Is Entering Mecca Without Ihram Permissible When the Intention is Not for Hajj or Umra?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
If a person travels from Medina to Mecca without intending to perform Umra and doesn’t put on the ihram, then a day later in Mecca, if he suddenly decides to perform Umra, would he be able to go to Masjid ‘Aisha, put on the ihram, and perform Umra? Or would he have to pay fidya for not putting it on initially when traveling from Medina?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
A person who enters Makka without the intention of Hajj or Umra is not obliged to cross the Miqat (sacred borders) in the Ihram (pilgrim sanctity) state. Once in Makka, the person enters Ihram from their residence for Hajj or from the Hil (area outside the sanctuary) for Umra, and Allah knows best. [Ansari, Asna al-Matalib fi Sharh Rawd al-Talib]
This is clarified in the Hadith related by Imam Bukhari and reads as follows: “Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) designated Dhu Al-Hulayfa as the Miqat for the people of Medina, Al-Juhfa for the people of Sham, Qarn-al-Manazil for the people of Najd, and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen. These Mawaqit are for the people at those very places, and besides them, for those who come through those places with the intention of performing Hajj and `Umra. Whoever lives within these boundaries can assume Ihram from where he starts, and the people of Mecca can assume Ihram from Mecca.” [Bukhari]
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
