How To Know The Religion of Truth (8/9)

After assuming the Ihram:

1. It is forbidden for a Muslim to cohabit with his wife, kiss, or touch her lustfully. During the Ihram period a pilgrim is also not allowed to marry or propose to a lady.

2. It is also forbidden for a Muslim to remove or trim his hair from any part of the body.

3. Similarly, paring the nails of hands and toes is also forbidden.

4. A man in Ihram should not cover his head, but it is permissible for him to be shaded by an umbrella or sit in the shadow of a tent.

5. During the Ihram one is not allowed to apply perfume to his body or garments or even to smell it.

6. It is forbidden during the Ihram to kill animals of game or to help others to do so.

7. A male pilgrim is not allowed to wear tailored clothes during the period of Ihram; instead of shoes he can use sandals. Women should not wear seamed veils on their faces.

As soon as the pilgrim arrives at the Kaaba, The Holy House of Allah, he circumambulates it seven times for the “Tawaf Al-Qodoum”, circumambulation of arrival. He starts the Tawaf from near the black stone. That is his Umrah Tawaf; the pilgrim can invoke Allah by whatever prayers he likes. After terminating the seven rounds of Tawaf he moves to the station of Ibrahim, where or somewhere in the vicinity, he performs a two-rakaat prayer of the Tawaf.

A pilgrim proceeds after that for "Sa’ee". He starts by mounting the eminence Al-Safa and faces the Qibla saying “Allahu Akbar, la ilah'a illa Allah,” and invokes Allah by whatever prayers he likes. Then, he walks to the eminence of Al-Marwa, mounts it, faces the Qibla, saying Allahu Akbar, invokes Allah, then returns to the eminence of Al-Safa, then repeats this walking from Safa to Marwa and vice versa, till he completes seven rounds at Al Marwa.

A pilgrim, who performs pilgrimage by Tamattu, gets his hair shaven or trimmed after completing his "Sa’ee".

For women, it is enough to trim a small part of their hair as long as a finger-tip. In this way the pilgrim completes his Umrah, discards his Ihram and is free to lead a normal life in all respects.

If a woman menstruates or gives birth before or after her Ihram, she becomes Qarinah and performs Hajj by Qiran.

Therefore, she should intend to perform Hajj and Umrah combined in one Ihram. Menstruation and confinement do not forbid a woman from doing any of the acts of Hajj except the circumambulation of the Holy House which she should postpone until she becomes clean.

If she gets clean before people assume their Ihram, she takes a cleansing bath, joins them when they assume their Ihram, and performs with them the rituals of Hajj. But if her cleansing from menses occurs at a later time, following her assuming Ihram, she combines Hajj and Umrah in one Ihram, performs all the rituals of Hajj, including staying in Mina, standing in Arafat, going to Muzdalifah, pelting, offering the sacrifice and trimming her hair on feast-day, but she cannot circumambulate the Holy House till she is clean. When she gets clean, she takes a cleansing bath and performs circumambulation round the Kaaba and "Sa’ee", hence, fulfilling both Hajj and Umrah. This was the method adopted by the mother of believers, Aisha according to the directions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet affirmed by his deeds any sayings that the Qarin combines Hajj and Umrah and fulfils them both by performing one circumambulation and one "Sa’ee". The Prophet himself performed Hajj in accordance with this manner and said that “Umrah is included in Hajj till Doomsday”.

On the 8th day of Zul-Hija, the pilgrims assume Ihram from their settlements in Makkah in the same manner they had done before at the miqat. A pilgrim, whether a man or a woman, intends to perform Hajj by saying “Here I am My Lord, I intend to perform Hajj.”

A pilgrim refrains himself from practicing any of the actions forbidden during the Ihram period in the same way as explained before. Then he proceeds with other pilgrims to Mina to pass the night there. A pilgrim should perform his prayers there in time. He is permitted to shorten his prayers but not to combine one of them with the other. On the morning of Arafat (the 9th of Zul-Hij a), the pilgrims go to Namira mosque to perform in congregation the Zuhr (noon) and Asr (afternoon) Prayers combined together. By noon, they proceed to Arafat to stay there till sunset praying, supplicating Allah and asking Him for forgiveness. The pilgrim can stand at any place in the valley of Arafat because the whole of Arafat is reserved for wuquf (standing). He should turn his face while praying and supplicating towards the Qibla and not towards the mount of Arafat. The pilgrim should be aware that climbing the mount is not a ritual service, and that wiping oneself with its stones is a heretical deed.

After sunset, the pilgrims proceed to Muzdalifah where they perform Maghrib (evening) and Isha (night) prayers combined together, and shortening only Isha prayer. They spend the night there, and next day they perform the Fajr (morning) prayer at dawn and leave to Mina before sunrise. When they arrive there, they pelt “Jamrat Al-Akabba” by seven pebbles, each one of which should not be larger than a chickpea. One should observe strictly the guidance and orders of the Prophet to overcome the allurement of the Satan and avoid such devious actions as pelting the “Jamra” by shoes and any other action which is not in accordance with the commandments of Allah or the traditions of the Prophet.

After pelting Jamrat Al-Aqaba, the pilgrim offers his sacrifice, then shaves or shortens his hair (but it is better to have it shaven rather than having it shortened). Women slightly trim off parts of their hair.

After that, the pilgrim can discard Ihram and perform all the acts which were forbidden during the Ihram period except sexual intercourse. Then the pilgrim heads for Makkah, performs Tawaf Al-Ifadah, and the Sa’ee, hence, discarding Ihram completely and he is then allowed to perform all the acts that were forbidden during the Ihram period with no exception.

The pilgrim returns to Mina, to stay there for three successive days (the Feast Day and the following two days). He spends the nights of these days at Mina and at every noon or mid-day he pelts the three Jamarat (on the 11th and 12th of Zul-Hija). He starts by pelting Al-Jamarat-al-Sugrah (The small Jamara), then Al-Jamarat al-Wusta (The medium Jamara) and finally Jamarat Al-Akaba, which he had pelted before on the morning of the Feast Day. Each one of these Jamarat is pelted by seven pebbles. The pilgrim has the choice after that, either to leave Mina on the 12th of ZulHija or stay there till next day. It is better to stay till next day and perform a pelting at noon. The final thing that a pilgrim should do before leaving Makkah, is to perform Tawaf Al-Wadaa' (Tawaf of Departure). However, a woman in a state of menstruation or childbed is allowed to leave Makkah without performing Tawaf AI-Wadaa’.

Offering the sacrifice can be done also on 11th, 12th or 13th of Zul-Hija, and Tawaf-al-ifada can also be postponed till the pilgrim leaves Mina, but it is better to perform the rituals in accordance with the order and times which are mentioned above.