603 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Prophet ﷺ fixed Dhu al-Ḥulayfah as the miqat for the people of Madinah; al-Juhfah for the people of Syria; Qarn al-Manāzil for the people of Najd; and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen. These are their respective points of entry, and likewise for anyone who comes by them from other regions while intending ḥajj or ʿumrah. Whoever resides within these boundaries assumes ihrām from the place where he sets out—even the people of Mecca from Mecca itself.” Agreed upon. (1)
Vocabulary of the ḥadith
• “Waqata” (وَقَّتَ): to determine, designate, or set a limit. The basic sense of tawqīt is to assign something a specific time or boundary; Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said it means “to define.”
• Dhu al-Ḥulayfah: a diminutive of ḥalfāʾ, a type of plant common in the area. It is now known as “Ābār ʿAlī” and lies 13 km from the Prophet’s Mosque and 420 km from Mecca, making it the farthest of the mawāqīt. It is the miqat for the people of Madinah and for anyone who travels by their route.
• Al-Juhfah: formerly a thriving village and caravan station between the two sacred cities, rendered uninhabitable by floods. Pilgrims now assume ihrām at the village of Rābigh, situated 22 miles to its west. On the Hijrah highway from Madinah toward Mecca, the point that aligns with al-Juhfah is about 208 km from Mecca.