The Prohibitions of Ihram

The Seventh Topic

The Prohibitions of Ihram

Prohibition: prevention and restraint.

The prohibitions of ihram: what is unlawful for the muhrim to do because of ihram.

They are of three categories:

The first category: unlawful for males and females.

The second category: unlawful for males.

The third category: unlawful for females.

Their detail is as follows:

The first category: unlawful for males and females: 1. Removing hair from any part of the body by shaving or otherwise without a valid excuse; as Allah Most High said:

﴿وَلَا تَحۡلِقُواْ رُءُوسَكُمۡ حَتَّىٰ يَبۡلُغَ ٱلۡهَدۡيُ مَحِلَّهُۥۚ﴾ [And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal reaches its place [of slaughter].] (Al-Baqarah 196) and this is explicit for shaving the head; the rest of the body's hair is measured by analogy upon it—the hair of the arms, legs, and others. 2. Clipping the nails, or pulling them out or cutting them; because it is removing part of his body that brings comfort, so it resembles removing hair. There is no difference between the nails of the hands and the feet, but if his nail breaks and he is harmed by it, there is no harm in removing only the harmful part of it, and nothing is upon him. 3. Using perfume after ihram on his garment, his body, his food, his drink, or anything else connected to him; per the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said concerning the dress of the muhrim: “And do not wear of garments anything touched by saffron or wars (a yellow dye).” (1) And from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: A man in ihram was thrown by his she-camel and it broke his neck and killed him. He was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who said: “Wash him and shroud him, do not cover his head, and do not bring perfume near him, for he will be raised reciting the talbiyah.” (2)

◈ Nor is it permissible for the muhrim: to deliberately smell perfume; nor to mix his coffee with saffron that affects the coffee’s taste or smell; nor to mix tea with rose water and the like in which its taste or scent appears. Nor may he use soap, shampoo, or the like if the scent of perfume appears in them, nor perfumed hand sanitizers such as those scented with oud, jasmine, musk, and the like. But if they are free of fragrances, or contain pleasant scents other than perfume such as lemon or mint and the like, there is no harm in using them. As for perfume he applied before his ihram, its remaining after ihram does not harm, because what is forbidden in ihram is initiating perfume, not its continuation—as shown by the saying of ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): “It is as if I see the glistening of perfume in the parting of the Prophet (peace be upon him)’s hair while he was in ihram.” (1) 4. Contracting marriage; per the hadith of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The muhrim neither marries, nor is given in marriage, nor proposes.” (2)

He may not marry a woman, nor contract the marriage for her by guardianship or by agency. Nor may he propose to a woman until he exits his ihram. Nor may a woman be given in marriage while she is in ihram. And a marriage contract made during ihram is defective and invalid, because the prohibition in the hadith denotes forbiddance, which entails invalidity. 5. Fondling for desire—kissing, touching, embracing, or the like; as Allah Most High said: ﴿ٱلۡحَجُّ أَشۡهُرٞ مَّعۡلُومَٰتٞۚ فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ ٱلۡحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي ٱلۡحَجِّۗ﴾ [The Hajj is [during] well-known months; so whoever undertakes Hajj therein—there shall be no intimate relations, nor wickedness, nor quarreling in the Hajj.] (Al-Baqarah 197) and al-rafath: is intercourse, and its preliminaries enter into it—such as kissing, fondling, and caressing for desire.

◈ So it is not lawful for the muhrim: to kiss his wife for desire, or touch her for desire, or fondle her for desire, or caress her for desire. Nor is looking with desire lawful, because he enjoys it like fondling. Nor is it lawful for his wife to enable him to do that while she is in ihram.

6. Intercourse; ﴿فِيهِنَّ ٱلۡحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي ٱلۡحَجِّۗ﴾ […whoever undertakes Hajj therein—there shall be no intimate relations, nor wickedness, nor quarreling in the Hajj.] (Al-Baqarah 197) and al-rafath: is intercourse. ◈ Intercourse is the severest of the ihram prohibitions in its effect on the Hajj, and it has two cases:

The first case: that it occurs before the first tahallul—two things result from it:

a. The obligatory fidyah: a badanah (camel) or a cow, by the consensus of the Companions—what suffices as an udhiyah. He slaughters it and distributes all of it to the poor, eating nothing of it. b. The invalidity of the Hajj in which the intercourse occurred, but it must still be completed, as Allah Most High said: ﴿وَأَتِمُّواْ ٱلۡحَجَّ وَٱلۡعُمۡرَةَ لِلَّهِۚ﴾ [And complete the Hajj and ‘Umrah for Allah.] (Al-Baqarah 196) and he must make it up the following year or at the first opportunity without delay—by the consensus of the Companions and the scholars—even if the Hajj and ‘Umrah were supererogatory.

The second case: that the intercourse occurs after the first tahallul—that is, after two of these three acts: stoning Jamrat al-‘Aqabah, shaving or shortening, and tawaf al-ifadah—then the Hajj is valid, but he owes a fidyah of a sheep, which he slaughters and distributes to the poor, eating nothing of it. And the rite is not invalidated in the rest of the prohibitions.

7. Killing game, and “game” here means: every lawful wild animal that is not tame by nature, such as the gazelle, the rabbit, and the pigeon—as Allah Most High said: ﴿أُحِلَّتۡ لَكُم بَهِيمَةُ ٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ إِلَّا مَا يُتۡلَىٰ عَلَيۡكُمۡ غَيۡرَ مُحِلِّي ٱلصَّيۡدِ وَأَنتُمۡ حُرُمٌۗ﴾ [Lawful to you is the grazing livestock, except what is recited to you—hunting not being lawful for you while you are in ihram.] (Al-Ma’idah 1) and His saying, Most High: ﴿يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَقۡتُلُواْ ٱلصَّيۡدَ وَأَنتُمۡ حُرُمٞۚ﴾ [O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in ihram.] (Al-Ma’idah 95) ◈ So it is not permissible for the muhrim, nor for whoever is inside the Haram of Makkah even if not in ihram: to hunt any lawful wild animal that is not tame by nature. Nor to kill it directly, indirectly, or by assisting in its killing—by pointing, signaling, handing a weapon, or the like—or scaring it away. ◈ As for sea game, it is lawful for the muhrim, He Most High said: ﴿أُحِلَّ لَكُمۡ صَيۡدُ ٱلۡبَحۡرِ وَطَعَامُهُۥ مَتَٰعٗا لَّكُمۡ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِۖ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ صَيۡدُ ٱلۡبَرِّ مَا دُمۡتُمۡ حُرُمٗاۗ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِيٓ إِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُونَ﴾ [Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food as provision for you and for travelers; and forbidden to you is the game of the land as long as you are in ihram. And fear Allah, to Whom you will be gathered.] (Al-Ma’idah 96) And if the muhrim kills game deliberately, its compensation is upon him, together with the obligation to repent of this sin, as Allah Most High said: ﴿يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَقۡتُلُواْ ٱلصَّيۡدَ وَأَنتُمۡ حُرُمٞۚ وَمَن قَتَلَهُۥ مِنكُم مُّتَعَمِّدٗا فَجَزَآءٞ مِّثۡلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ ٱلنَّعَمِ يَحۡكُمُ بِهِۦ ذَوَا عَدۡلٖ مِّنكُمۡ هَدۡيَۢا بَٰلِغَ ٱلۡكَعۡبَةِ أَوۡ كَفَّٰرَةٞ طَعَامُ مَسَٰكِينَ أَوۡ عَدۡلُ ذَٰلِكَ صِيَامٗا لِّيَذُوقَ وَبَالَ أَمۡرِهِۦۗ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَمَّا سَلَفَۚ وَمَنۡ عَادَ فَيَنتَقِمُ ٱللَّهُ مِنۡهُۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٞ ذُو ٱنتِقَامٍ﴾ [O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in ihram. And whoever of you kills it intentionally—the penalty is an equivalent of what he killed from livestock, as judged by two just men among you, an offering delivered to the Ka‘bah; or an expiation: feeding the needy, or the equivalent of that in fasting—that he may taste the consequence of his deed. Allah has pardoned what is past; but whoever returns, Allah will take retribution from him. And Allah is Exalted in Might, Owner of Retribution.] (Al-Ma’idah 95) So if he kills a pigeon: its equivalent is a sheep, as ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas and others ruled; he is given the choice between slaughtering the sheep and distributing it to

the poor as a fidyah for the pigeon; or valuing the sheep and giving its equivalent value in food to the needy—half a sa‘ per needy person; or fasting a day for the feeding of each needy person. ◈ As for cutting the moist trees of the Haram that no human being planted, it is not forbidden for the muhrim because of ihram, since ihram has no effect on it. Rather, it is forbidden for whoever is inside the boundaries of the Haram, whether in ihram or not. On this basis, cutting trees at ‘Arafah is permissible for the muhrim and the non-muhrim, and forbidden in Muzdalifah and Mina for both—because ‘Arafah is outside the boundaries of the Haram, while Muzdalifah and Mina are inside them, just like killing game inside the Haram, which is forbidden for the muhrim and the non-muhrim alike. These seven prohibitions are forbidden for men and women.

Note: The lost property of the Haram is forbidden to take for the muhrim and the non-muhrim, except for one who announces it indefinitely. From ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said on the day of the conquest of Makkah:

“This town Allah has made sacred on the day He created the heavens and the earth; it is sacred by the sanctity of Allah until the Day of Resurrection. Fighting was never lawful in it for anyone before me, and it was only lawful for me for an hour of a day. It is sacred by the sanctity of Allah until the Day of Resurrection: its thorns are not cut, its game is not chased, its lost property is not picked up except by one who announces it, and its grass is not cut.” Al-‘Abbas said: O Messenger of Allah, except al-idhkhir (a fragrant rush), for it is for their smiths’ bellows and their houses. He said: “Except al-idhkhir.” (1) So if anyone in the Haram finds something lost belonging to another, he searches for its owner and hands it to him, or hands it to the lost-and-found offices in the Haram.

The second category: unlawful for males:

Men are singled out for two prohibitions apart from women: 1. Covering the head, as evidenced by the hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, what may the muhrim wear of garments?” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “He shall not wear shirts, nor turbans, nor trousers, nor burnuses, …” (2)—so the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade the muhrim to wear turbans and burnuses because they cover the head. And the hadith of

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: A man in ihram was thrown by his she-camel and it broke his neck and killed him. He was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who said: “Wash him and shroud him, do not cover his head, and do not bring perfume near him, for he will be raised reciting the talbiyah.” (1)—so the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade covering his head because he was in ihram. ◈ So it is not permissible for a man: to cover his head with something adhering, such as a turban, ghutrah, qu‘ (head wrap), taqiyyah (cap), and the like.

As for what does not adhere: such as a tent, an umbrella, a car roof, and the like—there is no harm in it, per the long hadith of Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) “ordered a dome of hair-cloth to be pitched for him at Namirah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) traveled on, and Quraysh had no doubt that he would halt at al-Mash‘ar al-Haram, as Quraysh used to do in the Jahiliyyah, but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went on until he reached ‘Arafah, found the dome pitched for him at Namirah, and dismounted there.” (2) And the hadith of Umm al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: “I performed Hajj with the Messenger of Allah

(peace be upon him) in the Farewell Hajj, and I saw Usamah and Bilal—one of them holding the bridle of the Prophet’s she-camel, and the other raising his garment, shielding him from the heat—until he stoned Jamrat al-‘Aqabah.” (1) ◈ And there is no harm in carrying his belongings on his head even if part of the head is covered, because that is not usually intended as covering the head. Nor is there harm in diving into water even if his head is covered by the water. 2. Wearing tailored clothing, which is clothing fitted to the body and its limbs—whether covering the whole body like the shirt, or part of it like socks and khuffs for the feet and gloves for the hands—per the hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, what may the muhrim wear of garments?” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “He shall not wear shirts, nor turbans, nor trousers, nor burnuses, nor khuffs—except that whoever finds no sandals, let him wear khuffs and cut them below the ankles—and do not wear of garments anything touched by saffron or wars.” (2)

◈ But if he does not find the izar or its price, he wears trousers; and if he does not find the sandals or their price, he wears khuffs and does not cut them, and nothing is upon him— per the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) addressed us at ‘Arafat and said: “Whoever does not find an izar, let him wear trousers; and whoever does not find sandals, let him wear khuffs.” (1) And this hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas at ‘Arafah abrogated the ruling of cutting the khuffs below the ankles. ◈ And there is no harm in wrapping a shirt around his body without wearing it on his body. ◈ And there is no harm in using the ‘aba’ah (cloak) as a wrap, so long as he does not wear it in the usual way—he does not place it on his shoulders. ◈ And there is no harm in fastening a belt over his izar, or wearing a waist-wrap or the like. ◈ And there is no harm in wearing a ring, a wristwatch, eyeglasses, an earpiece, and hanging a water flask and a money pouch around his neck. ◈ And there is no harm in knotting his rida’ when needed—for instance, if he fears it may fall.

◈ And it is permissible for the muhrim: to wear what Allah has made lawful for him of what was not mentioned in the aforementioned hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, nor anything in its meaning—for the Prophet (peace be upon him)’s answering what may not be worn in response to the question about what may be worn is proof that everything besides the mentioned items and their equivalents is permissible for the muhrim to wear.

The third category: unlawful for females:

◈ The muhrim woman is forbidden: wearing the niqab, the burqu‘, and gloves—as reported from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and also reported as his own saying, which is the sounder: “The muhrim woman shall not wear niqab, nor shall she wear gloves.” (1) But if she needs to cover her face when unrelated men pass near her, she lets down the garment or khimar from over her head onto her face—as reported from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: “Riders used to pass by us while we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in ihram; when they drew level with us, one of us would let down her jilbab from her head over her face, and when they passed us we would uncover it.” (2)

And from ‘A’ishah, who said: “The muhrim woman wears of garments whatever she wishes, except a garment touched by wars or saffron; she does not wear a burqu‘ and does not cover her face with a litham, and she lets down the garment over her face if she wishes.” (1) And from Fatimah bint al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on her), who said: “We used to cover our faces while we were in ihram, and we were with Asma’ bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq.” (2) ◈ The woman covers her head and her hair, and she covers her face with other than the niqab in the presence of unrelated men. ◈ And she may wear khuffs and socks, and whatever garments she wishes, by the consensus of the scholars—provided she does not display adornment. ◈ And men and women may change the ihram garments, wash them, and remove them when bathing.