Chapter on the Mīqāts: Five Stations and Entering Iḥrām

1. The chapter on the mīqāts

بَابُ تَحْدِيدِ الْمَوَاقِيتِ
Translation: Chapter on specifying the boundary stations.

A mīqāt is an assigned boundary relevant to entering the state of iḥrām for pilgrimage. This passage concerns spatial boundaries, not the months of Hajj (temporal limits).

The author proceeds from named stations to residents inside those stations, then preparation, intention, and talbiyah.

2. The boundary that must not be crossed

وَالْمَوَاقِيتُ الَّتِي لَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَتَجَاوَزَهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِلَّا مُحْرِمًا خَمْسَةٌ
Translation: The boundary stations beyond which a person may not pass except in iḥrām are five.

These are the five appointed entry boundaries. A pilgrim travelling from outside them should enter iḥrām before passing the applicable station or its recognised alignment.

Muḥriman describes the legal state of iḥrām, not simply wearing two pieces of cloth. Remedies for improperly crossing a station are a separate detailed topic.

3. Distinguishing place and legal state

A mīqāt is a boundary; iḥrām is the pilgrim’s legal state of consecration. They are distinct.

Putting on pilgrimage garments at the station, without the required intention and entry formula in the Hanafi account, does not by itself establish being muḥrim.

4. Stations for Medina, Iraq, and Syria

لِأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ذُو الْحُلَيْفَةِ، وَلِأَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ ذَاتُ عِرْقٍ، وَلِأَهْلِ الشَّامِ الْجُحْفَةُ
Translation: For people travelling by the Medina route: Dhū al-Ḥulayfah; the Iraq route: Dhāt ʿIrq; and the Syria route: al-Juḥfah.

The first three are Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, Dhāt ʿIrq, and al-Juḥfah, named for classical regional approach routes.

A pilgrim’s present-day nationality is not necessarily the deciding factor: the route actually travelled determines the relevant station or its alignment.

5. Dhū al-Ḥulayfah and al-Juḥfah

Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, near Medina, is also widely called Abyār ʿAlī. Pilgrims leaving Medina for Mecca enter iḥrām before passing it.

Al-Juḥfah serves the western/northwestern approach. Travellers commonly use Rābigh nearby and before the old station. These contemporary identifiers explain—not replace—the classical text.

6. Stations for Najd and Yemen

وَلِأَهْلِ نَجْدٍ قَرْنُ الْمَنَازِلِ، وَلِأَهْلِ الْيَمَنِ يَلَمْلَمُ
Translation: For people approaching from Najd: Qarn al-Manāzil; and from Yemen: Yalamlam.

The five-station list is now complete: Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, Dhāt ʿIrq, al-Juḥfah, Qarn al-Manāzil, and Yalamlam.

Qarn al-Manāzil serves the Najd/Ṭāʾif approach and Yalamlam the southern/Yemeni approach. They are boundary points for entry, not places within the city of Mecca.

7. The five stations side by side

Medina route — Dhū al-Ḥulayfah.
Iraq route — Dhāt ʿIrq.
Syria route — al-Juḥfah.
Najd route — Qarn al-Manāzil.
Yemen route — Yalamlam.

This recaps all five names in al-Quduri. The labels describe traditional routes, not a rule based solely on modern citizenship.

8. Passing a station other than one’s regional station

If an Iraqi traveller goes to Mecca by way of Medina, the traveller reaches Dhū al-Ḥulayfah. The applicable station is governed by that approach, not by the traveller’s Iraqi nationality.

This route-sensitive explanation is a commentary application of the named stations, rather than additional verbatim words in the short passage.

9. Entering iḥrām before the boundary

فَإِنْ قَدَّمَ الْإِحْرَامَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْمَوَاقِيتِ جَازَ
Translation: If someone enters iḥrām before reaching these stations, it is permissible.

The text expressly allows entering iḥrām before a station. This is distinct from crossing the station without iḥrām.

Starting earlier also extends the period during which the pilgrim must observe iḥrām restrictions. Legal permissibility does not by itself make the earliest possible entry the best practical choice for everyone.

10. Crossing before iḥrām versus starting early

Example: a pilgrim forms the required intention and pronounces talbiyah shortly before reaching the station. This is the valid early entry stated by al-Quduri.

Proceeding beyond it without iḥrām while bound for Hajj or ʿUmrah is the contrary situation. The detailed Hanafi rules on returning to the station, correction, and possible sacrifice lie beyond this immediate excerpt.

11. Residents between stations and the sanctuary

وَمَنْ كَانَ مَنْزِلُهُ بَعْدَ الْمَوَاقِيتِ فَمِيقَاتُهُ الْحِلُّ
Translation: Whoever lives inside those stations, closer to Mecca, has the non-sanctuary (ḥill) as the applicable entry area.

Here baʿd al-mawāqīt means living on the Mecca side of the external stations. Such a resident does not normally need to travel back to one of the five distant stations to begin.

Al-ḥill is territory outside the prescribed Haram boundary, not the everyday meaning of “permitted” and not a synonym for being out of iḥrām.

12. The distinction between Haram and ḥill

Haram is the defined sacred precinct around Mecca; ḥill is outside those limits. The city of Mecca, the Grand Mosque, and the sanctuary boundary are not interchangeable terms.

Residents on the inner side of external stations and those actually in Mecca have separate applications. Determine location and whether the intention is for Hajj or ʿUmrah.

13. For someone in Mecca: Hajj versus ʿUmrah

وَمَنْ كَانَ بِمَكَّةَ فَمِيقَاتُهُ فِي الْحَجِّ الْحَرَمُ وَفِي الْعُمْرَةِ الْحِلُّ
Translation: For a person in Mecca, the entry area for Hajj is the Haram, whereas for ʿUmrah it is the ḥill.

This is the central distinction: someone present in Mecca enters Hajj iḥrām within the Haram and enters ʿUmrah iḥrām from the ḥill, outside the sacred boundary.

Do not construe al-ḥaram as only the interior of the Grand Mosque; the word names the wider sanctuary territory.

14. Example: undertaking ʿUmrah from Mecca

A person in Mecca who plans ʿUmrah travels to an appropriate site outside the Haram boundary, enters iḥrām there, and returns to carry out the rites.

Tanʿīm is a well-known practical location, but al-Quduri does not prescribe a particular mosque in this sentence; the key condition is entry from the ḥill.

15. Three residence situations compared

1. Traveller from beyond the external stations: the station on the route or its recognised alignment.
2. Resident inside the stations but outside the Haram: enter iḥrām in the ḥill under that rule.
3. Person in Mecca: Haram for Hajj, ḥill for ʿUmrah.

These categories summarise the consecutive original clauses without inventing a new condition.

16. Preparation: bathing or ablution

وَإِذَا أَرَادَ الْإِحْرَامَ اغْتَسَلَ أَوْ تَوَضَّأَ، وَالْغُسْلُ أَفْضَلُ
Translation: When intending to enter iḥrām, one bathes or performs wuḍūʾ; bathing is preferable.

Ightasala means performing a bath and tawaḍḍaʾa making wuḍūʾ. The text prefers bathing, but does not make a bath a condition for the existence of iḥrām.

Personal preparation and legal entry into iḥrām are separate steps.

17. When bathing is impractical

The author expressly mentions bath or wuḍūʾ and prefers the bath. Inability to bathe should not be misread as making the entire iḥrām impossible.

Further questions about purity and the rites in special circumstances belong to detailed fiqh discussions.

18. Two garments for a male pilgrim

وَلَبِسَ ثَوْبَيْنِ جَدِيدَيْنِ أَوْ غَسِيلَيْنِ إِزَارًا وَرِدَاءً
Translation: And he puts on two new or freshly washed cloths: an izār and a ridāʾ.

Izār is the lower wrap, and ridāʾ the upper wrap. Jadīdayn aw ghasīlayn shows that new cloth is not required: clean washed cloth also serves.

This describes the usual male pilgrim’s dress. Women are not required to adopt the same two-wrap outfit; the rules of their modest clothing are different.

19. Garments are not the state of iḥrām

A man can put on izār and ridāʾ before forming the worship intention and using the legally effective entry formula. Clothes alone do not constitute iḥrām in the Hanafi sense.

Nor must the garments be brand-new or uniquely white: the text expressly accepts new or washed garments.

20. Perfume as part of preparation

وَمَسَّ طِيبًا إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ طِيبٌ
Translation: If one has perfume, one may apply it in preparation.

The perfume is mentioned as pre-iḥrām preparation. This does not authorise applying fresh perfume after entry into the state of iḥrām.

The restrictions on perfume, scented products and particular exceptions are studied in the next section.

21. Why the timing of perfume matters

Applying perfume before legal entry into iḥrām is the preparatory act mentioned by al-Quduri.

Applying new perfume after entry raises the separate prohibitions of iḥrām. The timing must be specified whenever this ruling is tested.

22. Two rakʿahs at entry preparation

وَصَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ
Translation: And one prays two rakʿahs.

The two rakʿahs are mentioned within recommended preparation, not as a separate pillar of the Hajj itself. Prohibited prayer times or other impediments require their usual legal assessment.

This sentence does not make the two rakʿahs an indispensable condition for a valid iḥrām.

23. Supplication while intending Hajj

وَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ الْحَجَّ فَيَسِّرْهُ لِي وَتَقَبَّلْهُ مِنِّي
Translation: One says: O Allah, I intend Hajj; make it easy for me and accept it from me.

The supplication seeks ability, ease, and acceptance. The intention itself is fundamentally an act of the heart, not merely the recitation of a set phrase.

This is the prayer phrase given in the legal manual; the lesson does not falsely present it as a separately authenticated prophetic narration.

24. Intention versus spoken supplication

Niyyah is the inward intention to undertake Hajj or ʿUmrah. Duʿāʾ is a request for ease and acceptance.

Learning the supplication is beneficial, but mechanically speaking its words without a real intention does not replace intending worship.

25. Talbiyah following the prayer

ثُمَّ يُلَبِّي عَقِيبَ صَلَاتِهِ
Translation: Then one pronounces the talbiyah after the prayer.

ʿAqība ṣalātihi indicates following the prayer. The passage gives an orderly preparation: prayer, supplication and then talbiyah.

Hanafi fiqh discusses entry with intention plus talbiyah or a recognised substitute remembrance. Garments or bathing must not be equated with the entry formula.

26. What is intended in Hajj al-ifrād?

فَإِنْ كَانَ مُفْرِدًا بِالْحَجِّ نَوَى بِتَلْبِيَتِهِ الْحَجَّ
Translation: If performing Hajj al-ifrād, one intends Hajj in conjunction with the talbiyah.

Mufrid bi-l-ḥajj is a pilgrim undertaking Hajj al-ifrād: the intended rite here is Hajj, not a combined Umrah-and-Hajj intention.

The distinctive arrangements of qirān and tamattuʿ are taught separately later. Here the governing question is which rite is intended at entry.

27. The three Hajj forms: where this lesson stops

Ifrād: Hajj alone is intended in this quoted case.
Qirān: combining Hajj and Umrah in its defined manner is treated later.
Tamattuʿ: the defined Umrah-then-Hajj arrangement is treated later.

The phrase about intending Hajj with the talbiyah describes the ifrād case, not the entire law of all three pilgrimage types.

28. The complete talbiyah wording

وَالتَّلْبِيَةُ أَنْ يَقُولَ: لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ
Translation: The talbiyah is: At Your service, O Allah, at Your service; at Your service, You have no partner, at Your service. Truly praise, blessing and sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner.

These are the full words of the talbiyah as given in the passage. Repeated labbayk expresses devoted response, while lā sharīka lak affirms divine oneness.

Learners should understand the meaning and recognise the exact Arabic formula, rather than learning only a paraphrase.

29. Vocabulary from the talbiyah

Labbayk: at Your service, responding with devoted obedience.
Lā sharīka lak: You have no partner.
Al-ḥamd: praise.
Al-niʿmah: favour and blessing.
Al-mulk: sovereignty and dominion.

The formula joins reverence and divine oneness.

30. Not deliberately leaving out its words

وَلَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُخِلَّ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَاتِ
Translation: One should not leave out any of these words.

Yukhilla means to cause an omission or defect. Al-Quduri emphasises preserving the transmitted wording.

This should not be overextended into an automatic ruling that any minor pronunciation difference invalidates the whole Hajj. Legal sufficiency and correct recitation require their proper distinctions.

31. Permissible additional wording

فَإِنْ زَادَ فِيهَا جَازَ
Translation: If additional words are added, that is permissible.

The passage allows a suitable addition of remembrance or supplication alongside the established talbiyah. It does not authorise discarding the original formula for an entirely invented replacement.

The two rules—avoid omissions and permissible additions—must be understood together.

32. When the state of iḥrām begins

وَإِذَا لَبَّى فَقَدْ أَحْرَمَ
Translation: When the pilgrim pronounces the talbiyah, the state of iḥrām has begun.

Read this with the preceding sentence about intention with talbiyah: the entry into the legal state of iḥrām is distinct from washing or putting on wraps.

The text next turns to restrictions after entry, reserved for Level 080.

33. Morphology of the principal expressions

Al-mawāqīt: plural of mīqāt, appointed stations/times.
Yatajāwazahā: Form VI imperfect, to cross beyond them.
Qaddama: Form II perfect, to bring forward.
Ightasala: Form VIII perfect, to bathe.
Tawaḍḍaʾa: Form V perfect, to make ablution.
Yulabbī: Form II imperfect, to recite talbiyah.
Aḥrama: Form IV perfect, to enter iḥrām.

34. Parsing the sentence about five stations

وَالْمَوَاقِيتُ الَّتِي لَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَتَجَاوَزَهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِلَّا مُحْرِمًا خَمْسَةٌ
Translation: The stations which a person must not pass without iḥrām are five.

Al-mawāqītu is the nominal subject, allatī introduces its relative qualification, lā yajūzu is a negated verb, an yatajāwazahā forms a subordinate verbal clause, muḥriman indicates circumstance, and khamsatun is the predicate.

35. Parsing the Mecca-resident rule

وَمَنْ كَانَ بِمَكَّةَ فَمِيقَاتُهُ فِي الْحَجِّ الْحَرَمُ وَفِي الْعُمْرَةِ الْحِلُّ
Translation: Whoever is in Mecca has the Haram as the Hajj station and the ḥill as the Umrah station.

Man has a conditional role, kāna is an incomplete verb, bi-Makkata locates the subject, fa-mīqātuhu opens the answering nominal clause, al-ḥaramu is predicate, contrasted with al-ḥillu for Umrah.

36. Parsing the entry into iḥrām

وَإِذَا لَبَّى فَقَدْ أَحْرَمَ
Translation: Once the pilgrim says talbiyah, entry into iḥrām has taken place.

Idhā introduces the temporal condition, labbā is a past verb with an understood subject, fa-qad links and emphasises the result, and aḥrama is a Form IV perfect verb.

Its preceding context supplies intention accompanying talbiyah.

37. Review: four distinctions to retain

1. A mīqāt is a boundary; iḥrām a legal state.
2. The five outer stations concern external approaches; residents inside and in Mecca have distinct rules.
3. Early iḥrām is permitted, but passing the relevant station without it while bound for pilgrimage is prohibited.
4. Bathing, clothing and perfume are preparation; intention and talbiyah concern entry into iḥrām.

The following lesson will address prohibited acts during iḥrām.