Hajj

The

5th Pillar of

Islam

The 5th

Pillar – (Umra and) Hajj (and a Medina trip)

Hajj is to journey to special places and to do special things there. It includes going from Mecca to

Mina, then Arafah, then Muzdalifah, then back to Mina. Most people do an Umra before the Hajj.

An Umra is performing certain actions around and near the Kaaba, the building Ibrahim (as)

dedicated to Allah. An Umra only takes around 2-3 hours to complete. Hajj takes 5 days.

There are 3 hajj-types:

1. 2 Ihram Umraj (Arabic: Tamattu)

2. 1 Ihram Umraj (Arabic: Qiraan)

3. Hajj only (Arabic: Ifraad)

The Umrajjes (Umra and Hajj), Include an Umra and a Hajj. A Hajj is just a Hajj – no Umra.

Although Umra isn’t a pillar of Islam, most people still do Umrajjes, combining a Hajj and an Umra

together, because, according to some scholars, Allah gives more reward for it. We’ll study Umra

first, and then research Hajj.

The Umra

Before you leave home, clean yourself. Take a shower. Shave your armpits and other areas. Clip

your nails. Then leave home.

Now set off. Stop at the nearest meeqat, or stopping

point. A stopping point is an area of land on the way to

Mecca that has many showers and lavatories for pilgrims.

There are 5 stopping points, and they all lie on the roads

to Mecca. The stopping point you use will depend on

where you are coming from.1 If you are travelling by air,

you must become an Ihraami (see below) before you

cross over the Meeqat boundary.

Ihram

At the stopping point, shower and put your Ihram on. An Ihram is a two-sheet suit.

Both sheets are long and have nothing sewn on them; one piece is the waist-wrapper

and the other is the top wrapper. To wear the waist-wrapper, wrap it around your

waist, tuck the trailing edge in and roll down from all sides. Wear a belt if you have

one. Now wear the top wrapper. First, drape it over your shoulders, then bring your

left arm down, and whip the right edge over your left shoulder. Both shoulders should

be covered. Bring your arms out from underneath. Use a safety pin to secure the top

wrapper if it keeps coming loose.

Women don’t wear any special clothes. They wear their normal, modest clothes, cover their whole

body including their head, but leave their face uncovered.

Now, remind yourself that you’re going for Umrah, and start saying the Labbayk.

The Labbayk is the repetition of the sentence: “Labbayk, Allahumma Labbayk.

Labbayka La sharikalaka Labbayk. Innal hamda wannimata laka wal mulk la

shareekalak”

1 People already inside the Meeqat area have different stopping points. The 5 stopping points above are for non-

Meeqatis.

The five stopping points

Man wearing

Ihram

You are now an Ihraami. Lots of things are not allowed anymore. They include:

No hunting

No perfumes

No sewn clothes (for men only)

No makeup

No bad language or talk about bad things

No hair-shaving and nail-clipping

No covering your head and face (for men only)

No harming anyone else

No conjugal relations

The following things are allowed though:

Umbrellas, rings, glasses, hearing aids, watches, belts, showering, covering the legs and

torso, using a toothbrush without toothpaste, and using a miswak, or organic toothbrush.

When you reach Mecca, take your things to the hotel, have a rest if you need one, then go to the

Haram. The Haram is the area near the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building that Ibrahim (as) first

built. When you see the Kaaba, make dua, praying to Allah and asking him for what you want.

Tawaaf

You’re now ready to start tawaaf. Tawaaf is going round the Kaaba 7 times. Join

the crowd already doing tawaf and keep walking round with them until you are in

line with the Black Stone. Now do Idtiba. Idtiba, or right-shoulder-uncovering, is

uncovering your right shoulder by bringing the right edge of your Ihram under

your right armpit, then tossing the edge over your left shoulder. Now, do an

A diagram showing the the Kaaba and its important surrounding structures

A man gets ready

for Tawaaf by doing

Idtiba

Istilam, or shadow-touch, by turning to face the Black Stone, raising your hands in the air towards

it, saying Bismillahi Allahu Akbar, and kissing your fingertips. Now march around the Kaaba 3

times, and walk leisurely 4 times. After each round, do a shadow-touch and continue.

After the seventh round, do your shadow-touch, then go

behind the Maqame Ibrahim and pray 2 cycles of prayer.

The Maqame Ibrahim is the stone block that Ibrahim (as)

stood on while bricklaying the topmost bricks of the

Kaaba walls. His feet sank into it and left his footprints.

The footprints have been worn away by time and

pilgrims’ touches. Today, the Maqame Ibrahim is stuck

on top of a concrete block around 1 metre tall and trapped

inside a glass and brass enclosure, around 5 metres away

from a Kaaba wall. After praying behind Ibrahim(as)’s

footprints, go to Safa for Saee.

Saee

Saee is travelling 7 times between the ex-hills of Safa and Marwa. The hills are now gone, having

recently been drilled and bulldozed to pieces by the ‘Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’. In

Saee is travelling between the ex-hills of Safa and Marwa

Tawaaf is going round the Kaaba 7 times

The footprints of Ibrahim (as),

with and without its enclosure

better times, you could clearly see both hills, and could run up and down the slopes of the hills.

Today, there are no real slopes. Just a long stretch of cold, white marble.

In any case, start at the point that used to be the hill of Safa, make a dua, and start walking to

Marwa. When you reach a row of green lights stuck to the ceilings and walls, if you are a man, you

will run. Once you reach the second set of green ceiling lights, walk again. At Marwa, make a dua.

You’ve now done 1 length. You need to do 6 more. Keep walking and running until you’ve

travelled down the stretch of marble 7 times and finished up at Marwa. At each ex-hill, make a dua.

You should have done 7 lengths, or 3½ rounds.

Halq or Qasr

The final step is your hair. You can shave,

or halq it. Or you can trim, or qasr it. Both

are fine, though Allah gives your more

reward for a head-shave. Beware the

scissor-people at Marwah. These men and

women offer scissors for you to do a

quick snip of your hair. This is not qasr.

Qasr is trimming all the hair, and not

just bits of it. Women do not do halq, only a little qasr off the end of their hair.

Congratulations! You’ve now finished your Umrah. Go home. Shower. Change into your normal

clothes.2

Questions

1. What is an Umra?

2. How long does an umrah take?

3. What are the 4 main parts of Umrah?

4. What is the stopping point for people from the eastern region?

5. Tell 3 things you should do at the stopping point.

6. What is an Ihram? How many pieces is it?

7. What is the labbayk?

8. Tell 3 things Ihraamis can't do.

9. Tell 3 things Ihraamis CAN wear.

10. What is Tawaaf?

11. What is idtibaa? When should you do it?

12. When doing Tawaaf, how many times must you march round, and how many times must you

walk round?

13. What is the maqaame ibrahim?

14. What must you do behind the maqaame ibrahim.

15. What is Saee?

16. How many times must you go between the 2 hills in Saee?

17. When must you run during the saee?

18. What is halq?

19. What is qasr?

2 If you want to do some more Umras, you need to go to a mosque that’s called Masjid Taneem (some people call it

Masjid Aisha). That is the nearest meeqat point for people already in Mecca.

Halqing or qasring is the final act of the Umra

Hajj

Hajj is a set of activities that are spread over five days, and involves travelling to four places. Most

people get from place to place by bus, but a massive number still prefer to do a walking Hajj.

Hajj starts on 8th

Zul Hijja, the twelfth month of the Hijri calendar. When 8th Zul Hijja starts, have

a shower, trim your nails and shave your armpits and other hair. Become an Ihraami (see Umrah

section). There is no need to go to a stopping point. In Mecca, your hotel room is your stopping

point. Remind yourself you are going for Hajj, and say the full Labbayk. You are now an Ihrami.

Pray Fajr , and after sunrise, go from Mecca to your tent in Mina.3

Mina

At Mina, rest, pray

Quran, praise Allah,

learn about Islam.

You will spend a

whole day in Mina.

Pray your Zuhr,

Asr, Magrib and

Isha in the tent.

Sleep. Wake up,

pray Fajr, and after

sunrise, go to Arafa.

Arafa

At Arafa, rest, and pray Zuhr and Asr. The time after Asr in Arafa is the most precious time during

the Hajj. Don’t waste it. Pray Quran and praise Allah. When it gets nearer to Sunset, face the Qibla,

cup your hands in dua and pray to Allah for whatever you want or need. May Allah give it to you.

(Don’t forget to pray for your teacher!). After sunset, go to Muzdalifa without praying Magrib.

3 Nowadays, most people start going Mina in the middle of the night, because it’s so busy. You will probably do the

same and pray Fajr on the way to Mina or in Mina.

A view of the main mosque at Arafah: Namirah Mosque

Mina is the first stop on the Hajj

Muzdalifa

At Muzdalifa, pray Magrib and Isha together, at Isha time. Call out an Azan, then one Iqama and

pray Magrib. Then call out a second Iqama and pray Isha. Collect 70 stones that are around 1cm in

diameter. Sleep. Wake up. Pray Fajr. Go to Mina – before sunrise.

Stoning at Mina

At Mina, stone only the 3rd

wall. If you are doing an Umraj, you must now

sacrifice an animal. Your group leader will usually do this for you. If you

have come on your own, you should have bought a coupon and the

government will arrange to have your animal slaughtered for you. Ifradis,

or Hajj-only people, don’t slaughter an animal.

Shave your head. (women will do a little snip of the end of their hair)

Go to Mecca. Do Tawaf. Come back to Mina.

At Mina, on the next day, the 11th

Zul Hijjah, go to stone

the walls after Zuhr. Stone all 3 walls. Return to Mina.

On the final day, the 12th

Zul Hijjah, go to stone the walls

after Zuhr. Stone all 3 walls. Return to Mecca. If you don’t

go back to Mecca after the stoning, and are still hanging

around in Mina at sunrise, then you must stay and stone for

another day.

The view from Muzdalifa. You will notice that there are no tents in Muzdalifa

Hajj events grouped according to the days of Hajj

8th

Zul Hijja

[in Mecca] Pray Fajr.

[in Mecca] Wait for sunrise.

Go to Mina.

[In Mina] stay in Mina. Pray Zuhr, Asr, Magrib, Isha in Mina

9th

Zul Hijja

[Still in Mina] Pray Fajr.

[in Mina] Wait for sunrise

Go to Arafa

[in Arafa] Stay in Arafa. Pray Zuhr and Asr in Arafa.

[in Arafa] The time after Asr in Arafa is the most precious time during the Hajj. Don’t waste

it. Pray Quran and praise Allah. When it gets nearer to Sunset, cup your hands in dua and

pray to Allah for whatever you want or need. May Allah give it to you. (Don’t forget to pray

for your Islamic studies teacher!)

[in Arafa] Wait for sunset.

Go to Muzdalifa

[in Muzdalifa] Pray Magrib and Isha together at Muzdalifa, at Isha time. Call out one Azan,

then an Iqama and pray Magrib. Then call out a second Iqama and pray Isha.

[In Muzdalifa] Collect 70 little stones, around 1cm in diameter, for stoning the pillars at

Mina.

10th

Zul Hijja

[In Muzdalifa] Pray Fajr

Set off for Mina, to the Walls, before sunrise. The Walls, or Jamaraat, is an area of Mina a

short distance from its tents that has 3 stone walls marking the spots that Satan appeared in

front of Ibrahim (as). At each spot, Ibrahim (as) fired stones at Satan, and Satan fled.

Stone only the 3rd

wall

Umrajjis must now sacrifice your animal. Your group leader will usually do this for you. If

you have come on your own, you should have bought a coupon and the government will

arrange to have your animal slaughtered. Ifradis don’t slaughter an animal.

Shave or trim your head-hair

Go to Mecca and do the Ziyara Tawaf 4 – walk round the Kaaba 7 times, doing Istilam each

time, then pray behind Ibrahim (as)’s footprints.

Go back to Mina

11th

Zul Hijja

Stone the 1st, 2

nd and 3

rd wall.

Go back to your tent

12th

Zul Hijja

Stone the 1st, 2

nd and 3

rd wall.

Go to Mecca before sunset. If you are still there are sunset, you must stay and stone for

another day.

Congratulations! Well done! Hajj Mubarak!

4 You can do the Ziyara tawaf on the 11

th or on the 12

th until sunset.

Questions

1. What is the Hajj?

2. What 4 places do you stay at during Hajj

3. How long does a Hajj take?

4. What are the 3 Hajj types?

5. For the Hajj, when will you leave for Mina?

6. What will you do at Mina?

7. When will you go Arafa?

8. What will you do at Arafa?

9. When will you go Muzdalifa?

10. What will you do at Muzdalifa?

11. When will you go back to Mina?

12. Which wall will you stone at Mina on 10th Zul Hijjah?

13. How many walls will you stone on the last 2 days of Hajj?

Some historical places in Mecca

The Jinn Mosque – The Prophet (Saw) met some Jinns here; he preached

Islam to them and they accepted.

Namira Mosque – The Prophet (Saw) gave his famous farewell speech at

the spot where this mosque is. It was his last major speech.

Aysha Mosque – Aysha (ra), wife of the Prophet (saw), started an Umra

from here.

Hira Cave – The Prophet (saw) was sitting in this cave when Jibraeel appeared

suddenly with the first words of the Quran.

Thawr Cave – The Prophet (saw) spent 3 days in this cave before setting off

with Abu Bakr (ra) to relocate in Medina.

The birthplace of the Prophet (saw) –

This is the spot where the Prophet (Saw)

was born. The spot has now been turned

into a small library. The library is

always locked, so you can’t go inside.

A view of Medina. The Prophet (saw)’s tomb

is directly beneath the big green dome

Medina guide

The Prophet (saw) spent 23 years of his life spreading Islam so that you and I could grow up as

Muslims and become good people. The very least we can do is go to his adopted home, the city of

Medina, and say thank you to him. Muslims have been doing this for over a millennium.

So let’s try our best to visit the city of the

Prophet (saw), even if it’s only for a day

or two.

So what is a visit to Medina, to the

Prophet’s mosque, really like? In a word,

fantastic! Medina is such a calm, peaceful,

tranquil place you’ll never want to leave.

You can spend hours in the mosque just

sitting, praying Quran, studying, learning

or even just relaxing!

There are, however, 3 things that you

should try extra hard to do while in

Medina:

1. Visit the prophet’s grave site to say Salaam, or ‘hello’ to him;

2. spend some time praying Quran or performing Salaah in an area near the Prophet’s (old)

house called the Rawda;

3. and visit places of historical importance – places where the Prophet (saw) sat, prayed and

worshipped.

Sending Salaams

Sending Salaams means standing in front of the graves of the Prophet (saw), Abu Bakr (ra) and

Umar (ra), and saying to them ‘assalamu alaykum.”5 In the Quran, Allah tells us “Allah and His

angels send their salaams to the Prophet. O Muslims! You send your salaams too.”

To send Salaams, walk to the front of the Prophet’s mosque, near to where the Iman leads the

prayer. Walk past the Imam’s area towards a large exit. As you walk towards the exit, you will find

a brass mesh, that looks like a metal gate, on your left. Behind this brass mesh are the graves of the

Prophet (saw), Abu Bakr and Umar (ra). The brass mesh has 3 sections to it. The first and last are

empty. Ignore them.

At the second mesh are 3 circles - 1 with a large crescent shaped border, the others with thin

ring-like borders. The crescent-bordered circle is in line with the Prophet (saw)’s face. Turn your

body so that you are looking straight at the circle. Remember that the Prophet (saw) was once

sitting there, looking at the people and smiling back at them. Greet him, and thank him for all the

sacrifices he made for you.

Now move to the right a little bit until you are facing the next circle. You are now standing in front

of Abu Bakr (ra). Greet him, and thank him for all the sacrifices he made for you.

Now move to the right a little more bit until you are facing the third circle. You are now standing in

front of Umar (ra). Greet him, and thank him for all the sacrifices he made for you.

Note: women do their salaam from a different area, and will not see these mesh gates.

5 If you want to say a little bit more than just Assalamualaykum, you should buy a little book with a list of greetings in

it. These are greetings taken from the Hadith, and can be read in the Prophet’s mosque.

Finally, turn around to face the Qibla and make dua to Allah for whatever you want.

Spending time in the Rawda

The area between the Prophet’s (old) house and the (old) mimbar, where the Imam stands to give

the Friday speech, is called the Rawda. You can easily spot it because the floor of the Rawda is

covered with green carpets, whereas the rest of the Prophet’s mosque has red carpets. If you are

fortunate enough to find space in the Rawda, sit down, and spend your time praying Quran, or

performing Salaah.

Greet

Abu Bakr (ra)

here

Greet

Umar (ra)

here

Greet the

Prophet (saw)

here

The location of the graves of the Prophet (saw) and the first 2 caliphs

Today, the

Imam leads

Salaah from

here

This squared

section is the

Rawdah

Go to here to

greet the Prophet

(saw)

Prophet (saw)

gave Jumuah

Khutbah from

here

Prophet (saw)

led Salaah

from here

A map of the centre of the Prophet’s mosque

The Prophet

(saw) and his

wives lived around here.

Each wife had

her own little

one-room house

Visiting Historical Sites

Until recently, there were hundreds of old buildings, some dating from the Prophet’s time, dotted all

around Medina. However, industrialisation has meant these historical sites have been sacrificed for

business. In any case, some still remain – and there are 5 that you should go and visit. They are:

1. Masjid Quba – This is the first dedicated mosque to be built in Arabia. The Prophet (Saw)

used to visit Quba mosque once a week and pray 2 rakahs there.

2. The 7 mini-mosques – Until recently, seven old mosques stood on an area of land close to

the Prophet’s mosque. These mosques marked the spots that the Prophet (Saw) and his

companions stood during a battle. 5 of the mosques were recently destroyed to make way for

a Supermosque. Only 2 of the mini-mosques remain. One is called Masjidul fath. Allah

revealed some verses of the Quran at the spot where Masjidul Fath now stands.

3. The two-qibla mosque (Masjid Qiblatain). Muslims first used to pray facing Masjidul

Aqsa, in Jerusalem. Then Allah told us to face the Kaaba. Some Muslims were praying in

this mosque, facing Masjudul Aqsa, when someone called out that the Qiblah had changed.

The prayers in the mosque all turned around, the imam going to the front, and carried on

praying. This is why this mosque is called the two-qibla mosque.

4. The battlefield of Uhud – this battlefield consists of Mount Uhud, the archer’s hill,and a

graveyard of the Muslim martyrs, including the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza.

5. There is also a graveyard near the Prophet’s mosque called Jannatul baqi. Thousands of

Sahaba, or Muslims who lived at the same time as the Prophet (saw), are buried in this

graveyard. The Prophet’s wives, children, family and friends are all buried there. The

prophet (saw) said, “I used to forbid you from visiting graveyards, but now, I encourage you

to go.” Therefore, we should visit the graveyards. They remind us of death and help remind

us that one day, we will also be six feet under the ground.

Historical sites in Medina,From left to right:

Masjid Quba, the 7 Mini Mosques, the Two Qibla Mosque, Mount Uhud, and Baqi Graveyard

Questions:

1. What 3 things should you do in Medina?

2. Tell how to send Salaams to the Prophet (saw).

3. What is the Rawda?

4. What should you try to do in the Rawda?

5. Tell 5 places you should go and visit in Medina.

The Hajj guide is now complete.

All Praise belongs to Allah.