Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam Brother,

I flew to Jeddah from Riyadh with the intention of Umrah. Once in Jeddah, I drove by car to Masjid Tanmeem (recognised as a Meeqat) on the Madinah Road, but just 4-5kms from Haram. It is here that I wore the Ihraam and proceeded to do Umrah.

I have heard that my wearing Ihram here may not be accurate. Please

advise. Salaam.

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Answer:

Meeqat mistake Umrah

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 5.28a

Meeqat (or plural Mawaqeet) are the specific places where a pilgrim or a person intending to visit Makkah for 'Umrah or Hajj must declare his intention to do so and put on ihram, the pilgrim garb. Anyone intending to perform Hajj or 'Umrah must not pass beyond these places without ihram.

The Prophet (saws) himself specified these places:

For the people of Madinah the ‘miqat’ is DhalHalaifah, a place 450 kilometres to the north of Makkah, from where they must declare their intention and don the ihram, the Hajj garb.

For those coming from Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon, the miqat is Al-Juhfah, a place 187 kilometres to the north-west of Makkah, and close to Rabigh, which is 204 kilometres from Makkah. Rabigh became the miqat for the people coming from Syria and Egypt, after the settlement of Al-Juhfah disappeared completely.

The miqat for people of Najd is Qarn al Manazil, a mountain 94 kilometres to the east of Makkah, overlooking 'Arafah.

Yalamlam, a mountain 54 kilometres to the south of Makkah is the miqat for those coming from Yemen.

For the people of Iraq, the miqat is Dhat Irq, a place 94 kilometres to the north-east of Makkah.

These places were fixed by the Prophet (saws) himself for all those who pass by them whether they come from these specific areas or some other areas. The Prophet (saws) said: "These places are for the people (coming from the above specified countries) as well as for others who pass by them on their way to perform Hajj or 'Umrah."

Your Question: I flew to Jeddah from Riyadh with the intention of Umrah. Once in Jeddah, I drove by car to Masjid Tanmeem (recognised as a Meeqat) on the Madinah Road, but just 4-5kms from Haram. It is here that I wore the Ihraam and proceeded to do Umrah. I have heard that my wearing Ihram here may not be accurate.

Beloved Brother, the ‘miqat’ allocated by the Messenger of Allah (saws) for the pilgrims traveling from Najd or Riyadh area is Qarn al-Manazil near Taif. By intending and adorning the ‘ehraam’ at masjid Tanim near Makkah, you would have left one of the ‘wajib’ or obligatory rites of the Umrah pilgrimage and the atonement or ‘kaffarah’ for leaving one of the ‘wajib’ rites of pilgrimage is that you are required and obligated to offer a ‘damm’ or sacrifice near the Masjid-al-Haraam in Makkah as soon as you possibly can.

You can either go yourself to Makkah and offer the sacrifice, or if someone you know is going to Makkah, they can offer the sacrifice on your behalf.

The next time you wish to perform the Umrah pilgrimage and wish to fly from Riyadh to Jeddah, you should make intention and adorn the ‘ehram’ in the flight itself when the airline passes over the Meeqat at Taif. Almost all airlines make an announcement that the airline is about to fly over the Taif area to enable the pilgrims to make their intention and adorn the ‘ehram’ for the pilgrimage.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan