14)    Whoever travels to Jeddah without prior intention of performing ‘Umrah or was hesitant about the matter and then, while in the city, decided on doing it, is required to start Ihraam from his current location, because that is where he made the intention. Therefore, he becomes like the inhabitants of Jeddah who start their Ihraam from their city, as it lies between the Meeqaat and Makkah. It was narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas : "The Messenger of Allah made Thul-Hulayfah the Meeqaat for the people of Madeenah; Al-Juhfah for the people of Ash-Shaam; Qarn Al-Manaazil for the people of Najd, and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen. These Mawaaqeet are for people from those very places and for those who come across them with the intention of performing Hajj and ‘Umrah. As for one who lives in a place located between a Meeqaat and Makkah, he should assume Ihraam from his residence; further, the people of Makkah can don Ihraam within Makkah." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

15)    The pilgrim who does one of the actions forbidden in a state of Ihraam, out of forgetfulness or ignorance, is not liable. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {…Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred….} [Quran 2:286] Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “When this verse was revealed, Allah The Almighty Said, 'I Have willed thus.’” [Muslim]

16)    The pilgrim who performs ‘Umrah should be careful to cover his ‘Awrah (body parts that the Sharee’ah decrees must be concealed) properly, as it may be exposed in front of others while he is sitting or sleeping, and he may be unaware. More serious than this is the attitude of some women who sleep in public places, while non-Mahram men can see them clearly.

17)    Ritual purity is a prerequisite for a valid Tawaaf (circumambulation of the Ka’bah), according to the majority of scholars. This is unlike Sa’y, for the person who performs it without ablution, his Sa’y is valid and he is not accountable for anything.

18)    When the Iqaamah (the immediate call to prayer) has been made while one is circumambulating the Ka’bah or when there is a funeral prayer, one should join the prayer and then resume Tawaaf from the point he left it off. Moreover, one must not forget to cover the shoulders while praying, because this is obligatory.

19)    During Tawaaf, if one needs to sit for some time, drink water or move from the ground floor to the higher floor and vice versa, that is all permissible.

20)    If you doubt the number of rounds completed in Tawaaf, you should try to remember the correct number. If you ascertain the accurate amount, proceed accordingly; otherwise, count only what you are confident of having completed, which would be a lesser number. For example, if you doubt whether you have performed three or four rounds, consider having done merely three.

21)    Some pilgrims uncover their right shoulder from the time they begin Ihraam and remain as such until they end either their Hajj or ‘Umrah. This is wrong, however. The correct thing to do is to cover one's shoulders and bare the right one only during the first Tawaaf (Tawaaf Al-Qudoom).

22)    It is an act of Sunnah to perform the two Rak’ahs (units of prayer) of Tawaaf behind the Maqaam (Standing Place) of Ibraaheem (Abraham) . Some pilgrims mistakenly offer this prayer in that exact place, despite the overcrowding, thereby harming those who are circumambulating the Ka’bah. The sound behavior, on the other hand, is that the pilgrim should back away from the area of Tawaaf and make the Maqaam come between him and the Ka’bah. Yet, it would still suffice if he performs these two Rak’ahs at any place in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (the Sacred Mosque).

23)    There are two innovated acts in religion that are common among people in Tawaaf and Sa’y:

The First: Specifying a certain supplication for each round, as we see in some booklets.

The Second: When a group of pilgrims repeat after someone and supplicate in one loud voice.

The pilgrim is required to avoid these acts because these were done neither by the Prophet nor the Companions . Furthermore, it upsets, and causes disturbance to, pilgrims around the Ka’bah.

24)    It is recommended for the pilgrim who performs the Tamattu’ Hajj to start his Ihraam for Hajj on the day of Tarwiyah (the 8th of Thul-Hijjah) from where he is residing at the time. The man is to perform Ghusl (ritual bath for purification), apply perfume to his body, take off tailored clothes and wear the garb of Ihraam [i.e., the upper and lower two sheets and shoes]. On the other hand, the woman does Ghusl, wears whatever she wants of clothes, so long as there is no impermissible exposure of beauty, removes the Niqaab and gloves, and enters into the state of Ihraam. The pilgrims, then, continue repeating the Talbiyah with raised voices till they throw the pebbles at Al-’Aqabah on the day of An-Nahr (sacrifice, i.e., the 10th day of Thul-Hijjah). It is recommended to spend the night in Mina and perform the Thuhr (noon), ‘Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (evening), ‘Ishaa’ (night) prayers, as well as Fajr (dawn) on the day of ‘Arafah [the 9th day of Thul-Hijjah], in shortened form, but without combining any prayers.

25)    When the sun rises on the day of ‘Arafah, the pilgrim moves from Mina to ‘Arafah while repeating the Talbiyah and Takbeer (utterance of the phrase Allahu-Akbar – Allah Is The Greatest), as per what is narrated of the actions of the Companions when they were with the Prophet . It is permissible to repeat both the Talbiyah and Takbeer, without any reservations at all. When the sun declines from the middle of the sky, the pilgrim performs both Thuhr and ‘Asr prayers, combined and shortened, with one Athaan and two Iqaamahs. Before the prayer, the Imam [who leads people in prayer] delivers a Khutbah (sermon) befitting the situation. After prayers, the rest of the time is spent remembering and entreating Allah The Almighty, and supplicating to Him. The pilgrim prays to Him, with raised hands, while facing the Qiblah (direction in which Muslims offer prayers), until sunset, as the Prophet did.

26)    The pilgrim should not squander time heedlessly, in this great situation. He should pray to Allah The Almighty insistently, intensify in supplications and sincerely repent to Him.

Here are Some Texts Indicating the Virtue of the Day of ‘Arafah:

It was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdul-Rahmaan ibn Ya‘mur Ad-Deeli “I was with the Prophet when he was standing on ‘Arafah; some people from Najd approached him and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, how should we perform Hajj?' He replied, 'The Hajj is [to spend the day at] ‘Arafah; so, he who joins other pilgrims at `Arafah before dawn on the night of Muzdalifah will be considered as having performed Hajj.'” [Ahmad, Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah]

Additionally, ‘Aa’ishah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Allah frees far more people from Hell on the Day of ‘Arafah than on any other day; and Allah comes closer [to the earth] on this day and proudly says to the angels, 'What do these people want and seek?’” [Muslim]

27)    When the pilgrim is at ‘Arafah, he should be certain that he is within its boundaries, which is marked by large signboards around the area.

28)    Almost the entire Masjid (mosque) of Namirah falls within ‘Arafah; specifically, the back part is inside, while the front is not part of ‘Arafah.

29)    One of the Sharee’ah violations is to have the belief, as some people do, that the mountain of ‘Arafah has some virtue; hence, they ascend it and vie with each other in this regard. Some of them even face the mountain and keep their backs to the Ka’bah while supplicating to Allah The Almighty.

30)    Some pilgrims hasten and leave ‘Arafah for Muzdalifah, even before sunset. This is wrong; rather, they are required to stay put until Maghrib.

31)    Some people think that the pebbles are to be picked up from their location in Muzdalifah, as soon as they arrive there. This is incorrect and the Prophet did not do it. Rather, it is permissible to pick up the pebbles from any place.

32)    It is prohibited to delay ‘Ishaa’ until after its due time, which, as reported by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas the Prophet said is "Until midnight." [Muslim] If the pilgrim fears that he would miss its time, he can perform both Maghrib and ‘Ishaa’ at any place, even in ‘Arafah.

33)    Some people erroneously think that midnight corresponds to 12:00 am. The correct concept is that it falls at the [passing of] half of the total hours of the night. This can be calculated using the following formula: (total night time hours ÷ 2 + time of sunset = midnight). For example, if the sun sets at 6 and dawn is at 5, midnight will be at 11:30 pm (sum of night hours (11) ÷ 2 + time of sunset (6) = 11:30).

34)    From the most upsetting violations committed by many pilgrims during this night is that they offer Fajr before its due time, when any such prayer is invalid.

35)    The pilgrim is required to ensure that he is within the boundaries of Muzdalifah, which can be gleaned from the large signboards found encompassing the area.

36)    Weak people and women are permitted to move from Muzdalifah to Mina at the end of the night, due to what is reported by Ibn ‘Abbaas who said: “The Messenger of Allah sent me from Jam’ (Muzdalifah), along with his belongings, shortly before the end of the night.” [Muslim] Asmaa’ bint Abu Bakr also used to leave Muzdalifah after the moon had set. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] It is known that this “moonset” occurs during the last third of the night.

37)    What should be done on the Day of An-Nahr (the 10th of Thul-Hijjah):

     a) Throwing pebbles at the Jamrah of Al-’Aqabah.

     b) Slaughtering the sacrificial animal for pilgrims who are performing either Tamattu’ or Qiraan Hajj.

     c) Shaving, which is better, or trimming the hair.

     d) Performing Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah (circumambulation upon returning from Mina).

     e) Performing [a second] Sa’y for the pilgrim who is doing the Tamattu’ Hajj; as for those doing Qiraan and Ifraad, they should also perform Sa’y if they did not do it earlier, with Tawaaf Al-Qudoom.

Points of Caution for Pilgrims - III