Hajj at a glance

Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah, the fifth pillar of Islam. It is required once in a lifetime for every adult Muslim who is able to make the journey¹.

Nabi ﷺ made one Hajj. While stoning, he said: learn your rituals from me². His Companion Jabir described that Hajj step by step³, and this chapter follows it.

Three ways to make Hajj

• Tamattu': Umrah first, come out of ihram, then a new ihram for Hajj on day 8. Most pilgrims from abroad do this. A sacrifice is required.
• Qiran: Umrah and Hajj in one ihram. A sacrifice is required.
• Ifrad: Hajj only. No sacrifice is required.

Ihram and its rules are in Before you go. How to make tawaf and sa'i is in Umrah step by step. The story behind each ritual is on the Umrah and Hajj page.

Pillars, required acts and sunnahs

• Pillar (rukn): Hajj is not complete without it. Nothing can replace it.
• Required act (wajib): if you miss it, Hajj is still valid, but you owe a dam, a sheep or goat sacrificed in the Haram.
• Sunnah: done by Nabi ﷺ and rewarded. If you miss it, nothing is owed.

Day 8: Tarwiyah, in Mina

• Pilgrims making tamattu' enter ihram on the morning of day 8 from where they are staying. They do not go back to a miqat. The Companions put on ihram as they set out for Mina⁵.
• Make the intention and say the talbiyah: Labbayk Allahumma Hajjan, here I am, O Allah, for Hajj. Keep saying it until you stone on day 10.
• Go to Mina, the valley of tents near Makkah. Nabi ﷺ prayed Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha and the next Fajr there⁶.
• Pray each at its own time, with the four-rakah prayers as two⁷. Do not join them.

Day 8 in Mina is a sunnah. If your group takes you straight to Arafah, your Hajj is fine.

Day 9: Arafah, the heart of Hajj

Nabi ﷺ said: Hajj is Arafah. Whoever reaches it before dawn on the night of Muzdalifah has caught Hajj⁸.

• After sunrise, go to Arafah, a wide plain outside Makkah.
• After midday, Nabi ﷺ gave a sermon, then prayed Dhuhr and Asr joined, two rakat each. Then he stood facing the qiblah in dua until the sun had fully set⁹.
• You do not need to climb the Mount of Mercy. Nabi ﷺ said: all of Arafah is a place of standing¹⁰. Sitting or resting in your tent counts.
• Check you are inside the boundary signs. The front part of Masjid Namirah is outside Arafah.

The time for standing

• Most scholars: from midday on day 9 until dawn on day 10. Hanbalis say from dawn on day 9.
• Being there for even a short while in that time counts¹¹.
• If you are there by day, stay until sunset. Leaving before sunset owes a dam for most scholars. Shafi'is say staying is sunnah.

Spend it on dua

• Nabi ﷺ said: there is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the day of Arafah¹².
• He said the best dua is the dua of Arafah, and the best words are: La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir. There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the kingdom and all praise, and He has power over all things¹³.
• Ask for everything, in your own language. Write a list before the day so you forget no one.
• Do not fast as a pilgrim. Nabi ﷺ drank a cup of milk at Arafah in front of the people¹⁴. Fasting Arafah is for those at home.

One man arrived so late that he feared his Hajj did not count¹⁵.

The night at Muzdalifah

After sunset, leave Arafah calmly for Muzdalifah, between Arafah and Mina. Allah says: when you leave Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram¹⁹.

• Maghrib and Isha joined when you arrive: Maghrib three rakat, Isha two, with an iqamah for each²⁰. On the way Nabi ﷺ said: the prayer is ahead of you²¹. Stuck in traffic and the time is running out? Many scholars say pray on the way.
• Sleep. Nabi ﷺ lay down until dawn²². Rest is part of the sunnah.
• Pray Fajr early²³, then make dua facing the qiblah until the sky is bright, and leave before sunrise²⁴.
• All of Muzdalifah is a place of staying²⁵.

Pebbles

• You need 7 for day 10, then 21 a day: 49 in all if you leave on the 12th, 70 if you stay for the 13th. Take a few spare. Muzdalifah or Mina are both fine to pick them.
• Small, like a chickpea. Nabi ﷺ held such pebbles and said: like these, and beware of going to extremes in religion²⁶. Big rocks, shoes and shouting are not the sunnah.

Leaving early, and how long to stay

• Nabi ﷺ let Sawdah, a heavy, slow-moving woman, leave before the crowd²⁷. He sent the weak of his family ahead at night²⁸. Asma left after the moon set and said Nabi ﷺ allowed women this²⁹.
• So the elderly, sick, women, children and those caring for them may leave after the moon sets, late in the night.
• Everyone else: Shafi'is and Hanbalis say be there some time after midnight. Malikis: long enough to settle down. Hanafis: some time between dawn and sunrise, and the weak who leave early owe nothing.

Day 10: the day of sacrifice

This is Eid al-Adha. Pilgrims do not pray the Eid prayer. Their rituals take its place. Nabi ﷺ did four acts, in this order³⁰:

1. Stone Jamrat al-Aqabah

• At the big pillar, the one nearest Makkah, throw 7 pebbles, one at a time, saying Allahu Akbar with each³¹. Each must land in the basin.
• Stop the talbiyah here. Nabi ﷺ said it until he stoned this pillar³².
• Best time: the morning. The weak may stone earlier, after leaving Muzdalifah at night³³. A man stoned late in the day, and Nabi ﷺ said: no harm³⁴.

2. The sacrifice

• Required for tamattu' and qiran: a sheep or goat, or a seventh share of a camel or cow. If you truly cannot afford it, fast three days during Hajj and seven at home³⁵.
• All of Mina is a place of sacrifice³⁶. Most pilgrims buy an official voucher. Its time is day 10 to day 12, or day 13 for Shafi'is.

3. Shave or trim

• Men: shaving is best. Nabi ﷺ prayed three times for those who shave, then for those who trim³⁷. Trim from all over the head, not a few hairs.
• Women: do not shave. Cut about a fingertip's length from the ends³⁸.

4. Tawaf al-ifadah and sa'i

• Go to the Kaaba for tawaf al-ifadah, the pillar: let them circle the Ancient House³⁹.
• Then sa'i if you made tamattu'. Those making qiran or ifrad who did sa'i after their first tawaf do not repeat it, for most scholars⁴⁰.
• Day 10 is best. Hanafis say do it by the end of day 12, or a dam is owed. The others allow it later, but do not leave without it.

Coming out of ihram, in two steps

• First release: after stoning and shaving or trimming, everything becomes allowed again, except intimacy with your spouse. Aisha put perfume on Nabi ﷺ at this point, before his tawaf⁴¹.
• Full release: after tawaf al-ifadah, and sa'i if you owe it.

Got the order wrong? No harm

People kept asking Nabi ﷺ: I shaved before I sacrificed, I sacrificed before I stoned. Every time he said: do it, and there is no harm⁴²⁴³.

Most scholars say the order is sunnah. Hanafis and Malikis require parts of it, with a dam if it is broken. If you follow them, ask your group's scholar.

The days of tashriq: back in Mina

Days 11, 12 and 13 are the days of tashriq. Allah says: remember Allah during the counted days. Whoever hurries on in two days, there is no sin on him, and whoever stays on, there is no sin on him⁴⁴.

• Sleep in Mina on the nights of the 11th and 12th, most of the night. Nabi ﷺ excused his uncle Abbas, who gave water to the pilgrims⁴⁵, and the camel herders⁴⁶. People with real need are excused.
• Camps outside Mina: Mina is full, and many camps are now in the area next to it. Many scholars today say this counts when there is no room.
• Each day, stone all three pillars: the small one, then the middle, then the big one. Seven pebbles each, with Allahu Akbar⁴⁷.
• After the small and middle pillars, step aside, face the qiblah, raise your hands and make a long dua. After the big one, just leave⁴⁸.
• The time starts after midday. Ibn Umar said: we waited until the sun passed its highest point, then we stoned⁴⁹. Many scholars allow stoning into the night, which is much quieter.

Leaving on the 12th or the 13th

• The 12th: stone after midday, then leave. Most scholars say be out of Mina before sunset, or stay and stone on the 13th. Hanafis allow leaving until dawn on the 13th. Set off in good time, because of traffic.
• The 13th: this is what Nabi ﷺ did, and it has more reward. Stone after midday, then leave.

Help for the weak, and missed stoning

Allah says: fear Allah as much as you are able⁵⁰.

Stoning by proxy

• Someone who cannot stone because of illness, old age, pregnancy, disability or being a small child may ask another pilgrim to stone for them. All four schools allow it.
• The proxy should be making Hajj that year. At each pillar, he throws his own seven first, then seven for the other person.
• It is for real weakness. A healthy person who finds the crowd tiring should go at a quieter time and stone for themselves.

If you missed a day

• Nabi ﷺ let the camel herders join two days of stoning on one day⁵¹⁵².
• So most scholars say a missed day can be made up later in the days of tashriq: stone for the missed day first, all three pillars in order, then for today.
• If the days of tashriq end at sunset on the 13th with stoning still missed, most scholars say a dam is owed. Your Hajj is still valid.

The farewell tawaf

Nabi ﷺ said: none of you should leave until his last act is at the House⁵³. This is tawaf al-wada', the farewell tawaf.

• Seven rounds, just before you leave Makkah, with no sa'i after it.
• Small things after it are fine: food, waiting for the bus, your bags. If you stay on much longer, do it again.
• Required for Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, sunnah for Malikis. People who live in Makkah do not do it.
• If you delayed tawaf al-ifadah until you leave, many scholars say it counts for both.

Women on their period are excused

The people were told to make the House their last act, except that women on their period were excused⁵⁴. She leaves without it and owes nothing. The same goes for bleeding after childbirth.

But tawaf al-ifadah is different. It is a pillar. Nabi ﷺ told Aisha: do everything the pilgrims do, except tawaf of the House, until you are pure⁵⁵.

Penalties: the dam, in plain words

Hajj has a built-in way to fix mistakes. For a man who must shave because of illness, Allah says: then a ransom of fasting, or charity, or a sacrifice⁵⁹.

• Forgot or did not know? For perfume or stitched clothes by mistake, many scholars say nothing is owed. Stop when you remember.
• Intimacy before the first release is the most serious mistake. It can spoil the Hajj. Ask a scholar at once.

After Hajj: keeping its spirit

Allah says: when you have finished your rites, remember Allah as you remember your fathers, or even more⁶¹.

• Whoever makes Hajj and avoids intimacy and sin comes back like the day his mother gave birth to him⁶². An accepted Hajj has no reward except Paradise⁶³.
• Scholars say a sign of an accepted Hajj is that you come home better: more careful with salah, kinder at home, more honest at work.
• Keep one habit from Hajj: the dua of Arafah, daily Quran, patience in queues. Many pilgrims also visit Madinah: see Visiting Madinah.

Common questions

The crowds were so bad I could not stone on the 11th. Is my Hajj ruined?

No. Most scholars say make it up on the 12th: first stone for the 11th, all three pillars in order, then for the 12th⁶⁴. Stoning at night is allowed by many scholars and is quieter. If you are weak, appoint a proxy. Only if the days of tashriq end with stoning missed is a dam owed.

I lost my group at Muzdalifah. What do I do?

Stay calm. Anywhere in Muzdalifah counts⁶⁵. Pray Maghrib and Isha, rest, pray Fajr, then walk to Mina with the crowd, stone the big pillar, and find your camp. Always carry your camp card, camp number and your group leader's phone number. Scouts and police in Mina can direct you.

I got sick on the day of Arafah. Does my Hajj still count?

If you are inside Arafah at any time between midday on the 9th and dawn on the 10th, it counts, even lying in your tent or a clinic there⁶⁶. Patients in Makkah hospitals are usually taken to Arafah by ambulance. Later, someone can stone for you. If you made a condition when you entered ihram, ask your group's scholar what it allows⁶⁷.

My period came before tawaf al-ifadah, and my flight is booked. What can I do?

Tawaf al-ifadah is a pillar, so it cannot just be skipped⁶⁸. First, try hard to change the flight, or stay with a mahram until you are pure. If that is truly impossible, scholars differ. Some, like Ibn Taymiyyah, say she may make the tawaf in that state, well protected, and it counts, because she has no other way. Hanafis say it counts but a penalty is owed. Others say she travels, and she and her husband stay apart until she comes back to do it. Speak to your group's scholar before you fly. Many scholars also allow taking medicine to delay a period before Hajj, if a doctor says it is safe.

Our camp is in the area next to Mina, not inside it. Is that OK?

Many scholars today say yes. When Mina is full, staying in the nearest area counts. You did not choose it, and Allah asks only what you can do⁶⁹.

I shaved before my sacrifice was done. Do I owe a dam?

For most scholars, no. A man asked Nabi ﷺ this exact question, and he said: sacrifice now, and there is no harm⁷⁰. Hanafis and Malikis treat the order as more binding, so if you follow them, ask your group's scholar.