Islamic Fiqh > Hajj and umra > Ihram, miqat and the talbiya
Entering the sacred state: the five miqat points, the talbiya, and the prohibitions of ihram.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
Jabir reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about the places of ihram; he set that of the people of Medina at Dhu al-Hulayfa, of the people of the Syria road at al-Juhfa, of the Iraqis at Dhat Irq, of the Najdis at Qarn and of the Yemenis at Yalamlam (Muslim 1183). an-Nawawi cites Ibn al-Mundhir: the scholars are unanimous upon these miqats. Detail of the five: Dhu al-Hulayfa (Medina's miqat and that of whoever passes by it, about 450 km north of Mecca); al-Juhfa (Syrians, Egyptians, North Africans, about 187 km; pilgrims today enter ihram at Rabigh, before the miqat, which is a precaution); Dhat Irq (Iraqis and people of the East, about 94 km north-east); Qarn al-Manazil (Najd); Yalamlam (Yemen, Tihama, India, to the south).
All the fuqaha agree: whoever reaches a miqat intending hajj or 'umra must consecrate himself there; passing it without ihram is a sin, whether he belongs to that region or is passing through, like the Syrian crossing the Medina miqat. He must then return to it and enter ihram there. If he returns: no sacrificial animal according to the Shafi'is and Abu Yusuf among the Hanafis; Malik judges that returning does not drop the animal; Abu Hanifa: if one returns pronouncing the talbiya it drops, otherwise not. Whoever does not return owes an animal by agreement, whether he abandoned the return with an excuse or without, knowingly or forgetfully; but an excuse (fear of missing the standing at Arafa for lack of time, a hard illness, fear of losing the caravan or of the road) removes the sin.
Whoever passes two miqats: the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require ihram from the farther one (the Syrian passing Medina consecrates himself at Dhu al-Hulayfa); the Malikis make the second his miqat and recommend the first; the Hanafis hold the first preferable and dislike delaying to the second.
The outsider (afaqi): he lives beyond the miqats and consecrates himself there, as does the passer-by. The Meccan (makki): his miqat for hajj is Mecca itself: "and the people of Mecca, from Mecca"; the Hanbalis hold the best start under the spout of the Sacred Mosque, valid anywhere in the Haram; among the Hanafis, the Mosque or his lodging. The people of the Haram and of the miqats (harami, miqati): the harami consecrates himself from wherever he wishes, upon "whoever is nearer, from where he is, and the people of Mecca, from Mecca"; Jabir said: when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) released us from the 'umra's ihram, he ordered us to consecrate ourselves heading to Mina: "we entered ihram from al-Abtah" (Muslim 1214). The miqati (gardener between miqat and Haram): Malikis: from his house or his mosque, aiming for the farthest from Mecca; Shafi'is and Hanbalis: his village or his camp; Hanafis: the whole profane zone up to the Haram.
For the outsider and the man of the miqats, the 'umra's miqat is the same as hajj's. Whoever is in Mecca, resident or not: he consecrates himself from the profane zone (al-Hil), be it Tan'im or al-Ji'rana, even a step from the Haram: the scholars' agreement; if he consecrates himself from the Haram without returning to the profane zone before his tawaf, he owes an animal. The majority (Malikis in the madhhab, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) prefer al-Ji'rana. And whoever passes the miqats for another reason than pilgrimage: the majority (Hanafis, Malikis, Hanbalis in the madhhab, Shafi'is in one view) also requires ihram.
Multiplying invocation, talbiya and litanies in all the pilgrimage's states is recommended, above all at the standing of Arafa. These remembrances are the inner dress of the ihram: the body is consecrated by places and garment, the heart by the talbiya.
Prepare the ihram before reaching the miqat: intention, talbiya, consecrated garments. The hurried passer-by checks on the map which miqat his route crosses, for passing without ihram engages a sacrificial animal.
Take ihram before entering Mecca with a beast to slaughter in compensation (the Hanafi and Hanbali manuals' rule); consult a pilgrimage guide for application.
Yes before taking ihram (the Prophet perfumed himself before); after, no perfume during the consecrated state.
Her ordinary ample clothes serve as ihram; no niqab nor gloves per the hadith (al-Bukhari 1741): see the women's hajj page.