The reward of a pilgrimage offered with sincerity, conscientiousness and proper submission to God is complete forgiveness of all one’s past sins.
* Ihram at Meeqat.
(i) Two Rakats Nafil and Niyah (Declaration of Intention) and Talbiyah must be performed for Hajj and Umrah combined (Qiran) or
ii) Two Rakats Nafil and Niyah and Talbiyah must be performed for Umrah only (Tamattu) or
iii) Two Rakat Nafil and Niyah and Talbiyah must be performed for Hajj only (Ifraad).
* Tawaf Qudoom in Makkah (Arrival Tawaf).
* Two Rakats Nafil /Drink Zamzam.
* Sai’e
For Qiran maintain Ihram until Hajj.
For Tamattu, one can come out of Ihram.
8th Dhul Hijjah
* Ihram from Makkah
* For those residing in Makkah, Ihram is from place of residence.
* Two Rakats Nafil and Niyah for Hajj and Talbiyah.
* Arrival in Mina before Zuhr. Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha prayers and Fajr Prayer of 9 Dhul Hijjah.
9th Dhul Hijjah
* After Fajr prayer, arrival at Arafat
* Zuhr, Asr shortened and combined in Nimrah Mosque or wherever the tents have been put up in the camps.
* tanding at Arafat, after sunset, departure to Muzdalifah without performing Maghrib prayer at Arafat.
* Arrival at Muzdalifah, delayed Maghrib and Isha prayers with one Azan and two Iqamats combined. (Isha shortened)
* Collect pebbles for Rami of Jamra. Pebbles may also be collected in Mina.
10th Dhul Hijjah
* Arrival at Mina after Fajr prayer in Muzdalifah.
* Lapidation (Rami) at Jamra Aqaba (Big Satan) before sun is past meridian.
* Sacrifice animal. One lamb or sheep per person. Camel and cow can be shared by 7 persons.
* Haircut or shaving of head.
* Come out of Ihram.
* Tawaf Ifadah / Ziarah
11th Dhul Hijjah
* Lapidation (Rami) at all the three Jamarats after the sun is past meridian (seven pebbles at each Jamra)
* Stay in Mina
12th Dhul Hijjah
* Lapidation to be repeated as on 11 Dhul Hijjjah
* Leave Mina before sunset. Perform Tawaf Ifadah if not performed yet.
13th Dhul Hijjah
* If sun sets in Mina, stay there and do lapidation as on the previous two days after the sun is past meridian, leave Mina for home.
* Tawaf Wida (Farewell Tawaf) when leaving Makkah for Madinah or home country.
The Talbiyah
Pilgrims are also recommended to repeat the traditional phrase declaring that they are responding to Allah’s call for them to offer the pilgrimage and complete it. They repeat these phrases as they go into Ihram. Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Labbaik Laa Shareeka Laka Labbaik Innal Hamda Wannimata laka walmulk Laa Shareeka Lak “I respond to Your call my Lord I respond to You, there is no diety save You. All praise, grace and dominion belong to You. You have no partners.” Men should utter this aloud while women should say it silently. Repeat this Talbiyah frequently, and engage in the praise of Allah, in supplication for forgiveness, and in the enjoining of what is good and the forbidding of what is evil.
Essentials of Pilgrimage
There are four essentials of pilgrimage which must be done for it to be valid. Omitting anyone of these will invalidate one’s pilgrimage. These are:
1. Ihram
2. Attendance at Arafat at the specified time
3. The Tawaf of ifadah and
4. Sa’ie between Safah and Marwah
5. A fifth essential is added by Al-Shafie school of thought, which is to shave one’s head (for men only) or to shorten one’s hair.
Restrictions of Ihram
In the state of Ihram the following acts are forbidden.
To cut or shave the hair of head or body, till the sacrifice of animals is completed.
To cut the nails.
To wear stitched clothes (for men only).
To wear turban or cap or anything which covers the heads (for men only).
To wear shoes or socks above the ankle.
To cover the face
To perform Nikah or to arrange for Nikah.
To hunt animals.
To fight or quarrel.
To have sex,
Guidelines for Women Pilgrims
Performing Hajj without Mahram is forbidden. According to Nusrat Ibn Abbas, (RA), the Prophet (Pbuh) has said that no woman should make the Hajj journey without a Mahram. Mahram means a person with whom a marriage is not possible, example father, son, nephew, son-in-law, paternal uncle and maternal uncle. Some women consider anyone as brother or son for the sake of making a journey. This is not allowed by Shariah.
Ihram for Women
* It is obligatory for women to cover the head.
* Stitched clothes are allowed.
* Any colour of dress is allowed.
Bukhari and Ahmad have reported that the Prophet said: “A woman pilgrim must not cover her face.” This proves that a woman in the state of Ihram should not cover her face. The scholars, however, say that there is no harm if she covered her face with something other than a veil. She may also use an umbrella or similar item as a screen between men and herself. But if she is afraid of tempting others, she must cover her face. ‘Aishah said: “Men on camels used to pass by us while we were with the Prophet, and in the state of Ihram. We would cover our face with our gowns when they passed by us, and then uncover them again.”
On Menstrual Days
* It is reported by Hazrat Aishah (RA) that once on a Hajj Pilgrimage when she experienced the monthly period, the Prophet, noticing her inconvenience said: “There is no need to cry. This is something that Allah has made as a natural occurrence for daughters of Adam (Pbuh), meaning all women. The Prophet said to ‘Aishah once when she menstruated: “You may perform all rites (of Hajj) as other pilgrims do, except performing tawaf around the Ka’bah which you may do after you are clean and no longer menstruating.”
* It is permissible for a woman to enter the state of Ihram in case she has experienced menstrual period by performing the ghusl (obligatory bath) and making the niyat (intention) of Hajj or Umrah. She will have to recite: Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Labbaik Laa Shareeka Laka Labbaik Innal Hamda Wannimata laka walmulk Laa Shareeka Lak. This is enough for her to enter the state of Ihram.
* She may not offer the two rak’ats nafil salat of Ihram until she is fully clean and performed the obligatory ghusl (bath).
* After Ihram, she may perform the duties of Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina.
* She may not perform tawaf in this state after reaching Makkah.
* She may recite Istaghfar and all other duas.
* Women may touch and kiss the Black Stone when there is an opportunity and no men are around.
* Staying at Arafah means physical and mental presence in any part of Arafah, whether one is awake, asleep, riding, sitting, lying down, walking, and regardless of whether one is in a state of purity or not, e.g., a menstruating woman.
* Persons who for valid reasons, illness, etc., cannot themselves throw the pebbles may ask someone else to throw pebbles on their behalf.
* Women Pilgrims do not have to shave (their heads); they may only shorten their hair.” Ibn ‘Umar said, “when a woman (Pilgrim) wants to cut off her hair, she may hold her hair at the front and cut it off about the length of the tip of a finger.
Acts Prohibited During the State of Ihraam
* Sexual intercourse as well as all sex-play and acts and talks of romance. Quarrelling and fighting.
* Hunting animals.
* To inform a hunter of the whereabouts of an animal.
* To aid a hunter in anyway whatever.
* To chase a wild animal.
* To break an egg of a wild bird.
* To injure any wild animal, even removing its feathers.
* To sell wild animals.
* To purchase wild animals.
* To cut hair and nails or to ask another person to cut one’s hair and nails.
Qurbani – Sacrifice
In Islam, sacrifice, commonly known as Qurbani, means slaughter of a permissible animal in the name of Allah on the 10th, 11th or 12th of the Islamic month of Zil Hujjah.
It is Sunnah (a symbolic obligation) practised by Prophet Muhammad, in an essential religious rite in memory of the sacrifice performed by Prophet Abraham. God put Abraham to a most difficult trial, the details of which are described in the Qur’an. “O my Lord! Grant me (Abraham) a righteous (son)!” So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear. “Then, when the (son) reached the age of serious work with him, he said: “O my son I see in a vision that I offer you in sacrifice: Now say what is your view!” (The son) said: “O My father! Do as you are commanded: You will find me if God so wills, one practising patience and constancy!” So when they had both submitted their wills (to God), and he had made him prostrate on his face (for sacrifice), We called out to him: “O Abraham! You have already fulfilled the vision!” Thus indeed do we reward those who do right. “For this was obviously a trial and We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice: and We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times: Peace and salutation to Abraham! (37:100-109).
This is the origin of the Islamic precept of sacrifice in fulfillment of God’s command provided in the Qur’an: “… to your Lord turn in prayer and sacrifice.” (108:2).
The aim of sacrifice, like all other fundamentals of Islam, is to imbibe piety and self righteousness. It also promotes the spirit of sacrifice for a right cause. To explain its purpose, God says in the Qur’an. “It is not their meat, nor their blood, that reaches God, It is their piety that reaches God”: (22:37)
Precepts and practices pertaining to Qurbani, according to Hanafi Fiqh.
On Whom is Sacrifice Waajib?
Sacrifice during the days of Eid-ul-Adha is waajib (compulsory) on all Muslims (male and female) who own wealth to the value of the Zakat Nisaab on these days of sacrifice (10th, 11th and 12th Dhul Hijjah). The Nisaab value is of gold or 612, grams of silver.
Whoever possesses this amount of wealth during this period should make the sacrifice.
Sacrifice is not obligatory upon those who are not in possession of this amount of wealth (i.e. the Nisaab value of Zakat). However, even if sacrifice is not waajib upon one, an effort should be made to make this great offering so that one may gain the tremendous amount of rewards which the virtue of sacrifice carries.
What to Sacrifice
All the permissible (halal) domesticated or reared quadrupeds can be offered for Qurbani. Generally, slaughter of goats, sheep, rams, cows, and camels is offered.
Sharing
It is permissible for seven persons to share the sacrifice of a cow or a camel on the condition that no one’s share is less than one seventh and their intent is to offer Qurbani.
Age of Sacrificial Animals
Sacrifice of goat or sheep less than one year old (unless the sheep is so strong and fat that it looks to be a full one year old) is not in order. Cow should be at least two years old. Camels should not be less than five years old.
Disqualifying defects
Sacrifice of an animal will not be in order if it is one eyed, or blind, or has lost an estimated one third or more of its eyesight, or estimated one third or more of its tail, or its ear has been cut off, or it is lame, or its bones have no marrow, or it has no ears by birth or its horns have been broken from their roots, or it has no teeth at all.
If the number of teeth intact exceeds the lost ones, it is permissible. If it has no horns by birth, or has less than one third broken horns it is permissible.
Distribution of meat
One should eat the meat of the sacrifice, give it to relations and friends, (to non-Muslims also) and also to the poor in charity. One third should be given in charity, but if it be less, it will not be a sin.
Injunctions as to Skin, etc.
It is not permissible to give a portion of meat or the skin of the slaughtered animal as wages. They should instead be given to the needy in charity. Even the rope and cover of the sacrificed animal should be given away as charity.
Injunction as to sacrifice giver
It is commendable that one who intends to offer a sacrifice should refrain from having a hair cut, a shave, and pruning of nails, from the 1st of Zul-Hujjah (upto the time he has performed the sacrifice).
Intention
In the first instance, one who proposes to offer sacrifice must make an intention to that effect.
Takbeer-e-Tashreek
The Takbeer Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar. Laa ilaaha illallaahu wallaahu Akbar. Allaahu Akbar walillaahil hamd Translation: “Allah is most great. Allah is most great. There is no deity besides Allah and Allah is most Great. Allah is most Great and Verily all praises are for Allah.”
It is waajib to recite this Takbeer audibly once after every Farz prayers from the morning of the ninth of Dhul Hijjah (Day of Arafah) till the Asr prayers of the thirteenth of Dhul Hijjah. The one who performs prayers with the congregation, and the one who performs it alone are the same as far as this law is concerned i.e. it is necessary to recite the Takbeer. Women can recite the Takbeer softly and men should recite in a moderately loud voice.
The Eid Prayers
Recite the Takbeer audibly while going for the Eid Prayers.
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