So whoever obligates Hajj upon himself therein—there shall be no intimate relations, nor wickedness, nor quarreling in the Hajj.] (Al-Baqarah 197) And it is established from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: the months of Hajj are Shawwal, Dhul-Qa‘dah, and ten of Dhul-Hijjah. (1) Hajj does not take effect outside its appointed times: if a Muslim enters ihram for Hajj in the month of Ramadan, it does not take effect as Hajj because it is outside its appointed time—it becomes ‘Umrah. Nor is ihram for Hajj contracted after dawn breaks on the Day of Sacrifice.
Source footnotes · page 24
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, who asserted it in his Sahih (1/481); its chain was connected by Sa‘id ibn Mansur (3/787) and others. Ibn Kathir authenticated it in his Tafsir (1/542), and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (3/420).
The spatial miqats: the places from which the Sharia has specified that ihram be entered. There are five miqats, which the Prophet (peace be upon him) designated. From ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) designated Dhu’l-Hulayfah for the people of Madinah, al-Juhfah for the people of al-Sham, Qarn al-Manazil for Najd, and Yalamlam for Yemen. They are for their residents and for whoever passes through them, other than their residents, intending Hajj and ‘Umrah. Whoever is nearer than them, his starting point is where he is, and likewise the people of Makkah enter ihram from it.” (1) And from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) designated Dhat ‘Irq for the people of Iraq. (2) And from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: When these two garrison towns [meaning Kufa and Basra in Iraq] were conquered, they came to ‘Umar, the Commander
Source footnotes · page 25
(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari (1526) and Muslim (1181).
(2) Narrated by Abu Dawud (1739) and al-Nasa’i (2653).
of the Faithful, saying: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) designated Qarn for the people of Najd, but it is out of our way, and if we were to make for Qarn it would be difficult for us.” He said: “Then look for what is opposite it on your route”—and he designated Dhat ‘Irq for them. (1)
The scholars have reached consensus on these five miqats, which are as follows:
The first miqat: Dhu’l-Hulayfah: It is called Abyar ‘Ali; it is the miqat of the people of Madinah and of whoever passes through it besides them. It is the farthest miqat from Makkah—435 km to the north. (2)
The second miqat: al-Juhfah: It is the miqat of the people of al-Sham and of whoever passes through it besides them; it is 167 km from Makkah, to the northwest.
Source footnotes · page 26
(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari (1531).
(2) For the specification of the distances between the miqats and Makkah al-Mukarramah, see: Dr. Badr al-Din Yusuf Muhammad Ahmad (Mawaqit al-Hajj al-Makaniyyah: Dirasah fi al-Jughrafiya wa-Mafhum al-Muhadhah).
The third miqat: Qarn al-Manazil: It is called al-Sayl al-Kabir; it is the miqat of the people of Najd and of whoever passes through it besides them. It is the closest miqat to Makkah—75 km to the east. Level with it is the miqat of Wadi Muharram, at the top of Wadi Qarn al-Manazil, in al-Hada—67 km from Makkah.
The fourth miqat: Yalamlam: It is called al-Sa‘diyyah; it is the miqat of the people of Yemen and of whoever passes through it besides them—100 km from Makkah, to the south.
The fifth miqat: Dhat ‘Irq: It is now called al-Daribah; it is the miqat of the people of Iraq and of whoever passes through it besides them—100 km from Makkah, to the northeast. Whoever’s route is other than the route of these miqats, to the right or to the left of them, enters ihram when he reaches level with the miqat nearest to him.
The miqat of whoever lives nearer to Makkah than these miqats: His miqat is the place where he is—he enters ihram from it and does not pass beyond it, such as the residents of Jeddah, Bahrah, and al-Shara’i‘ in the non-sacred area. The miqat of the people of Makkah for Hajj is Makkah itself—they enter ihram from their homes. As for ‘Umrah, whoever is inside the Haram enters ihram from the non-sacred area: he goes out of the Haram to the Hill and enters ihram from it—as shown by the command of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), while she was in Makkah, to enter ihram for ‘Umrah from outside the Haram, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) called ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said: “Take your sister out of the Haram and let her enter ihram for an ‘Umrah, then finish, then come to me here—for I shall be watching for you until you come.” (1) It is not permissible for whoever passes these miqats intending Hajj or ‘Umrah to go beyond them except in the state of ihram.
A note for air travelers: If he is on the aircraft intending Hajj or ‘Umrah, he must enter ihram upon passing level with the miqat above it, so he prepares himself and puts on the ihram garments before reaching the miqat;
Source footnotes · page 28
(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari (1560) and Muslim (1211).
then, the moment he passes it, he forms the intention of ihram immediately. He may also form the intention of ihram before reaching the miqat if he fears missing it by falling asleep or by the aircraft crew failing to alert him. It is not permissible for him to delay it deliberately until landing at Jeddah airport, because that is disobedience to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)—it is forbidden and not allowed. Whoever passes beyond these miqats intending Hajj or ‘Umrah must return to them and enter ihram from them. Whoever enters ihram after passing them—whether on the road or in Makkah—is disobedient to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), transgressing the limits of Allah, glorified be He. Allah Most High said: ﴿وَمَن يَعۡصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلَٰلٗا مُّبِينٗا﴾ […and whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into manifest error.] (Al-Ahzab 36) and He, glorified be He, said: ﴿وَمَن يَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَ ٱللَّهِ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ﴾ […and whoever transgresses the limits of Allah—those are the wrongdoers.] (Al-Baqarah 229) and he owes a dam (a sacrificial animal): the slaughter of a sheep in Makkah, distributed to the poor of the Haram, together with repentance, seeking forgiveness, remorse, and resolve never to return to that forbidden act.