hajj ifrād’ and ‘umrah mufradah

Issue 15: Hajj ifrād and hajj tamattu‘ are similar in terms of rituals and acts of worship except for one major difference of animal slaughtering. It is mandatory in hajj tamattu‘ whereas it is a recommended act in hajj ifrād.

Issue 16: ‘Umrah mufradah is similar to ‘umrah tamattu‘ except for the following differences:

1. The rituals of ‘umrah tamattu‘ comprise taqsīr as obligatory act; whereas in ‘umrah mufradah, it is optional for the men, i.e. either he can have his head shaved or perform taqsīr. The rulings for the women are that they should perform taqsīr in both ‘umrah mufradah and ‘umrah tamattu‘.

2. In ‘umrah tamattu, ṭawāf of nisā’ and its prayer are not obligatory. However on the basis of caution, one should perform both of them before taqsīr with the intention of rajā’ (hope of being desired in shar‘). In ‘umrah mufradah, ṭawāf of nisā’ and its prayer are obligatory.

3. ‘Umrah tamattu‘ should be performed during the months of hajj: Shawwāl, Zilqa‘dah or Dhul-Ḥijjah; whereas ‘umrah mufradah can be performed any time during the year.

4. There are five mīqāts (the place where the dress for hajj or ‘umrah is worn) for ‘umrah tamattu‘. Mīqāt for ‘umrah mufradah varies with distance from Mecca. People residing in Mecca have adanā al-ḥill as mīqāt whereas people living out of Mecca are obliged to wear iḥrām from one of the five mīqāts nearest to them.

hajj qirān

Issue 17: Hajj qirān differs from hajj ifrād mainly in two aspects: animal slaughtering and becoming muḥrīm. During hajj qirān, the animal for slaughtering should accompany the person wearing iḥrām, thereby animal slaughtering is obligatory for him.

Likewise, in the hajj qirān, iḥrām is carried out by saying Labbayk (specific slogan of hajj) or by ish‘ār or taqlīd (their meanings will be mentioned in issue 140) but in hajj ifrād, iḥrām is materialized only by saying Labbayk.

General Rules for hajj tamattu‘

Issue 18: For the hajj tamattu‘ to be valid, there are certain conditions be fulfilled. They are as follows:

1. Intention, i.e. from the time of wearing iḥrām for ‘umrah of tamattu‘, he should intend to perform hajj tamattu‘; otherwise, his hajj is not in order;

2. Both ‘umrah and hajj need to be performed in the months of hajj;

3. Both ‘umrah and hajj need to be performed in the same year;

4. ‘Umrah and hajj should be performed for one person and by one person. This implies that a person who is performing hajj on the behalf of a dead person needs to perform both ‘umrah and hajj himself. Hiring two individuals to carry out the ‘umrah and hajj separately is not permitted.

Issue 19: A person, whose duty is to perform hajj tamattu‘, cannot change it on purpose and by choice to perform hajj ifrād or qirān.

Issue 20: A person, whose duty is to perform hajj tamattu‘ but knows that the time is too short to complete ‘umrah and join hajj, should change his intention from hajj tamattu‘ to hajj ifrād and after completing the rites of hajj, he should perform ‘umrah mufradah.

Issue 21: A woman, who wants to perform hajj tamattu‘ but is menstruating at the point of mīqāt, should wear iḥrām for ‘umrah tamattu‘ at mīqāt if she thinks she may be purified some time before hajj tamattu‘ and will have enough time to take ghusl, perform all the deeds of ‘umrah tamattu‘, wear iḥrām for hajj tamattu‘, and reach ‘Arafāt by 'noon' on the day of ‘Arafa.

Then, if she becomes clean from menstruation and she has sufficient time for performing deeds of ‘umrah and is able to reach ‘Arafāt by 'noon' on the day of ‘Arafa, she should do so. In case, she does not become clean or does not have sufficient time to perform the ‘umrah rituals and reach ‘Arafāt on time, she should change his intention from ‘umrah tamattu‘ to hajj ifrād, with the same iḥrām and then perform ‘umrah mufradah; this will compensate for hajj tamattu‘.

If she is sure she will not become clean before the time for iḥrām of hajj and going to ‘Arafāt on time or she will not have time to perform ‘umrah tamattu‘ rituals before going to ‘Arafāt on time, she should enter iḥrām in mīqāt intending performing what is her real duty or iḥrām of hajj ifrād. After performing hajj ifrād rituals, she perform ‘umrah mufradah and what she has done replaces hajj tamattu‘.

However, if a woman is clean in mīqāt but begins to menstruate on the way to Mecca in state of iḥrām or before performing ṭawāf of ‘umrah and its prayer or during the course of ṭawāf before completion of fourth round and is certain that she cannot be clean to perform ‘umrah deeds and reach ‘Arafāt by 'noon' on the ninth of Dhul-Ḥijjah, she has two choices:

1. She can change her intention from ‘umrah tamattu‘ to hajj ifrād and once hajj ifrād is done she should perform ‘umrah mufradah. These acts replace hajj tamattu‘.

2. She postpones ṭawāf of ‘umrah and its prayer and by performing sa‘y and taqsīr she exits iḥrām of ‘umrah. Then she should wear iḥrām of hajj, go and stay (wuqūf) in ‘Arafāt and Mash‘ar, and perform deeds in Minā and after returning to the Holy city of Mecca, she should perform ṭawāf of tamattu‘and its prayer as qaḍā’ — before performing ṭawāf of hajj and its prayer and sa‘y or after performing them. This act is a compensation for hajj tamattu‘ and nothing more is obligatory for her.

If she begins to menstruate after completing her fourth round of ṭawāf, she should leave remaining rounds of ṭawāf and its prayer, perform sa‘y and taqsīr and come out of iḥrām of ‘umrah. After this, she can stay in wuqūfs and perform rites in Minā, and upon return to Mecca, and after performing ṭawāf and its prayer and sa‘y or before performing all these rites, she should perform ṭawāf of ‘umrah and its prayer[1]. This act is a compensation for her hajj tamattu‘ and nothing more is obligatory upon her.

Issue 22: The details of rites and commandments of hajj will be mentioned in part three and in several chapters.