Wednesday, July 29, 2026

9 Essential Iḥrām Tips and Important Rulings Every Hajj & ‘Umrah Pilgrim Should Know

9 Useful cautions in Iḥrām

1.      When buying Iḥrām, unfold and check it whether it fits you. If you bought the Iḥrām without checking, and it turned out to be unfit at the time of your departure, you might face a painful ordeal.

2.      Practice how to put on Iḥrām at home before your departure.

3.      You will be at ease in Ṣalāh etc. if you use a cotton shawl for covering the lower part of the body and a towel shawl for the upper part of the body.

4.      Practice walking at home after you have put on Iḥrām and belt etc. One who has put on Iḥrām for the first time might face difficulty because the Iḥrām may be fastened very tightly or be unfastened.

5.      The cotton shawl of Iḥrām should be thick and of good quality. Thin cloth might stick to the body because of sweat, making the colour of thighs etc. visible. Some types of cloth are so thin that the colour of thighs etc is visible even when the body is not sweating.

It is stated on page 194 of the 496 pages-containing book 'Laws of Ṣalāh' published by Maktaba-tul-Madīnah, the publishing department of Dawat-e-Islami: 'If someone wears such thin clothing that exposes such a part of the body which is Farḍ to be concealed in Ṣalāh, or that exposes the colour of skin (of that part), the Ṣalāh will not be valid.'

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 480) | (Fatāwā 'Ālamgīrī, vol. 1, pp. 58)

Nowadays, the trend of wearing thin clothing is growing. Wearing such thin clothes that expose any part of thigh or Satr is Ḥarām even when not offering Ṣalāh.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 480)

6.      It is a Sunnah to apply fragrance to Iḥrām before you have made the intention. Do apply fragrance to Iḥrām but do not put the bottle of fragrance into the pocket of the belt you are wearing, because fragrance may come into contact with your hand if you put the hand into the pocket after you have made the intention. If so much amount of fragrance has come into contact with the hand that others consider it to be 'more' Dam will be Wājib. If they consider it less, Ṣadaqah will be due. If the liquid of the fragrance does not come into contact, but rather it has only caused the hand to have fragrance, there will be no expiation in this case. If you want to put the bottle of fragrance into your bag etc. wrap it in some polythene bag and then put it at such a place where it will not come into contact with your hand etc.

7.      If the upper shawl has slipped down from shoulders and the Muḥrim is going to draw it up, he should take care that it neither touches his own head or face nor that of any other Muḥrim. I¹ have personally seen that the upper shawls of some Muḥrim when being drawn up had caught on the bald heads of other Muḥrims.

8.      Many Muḥrims tie Tahband² of Iḥrām from beneath their navel. Sometimes the upper shawl falls from their shoulders due to carelessness, exposing some part of the body beneath the navel. Such Muḥrims do not usually care about it at all. Similarly sometimes thighs etc. become exposed to others when some Muḥrims walk or sit carelessly³.

Referance:

¹ The author, Amīr-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat
² i.e. a piece of cloth used to cover the lower part of the body.
³ See the method of observing veil within veil in the glossary given at the end of the book.

Please remember this important ruling that the body of man from below the navel up to and including the knees is his 'Satr' (i.e. the body parts which must be kept covered), and exposing even a small portion of it to others without Shar'ī permission is Ḥarām.

Note:

 These rulings regarding veiling of man's 'Satr' are not confined to Iḥrām. Even when not in Iḥrām, it is Ḥarām to expose one's Satr to others or to look at the Satr of others.

9.      Some Muḥrims tie Tahband of Iḥrām from beneath their navel, carelessly exposing some portion of their under navel belly in the presence of others. It is stated in Bahār-e-Sharī'at: If one fourth (1/4) portion of the under navel belly remains uncovered, Ṣalāh will not be valid. Some people are so careless in this matter that their knees and thighs are uncovered in the presence of others. This is Ḥarām (even when not in the state of Iḥrām or not offering Ṣalāh). If someone is habitual of doing this, he is a transgressor.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 481)

An important caution

If the acts impermissible in the state of Iḥrām occur due to some compulsion or by mistake, though there will be no sin, the penalty imposed by Sharī'ah in this regard must be paid even if these acts take place during sleep or under coercion.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1083)

Mayn Iḥrām bāndhūn karūn Hajj-o-'Umrah
Milay lutf-e-Sa'ī-e-Ṣafā aur Marwah

May I put on Iḥrām and perform Hajj and 'Umrah
May I enjoy performing Sa'ī of Ṣafā and Marwah

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبْ ۔        صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Explanation of Ḥaram

People generally assume that only Masjid-ul-Ḥarām is Ḥaram. No doubt Masjid-ul-Ḥarām is also within Ḥaram but Ḥaram has spread out¹ up to several miles around Makka-tul-Mukarramah with its limits fixed in all directions.

For example, there lies a police check point on the road about 23 kilometres away from Makka-tul-Mukarramah towards Jeddah. On this road, there is a sign board that read: 'لِلْمُسْلِمِيْنَ فَقَطْ' (i.e. only for Muslims) Ahead of it is Bīr-e-Shamīs², i.e. Ḥudaybiyah wherefrom the limit of Ḥaram starts. According to the latest measurement made by a historian, the circular area of Ḥaram is 127 kilometres, whereas its total area is 550 kilometres.

(Tārīkh Makkah Mukarramah, pp. 15)

(The administration often makes new roads and routes by building tunnels, cutting mountains and deforestation, causing the area of the sacred territory to be increased or decreased. Therefore, the correct limits of Ḥaram are the very same as stated in blessed Aḥādīš.)

Ṭhandī ṭhandī hawā Ḥaram kī hay
Bārish Allah kay karam kī hay

Gentle breeze is blowing in Ḥaram
Rain of mercy is showering in Ḥaram

(Wasāil-e-Bakhshish, pp. 124)

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبْ ۔        صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Referance:

¹ Obviously, the population of Makka-tul-Mukarramah is increasing constantly, extending it beyond the limits of Ḥaram in some directions. For example, Tan'īm is outside the limits of Ḥaram but within the municipality of Makka-tul-Mukarramah.
² Name of a well

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