Islamic Fiqh > Hajj and umra > The prohibitions of ihram in detail
What the muhrim must not do: the eight prohibitions, their expiations by case, and what is permitted.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
The scholars divide the pilgrimage's prohibitions into three families: disliked things (leaving a sunna of hajj), forbidden things (leaving a duty, with sin and fidya), and the invalidating ones, tied to the ihram, common to hajj and 'umra.
Rule: the man in ihram covers neither his whole body, nor a part, nor a member, with sewn or fitted clothing; he wraps himself in an izar and a rida'. Ibn al-Mundhir reports the agreement: shirt, turban, trousers, headwear and boots forbidden. The basis: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), asked what the consecrated wears, answered: "He wears no shirts, no turbans, no trousers, no burnous, no boots; except whoever finds no sandals: let him wear boots cut below the ankles. And nothing of the clothes touched by saffron or wars" (al-Bukhari 1468, Muslim 1177). The scholars attached garments of the same kind; gloves for the hands, without divergence. Whoever finds no izar: no divergence, he wears trousers, upon the Prophet's word (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) from the pulpit at Arafa: "Whoever has no sandals, let him wear cut boots, and whoever has no izar, let him wear trousers" (al-Bukhari 5467, Muslim 1178). The Shafi'is and Hanbalis impose no fidya in this case; the Hanafis detail: trousers are allowed if they cannot be torn and turned into an izar; worn as they are, they engage an animal, unless true constraint, then a fidya at choice. Cutting the boots below the ankles: the majority requires it, joining Arafa's hadith to Ibn Umar's reported from the pulpit in Medina.
Covering the head: forbidden by agreement, drawn from the turban and burnous prohibition. Carrying a load on the head: Hanafis and Hanbalis forbid it if its use is covering, not if it is a tray or vessel; the Shafi'is allow it without fidya; the Malikis allow what one cannot do without. Shade: being sheltered by a cloth held on a pole is allowed by the majority, per Umm al-Husayn who saw Usama and Bilal shelter the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with their cloth until the throwing of al-'Aqaba. Covering the face (man): forbidden for the Hanafis, the Malikis and a narration of Ahmad, on the instruction given to the man injured by his mount: "Wash him with water and lote, wrap him in his two garments, and cover neither his face nor his head: he will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection pronouncing the talbiya"; Ibn Umar used to say: "What is above the chin, the consecrated does not cover". The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis (in the madhhab) allow it without fidya, citing Uthman, Zayd ibn Thabit and Marwan who covered their faces in ihram, and an-Nawawi reports from Malik and al-Bayhaqi, by a sahih chain, that Uthman covered his face with a purple veil.
The scholars agree: the woman in ihram does not wear the niqab, upon "Let the consecrated woman wear neither niqab nor gloves" (al-Bukhari 1741); the burqu' is like the niqab. If men pass near her, she may cover her face letting her garment fall from her head: Aisha reported that the riding women did so when riders crossed their path. Gloves are forbidden to her as to the man.
Shaving or plucking the head's hair: forbidden save excuse, by agreement (Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Qudama), upon "And do not shave your heads until the offering reaches its place" (al-Baqara 196) and the hadith of Ka'b ibn Ujra, tormented by lice: "Shave, then fast three days, or feed six poor persons, or sacrifice a beast" (al-Bukhari 3954, Muslim 1201): the excused one chooses among the three reparations, the most complete version speaking of three sa' of dates for six poor persons. Plucking any body hair: forbidden by consensus, same reason. Cutting the nails: forbidden save excuse; the broken nail may be removed without fidya, the excess engages one. Unscented ointment: the majority (except Ahmad) forbids it too, for embellishing contradicts the consecrated one's state, dishevelled and dusty; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described the pilgrim as "dishevelled and dusty" (reported by Ibn Umar). Perfume: forbidden by agreement, man and woman, upon "do not touch him with perfume" (al-Bukhari 5466, Muslim 1177) and the ban on clothes touched with saffron; the motive: perfume invites to intercourse and conflicts with the pilgrim's humility; whoever perfumes himself owes a fidya. Smelling perfume: disliked without penalty for the Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is; the Hanbalis forbid smelling it deliberately (sitting at the perfumer's, entering the Ka'ba while perfume is burnt, carrying a pouch of musk to enjoy it): then a fidya, but involuntary smelling is pardoned. The major ablution before ihram, at Arafa, entering Mecca and for the tawaf is a sunna by agreement, like Friday's washing; Zayd ibn Thabit saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) undress and wash before the talbiya (reported by at-Tirmidhi, hasan hadith).
Forbidden by the Book: "Kill no game while you are in a state of consecration" and "It is forbidden you the game of the land while you are consecrated" (al-Ma'ida 95-96), by the Sunna (the account of Abu Qatada and the wild donkey, al-Bukhari 1728, Muslim 1196) and by consensus. The game meant is edible wild land game; domestic animals do not enter the prohibition. Killing harmful creatures is allowed: the crow, the kite, the rat, the scorpion and the ferocious dog (al-Bukhari 1731-1732, Muslim 1198); Ibn al-Mundhir reports the agreement: if one of them harms the consecrated, killing it entails nothing. The sea's game is lawful to the consecrated by the very text of surah al-Ma'ida. Compensation for killed game is obligatory by agreement, whether the killing is deliberate or accidental (a view reported from Ahmad: nothing accidental).
Forbidden by consensus, ihram valid or not, upon "...no obscenity, no wickedness, no dispute in the pilgrimage" (al-Baqara 197). Ibn Abd al-Barr reports the scholars' agreement: intercourse is forbidden to the pilgrim from ihram until the tawaf of ifada; whoever has intercourse before the standing of Arafa has invalidated his hajj: a pilgrimage to repeat the following year with an offering, upon the Prophet's answer (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the man who had touched his wife: "Your hajj is invalidated: go with the people, perform what they perform, release yourselves when they release, and come back next year to perform hajj, you and your wife, with an offering; failing that, fast three days during the hajj and seven at your return" (reported by al-Bayhaqi, sahih chain according to an-Nawawi). For the 'umra: intercourse before the tawaf and the sa'i invalidates likewise, to be repeated with an offering at any time. After the first release: the four schools agree intercourse no longer invalidates the hajj; the Malikis attach to it intercourse after the tawaf of ifada before the throwing, and after the day of sacrifice. The reparation: a sheep according to the Hanafis, one Shafi'i opinion and the Hanbali madhhab; a cow according to the Malikis, the other Shafi'i opinion and a Hanbali narration, upon the Prophet's order (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to slaughter a cow, reported from Ibn Abbas (al-Muwatta 858). Malik and the Hanbalis further require a 'umra from the profane zone from whoever had this intercourse before ifada.
The consecrated one's dress is learned before departure: two unstitched cloths for the man, a covering garment without niqab or gloves for the woman, without perfume or grooming marks. Each slip has its reparation, and what matters is not letting anything reach the pillars, like intercourse before Arafa.