Ihram prohibitions, mistakes and how to make up for them

The prohibitions of ihram

As soon as the pilgrim has made the intention and said the talbiyah, he is in the state of ihram: certain things that are normally permitted become forbidden to him until he leaves ihram. The Quran states the principle: “Whoever has made ḥajj obligatory upon himself therein [by entering the state of iḥrām], there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience and no disputing during ḥajj.”

The following are not forbidden: washing, changing ihram sheets, wearing a watch, glasses, a belt or a bag, sheltering under an umbrella or a tent, being vaccinated or receiving medical treatment, killing harmful creatures (scorpion, snake, rat). Men may wear sandals that leave the top of the foot and the ankles uncovered.

References Quran 2:197; Quran 5:95-96 (hunting); al-Bukhari 1542, Muslim 1177 (Ibn ʿUmar, forbidden garments); al-Bukhari 1838 (face veil and gloves); al-Bukhari 1265, Muslim 1206 (not covering the pilgrim’s head); Muslim 1409 (ʿUthman, marriage); al-Bukhari 1536, Muslim 1180 (Yaʿla ibn Umayyah, the perfumed tunic); al-Bukhari 1829, Muslim 1198 (harmful creatures)

Fidya: three options, at the pilgrim’s choice

Anyone who commits a prohibition out of necessity (illness, cold, injury, lice), or without necessity according to the schools, offers a compensation called fidya. The Quran sets out three forms, to choose from: “Whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice.”

• Fast three days, consecutive or not, anywhere.
• Or feed six poor people, half a saʿ each, that is, about 1 to 1.5 kg of staple food according to estimates.
• Or sacrifice a sheep (or a goat) and distribute its meat to the poor.

Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah, whose head was covered with lice, was given permission by the Prophet ﷺ to shave; he told him: “Fast three days, or feed six poor people, or sacrifice a sheep.” Anyone who commits the prohibition without necessity and knowingly has, in addition, committed a sin, for which he repents. According to the majority of scholars, the food and the meat go to the poor of the sacred territory of Makkah; the Malikis allow them to be given elsewhere.

References Quran 2:196; al-Bukhari 1814, Muslim 1201 (Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah)

Dam: omitting an obligatory act

Hajj comprises pillars (arkan), without which it is not valid, and obligatory acts (wajibat), whose omission can be made up for. Anyone who omits an obligatory act offers a dam: the sacrifice of a sheep, or of a seventh share of a camel or a cow, slaughtered in the sacred territory and distributed to the poor of Makkah. This rule comes from Ibn ʿAbbas: “Whoever forgets any part of his rites or omits it, let him shed blood.”

Anyone who cannot afford a sacrifice fasts ten days, three during Hajj and seven on returning home, by analogy with the tamattuʿ sacrifice, according to the Shafiʿis and Hanbalis; the Malikis hold a similar view; for the Hanafis, the dam remains a debt until he is able to pay it. A forgotten pillar, however, cannot be replaced by a sacrifice: it must be performed.

For Umrah, the pillars are ihram, tawaf and saʿi (the saʿi is obligatory for the Hanafis); shaving or shortening is obligatory, and a pillar for the Shafiʿis. The farewell tawaf is not required after an Umrah according to the majority.

References Malik, al-Muwatta’ 946 (statement of Ibn ʿAbbas on the dam); Quran 2:196 (ten days of fasting)

Marital relations during ihram

Marital relations are the most serious of the prohibitions of ihram. During Hajj, before the first release from ihram (the stoning of the 10th followed by shaving or shortening), they invalidate Hajj according to the majority of scholars: the couple nevertheless complete their rites, perform Hajj again in a later year and offer a sacrifice, according to the views reported from ʿUmar, ʿAli and Abu Hurayrah; it is a camel according to the Shafiʿis and Hanbalis. The Hanafis distinguish: before Arafat, Hajj is invalid and a sheep is enough; after Arafat, Hajj remains valid and a camel is due.

After the first release from ihram and before the tawaf al-ifadah, Hajj remains valid: a sacrifice is due, a sheep according to most schools. During Umrah, relations before the end of the saʿi invalidate it according to the Malikis and Hanbalis (before shaving or shortening according to the Shafiʿis, before the fourth circuit of tawaf according to the Hanafis): it is completed, performed again, and a sheep is sacrificed. These cases are serious: explain your situation to a scholar.

References Quran 2:197; Malik, al-Muwatta’ 862 (views of ʿUmar, ʿAli and Abu Hurayrah)

The most common mistakes

1. Passing the miqat without ihram

   This is the most common mistake when flying. Anyone who realises it goes back to the miqat if he can, before starting his rites: he then has nothing to make up. Otherwise, he enters ihram where he is and offers a dam, according to the majority of scholars. For those flying in from Europe or North Africa, Jeddah lies inside the miqat boundary.

2. Keeping the right shoulder uncovered throughout ihram

   Idtibaʿ is done only during the arrival tawaf or the Umrah tawaf. Outside that tawaf, the shoulder is covered, and it must be covered during prayer.

3. Performing tawaf inside the Hijr of Ismaʿil

   The low semicircular wall to the north of the Kaaba encloses part of the Kaaba: a circuit that passes inside it does not count. You must go round outside the wall.

4. Fighting to touch the Black Stone

   Touching or kissing the Black Stone is a sunnah; pushing and injuring others is forbidden. When the crowd is dense, a gesture of the right hand towards the Stone, saying “Allahu akbar”, is enough: the Prophet ﷺ himself performed tawaf on his mount, pointing to the corner.

5. Touching the other corners, the walls or the Maqam

   The Prophet ﷺ touched only the two Yemeni corners, that is, the corner of the Black Stone and the Yemeni corner, without kissing the latter. Rubbing the walls, the Maqam or the doors is not a rite.

6. Reciting a set supplication for each circuit

   No particular supplication is prescribed for each circuit: everyone prays in their own language, in their own words. Only one supplication is reported between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone: “Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil-akhirati hasanatan wa qina ʿadhaban-nar.”

7. Leaving Arafat before sunset

   Anyone who was at Arafat during the day stays there until sunset, as the Prophet ﷺ did. Leaving earlier requires a dam according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis, unless one returns before sunset; for the Malikis, being present at Arafat for part of the night is a pillar.

8. Not spending the night at Muzdalifah

   The night of the 10th is spent at Muzdalifah; the sunnah is to stay there until after the dawn prayer, as the Prophet ﷺ did. The weak, women and those accompanying them may leave after the moon sets, or after the middle of the night according to the Shafiʿis and Hanbalis. Leaving before that time without an excuse requires a dam according to the majority.

9. Stoning before midday on the days of Tashriq

   On the 10th, only the large pillar is stoned, from the morning. On the 11th, 12th and 13th, the three pillars are stoned after the sun has passed its zenith, in order: the small, the middle, then the large. A stoning done before midday must be repeated according to the majority of scholars.

10. Throwing the seven pebbles at once

    The pebbles are thrown one at a time, saying “Allahu akbar” with each. Seven pebbles thrown together count as only one: six remain to be thrown.

11. Shaving only a few hairs

    For men, shaving or shortening covers the whole head according to the Malikis and Hanbalis, at least a quarter of it according to the Hanafis, and at least three hairs according to the Shafiʿis. It is better to shave or shorten the whole head, as the Prophet ﷺ did. Shaving is more meritorious for men.

12. Performing the farewell tawaf, then staying on in Makkah

    The farewell tawaf is the last act before leaving Makkah. Anyone who then stays for a long time (for something other than loading luggage or buying provisions for the journey) performs it again before leaving.

13. Going on Hajj without a permit

    Hajj without an official permit, on a visit or tourist visa, is forbidden by Saudi Arabia and heavily penalised. The country’s scholars have reiterated that this rule, which protects pilgrims’ lives, must be respected.

References al-Bukhari 1584, Muslim 1333 (ʿA’ishah, the Hijr is part of the House); al-Bukhari 1612 (tawaf on a mount, pointing to the corner); al-Bukhari 1609, Muslim 1267 (Ibn ʿUmar, the two Yemeni corners); Abu Dawud 1892 (the supplication between the two corners); Muslim 1218 (Jabir, the Hajj of the Prophet ﷺ); Muslim 1299 (Jabir, the time of stoning); al-Bukhari 1727, Muslim 1301 (shaving); al-Bukhari 1755, Muslim 1328 (farewell tawaf)