Muslim Advice

Muslim Advice

Article 211
It is obligatory for a pilgrim to perform a two Rak’ats prayer after performing Tawaf, and the obligatory precaution is to perform it behind the Maqam of Ibrahim (a.s.), and it is not necessary to be connected to that, only if it is performed in a place that people says it is behind Maqam of Ibrahim (a.s.) that is enough.
Article 212

The Meaning of ‘Umrah
The word ‘umrah in common speech "visit", but in the Shari’ah it means paying a visit to the Bayt Allah alHaram (the Sacred House of God, i.e. the Holy Ka'bah) in a specific form.
The Kinds of ‘Umrah
The ‘Umrah is of two kinds: the first which is performed independently of the Hajj (called al‘Umrat almufradah almustaqillah ‘an alHajj), and the second kind which is performed in conjunction with the Hajj (al‘Umrat almundammah ila alHajj). The al‘Umrat almufradah, the independent ‘Umrah, all the five legal schools agree, can be performed at all times of the year, though it is meritorious to perform it during the month of Rajab according to the Imamiyyah, and in Ramadan according to the four Sunni schools.

Riyadh rejects requests by 40 countries to increase their Haj quota this year because of development projects now under way in Mecca and Medina.

RIYADH // Saudi Arabia has rejected requests by 40 countries to increase their Haj quota this year because of development projects now under way in Mecca and Medina.
"The ministry has apologised to all countries which had asked to increase the number of their pilgrims this year ... [because of] the giant development projects in Mecca and Medina which make it difficult to accommodate more numbers," Bandar Al Hajjar, the Haj minister, was reported as saying.
Every Muslim country has a Haj quota of 1,000 pilgrims per million inhabitants.
The quota system was imposed after an attempt by Saudi police to stifle a demonstration by Iranian pilgrims holding an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in 1987 sparked clashes in which 402 people died, including 275 Iranians.

Each day of this month is an important in the Islamic calendar and Muslims around the world observe the sacred month by fasting from dawn to dusk, performing nightly prayers, with offering daily obligatory prayers.

New Delhi, June 8: The holy month of Ramadan which is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar has started and entered its second day. Each day of this month is an important in the Islamic calendar and Muslims around the world observe the sacred month by fasting from dawn to dusk, performing nightly prayers, with offering daily obligatory prayers and having food with family and friends. As soon as the month end a three-day holiday is celebrated worldwide with Eid-ul-Fitr and after that people prepare themselves to return to their regular daily routine.
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam. The month of Ramadan also known as Ramzan in Asia is celebrated vastly as during this month the Holy Quran was revealed for mankind.

Article 1
Hajj is obligated to be performed, by a Muslim, once in a lifetime. One must be;
1- An adult
2- Sane
3- Having provisions for the journey e.g. Transporation, accomodation food cost
4- Having the permission to travel and not having any difficulty in the way, like fear of life, assets or honor.
5- Having physical abilities for performing the acts of Hajj.
6- Having enough time for reaching Mecca and performing the acts.
7 Having enough savings to support the cost of living of family members left behind and any other person under the pilgrim’s charge, when the pilgrim goes for Hajj.
8- Having a job or business that the pilgrim can resume after returning from Hajj. Pilgrim should be able to be financially able for day to day expenses for himself and those who are under his support e.g. family
Article 2

The Islamic calendar is based on the year prophet Muhammad ( ) and his fellow Muslims (known as Sahabah, the Companions) emigrated to Madinah in the year 622 C.E. (Christian Era). The emigration took place after thirteen years of persecutions by the disbelievers of Makkah. By the command of God, the Prophet left the city with his companion Abu Bakr Siddique (R.A.) and escaped a death threat by the disbelievers. The event marks the beginning of a second phase of the Islamic movement. It is the phase when Madinah became the center of an Islamic state.

The Islamic calendar is lunar. Each month must begin with the evening when the new moon is sightable by the unaided naked eye. Muslims are obligated to sight the crescent in every country. Different countries may begin the year at different days based on their own sightings. The calendar is called Hijri calendar. The Arabic word Hijrah means emigration.

As it is said before, the first act of Umrah and Hajj is “Ihram” and obligatory acts of Ihram are three things as follows:
Article 63
First: Niyyah (Intention)
Making intention of Ihram as in the way that the pilgrim should intend not to perform the acts (that will be mentioned later) and consider them as Haraam for himself/herself and performs the acts of Umrah or Hajj after that, and by considering that meaning it is enough to say by words or in his/her heart:
“I wear Ihram for Umrah al-Tamattu’ for obligatory (or Mustahab) Hajj for myself (or in behalf of a person whom I am his/her proxy) for closeness to Allah (قربة الی الله)” and the purpose of saying I wear Ihram is to prohibiting himself/herself from the acts (which will be mention later).
And the pilgrim says for Ihram of Hajj: “I wear Ihram for obligatory Hajj for closeness to Allah (قربة الی الله)” and in Umrah al-Mufradah: “I wear Ihram for Umrah al-Mufradah for closeness to Allah (قربة الی الله)”.
Article 64

Article 20
Hajj can be performed in three ways: “Hajj al-Tamattu’”, “Hajj al-Qiran” (Hajj al-Qiran involves combining Umrah and Hajj, with only one Ihram for both) and “Hajj al-Ifrad” (Hajj al-Ifrad involves performing Hajj only. A sacrificial animal is not obligatory when performing Hajj al-Ifrad).
“Hajj al-Tamattu’” is to be performed by people who live forty-eight miles (approximately seventy-seven kilometers) or more from Mecca and the second and the third ways are for the people who live in great Mecca or in a place closer than this distance.
Article 21
Whenever a person who lives in Mecca travels out of Mecca and returns to the city, then this person can perform Hajj al-Tamattu’, Hajj al-Qiran or Hajj al-Ifrad.

Article 254
It has been mentioned before that the Miqat of Ihram for “Hajj al-Tamattu’” is “Mecca”, and there is no difference between places in Mecca. It is enough to be performed from Masjid al-Haraam, other mosques, streets and avenues or houses and there is also no difference between old and new Mecca, even places which have been advanced today to Mena and Arafat, it is possible to wear Ihram from all of these places. But it is obligatory precaution not to wear Ihram from places of Mecca which are farther than “Masjid al-Tan’eem” (Masjid al-Tan'eem is the closest boundary of Haram) and the best place is Masjid al-Haraam.
Article 255
The best time for wearing Ihram is the eighth day of Dhu’l-Hijjah, but it is possible to do this three days before and go to Mena from there in order to go to Arafat from that place; Old and ill persons can move to that place sooner than this time if they are afraid or congestion of crowd.
Article 256

The hajj is the annual pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Makka (often spelled Mecca), which occurs between the 7th and 12th (or sometimes the 13th) of Dhu al-Hijjah--the last month of the Islamic calendar. The comparable dates for the hajj in the Gregorian calendar change from year to year because the Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian. It's a mandatory duty for all Muslims to complete the pilgrimage once in their lifetime, provided they are physically and financially able to do so.
The hajj is the single largest annual gathering of human beings on earth, and there are many holy rituals associated with the pilgrimage--including how one dresses to complete the hajj. For a pilgrim traveling to Makka for the hajj, at a point about ten km (six miles) from the city, he or she pauses to change into special clothes that symbolize an attitude of purification and humbleness.

It's best to travel light, so only take essentials.
Many pilgrims fly to Jeddah, and then travel to Mecca by bus.
Once you get to Mecca, there are two rituals which you can perform; the lesser pilgrimage or Umra, and the main pilgrimage or Hajj.
The Umra is an extra, optional pilgrimage and does not count as the once-in-a-lifetime Hajj. Although it includes some of the rituals of the Hajj, they are shortened and there are fewer of them.
Most pilgrims who come for the Hajj arrive a few days before it actually starts and perform Umra first. Combining the Hajj with the Umrah is called a Hajji-Tamattu.
Being pure
To carry out the pilgrimage rituals you need to be in a state of Ihram, which is a special state of ritual purity.
You do this by making a statement of intention, wearing special white clothes (which are also called ihram) and obeying the regulations below.
The person on the Hajj may not:
• Engage in marital relations
• Shave or cut their nails

The word Hajj, linguistically, means heading to a place for the sake of visiting; in Islamic terminology, it implies heading to Makkah to observe the rituals of pilgrimage.
Hajj is obligated by Allah upon every Muslim, male and female, who is physically and financially capable. It is obligatory only once during the lifetime of a Muslim. Allah Almighty Says (what means): {…And [due] toAllah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House – for whoever is able to find thereto a way….} [Quran 3:97]

The Prophet said: “Islam is built upon five (pillars): the testimony that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of the prayer, paying Zakat, Hajj to the House (i.e. Ka’bah,) and fasting in Ramadan.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The Prophet also said: “Hajj is mandated once, so whoever does it more (than that), then it is supererogatory.” [Abu Daawood and Ahmad]

After years of reducing Hajj visa numbers due to construction in Makkah, Saudi Arabia is now reportedly planning to increase quotas in the coming years.
According to Arab News, King Salman has approved a proposal to increase the number of pilgrims from inside and outside of Saudi Arabia during this year’s Hajj.
The move to restore quotas comes after years of construction work in the holy city winds down.

It will likely come as good news for people around the world who have been frustrated with a scarcity of Hajj visas, including in Doha.
Last year, some 18,400 people in Qatar applied for 1,200 spots. Of those, 900 were reserved for nationals.
10-year low
The pilgrimage, which a Muslim is required to perform at least once in his or her lifetime, will take place at the end of August and beginning of September.
According to Arab News, the number of pilgrims hit a 10-year low in 2016, at 1.86 million. In 2007, it was reportedly at 2.4 million.

Article 190
Seven things are obligatory in Tawaf:
First and Second
Tawaf should be begun from al-Hajar al-Aswad (the black stone) and should finish at al-Hajar al-Aswad. It is enough that beginning and finishing is accepted by the normal place from al-Hajar al-Aswad, and it is not necessary to notice in part of body to be parallel to the parts of al-Hajar al-Aswad, but it is obligatory precaution to start Tawaf a little before al-Hajar al-Aswad and finish it a little after al-Hajar al-Aswad in order to be sure about performing seven complete rounds.
Third
It is obligatory to perform Tawaf in the way that the Kaa’ba is at the left side of the body as is common among Muslims, and Tawaf on the upper levels of Masjid al-Haraam is not free of problem in other than the cases of necessity.
Article 191

Article 204
Doubt after completing Tawaf in the amount of rounds or in conditions of Tawaf like performing ablution or other acts correctly, should be ignored.
Article 205
Whenever a pilgrim has doubt after reaching al-Hajar Al-Aswad that did he/she perform seven rounds or eight rounds or more, he/she should ignore that doubt and Tawaf is correct; also if during the rounds he/she has doubt that if this is the seventh or eighth round or more than that, this doubt should be ignored and after finishing that round Tawaf is correct.
Article 206
Whenever a pilgrim doubts about performing less than an amount in obligatory Tawaf (like the doubt between six and seven or five and six etc.) it is obligatory precaution to leave that Tawaf and restart if from the beginning (this is for obligatory Tawaf), but in Mustahab Tawaf he/she can consider it as the lesser number and Tawaf is correct.
Article 207