5 – The Book of Pilgrimage (Ḥajj)
Ḥajj is obligatory for every free, adult, sane, and healthy person who is able to afford the provisions and the means of transport, over and above the cost of his dwelling and other necessities, and who can provide for his dependents until the time of his return, so long as the road is safe.
For a woman it is further required that she have with her either a maḥram who accompanies her for the pilgrimage or her husband; she is not permitted to perform ḥajj without one of them if the distance between her and Mecca is three days’ journey and their nights. If a child reaches puberty after entering iḥrām, or a slave is emancipated after doing so, and they proceed on that basis, it does not count as their obligatory Islamic pilgrimage.
Section: Defining the Miqāts
The fixed points that a person may not pass without being in a state of iḥrām are:
– Dhul-Ḥulayfah for the people of Medina;
– Dhāt ʿIrq for the people of Iraq;
– Al-Juhfah for the people of Syria;
– Qarn al-Manāzil for the people of Najd;
– Yalamlam for the people of Yemen.
It is permitted, however, to enter iḥrām before reaching these points.
Whoever lives inside (i.e., closer to Mecca than) the miqāts takes the non-sacred area (al-ḥill) as his miqāt. A resident of Mecca takes the Sacred Precinct (al-ḥaram) as his miqāt for ḥajj and the area outside the Precinct (al-ḥill) as his miqāt for ʿumrah.
When someone intends to enter iḥrām he should bathe or perform wuḍūʾ—bathing is preferable—put on two clean (new or freshly laundered) garments, a waist-wrapper and a mantle, apply perfume if he has any, perform two rakʿahs, and say: “O Allah, I intend the pilgrimage; make it easy for me and accept it from me.” Immediately after the prayer he pronounces the talbiyah.
If he is performing ḥajj on its own (ifrād) he intends ḥajj with his talbiyah, whose wording is: “Labbayka llāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk. ʾInna l-ḥamda wa-n-niʿmata laka wa-l-mulk, lā sharīka lak.” He should leave out none of these words, though adding to them is permissible.
Once he has uttered the talbiyah he has entered iḥrām; he must therefore refrain from whatever Allah has forbidden—sexual talk, disobedience, and arguing. He must not kill game, point it out, or direct others to it. He may not wear a shirt, trousers, turban, cap, or stitched cloak, nor leather socks unless he cannot find sandals, in which case he must cut them below the ankles. He may not cover his head or