It is understood from his words that entering ihram for Hajj from outside the Sacred Precinct is not valid. Thus, the Sacred Precinct is the miqat for those in Mecca undertaking Hajj, while the area outside the Sacred Precinct is the miqat for those in Mecca undertaking Umrah.

Just as it is not permissible to enter ihram for Umrah from within the Sacred Precinct, likewise it is not permissible to enter ihram for Hajj from outside it. This is one of the views on the issue.

It was also said that one in Mecca may enter ihram for Hajj from outside the Sacred Precinct. Accordingly, if a person is staying in Mecca and enters ihram from Arafah, it is valid. This is the well-known position of the madhhab, whereas the author here has adopted a view contrary to the madhhab.

The stronger view is that one should not leave the Sacred Precinct, but should enter ihram from within it. However, if he enters ihram from outside the Sacred Precinct, there is no harm, because he will enter the Sacred Precinct.

His statement, “and he spends the night at Mina,” means that he spends the night of the ninth at Mina. Accordingly, he performs Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha, and Fajr all at Mina, shortening the four-unit prayers but not combining them, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not combine prayers at Mina; rather, he combined them at Arafah and Muzdalifah.

Question: Is this ruling—shortening and combining prayers—specific to pilgrims from outside Mecca, or does it apply to them as well as to the people of Mecca?

According to the madhhab, the people of Mecca neither shorten nor combine their prayers, because they are not travelers. Travel is defined as a distance reaching sixteen farsakhs, which is approximately eighty-three kilometres, and it is known that Arafah is not eighty-three kilometres away. They therefore say that it is not permissible for the people of Mecca to combine prayers at Muzdalifah or Arafah, nor to shorten them at Mina.