Hajj the Duties and Rulings

The Practices of Umrah of Tamattu'

**1. IHRAAM ** IHRAAM is the first of the practices of Umrah of TAMMATU'.

Definition: IHRAAM is to declare that one denies him/herself most of the pleasures of life ranging from wearing sawn cloths and engaging in sexual acts to wearing perfume and looking into the mirror.

In the state of IHRAAM one must also refrain from a number of conducts as will be outlined later. The process of IHRAAM involves the wearing of two pieces of cloths, as detailed later.

Note: It is forbidden and HARAM for any visitor to enter the Holy City of Makkah without IHRAAM.

A visitor must always declare IHRAAM, from a prescribed location - MIQAAT, prior to entering the Holy City of Makkah, and therefore must be in the status of IHRAAM, i.e. MUHRIM, when entering the City.

TIME

The IHRAAM can only be declared during the months of the Hajj, which are SHAWWAL, DHIL-QUA'DAH, and DHIL-HAJJAH.

MIQAAT

MIQAAT is the Venue where one makes his/her declaration of IHRAAM and therefore assumes the status of IHRAAM - referred to as MUHRIM. [The MIQAAT that one must go to depends on one's direction of approaching the Holy City of Makkah.]

The MIQAAT is one of the following:

MASJID AL-SHAJARAH, or the Tree Mosque, which is the MIQAAT for the people of (or coming from the direction of) the Holy City of Medina.
WAADI AL-AQEEQ, which is the MIQAAT for those who come from the direction Iraq.
QERN EL-MANAZEL, which is the MIQAAT of those come via the city of Ta'ef.
YALAMLAM, which is the MIQAAT for those who come via the Yemen.
AL-JUHFAH, which is the MIQAAT of those who from Egypt or SHAAM.

The HAAJJ (pilgrim), who flies into Jeddah and wants to go to the Holy City of Makkah, may declare the IHRAAM form Jeddah provided s/he has previously vowed, NADHR, to do so. S/he must say: "It is Allah's covenant upon me to declare IHRAAM from Jeddah."

However, to declare IHRAAM in the aircraft while it is flying in the vicinity of a MIQAAT is not normally achievable.

It is obligatory for anyone who passes through one of the MIQAATS to declare IHRAAM from that MIQAAT.One may also declare IHRAAM before arriving at the MIQAAT through vowing, or NADHR.

The Mandatory Steps of the IHRAAM

The mandatory steps of the IHRAAM are:

To state the intention that "I declare the IHRAAM for the Umrah of TAMATTU' seeking nearness to Allah Almighty".

IHRAAM is to deny oneself a number of things, the details of which will be given later in this discourse.

The TALBEYAH, which is Compliance, Fulfilment, or carrying out the orders of Allah Almighty. This takes the form of reciting the four phrases of TALBEYAH as follows:

LABBAYK ALLAHUMMA LABBAYK.

LABBAYKA LAA 1. The intention, NEYYAH.

I heed to your call O Lord, I heed.

I heed that (O You) You SHAREEKA LAKA LABBAYK.

IN NAL-HAMDA, WAN NE'MATA, LAKA WAL MULK. LAA SHAREEKA LAKA LABBAYK.

have no partner, I heed.

Truly, All the Praise, And the Bliss, Are Yours and the Sovereignty too. There is no partner of Yours, I heed.

To wear the IHRAAM clothing. The IHRAAM 'garment' consists of two pieces of cloths; one is fastened around the waist to cover the lower half of the body and the other over the shoulders to cover the upper part of the body. This is compulsory for men and for women (to be on the IHTEYAAT, safe side).

The clothing must clean (TAHIR), they may not be made from silk, or from Haram-meat animal skin, and they should not be so thin that the body may be seen through.

The Things And Conducts One Must Refrain From During IHRAAM The MUHRIM, i.e. the one who is in the state of IHRAAM, must refrain from 24 issues:

Hunting on the land, whether one participates or assists in it, or to slaughter the prey, or eat from it. The exception is when one kills a wild animal in self- defence.
Approaching one's spouse, whether for sexual intercourse, fondling, kissing, touching, or even looking at them with lust.
Performing marriage contract, whether for oneself or for someone else. Also taking part in or witnessing the marriage contract.