O people! These are the days in which you are setting about
traveling towards the Sacred Mosque, seeking the atonement of your sins,
attainment of the Home of Peace (i.e., Paradise) and immediate reward as a
compensation for the money you have spent in this cause.
O Muslims! You are heading for the House of your Lord and the
blessed places that He has sanctified, in order to perform one of the best
kinds of worship. You have not traveled for fun or out of pride or showing off,
rather intending an act of devotion with which you seek the pleasure of your
Lord, submitting your souls to His Majesty. You should therefore observe this
obligation according to the commandments of your Lord, without excessiveness or
negligence, maintaining other obligations as well, such as Wudhoo’ or Ghusl
(for purification), Salaah (prayer), etc.
When you set off for Hajj or ‘Umrah
Packages 2014 (minor pilgrimage), you should hold the conviction
that your sole aim is to observe one of the most sacred acts of reverence;
during your journey, bind yourself to conform to other obligations such as
purification and congregational Salaah, for many people neglect the principles
of purification and perform Tayammum (dry ablution with dust) despite the
availability of water, in which case the Tayammum becomes invalid. Some people
may disregard the congregational Salaah, busying themselves with things that
they can carry out after performing prayer. You should shorten the fournormal”>Rak’ah
(units of) prayers, performing two only, right from your departure from your
town until you return to it. However, if you perform Salaah behind an Imaam who
completes the Salaah (i.e., makes the entire Salaah), you should complete your
Salaah likewise, whether you attended it from the beginning or if you missed
any number of Rak’ahs. As for combining prayers, according to the Prophet’s
sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam actions, a traveler should not combine prayers
unless in the course of journeying. With regards for one who settles in a
place, it is preferable for him not to combine them. Concerning Rawaatib
(supererogatory prayers performed before and after the obligatory prayers), it
is preferable not to perform them during travel, except the two Rak’ahs of
Fajr. As for the Witr (a supererogatory prayer that consists of an odd number
of Rak’ahs, the minimum of which is one Rak’ah) and other kinds of optional voluntary
prayers, they are to be similarly performed in residence as well as in journey.
You must possess good manners – being kind, generous, cheerful,
patient and forbearing. Indeed, circumstances are ever-changing and patience
always has a good result.
Once you reach the Meeqaat (the location that a pilgrim should
not go beyond without entering into the state of Ihraam), you should take a
bath and scent your bodies, including your heads and beards. You should then
assume Ihraam for ‘Umrah Packages 2014 intending Tamattu’
(type of Hajj, i.e., performing ‘Umrah Packages 2014 then waiting until
the commencement of Hajj days, to perform Hajj) and proceed to Makkah while
uttering the Talbiyah (saying: ‘Labbayka Allaahumma Labbayk, Labbayka Laa
Shareeka Laka Labbayk, Innal-hamda Wan-ni’mata Laka Wal-mulk, Laa Shareeka Lak’
– ‘I re spond to Your call, O Allaah, I respond to Your call; I am obedient to
Your orders and You have no partner, I respond to Your call; all the praises
and blessings are for You, all the sovereignty is for You and You have no
partners.’) When you reach the Ka’bah, you should make seven rounds of Tawaaf
(circumambulation) around it for ‘Umrah Packages 2014. You must know that
the entire Sacred Mosque is a place for Tawaaf, no matter if you are close to
the Ka’bah or far away from it. However, Tawaaf close to it is preferable, so
long as the pilgrim is not harmed by the crowds. If there are throngs of
pilgrims, one may do it from afar and this will suffice. After making Tawaaf,
you should offer two Rak’ahs behind Maqaam Ibraaheem (station of Prophet
Ibraaheem, where a stone with his footprints lie) either near the Ka’bah or far
from it. The most important thing is that the Maqaam Ibraaheem must be between
you and the Ka’bah. You should then make Sa’i (pacing seven times between Safa
and Marwah) beginning from Safa. When you finish the seven rounds, you should
shorten the hair of your head, cutting it from your entire scalps, contrary to
what is done by many people now, who cut hair from only one part.
On the eighth of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, you should take a
bath and perfume your bodies in preparation for Ihraam for Hajj. You should
assume Ihraam right from the place where you are staying, then you should go to
Mina, where you are supposed to perform the Dhuhr (noon), ‘Asr (afternoon),
Maghrib (sunset), ‘Ishaa’ (night) and Fajr (morning) prayers, shortening the
four Rak’ah ones without combining them. This is based on the conduct of the
Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam who used to do the same in Mina and
Makkah.
Upon the crack of dawn on the Day of ‘Arafah, you should march
to ‘Arafah, pronouncing Talbiyah solemnly with submissiveness. When you reach
there, you should combine the Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayers, performing each as two
Rak’ahs at the time of Dhuhr. You should then devote yourselves to supplication
of Allaah, while in a state of Wudhoo’, facing the Qiblah (direction towards
the Ka’bah in Makkah). You should pay attention to the p recincts of ‘Arafah
and its landmarks, as many pilgrims mistakenly stand outside its boundaries; whoever
does not stand within the plain, his pilgrimage will be imperfect. The Prophet
sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Hajj is (the Day of) ‘Arafah.” (Ahmad) A
pilgrim may stand at any place on the plain of ‘Arafah – east, west, north or
south – except at the bottom of the valley of ‘Urnah. The Prophet sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallam said: “I stand here and the entire ‘Arafah is a standing
place.” (Muslim)
At sunset, when the setting of the sun is confirmed, you should
rush to Muzdalifah, pronouncing Talbiyah with humility and gentleness as much
as possible. This is according to the command of the Prophet sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallam: when he hurried from ‘Arafah, he straitened the bridle of
his she-camel, bending her neck until her head was about to reach his saddle
and said: “O people! (With) tranquility! (With) tranquility!” When you reach
Muzdalifah, you should perform the Maghrib and ‘Ishaa’ prayers, then spend the
night there until dawn. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not
permit anyone to leave Muzdalifah before then, except the weak, who were
permitted to leave by the end of the night.
After you perform Salaah, you should face the Qiblah, pronounce
Takbeer (saying: Allaahu Akbar – ‘Allaah is the Greatest’), praise Allaah and
supplicate to Him until the daylight becomes visible. You should then move on
to Mina before sunrise and pick up seven pebbles. Then, you should go to
Al-Jamrah Al-‘Aqabah (one of the three stone-built pillars at which pebbles are
thrown, which is situated at the entrance of Mina from the direction of Makkah)
and throw seven stones at it after sunrise, saying Takbeer upon each toss,
while being submissive to Allaah and honoring Him. Know that the aim of
throwing stones is to remember Allaah and glorify Him; remember that the
pebbles should fall within the wire fence and it is not necessary that they hit
the stone column.
When you finish throwing the pebbles, you should slaughter your
Hadi (the animal offered as a sacrifice by the pilgrim). The same conditions of
Udhiyah (animal sacrificed on ‘Eed Al-Adha) apply also to the Hadi. Moreover, a
pilgrim may commission a person to slaughter the Hadi on his behalf. You should
then shave your entire head after the slaughtering; it is not lawful to shave a
part of the head and leave another part. Women should cut as much as a
fingertip from the end of their hair. By doing so, you will be in the first
state of Tahallul (minor release, meaning you will be partially free from the
restrictions of Ihraam). Thus you may wear your regular clothing, clip your
fingernails and apply perfume, but may not have sexual intercourse with your
spouses. You should then go to Makkah before the Dhuhr prayer, where you will
make Tawaaf for Hajj and then do Sa’i; then, you must return to Mina. It is
after this Tawa af, Sa’i, throwing of pebbles and shaving your head that you
will be in the second state of Tahallul (major release) after which you are then
permitted to do all things you were previously forbidden due to being in the
state of Ihraam, even having sexual relations with your spouses.
O people! A pilgrim should perform four rituals on the day of
‘Eed: (he ought to) throw the pebbles, slaughter a sacrificial animal, shave
his head and perform Sa’i and Tawaaf – this is the most perfect type of
sequence. If you do any of the four above-mentioned steps before the other,
such as shaving the head before slaughtering, making Sa’i and Tawaaf after
leaving Mina, delaying slaughtering until the thirteenth of Dhul-Hijjah in
Makkah, (your Hajj) will still be valid, especially if there is a need to do
so.
You should spend the night of the eleventh day of Dhul-Hijjah in
Mina. When the sun passes its zenith (noon), you should throw the pebbles at
the three positions of the Jamaraat, starting with Al-Jamrah Al-Oola
(As-Sughraa), then Al-Jamrah Al-Wustaa, then Al-Jamrah Al-‘Aqabah (Al-Kubraa),
each one with seven stones, accompanied by Takbeer at every throw. The time for
this practice on the Day of ‘ Eed begins from sunrise for the physically fit
people; the weak, however, may do so from the latest hours of the night of the
first day of ‘Eed until sunset. Its timings after ‘Eed is from once the sun
passes its zenith until sunset. It is not permissible to throw stones before
midday. It is permissible, however, to throw the stones at night, if it is too
crowded during the daytime. If a pilgrim cannot throw pebbles in person, due to
his being too young or old, or due to illness, he may appoint another person to
do it on his behalf. It is lawful that the app ointed person throw pebbles for
himself and for the other person who assigned him at the same instance, but he
should begin with himself.
Upon throwing the small stones on the twelfth day of the month
of Dhul-Hijjah, the Hajj is completed. The pilgrims, at this point, have the
option to either hurry and leave, or stay and spend the night of the thirteenth
day and throw stones at the three Jamaraat after the sun passes its high point
(i.e., noon). The latter is preferable because it is in agreement with the
actions of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. If you want to leave
Makkah, you should perform the Farewell Tawaaf. The menstruating woman and a
woman in post-natal bleeding are exempt from the Farewell Tawaaf; in fact, they
are not even permitted to come to the gate of the mosque or stand in front of
it.
