After assuming Ihraam in the plane, I was prevented from entering the sacred lands as I did not have my visa because the officials in the travel agency responsible for the ‘Umrah services forgot my passport. What shall I do?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

If the questioner assumed Ihraam for a ‘Umrah and it later appeared that he did not have a visa and the authorities prevented him from entering Al-Haram, then the ruling of prevention applies. The majority of scholars view that if one is prevented by a disbelieving enemy, a Muslim, an authority or the like, he may disengage from Ihraam and he is liable to slaughter a sacrificial animal as Allaah Almighty says (what means): {But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals.} [Quran 2: 196]

That is also because when the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and his companions were prevented in Al-Hudaybiyah, he ordered them to slaughter, shave and disengage from Ihraam.

The sacrificial animal is a sheep or one seventh of a camel.

He should not disengage from Ihraam until the sacrificial animal is slaughtered. If he does not find a sacrificial animal, he should fast for ten days. He does not have to make up for this ‘Umrah because the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not command his companions who were prevented with him in the ‘Umrah of Al-Hudaybiyah to make up for it.

His ‘Umrah in the following year was called the ‘Umrah of Qadhaa’ or Qadhiyyah  because the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sued Quraysh concerning it and agreed with them that that he would go back that year, leaving the Sacred House, and head to it the next year.

Allaah Knows best.