1. Pilgrims from South Africa start coming to Makkah at the beginning of Ramadhan. While some go to Madinah first, those who travel to Makkah put on their Ihram garments at Jeddah airport. Since Yalamlam is their point of Meeqat, should they not travel either to Yalamlam or to Rabigh in order to begin their consecration?
2. Some people who come for Umrah arrive in Jeddah airport in their ordinary clothes, and only begin their consecration, or Ihram, at a friend or relative’s house in the city. Please comment
1. It is not certain whether pilgrims coming from southern African areas pass by any point of Meeqat on their way before landing in Jeddah. If the flight is over the sea and it approaches Jeddah from the sea, then they certainly do not pass by any point of Meeqat before landing. This will mean that the first point in the Hill area they pass is Jeddah. The Prophet did not define any point of Ihram for those who travel by sea, which means that their Ihram should be on dry land wherever they land within the Hill area. There is a strong case to apply this to pilgrims traveling by air.
A small but increasing number of scholars consider Jeddah the point of Meeqat for all travelers by air or sea. The most notable of these is the late Sheikh Mustafa Al-Zarqa, one of the most authoritative scholars of the twentieth century. His Fatwa is based on very solid evidence, and it certainly makes things much easier for all pilgrims from distant areas. If the Fatwa counsels in Muslim countries adopt this, it will benefit most pilgrims..
2. Some scholars, most notably the late Sheikh Mustafa Az-Zarqa, who could be considered among the top ten scholars of the twentieth century in the Muslim world, argue that the Meeqat for people who travel by air or sea is at Jeddah. Their ruling is based on their conviction that such pilgrims do not pass by any other Meeqat on their journey, despite flying over it. Hence, the first point of the Hill area they get to be is Jeddah, which should be their Meeqat.
This view has much to recommend it, even though the standard verdict for such travelers is to enter into the state of consecration when the plane flies close to the Meeqat on its way. This is the view of the majority of scholars. ~
1. If a young woman wants to do the pilgrimage but she knows that she will be having her period on the seventh or eighth of Thul-Hijjah, what should she do? I should add that she has received conflicting advice from different women. Please advise.
2. If a woman arrives for pilgrimage, having chosen the Tamattu‚ method and then finds herself in her period, she is not able to do her Umrah. The same applies if she has chosen either of the other two methods: she cannot do her tawaf. What will be her status then? Could you also explain whether in the Tamattu‚ method, the Umrah must be offered in the month of Dhul Hijjah? I understand that we release ourselves from Ihram or consecration after this Umrah, until it is time for the pilgrimage. Could you please explain to what extent, and whether one can leave the Haram area as well.
1. Let me first of all tell you that Ayesha, the Prophet’s wife, praised the women of the Ansar because they did not allow their shyness to stop them from asking questions about how to conduct their religious duties. They put their questions to the Prophet, peace be upon him, overcoming the natural shyness of young women who might have felt embarrassed to ask.
From the details you have given me, some of the advice you have received suggests that a woman who is expected to have the period during pilgrimage should delay her pilgrimage. What nonsense! How on earth can she know that she will not have the same dilemma next year or the year after that? Moreover, how many of the pilgrims who have managed to come for this religious duty this year know for certain that had they delayed it, they would be able to do the pilgrimage next year? Since women have their period for one week every four weeks, then it is reasonable to assume that 20 percent of women, could be in their period during the pilgrimage. If they were to be prevented by their period from fulfilling their duties, this would create endless problems. Therefore, a woman who is in her period can go ahead and offer her pilgrimage like the rest of us observing, however, certain restrictions.
When a woman is in her period, she does not offer her prayers. This restriction applies during pilgrimage. Similarly, a woman pilgrim in her period must not enter the Holy Mosque or do the Tawaf. This is the only restriction, which applies to her when she is in that condition. In other words, she may go ahead and do all the duties of pilgrimage, because all those duties take place outside the Grand Mosque. Only the Tawaf is done inside.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, started his journey of pilgrimage, Abu Baker’s wife Asma’ bint Umais, gave birth to her son, Muhammad. She went to the Prophet, peace be upon him, asking what she should do. He instructed her to take a bath and to use some sort of absorbent material, which should be placed tightly at a suitable position to prevent her discharge from falling around the Ka’abah.
In the case which is outlined by the reader, a woman who expects to have her period on the seventh or eighth of Thul-Hijjah may wish to start her journey performing the Umrah. She may then release herself from Ihram if she opts for the Tamattu method, which is the one preferred by the Prophet, peace be upon him. She would thus have completed the Umrah. On the eighth day, regardless of the condition she finds herself in, she begins her pilgrimage, entering into the state of consecration. She may do all the duties, with the exception of the Tawaf of Ifadah. She has to delay that until she has finished her period. She does that then and follows it with the Sai’e. When she had done that, she would have finished all her duties of pilgrimage with the exception of the Tawaf of farewell, which is due just before leaving Makkah. This means that she has to time her departure and her flight, if she is leaving by plane, so as to make sure that she is able to complete her duties. The same applies to a woman who has her period after she has started her pilgrimage, but before doing the Tawaf of Ifadah.
A woman who expects to have her period during the pilgrimage days, should try to complete the Tawaf of Ifadah as soon as possible after it becomes due, so that she is able to complete her pilgrimage without allowing her period to interfere with her plans of departure. If she has done that Tawaf and she has her period after it is complete, she continues with her duties of pilgrimage. If she is due to leave for home before her period is over, she may do so, even without doing the Tawaf of farewell. She becomes exempt from it. She need not compensate for it in any way. However, if her period is over before she has left the city of Makkah, she must go back, take a bath and do the Tawaf of farewell.
If a woman enters into the state of consecration declaring her intention to do the Umrah, but starts her period of menstruation before she begins her Tawaf, she cannot do any of the duties of her Umrah until she has finished her period. If it so happens that the pilgrimage will begin before her period is over, she simply declares verbally her intention to do the pilgrimage, without releasing herself from the state of consecration. If she does this on the eighth of Thul-Hijjah, effectively her pilgrimage becomes in the Qiran method. This means that she does the action of pilgrimage only and they count for both the pilgrimage and the Umrah. She does not do the Tawaf of arrival, unless she has completed her period and taken a bath before she leaves for Arafat. She carries on with the duties of pilgrimage and she does the Tawaf of Ifadah after her period is over. She has to slaughter a sheep like every pilgrim who opts for the Qiran and Tamattu methods. This sacrifice is by way of gratitude to for enabling her to do the pilgrimage and the Umrah in the same season. She may partake of the meat of the sacrifice.
This is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, instructed Ayesha, who was in this condition. He also explained to her that her actions on pilgrimage suffice for both pilgrimage and Umrah. However, she was keen to do a Umrah separately, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, told her brother, Abdur Rahman, to take her to Attan’eem, the nearest point in the hill area to start her consecration again and to do the Umrah separately. Any woman in this position can do this if she so chooses. ~
2. The menstrual period is a natural process, which all women go through for a certain period in their lives. Therefore, a Muslim woman can do all her worship during her period, except for what is specifically pointed out as exempt, or need to be delayed. It is well-known that a woman does not pray or fast when she is in the period, but she is required to make up for her fasting days so as to bring her fasting month to its completion, but she does not make up for her missed prayers.
In pilgrimage, a woman who is going through the period performs all the pilgrimage rituals at their respective times and places except for the tawaf. It is well known that tawaf is considered a form of prayer, and it is done in the Haram. Hence, it cannot be done except in a state of complete purity. Therefore, a woman in the period must delay her tawaf until she is clean from menses. She purifies herself in the normal manner and attends to her delayed ritual. If she chooses the Tamattu‚ method, she will have to wait until her period is over before she performs her Umrah duties. If she finishes her period a day or more before the pilgrimage is due, she attends to her Umrah in the normal way. However, time for the pilgrimage may be due while she is still in the period. If she arrives in Makkah, say, three days before the pilgrimage, and her period starts when she is on the way to Makkah, then much of her pilgrimage would have been completed before she has finished her period. She attends to her pilgrimage duties, and then she performs her Umrah duties when she is able to do so. However, it may be advisable for a woman who expects to find herself in this situation to choose the Qiran method. It is more convenient for her to do so.
A woman who chooses either the Qiran or the Ifraad method and finds herself in this situation will proceed with her pilgrimage duties, but not the tawaf. If she has to go to Arafat before she has finished, she does so. When her period is over, she will have to perform her tawaf of Ifadah and this means that the tawaf of arrival is not applicable to her. It is a Sunnah anyway, and since its time is over, she simply omits it.
When we choose the Tamattu‚ method, which is the one preferred by the Prophet, peace be upon him, we perform the Umrah on arrival in Makkah, then release ourselves from Ihram until 8 Dhul Hijjah, when we are required to re-enter into that state for pilgrimage. This release from Ihram is complete, which means that a husband and wife can have full marital and sexual relation during this period of release. The Umrah in the Tamattu‚ method may be offered at any time in the months of pilgrimage, which are Shawwal, Dhul Q’adah and Dhul Hijjah. A pilgrim who performs the Umrah during this period and then performs the pilgrimage in that same year is deemed to have chosen the Tamattu‚ method, even if he does not mention that specifically at the time of his Umrah or pilgrimage. The same applies to one who leaves Makkah to travel back home after he has performed the Umrah. This means that when a pilgrim choosing the Tamattu‚ method has completed his Umrah he may travel from the Haram area. However, this is not advisable for fear that he may not be able to come back for his pilgrimage duties.
I am told that after a person has performed the pilgrimage, any sin he may commit anew will incur double punishment from God. Is this true?
In their attempt to scare people off committing sins, some people resort to exaggeration. They describe in a vivid manner the punishment, which a particular sin incurs, or try to attach a graver punishment for the same offense in particular situations, like what the reader is describing in connection with sins committed after offering the pilgrimage.
They forget that too much frightening is likely to produce a negative effect. Human beings may be motivated by hope as much as they may be motivated by fear. Hence Islam puts equal emphasis on both elements and raises the prospect of generous rewards for good deeds ahead of grievous punishment for sins. Those people who stress the element of fear and punishment are often misguided.
The rule which is so often stressed in the Qur’an, and the Hadith is that a bad deed will be punished only with what it is worth. This is expressed in the Qur’an in a most definitive manner:
“Whoever does a bad deed shall be rewarded with nothing except its like. But those who do good deeds and are believers, both men and women, shall enter the gardens of Paradise where they receive countless blessings.” (40: 40)
Please note how good deeds are rewarded much more generously than their value, but bad ones incur no more punishment than they deserve. Furthermore, the Qur’an states clearly that “Your Lord does not do injustice to anyone.” If it is claimed that a person receives a double punishment for anything, or in any circumstances, then that claim is contradictory with such statements by God Himself. These claims are certainly false.
Besides a person who goes on pilgrimage is one who has done a good deed. His punishment for future sins cannot be doubled because of that good deed. To say this is absurd. ~