Hajj is one of the most integral pillars of Islam upon which Islam has been established. Imam Baqir (as) says "Islam has been established on the following five elements: prayer, zakāt, fast, hajj and wilāyah".[1]

Hajj is of two kind; obligatory and mustaḥabb, it holds immense virtue and abundant reward. Many traditions have been narrated from the Holy Prophet S.A.W. and the purified Ahl ul-Bayt as. on the merits of hajj. Imam Sadiq (Peace be upon Him) says: "Those who performHajj and ‘umrah form the delegation of Allah; if they beg Him, He will grant them; if they call upon Him, He will answer them; if they want to intercede for others, He will accept it; and if they keep quiet, He will speak on their behalf, and they will be compensated with a reward of one million dirhams for the expense of one dirham".[2]

[2] Al Kafi, vol. 4, p. 255, H. 14

Issue 1: In the light of many verses and hadiths, a person who has qualified for Hajj and is well aware that hajj is obligatory upon him and yet does not perform it has committed a major sin.

Allah Almighty in the Holy Qur'an says:

وَلِلّهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ الله غَنِي عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ

"Pilgrimage to the House is a duty imposed upon mankind by God for everyone who can afford a way to it. Anyone who disbelieves will find that God is Transcendent beyond any need of the Universe".[1]

It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (as):

"If a person dies and does not perform Hajj while there was no pressing need, severe illness or any cruel ruler which may prevent him from performing it, he will die as a Jew or a Christian".[2]

[2] Tahzib Al Ahkam, vol. 5, p. 17

Issue 2:The hajj is basically of two types: hajj on behalf and hajj for oneself. Hajj on behalf is the hajj performed on behalf of another person, whereas hajj for oneself is hajj accomplished for oneself. Hajj for oneself is further classified into two forms: obligatory hajj and recommended hajj.

Issue 3: The obligatory hajj becomes an obligation in itself according to the Islamic law, or it becomes obligatory because of nadhr or invalidation of previous hajj.

Issue 4: For every kind of hajj, that is,ḥajjat ul-Islam and hajj on behalf — there are rulings and conditions, which will be mentioned in the first part in two chapters.

Issue 5: Obligatory hajj is further classified into three forms: tamattu‘, ifrād and qirān.

Hajj tamattu‘ is obligatory for a person whose homeland is located at a distance more than 90 km from the holy city of Mecca.

Hajj ifrād and hajjqirān are obligatory for people who reside within the holy city of Mecca or those who are settled at a distance less than the aforementioned one.

Hajj tamattu‘ differs from hajj ifrād and hajjqirān with regard to rituals.

Issue 6: The basic feature that distinguishes hajjtamattu‘ from hajj ifrādand hajj qirān is ‘umrah.Hajj tamattu‘ comprises two parts: ‘umrah and hajj. It starts with ‘umrah. A gap exists between ‘umrah and hajj during which the pilgrim comes out of iḥrām state and is allowed to tamattu‘(literally enjoy) things which are prohibited for a muḥrim (a person who is in state of iḥrām). Both ‘umrah tamattu‘ and hajj tamattu‘ should be performed in the same year.

Hajj ifrād and qirān comprise only hajj rituals, and ‘umrah in these cases is considered an independent worship termed as ‘umrah mufradah. So, a person may perform ‘umrah mufradah in one year and hajj ifrād/qirān in another year.

Issue 7: ‘Umrah tamattu‘ and ‘umrah mufradah have common rites that would be mentioned in the second section and their differences will be mentioned in issue 16.

Issue 8: Similar to hajj, ‘umrah is sometimes obligatory and other times it is mustaḥabb.

Issue 9: In Islamic jurisprudential rulings, ‘umrah is obligatory once in life. If a person fulfills the required conditions of ‘umrah, he should perform it. Like hajj, it is obligatory for those who are mustaṭī‘ to perform ‘umrahas soon as possible. For those who reside in Mecca or its vicinity (not further than ninty km from Mecca), being mustaṭī‘ for hajj is separable from being mustaṭī‘ for ‘umrah. Therefore, if a person is mustaṭī‘only for one of them, he should perform it as soon as possible.

It is noteworthy to mention here that this rule is specific only for those who live in the holy city of Mecca or reside at a distance of less than ninty kilometers from the holy city of Mecca. With regard to the people living far from Mecca and their duty is to perform hajj tamattu‘, ability and qualification for hajj and ‘umrahis not separate from each other because hajjtamattu‘ includes ‘umrah of tamattu‘ and hajj and both of them should be performed in the same year.

Issue 10:It is not lawful for a person intending to perform hajj or ‘umrah to enter the Holy City of Mecca without iḥrām. And if he wants to enter in the Holy city of Mecca in days other than hajj season, it is obligatory for him to enter the Holy City with iḥrām of ‘umrah mufradah. However, the following two groups are exempted from this commandment:

1.Those who frequently visit the holy city of Mecca for job/occupational purposes.

2.Those who have exited the Holy city of Mecca after performing the rites and acts of hajj/‘umrah and want to re-enter the holy city of Mecca during the same [lunar] month.

Issue 11: The repetition of ‘umrah is recommended similar to repetition of hajj and there lies no particular gap limit between two ‘umrahs. But, on cautionary terms one can perform only one ‘umrah for himself within a month. If he performs two ‘umrahs on behalf of others or he performs one‘umrah for himself and the second for another person, this caution is not necessary. Therefore, if he performs the second ‘umrah on behalf of another person, it is permissible for him to receive the wages of performing ‘umrahand ‘umrah mufradah will be sufficient for the performer whether it is obligatory or not.

Issue 12: Hajj tamattu‘ includes two acts: ‘umrahtamattu‘ and hajj tamattu‘.‘Umrah tamattu‘ is prior to hajj tamattu‘ and both these acts have specific deeds which are discussed below.

Issue 13: The deeds of ‘umrah tamattu‘:

1.Wearing iḥrām (hajj dress) from a mīqāt;

2.Ṭawāf around the Holy Ka‘bah;

3.Prayer of ṭawāf ;

4.sa‘y (to walk) between the mountains of Safā and Marvah;

5.Taqsīr (cutting a small quantity of hair or nail)

Issue 14: The deeds of hajjtamattu‘ are mentioned below:

1.Iḥrām (wearing dress of hajj) in the holy city of Mecca;

2.Wuqūf(staying) in ‘Arafāt from the noon of the ninth of Dhul-Ḥijjah to sunset;

3.Wuqūf (staying) in Mash‘ar ul-Ḥarām on the night before the tenth of Dhul-Ḥijjah to sunrise;

4.Stoning at Jamarah ‘Aqabah on the day of Eid ul-Adha (the tenth of Dhul-Ḥijjah);

5.Slaughtering animal;

6.Shaving head or taqsīr (cutting a small quantity of hair or nail);

7.Ṭawāf around the Holy Ka‘bah;

8.Prayer of ṭawāf ;

9.sa‘y (to walk) between the mountains of Safā and Marvah;

10.Ṭawāf of nisā’ (women);

11.Prayer of ṭawāfof nisā’;

12.To stay awake during the night before the eleventh in Minā;

13.Stoning three jamarahs on the eleventh of Dhul-Ḥijjah;

14.To stay awake during the night before the twelfth in Minā;

15.Stoning three jamarahs on the twelfth of Dhul-Ḥijjah.

Issue 15: Hajj ifrād and hajj tamattu‘ are similar in terms of rituals and acts of worship except for one major difference of animal slaughtering. It is mandatory in hajj tamattu‘ whereas it is a recommended act in hajjifrād.

Issue 16: ‘Umrah mufradah is similar to ‘umrahtamattu‘ except for the following differences:

1.The rituals of ‘umrah tamattu‘ comprise taqsīr as obligatory act; whereas in ‘umrah mufradah, it is optional for the men, i.e. either he can have his head shaved or perform taqsīr. The rulings for the women are that they should perform taqsīr in both ‘umrahmufradah and ‘umrah tamattu‘.

2.In ‘umrah tamattu, ṭawāf of nisā’ and its prayer are not obligatory. However on the basis of caution, one should perform both of them before taqsīr with the intention of rajā’ (hope of being desired in shar‘). In ‘umrah mufradah, ṭawāf ofnisā’ and its prayer are obligatory.

3.‘Umrah tamattu‘should be performed during the months of hajj: Shawwāl, Zilqa‘dah or Dhul-Ḥijjah; whereas ‘umrah mufradahcan be performed any time during the year.

4.There are five mīqāts (the place where the dress for hajj or ‘umrah is worn) for ‘umrahtamattu‘. Mīqāt for ‘umrah mufradah varies with distance from Mecca. People residing in Mecca have adanā al-ḥillas mīqāt whereas people living out of Mecca are obliged to wear iḥrāmfrom one of the five mīqāts nearest to them.

Issue 17: Hajj qirān differs from hajj ifrād mainly in two aspects: animal slaughtering and becoming muḥrīm. During hajjqirān, the animal for slaughtering should accompany the person wearing iḥrām, thereby animal slaughtering is obligatory for him.

Likewise, in the hajj qirān, iḥrāmis carried out by saying Labbayk (specific slogan of hajj) or by ish‘ār or taqlīd(their meanings will be mentioned in issue 140) but in hajj ifrād, iḥrām is materialized only by saying Labbayk.

Issue 18: For the hajj tamattu‘ to be valid, there are certain conditions be fulfilled. They are as follows:

1)Intention, i.e. from the time of wearing iḥrām for ‘umrah oftamattu‘, he should intend to perform hajj tamattu‘; otherwise, his hajj is not in order;

2)Both ‘umrah and hajj need to be performed in the months of hajj;

3)Both ‘umrah and hajj need to be performed in the same year;

4)‘Umrah and hajj should be performed for one person and by one person. This implies that a person who is performing hajj on the behalf of a dead person needs to perform both ‘umrah and hajj himself. Hiring two individuals to carry out the ‘umrah and hajj separately is not permitted.

Issue 19: A person, whose duty is to perform hajj tamattu‘, cannot change it on purpose and by choice to perform hajjifrād or qirān.

Issue 20: A person, whose duty is to perform hajj tamattu‘ but knows that the time is too short to complete ‘umrah and join hajj, should change his intention from hajj tamattu‘to hajj ifrād and after completing the rites of hajj, he should perform ‘umrah mufradah.

Issue 21: A woman, who wants to perform hajj tamattu‘ but is menstruating at the point of mīqāt, should wear iḥrām for ‘umrah tamattu‘ at mīqāt if she thinks she may be purified some time before hajj tamattu‘ and will have enough time to take ghusl, perform all the deeds of ‘umrah tamattu‘, wear iḥrām for hajj tamattu‘, and reach ‘Arafāt by 'noon' on the day of ‘Arafa.

Then, if she becomes clean from menstruation and she has sufficient time for performing deeds of ‘umrah and is able to reach ‘Arafāt by 'noon' on the day of ‘Arafa, she should do so. In case, she does not become clean or does not have sufficient time to perform the ‘umrah rituals and reach ‘Arafāt on time, she should change his intention from ‘umrah tamattu‘ to hajj ifrād, with the same iḥrāmand then perform ‘umrah mufradah; this will compensate for hajj tamattu‘.

If she is sure she will not become clean before the time for iḥrām of hajj and going to ‘Arafāt on time or she will not have time to perform ‘umrahtamattu‘ rituals before going to ‘Arafāt on time, she should enter iḥrāmin mīqāt intending performing what is her real duty or iḥrām of hajj ifrād. After performing hajj ifrād rituals, she perform ‘umrah mufradah and what she has done replaces hajj tamattu‘.

However, if a woman is clean in mīqāt but begins to menstruate on the way to Mecca in state of iḥrām or before performing ṭawāf of ‘umrahand its prayer or during the course of ṭawāf before completion of fourth round and is certain that she cannot be clean to perform ‘umrahdeeds and reach ‘Arafāt by 'noon' on the ninth of Dhul-Ḥijjah, she has two choices:

a)She can change her intention from ‘umrah tamattu‘ to hajj ifrād and once hajj ifrād is done she should perform ‘umrah mufradah. These acts replace hajj tamattu‘.

b)She postpones ṭawāf of ‘umrah and its prayer and by performing sa‘y and taqsīr she exits iḥrām of ‘umrah. Then she should wear iḥrām of hajj, go and stay (wuqūf) in ‘Arafāt and Mash‘ar, and perform deeds in Minā and after returning to the Holy city of Mecca, she should perform ṭawāf of tamattu‘and its prayer as qaḍā’ — before performing ṭawāf of hajj and its prayer and sa‘yor after performing them. This act is a compensation for hajj tamattu‘ and nothing more is obligatory for her.

If she begins to menstruate after completing her fourth round of ṭawāf, she should leave remaining rounds of ṭawāf and its prayer, perform sa‘yand taqsīr and come out of iḥrām of ‘umrah. After this, she can stay in wuqūfs and perform rites in Minā, and upon return to Mecca, and after performing ṭawāf and its prayer and sa‘y or before performing all these rites, she should perform ṭawāf of ‘umrahand its prayer[1]. This act is a compensation for her hajjtamattu‘ and nothing more is obligatory upon her.

Issue 22: The details of rites and commandments of hajj will be mentioned in part three and in several chapters.