The Hajj (Part 4)

بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.



Ways of Performing the Hajj

It is permissible to enter ihram with the intention for any
of four ways of performing the hajj, which are, in order
of superiority :

(1)  hajj before 'umra (ifrad) ;

(2) 'umra first (tamattu') ;

(3) hajj and 'umra simultaneously (qiran) ;

(4)  and the unconditional intention to 
 perform hajj and 'umra (itlaq).

Hajj before 'Umra (Ifrad)

Hajj before 'umra (ifrad) means to perform hajj (i.e. enter ihram for
hajj) first (before subsequently entering ihram for 'umra) at the ihram
site for people from one's country then (after having completed one's
hajj) to go outside the Sacred Precinct (Haram) and enter ihram for
'umra. (There is no special place for the second ihram : if one went
to the closest place outside of the Haram, it would suffice for this
ihram of 'umra.) (people generally go to the Masjids of 'A'isha ( رضى الله عنها )
at al-Tan'im because it is close.)

'Umra first (Tamattu')

'Umra first (tamattu') (perhaps the easiest and most practical way to
perform hajj in our times, since one does not have to remain in a state
of ihram throughout the week or more that one is generally there
between the initial 'umra and subsequent hajj) means to perform the
'umra first (before the hajj) by :

(a)  entering ihram for it from the ihram site for people of
one's own country;

(b)  during the hajj months;

(c)  and then (after finishing the 'umra) performing hajj within the
same year from Makkah (meaning to intend hajj from Makkah
(by entering ihram there), if one wants to have slaughter (in exp-
iation), which relieves one of the necessity to return to the ihram
site of people of one's country, though if one returns to that site
to enter ihram for hajj, then one is no longer obliged to slaughter
and one's ihram is valid).

It is recommended to enter ihram for hajj on 8 Dhul Hijja if one is
performing Tamattu' and has an animal to slaughter. But if one does
not have an animal, (one enters ihram) on 6 Dhul Hijja (so that one's
(three-day expiatory) fast ( in place of  slaughtering ) takes place
before standing at 'Arafa (since in the Shafi'i school, being in ihram
for hajj is obligatory during these three days of fasting,

though for the Hanafi school, these days may be fasted before
entering ihram for hajj, after one's 'umra),

thus fasting on the 6th, 7th,and 8th, and not on the Day of 'Arafa is
mandatory because of the previous inability. If one does not fast it,
it is a sin and the delayed fast-day is a makeup, as its obligatory time
is before the Day of 'Arafa).

One enters ihram for hajj in Makkah from the door of one's lodgings.
Then one proceeds in a state of ihram to al-Masjid al-Haram as a
Mak'kan would ( to perform a farewell circumambulation (tawaf al-
wada',) of the Kaaba, which is desirable (mustahabb) for non-Mak'kans
who are leaving Makkah to go to 'Arafa. For Mak'kans, tawaf al-wada'
is obligatory when leaving Makkah, even for a short distance).

Hajj and 'Umra simultaneously (Qiran)

Hajj and 'Umra simultaneously (qiran) means to enter ihram intending
both (hajj and 'umra) at the ihram site for people of one's country, and
then perform only the rites of hajj. (Such that one does not perform an
additionaltawaf or a second going between Safa and Marwa, but rather
once is sufficient to fulfill the obligation of both hajj and 'umra, because
the actions of the 'umra have been incorporated into the actions of the
hajj.


 Extracts from
Ahmad ibn Naqib al- Misri
Reliance of the Traveller
Tran .. Nuh Ha mim Keller