Hajj Has Three Faraid (Fards)

Hajj is not sahih if any one of these three faraid is not fulfilled.

1 - To make the hajj in an ihram. An ihram, like large bath towels, consists of two white pieces of cloth, one of which is wrapped around that part of the body below the waist and the other is wrapped around the shoulders. It is not fastened with thread or secured with knots. Before beginning the Tawaf, it is sunnat to wrap the Ihram round the upper part of body, with the middle part of the ihram under the right arm and its two ends on the left shoulder.

For people who come (to Mecca) from long distances for hajj, 'umra, trade or for any other purpose, it is haram to go through the places called Miqat and enter the Harem, that is, the blessed city of Mecca, without the ihram on. Any person who passes by (the miqat without the ihram on) has to return to the Miqat and put on the ihram. If he does not put on the ihram he will have to kill an animal of qurban. Between the places called Miqat and the Harem, that is, the city of Mecca, is called Hil. People who intend to remain in the Hil for some business while going through the Miqat and people who live in the Hil are permitted to enter the Harem without the ihram except when they intend for hajj. For example, the city of Jeddah is in the Hil. The Harem is a little larger than the blessed city of Mecca and its boundaries are determined by stones set up by the Prophet Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam.' The stones have been replaced many times. For hajj the inhabitants of the Hil put on the ihram in the Hil and those who live in the Harem put it on in the Harem. The ihram is assumed when passing through the places of miqat, intending in the prescribed way and saying the prescribed prayers. It is permissible -even better- to assume the ihram before reaching the places of miqat or even in your hometown (or country). It is permissible but makruh to assume it before the months of hajj.

A person wearing the ihram is prohibited from certain things. These prohibitions include killing the animals of hunt living on land, wearing sewn clothes, shaving any part of the body, having sexual intercourse, fighting or quarreling, using perfumes, cutting the nails, (for men) wearing mests or shoes, covering the head, washing the head with marshmallows, wearing gloves or socks, entering a bath, plucking or uprooting oats or trees growing by themselves, and killing the lice found on one's body or showing them to someone else so that he will kill them. Those who do these knowingly or unknowingly or by forgetting will have to pay a penalty by killing a qurban or giving alms. The owner can eat the meat of his qurban of tamattu' or qiran. But he cannot eat the meat of qurban which he has killed in payment of a penalty. If a qarin hajji commits a fault which necessitates one qurban in mufrid hajj, it becomes necessary for him to perform two qurbans, one of which is for the 'umra.

While in the ihram it is permissible to kill fleas or all kinds of flies, lice found on someone else, animals that are harmful or that would attack a man, such as mice, snakes, scorpions, wolves, kites, to wash your head with soap, to wear clogs or other shoes with open upper-part, to have your (aching) tooth extracted, to scratch yourself slightly provided you shall not kill lice or lose hair, to wear colored ihram, to make ghusl, to sit in the shade of a roof, a dent or an umbrella, provided your head shall not touch it, to cover your head with things that are not normally used as head-covers, [such as bowls and trays], to put a parcel or the like on your head, to wear a belt or sash round your waist, to carry a money purse, a sword or a gun tied on your waist, to wear a ring, to pluck or uproot the vegetables or trees sown or planted by people, to fight your enemy.

It is necessary for women to cover their heads and permissible to veil their face, provided the veil shall not touch the skin, to wear sewn clothes, mests, stockings, and ornaments under cover.

2 - On the day of Arafa to stay for Waqfa at any place of Arafat other than the place called Wadi-yi Urana after the early and late afternoon prayers. Like all others, you stand, or sit if you cannot stand, towards the imam, and listen to the prayers he will say. Then you can sit or lie down.

A person arriving late for hajj goes directly to Arafat. He does not have to perform the Tawaf-i- qudum. If a hajji stays at Arafat for a while within the time between the early afternoon prayer on the day of Arafa and the morning prayer on the first 'Iyd day or if he passes through Arafat with his ihram on or if after putting on the ihram falls asleep or faints and is carried on a stretcher or something else and is made to carry out the Manasik or if he gets sick or faints before putting on the ihram and someone else assumes the ihram and also carries out the Manasik on his behalf before he wakes up or if he stays at 'Arafat not knowing that it is 'Arafa day, his hajj becomes sahih and he gets absolved from the tawaf-i- qudum. It is not necessary to know that the place is 'Arafat or to intend. A person who is not at 'Arafat or who does not go through 'Arafat on that special day or night cannot be a hajji, nor can one who flies by there by plane. The hajj performed a day earlier, as Wahhabis have been doing for some years, is not acceptable. A new moon sets close to the setting point of the sun and after the time of sunset. Its puffed up part is on the western side. At tarbi' (i.e., on the seventh night) the moon sets six hours later than the sun. At Badr-i tam (on the 14th night) the moon becomes a full sphere and it rises while the sun sets and sets in the morning. The daily newspaper Turkiye of July 28, 1987, on a Tuesday, stated that "In the city of Kayseri, on Sunday the new moon of the month of Zu'lhijja was not seen. On Monday, the 19.50 p.m. At 20.20 p.m., the new moon was seen and it set at 20.55 p.m." According to this information (in 1987), the first day of the month of Zu'lhijja was Tuesday. Therefore, the ninth day of the month (Wednesday) became the day of Arafa. But the Wahhabi government took the hajjis to Arafat on Monday and they prevented the ones who wanted to visit it again on Wednesday.

3 - To make Tawaf-i-ziyarat to the Kaba. Tawaf means to go round the Kaba al- muazzama within Masjid al-Haram. Seven turns are made, four of which are fard and three are wajib. It is permissible to make the tawaf by taking the well of Zamzam and the Maqam-i-Ibrahim within the circle. It is written in the book Ashbah that it is better for women not to keep close to the Kaba while making the tawaf. If there is the risk of the men touching the women, it is necessary for those who are in the Shafi'i Madhhab to imitate one of the Hanafi and Maliki Madhhabs. It is not permissible to make the tawaf outside of Masjid al-Haram. It is fard in itself to make a niyya (to intend) for the tawaf. Also, it is fard to make tawaf-i-ziyarat after (standing at) 'Arafat. If the adhan is called as you are making the tawaf or the sa'i, you put it off and complete it after performing the namaz. It is written in the marginal notes by Tahtawi in the book Maraqilfalah, "There is the fear that a person who goes round any mosque other than the Kaba for worship may become a disbeliever."