~ File Of Hajj ~

[~ الجهاد ~]

Meeqaats for ‘Umrah and Hajj

The word meeqaat may refer to time or place.

1 – The meeqats in the sense of time:

The appointed time for Hajj is from the beginning of Shawwaal until dawn on the tenth day of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months (i.e. the 10th month, the 11th month and the first ten days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, i.e. two months and ten days). 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]

The time for ‘Umrah is throughout the year, and the pilgrim who is performing ‘Umrah may enter ihraam for it at whatever time he wants; there is no specific time for entering ihraam for ‘Umrah. So he may do ‘Umrah in Sha’baan, or Ramadaan, or Shawwaal, or any other month.

2 – The meeqaats in the sense of place

There are five meeqaats, as defined by the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) defined the meeqaat of the people of Madeenah as Dhu’l-Hulayfah; that of the people of Shaam (Syria) as al-Jahfah; that of the people of Najd as Qarn al-Manaazil; and that of the people of Yemen as Yalamlam. And these meeqaats are for the people at those very places, and besides them for those who come through those places with the intention of performing Hajj and 'Umrah; and whoever is living within these boundaries can enter ihraam from the place he starts and the people of Makkah can enter ihraam from Makkah. Agreed upon.

It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) defined the meeqaat of the people of Iraq as Dhaat ‘Irq. Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i.

The one who passes these meeqaats must enter ihraam from that point, and it is haraam for him to pass it without entering ihraam if he is heading for Makkah with the intention of doing Hajj or ‘Umrah, whether he passes it by land, sea or air. What is prescribed for the one who is heading to Makkah by air with the intention of doing Hajj or ‘Umrah is to prepare for that by doing ghusl etc. before he boards the plane, then when he gets near to the meeqaat he should put on the izaar and rida’ (lower and upper ihraam garments) then recite Talbiyah as he wishes for Hajj or ‘Umrah. If he puts on the izaar and rida’ before boarding the plane or before it gets near to the meeqaat, there is nothing wrong with that, but he should not form the intention to enter ihraam or recite the Talbiyah until he is in line with the meeqaat or has drawn close to it, because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) only entered ihraam from the meeqaat.

But if he lives within the boundary of the meeqaats, such as those who live in Jeddah, Bahrah, al-Sharaa’i’ etc, then his home is his meeqaat and he should enter ihraam from it for whatever he wants to do, Hajj or ‘Umrah. As for the people of Makkah, they may enter ihraam for Hajj alone from Makkah, but the one who wants to enter ihraam for ‘umrah or Hajj but he already passed the meeqaat without entering ihraam, must go back and enter ihraam from the meeqaat. If he does not do that then he must offer a sacrifice, because Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Whoever forgets or omits any part of the rituals (of Hajj) must offer a sacrifice.

But if a person is coming to Makkah but does not intend to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah, rather he is coming for business or to visit his relatives, etc, then he does not have to enter ihraam unless he wants to, because when the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) defined the meeqaats, he said “they are for the people at those very places, and besides them for those who come through those places with the intention of performing Hajj and 'Umrah”. What this means is that whoever passes through the meeqaats not intending to do Hajj or ‘Umrah does not have to enter ihraam. That is also indicated by the fact that when the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered Makkah at the time of the conquest, he did not enter it in ihraam, rather he entered it with a helmet on his head, because he did not intend to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah at that time, rather his intention was to conquer it and remove all traces of shirk from it.

There follows a de************************************ion of the meeqaats in detail:

1 – Dhu’l-Hulayfah, which nowadays is called Abaar ‘Ali. It is the furthest of the meeqaats from Makkah, as there are 450 km between it and Makkah. It is the meeqaat for the people of Madeenah and is about 8 km from the city. As well as being the meeqaat for the people of Madeenah, it is also the meeqaat for everyone else who comes to it such as all the pilgrims who come to visit the Prophet’s Mosque.

2 – al-Juhfah is the meeqaat for the people of Syria, Egypt and all regions of al-Maghreb al-‘Arabi (North Africa), as well as regions beyond that. It is 183 km from Makkah. This town has disappeared and people nowadays enter ihraam from Raabigh which is nearby.

3 – Qarn al-Manaazil is the meeqaat for the people of Najd. Nowadays it is called al-Sayl al-Kabeer, and is 75 km from Makkah.

4 – Yalamlam is the meeqaat for the people of Yemen. People nowadays enter ihraam from al-Sa’diyyah which is 92 km from Makkah.

5 – Dhaat ‘Irq is the meeqaat for the people of Iraq and from all parts of the East. It is 94 km from Makkah.

6 – The meeqaat of those who live closer to Makkah than these meeqaats is where they enter ihraam, so they enter ihraam from there, because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “and whoever is living within these boundaries can enter ihraam from the place he starts.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari.

7 – The meeqaat for the people of Makkah is their houses or al-Masjid al-Haraam, if they wish, except for ‘Umrah, for which they have to go outside of the sanctuary and enter ihraam from there, as ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) did on the instructions of the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Areas that are outside the sanctuary include al-Tan’eem and ‘Arafah.