It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) designated as miqats Dhul-Hulayfah (presently known as Abyar Ali) for the people of Madinah, al-Juhfah for the people of al-Sham, Qarn al-Manazil (presently known as al-Sayl al-Kabir) for the people of Najd, and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen. He also said: These miqats are for the residents of these regions and for those who come from other regions by these routes, if they come intending to perform Hajj or Umrah.[1]
It is further narrated from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) designated Dhat Irq as the miqat for the people of Iraq.[2]
It is also narrated from Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
يُهِلُّ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ مِنْ ذِي الْحُلَيْفَةِ وَيُهِلُّ أَهْلُ الشَّأْمِ مِنْ الْجُحْفَةِ وَيُهِلُّ أَهْلُ نَجْدٍ مِنْ قَرْن
The people of Madinah shall enter ihram from Dhul-Hulayfah, the people of al-Sham shall enter ihram from al-Juhfah, and the people of Najd shall enter ihram from Qarn.[3]
These miqats were designated by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, and they are part of the Shariah given by Allah. Therefore, it is not permissible for anyone to alter them or exceed the limits concerning them, nor is it permissible for those intending Hajj or Umrah to cross them without ihram. This is because doing so amounts to transgressing the limits established by Allah Almighty. Allah Most High has said:
وَمَن يَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَ اللّهِ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
And whoever transgresses the limits established by Allah—it is they who are the wrongdoers.[4]
In the hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it states:
يُهِلُّ أَهْلُ المَدِينَةِ مِنْ ذِي الحُلَيْفَةِ، وَيُهِلُّ أَهْلُ الشَّأْمِ مِنَ الجُحْفَةِ، وَأَهْلُ نَجْدٍ مِنْ قَرْنٍ
The people of Madinah shall enter ihram from Dhul-Hulayfah, the people of al-Sham shall enter ihram from al-Juhfah, and the people of Najd shall enter ihram from Qarn.[5]
The meaning of this hadith is imperative. It is for this reason that Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made the miqats obligatory and designated them, as previously mentioned.
Therefore, when a person intending to perform Hajj or Umrah crosses any of the above-mentioned miqats or passes alongside one of them, it is obligatory for him to enter ihram from there, whether he comes by land, sea, or air.
Thus, if a person comes by land and passes through the miqat, he shall stop there. If he passes at a distance alongside it, then upon coming parallel to the miqat, he shall do what is required when entering ihram, such as bathing, applying perfume to the body, and, for men, putting on the unstitched ihram garments. He shall then make the intention for ihram before departing from the miqat.
If a person comes by sea intending Hajj or Umrah and the ship stops alongside the miqat, he shall bathe, apply perfume, and, while it is stopped, the men shall put on the unstitched ihram garments. He shall then make the intention for ihram before departing from there. However, if the ship does not stop alongside the miqat, he shall bathe, apply perfume, and, while it is underway, the men shall put on the unstitched ihram garments before reaching the point parallel to the miqat. He shall then make the intention for ihram before coming parallel to the miqat.
If a person comes by air intending Hajj or Umrah, he shall bathe, apply perfume, and the men shall put on the unstitched ihram garments before boarding the aircraft. He shall then make the intention for ihram shortly before coming parallel to the miqat, without waiting until he is directly parallel to it. This is because the aircraft travels very quickly, and there may be no opportunity to do so when it is parallel to the miqat. Thus, there is no harm if he enters ihram well before coming parallel to the miqat.
The mistake some people make in this regard is that they travel by aircraft and pass over or near the miqat, then land at Jeddah Airport and enter ihram from there. Yet this is contrary to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and is a transgression of the limits established by Allah.
It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When the two cities of Basrah and Kufah were conquered, the people came to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) designated Qarn as the miqat for the people of Najd, but it lies in the opposite direction from our route. Therefore, if we go to Qarn to enter ihram, it becomes extremely difficult for us.” Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) then said, “Find a point on your route parallel to Qarn al-Manazil.” Thus, for those unable to pass through the miqat, the Commander of the Faithful and Rightly Guided Caliph regarded the point parallel to the miqat as their miqat.[6] Just as one may come parallel to the miqat by land, one may also come parallel to it by air. There is no difference between the two.
Therefore, if a person makes such a mistake—for example, he lands in Jeddah before entering ihram—he shall return to the miqat that he passed parallel to by air and enter ihram from there. If he does not do so and enters ihram from Jeddah, then according to the majority of scholars, he must slaughter a sacrificial animal as fidyah in Makkah and distribute all of its meat among the poor there. He may not eat any of it himself, nor may he give any of it as a gift to a well-off person, because it is equivalent to an expiation.
[1]. Sahih al-Bukhari 1524.
[2]. Sunan Abu Dawud 1739 and Sunan al-Nasa’i 2653.
[3]. Sahih al-Bukhari 1526 and Muslim 1181.
[4]. Surah al-Baqarah 2:229.
[5]. Sahih al-Bukhari 1525.
[6]. Sahih al-Bukhari 1531.
Hajj, Umrah, and Visiting Madinah in the Light of the Qur’an and Hadith — Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him)