Step 2 of 10
The Miqat
The pilgrim enters ihram at a set place called the miqat. The Prophet ﷺ appointed Dhul-Hulayfah for the people of Madinah, al-Juhfah for the people of al-Sham, Qarn al-Manazil for the people of Najd and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen, and he said that these are for their own people and for everyone else who passes through them intending Hajj or 'Umrah.
The fifth miqat, Dhat 'Irq, is for the people of Iraq. 'A'ishah reported that the Prophet ﷺ appointed it, and Ibn 'Umar reported that 'Umar fixed it for the people of Basra and Kufa as the point on their route level with Qarn. So a pilgrim who comes by another way enters ihram when he is level with a miqat.
Those who live closer to Makkah than the mawaqit enter ihram from where they live. Someone already in Makkah who wants to make 'Umrah goes out to the nearest point outside the sacred precinct (the haram), such as al-Tan'im, as the Prophet ﷺ had 'A'ishah do.
Do not pass the miqat intending 'Umrah without entering ihram. One who does should go back to it and enter ihram there; the schools hold that if he enters ihram beyond it without going back, he owes a sacrifice (dam).
All four schools agree on this step.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1524 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1181Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sunan Abi Dawud 1739Graded by Al-Albani: Sahih · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad SahihSahih
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1531 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1784 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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