Five Chapter 5: Ḥajj

 Lesson 27: Laws of Ḥajj

Ḥajj means visiting the house of Allāh (the Ka̒bah in Mecca] and performing those acts which have been ordered to be performed there. Ḥajj is one of the foundations of religion, and leaving it is one of the major sins.

A- The Conditions for the Obligation of the Ḥajjatul Islam

It is obligatory on someone who fulfills the following conditions:

1. He must be an adult (Bāligh);
2. He must be sane (ʿĀqil);
3. He must be free (not a slave);
4. Being able to perform Ḥajj (Istiṭā‘at);
5. By performing Ḥajj, one must not leave an important obligatory act or perform an unlawful act that is more important than performing Ḥajj (Issue 2079).

B- The Ability to Perform Ḥajj (Istiṭā‘At)

One: The Conditions of Ability (Istiṭā‘At)

1. Financial ability: The Ḥajj journey and everything a person needs must be funded sufficiently.
2. Physical ability: Having the mental and physical health to journey to Mecca and perform the acts of Ḥajj.
3. No Obstruction: There must not be an obstruction on the way.
4. Time: Having enough time to travel to Mecca and perform the acts of Ḥajj;
5. Expenses for the family: There must be sufficient funds to pay the family’s living costs and the expenses of anyone else dependent on him;
6. After returning from the Ḥajj journey, having a business, a farm, property income, or another way to earn a living is necessary (Issue 2079).

Two: Laws of Ability (Istiṭā‘At)

1. A person who does not have a home, a car, etc., will face hardship and difficulty; Ḥajj will become obligatory only when he has the funds for it (Issue 2080).
2. For a woman who does not have a husband and cannot go on Ḥajj alone, Ḥajj becomes obligatory on her if she has the support of two people and does not face the hardships of life after returning from Ḥajj (Issue 2081).
3. If Ḥajj becomes obligatory, but the person does not perform it until he loses the ability to perform it, he must perform it any way he can (Issue 2084).

C- The Five Mīqāts

Mīqāt is where pilgrims must wear Ihrām for Ḥajj and Umrah. In Ḥajj al-Tamattu̒, Ihrām is worn in one of the following five Mīqāts:

1- Masjid al-Shajarah is the place to wear Ihrām for those who go for the Ḥajj of Medina to Mecca.

2. Juhfah is the place to wear Ihrām for the people of Syria, Egypt, and the west and those who pass from there;
3. Qarn al-Manāzil is the place to wear Ihrām for the people of tā’if and those who pass from that way.
4. Wadi Aqiq is the place to wear Ihrām for the people of Iraq and Najd and those passing through there;
5. Yalamlam is the place to wear Ihrām for the people of Yemen and those who pass from there.

D- The Conditions of the Tawāf

The five conditions of tawāf are as follows:

1. Intention (niyyat);
2. The purity of hadath, which means being in a state of wudū and Ghusl;
3. The purity of impurities (not Najis);
4. Circumcision (only for men);
5. Coverage of the private parts.

E- Kinds of Ḥajj

1. There are three types of Ḥajj:

(a) The Ḥajj-ut-Tamattu̒: It is the duty of those whose home towns are 16 or more farsakhs from the Masjid al-Ḥarām;

1. b) Ḥajj-ul-Ifrād: It is the duty of those who are natives of Mecca or its surrounding regions up to a distance that is less than sixteen (16) farsakhs from Masjid al-Ḥarām;
2. c) Ḥajj-ul-Qirān: it is the duty of those who are natives of Mecca or its surrounding regions up to a distance that is less than sixteen (16) farsakhs from Masjid al-Ḥarām (Issue 2091).

2.Ḥajj-ut-Tamattu̒ consists of two parts; the first is Umrah-Tut-Tamattu̒ and the second is Ḥajj-ut-Tamattu̒. The Umrah must be performed before the Ḥajj (Issue 2092).

F- Umrah

One: Types of Umrah

There are two types of Umrah: Mufradah and Tamattu̒, each of which is either obligatory or recommended:

1. Mustahabb Mufradah Umrah:

It is recommended to perform every month of the year.

2. Obligatory Mufradah Umrah:
3. a) Those who live less than (16) farsakh of Masjid al-Ḥarām and have become mustatia (financial ability) for the first time.
4. b) It becomes obligatory to fulfill a vow, oath, promise, etc., on a person.
5. c) Those who enter Mecca.
6. Obligatory Umrah-Tut-Tamattu̒:

Those who have financial and physical capabilities and are more than (16) farsakhs from Masjid al-Ḥarām.

4. Mustahab Umrah-Tut-Tamattu̒:

Ḥajj itself is mustahab, just like the second Ḥajj.

Two: Mandatory Acts of Ummrah-Tut-Tamattu̒

Ummrah-tut-Tamattu̒ only performs in months of Ḥajj (Shawwal, Dhul-Qaḍāh, and Dhul-Hijjah). The following five acts must be performed during Ummrah-tut-Tamattu̒:

1. The wearing iḥrām at one of the Miqāts (certain places);
2. Circumambulation of Ka’ba (Tawaf round the Ka’ba);
3. Prayer of Tawaf (salat) after the Tawaf;
4. To perform Sa’i (shuttling) between Safa and Marwah;
5. Taqsir (cutting the hair or nail) (Issue 2094).

L- Ḥajj-Ut-Tamattu̒

Ḥajj-Ut-Tamattu̒ should be performed after Umrah-tut- Tamattu̒, and thirteen acts are obligatory as follows:

1. Wearing iḥrām from Mecca;
2. Staying (wuquf) in Arafat from noon until the sunset of the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah;
3. Staying (wuquf) in Mashar al-Haraam from the dawn until the sunrise of Eid-ul-Adhha;
4. Going to Mena and performing Ramy al-Jamarah al- Aqaba (stoning) on the day of the Eid;
5. Slaughtering an animal in Mina on the day of Eid;
6. Taqsir, or halq, means shaving the head or cutting a piece of hair or nail;
7. Tawaf (Circumambulation) of Ka’ba;
8. Performing two Rak’ats of prayer of Tawaf;
9. Performing sa’y (shuttling) between Safa and Marwah.
10. Performing Tawaf-Un-Nisa (another Tawaf with the Intention of it);
11. Performing Two Rak’ats of prayer of Tawaf-Un-Nisa;
12. Remaining in Mina during the eleventh and the twelfth nights;
13. Performing Ramy al-Jamarat (stoning): It is the three jamarats on the eleventh and twelfth and, evidently (al adhhar),

F- Prohibited Acts for Pilgrims (Muhrim)

When a pilgrim becomes Muhrim, the following twenty-seven acts are forbidden to him:

1. Hunting the wild animals in the Ḥarām;
2. Kissing women;
3. Looking at a woman with lust;
4. Killing the beasts of the body;
5. Wearing sewn clothes for men;
6. Looking in the mirror;
7. Lying;
8. Immersion of the whole head;
9. Beautifying oneself;
10. Removing hair from the body;
11. Going under the shade for men;
12. Covering of the face by females;
13. Extracting tooth;
14. Marriage Contract, proof of marriage and courtship;
15. Performing sexual intercourse;
16. Touching a woman;
17. Use of Perfume;
18. Quarrelling (Jidal);
19. Applying antimony (Kohl);
20. Wearing shoes and socks;
21. Cutting down the shrine’s plants and trees;
22. Cutting the nails;
23. Applying oils on the body;
24. Covering the head for men;
25. Removal of blood from the body;
26. Carrying weapons;
27. Masturbating;

G- A Prayer for Qurbani

Imām Sadiq (AS) said that this prayer should be recited when slaughtering an animal for Eid -Aḍḥā (Qurban):

«وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِیَ لِلَّذِی فَطَرَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ حَنِیفاً مُسْلِماً وَ ما أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِینَ، إِنَّ صَلاتِی وَ نُسُکِی وَ مَحْیایَ وَ مَماتِی لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِینَ لا شَرِیکَ لَهُ وَ بِذلِکَ أُمِرْتُ وَ أَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِینَ، اللَّهُمَّ مِنکَ وَ لَکَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَ اللَّهُ أَکْبَرُ، اللَّهُمَّ تَقَبَّلْ مِنِّی»[1].

Exercises:

1. What are the conditions for becoming Ḥajj obligatory?
2. 2. What are the conditions of ability (Istiṭā‘at)?
3. 3. What are the types of Ḥajj?

4. What are five things that are forbidden while wearing Ihram?

[1]. Mohammad Al Koleini, Al-Kafi: vol. 9, pp 122; Al-Hajj: pp 185, hadith no. 6.