Before Entering the State of Iḥrām
-
It is recommended for anyone who has resolved to perform Hajj or a standalone ʿumrah to perform a ritual bath (ghusl) for iḥrām, even a woman who is menstruating or experiencing post-partum bleeding.
-
After that, a man may put on any garments that have not been tailored to the contours of the body—what the jurists call “unstitched” clothing. Thus he wears the izār (lower wrap) and the ridāʾ (upper cloak) or the like, along with two sandals, meaning any footwear that protects the feet without covering the ankles.
-
He must not wear a skull-cap (qalansuwa), a turban, or anything else that sits directly on the head. This applies to men.
As for women, they do not remove any of their prescribed clothing, but they must not fasten a face-veil (niqāb)⦗1⦘, burqaʿ, lithām, or scarf tightly over the face, nor may they wear gloves⦗2⦘. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The person in iḥrām must not wear a shirt, a turban, a burnous, trousers, a garment that has been dyed with safflower or saffron, nor the leather socks (khuffayn) unless—”