Chapter: Performing Hajj with Children

The pilgrimage is not obligatory for any male or female who has not yet reached puberty. Even so, the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—permitted young children to perform the Hajj. In our book al-Tamhīd we have already set out, with ample detail and clarity, the rulings that relate to children’s pilgrimage. Accordingly, it is permissible to take very young boys and girls on Hajj, whether they are still nursing or already weaned. A nursing infant and the like are not stripped for ihram, whereas children who can move about on their own are clothed in the garments of ihram at the miqat. Their guardians form the intention of ihram on their behalf, and the children must avoid everything that is forbidden to adults. There is no harm in delaying the child’s ihram beyond the miqat until one reaches the Sacred Precinct or its vicinity.

If the child can speak, he recites the talbiyah himself; if he cannot speak, he does not