How do you officially enter ihram?
Saying labbayk out loud
When do you have to be in ihram?
There are two phases where you need to be in ihram for.
You have to be in ihram as you enter the miqat region, until you finish umrah.
You have to be in ihram when you leave your hotel to perform Hajj.
What is prohibited during ihram?
No shaving or trimming hair
No trimming nails
No perfume
No cap or turban
No shoes
No wearing non-ihram clothes (sleeved clothing such as shirts or pants)
No hunting
No touching with desire
No marriage
No intercourse
How do ihram clothes differ for men and women?
Women have to follow all the ihram rules, except #4, #5, and #6. They can wear any types of clothes and shoes.
Women can not cover their faces or wear gloves.
What can you do in ihram that many people think you can’t do?
You can touch your face
You can comb your hair
You can have multiple ihrams
You can wear ihram of any color
You can scratch to relieve itching
Your sleeping blanket can cover your feet
You can wear stitched clothing. (but not clothing with sleeves or pant legs)
You can shower in ihram. Remember the Prophet ﷺ wore ihram through his 10-day journey in ihram from Madinah to Makkah. He showered.
Before putting on the ihram, you can put perfume on body. But you can never put perfume on ihram clothes, whether before ihram or during ihram.
How do you exit ihram during Umrah?
To get out of ihram during umrah, you need to complete umrah. What is umrah? Umrah is tawaf, Safa and Marwa, and trimming/shaving your head. Once you finish those three things, you can exit ihram.
How do you enter ihram during Hajj?
This is only applicable from Dhul Hijjah 8th - 13th. You enter ihram when you leave your hotel room for Mina.
How do you exit ihram during Hajj?
This is only applicable from Dhul Hijjah 8th - 13th.
To get out of ihram during Hajj, you need to do these four things.
Stoning at Jamarat Aqaba on 10th Dhul Hijjah
Trimming or shaving hair
Sacrifice
Hajj tawaf
Keep in mind, these could be done in any order.
Stage 1: Exit ihram, except for women
Once you do two of the above, most of the restrictions of ihram are gone. You can do everything, except intimacy. You can even take off your ihram clothes and get in normal clothing.
Stage 2: Exit ihram completely
Once you do all four, you are officially done with ihram. You now have no ihram restrictions. You can be intimate.
What kind of sandals do you wear in ihram?
Any sandal is fine.
Some interesting FAQ on IslamQA
Does ihram have to be white? No
If a woman in ihram covers her face, does she have to keep the cloth away from her face? No
Does shaving heads have to be after slaughter? No
Quran and hadith related to ihram
Quran: Do not hunt during ihram
Quran: Do not shave head, until sacrifice has reached slaughter place
Hadith: What are ihram clothes? What are ihram sandals? What can a women wear during ihram?
A person stood up and asked, “O Allah's: Apostle! What clothes may be worn in the state of ihram?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Do not wear a shirt or trousers, or any headgear (e.g. a turban), or a hooded cloak. But if somebody has no shoes, he can wear leather stockings provided they are cut short off the ankles. Also, do not wear anything perfumed with wars or saffron, and the woman in the state of ihram should not cover her face, or wear gloves.”
Hadith: No perfume in ihram
The Prophet ﷺ forbade Muhrims to wear clothes dyed with wars (a plant dye) or saffron.
We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that a person came to him with a cloak on him having the traces of scent. He said, Messenger of Allah, I put on Ihram for 'Umra: what should I do? He (the Holy Prophet) kept quiet and did not make him any reply…. [wahy came on the Prophet, read full hadith]
Thereupon he (the Messenger of Allah) said: Take off the cloak from (your body) and wash the traces of perfume which were upon you, and do in 'Umra what you did in Hajj.
Hadith: No marriage in ihram
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“The Muhrim should not get married, or propose marriage, or arrange a marriage for some else.”
Hadith: No intercourse in ihram
The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever performs Hajj for Allah, and he does not have sexual relations nor commit any sin, then his previous sins will be forgiven."
I asked Ibn Umar, “Can a person who has performed the Tawaf around the Kaabah for Umra but has not performed the (Sa`i) Tawaf of Safa and Marwa, have a sexual relation with his wife?”
Ibn Umar replied, “When the Prophet ﷺ reached Mecca he performed the Tawaf around the Ka`ba and offered a two-rakaat prayer behind the station (of Ibrahim) and then performed the Tawaf [Sai] of Safa and Marwa, and verily in Allah's Messenger ﷺ you have a good example.”
Then we put the same question to Jabir bin `Abdullah and he too replied, “He should not go near his wife [for sexual relation] till he has finished the Tawaf of Safa and Marwa."
Hadith: Exiting ihram
Aisha said,
I used to scent Allah's Messenger ﷺ when he wanted to assume ihram and also on finishing Ihram before the Tawaf around the Kaabah [Tawaf Ifada].
In his khutbah at Arafat, Umar bin Khattab said,
“When you get to Mina and have stoned the jamra then whatever is haram for someone doing the hajj becomes halal, except women and scent. Noone should touch women or scent until he has done tawaf of the House.”
Hadith in which the Prophet ordered Aisha to comb her hair while in ihram for umrah
I arrived at Mecca along with him [the Prophet ﷺ] while I was menstruating. So I did not perform the Tawaf around the Kaabah or between Safa and Marwa.
I informed Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about that and he said, “Undo your braids and comb your hair, and then assume the lhram for Hajj and leave the Umrah.”
Hadith related to miqat
The Prophet ﷺ fixed Dhul Hulaifa as the Miqat for the people of Madinah, Al-Juhfa for the people of Sham, Qarn-al-Manazil for the people of Najd, and Yalamlam for the people of Yemen; and these Mawaqit are for those living at those very places, and besides them for those whom come through them with the intention of performing Hajj and Umra.
And whoever is living within these Mawaqit should assume ihram from where he starts.
And the people of Makkah can assume ihram from Makkah.
When these two towns (Basra and Kufa) were captured, the people went to Umar and said, “Oh, Leader of the Believers! The Prophet ﷺ fixed Qarn as the Miqat for the people of Najd, it is beyond our way and it is difficult for us to pass through it.”
He said, “Take as your Miqat a place situated opposite to Qarn on your usual way. So, he fixed Dhat-Irq (as their Miqat).”
My personal experience during Hajj: Miracle within Surah Hajj.
On my notes during Hajj: Ihram, Tawaf, Sahih duas exclusively for Hajj and Umrah, Hadith related to blessings of Makkah and Madinah