What should the one who wants to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah do at the miqaat?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

When he reaches the miqaat it is mustahabb
for him to do ghusl and put on perfume, because it is reported that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) changed out of tailored
clothes when he entered ihram, and he did ghusl. And it is proven in as-Saheehayn
that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I used to put perfume
on the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) for his
ihram before he entered ihram, and when he exited ihram before he
circumambulated the Ka‘bah (tawaaf al-ifaadah). And the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed ‘Aa’ishah, when she got her
menses after entering ihram for ‘umrah, to do ghusl and enter ihram for
Hajj. He instructed Asma’ bint ‘Umays, when she gave birth in Dhu’l-Hulayfah,
to do ghusl, wrap herself in a cloth, and enter ihram. This indicates that
if a woman reaches the miqaat when she is menstruating or bleeding following
childbirth, she should do ghusl and enter ihram with the people, and she
should do everything that the pilgrims do apart from circumambulating the
Ka‘bah, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed
‘Aa’ishah and Asma’ to do.

It is mustahabb for the one who wants to
enter ihram to trim his moustache, clip his nails, and deal with his pubes
and armpit hair. So he should remove whatever needs to be removed, so that
he will not need to remove that after entering ihram, when doing so will be
prohibited for him. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
instructed the Muslims to take care of these things at all times, as it is
proven in as-Saheehayn that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “Five things are part of the fitrah: circumcision, removing the pubic
hair, trimming the moustache, trimming the nails, and plucking the armpit
hairs.” In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Anas (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: A time limit was set for others with regard to
trimming the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking the armpit hair and
shaving the pubes: we were not to leave that for more than forty days.

It was also narrated by an-Nasaa’i as
follows: “The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
set a time limit for us.” And the version narrated by an-Nasaa’i was also
narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi. With regard to the head, it
is not prescribed to remove any hair from the head when entering ihram,
either for men or for women.

With regard to the beard, it is haraam to
shave it or remove anything from it at all times. Rather it is obligatory to
leave it alone and let it grow, because it is proven in as-Saheehayn that
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Be different from the
mushrikeen: let your beards grow and trim your moustaches.” Muslim narrated
in his Saheeh that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow; be different from the
Magians.”

There is a serious issue nowadays whereby
many people go against this Sunnah and oppose the beard; they are content to
resemble the disbelievers and women, especially those who claim to be
knowledgeable or seekers of knowledge. Verily to Allah we belong and verily
unto Him is our return. We ask Allah to guide us and all the Muslims to act
in accordance with the Sunnah and to adhere to it and promote it, even if
the majority turn away from it. Sufficient for us is Allah and He is the
best disposer of affairs; there is no power and no strength except with
Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.

Then the male pilgrim puts on the izaar
(lower garment or waist wrapper) and rida’ (upper garment). It is mustahabb
for them to be made of two pieces of clean white cloth. It is also mustahabb
to enter ihram wearing sandals, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “Let one of you enter ihram in an izaar, rida’ and
sandals.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him).

As for the female pilgrim, it is
permissible for her to enter ihram in whatever clothes she wants, black or
green or otherwise, but she should beware of resembling men in their
garments,. However she does not have the right to wear the niqab (face veil)
or gloves when in ihram; rather she should cover her face and hands with
something other than the niqab and gloves, because the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade the woman in ihram to wear the niqab
and gloves. As for what the common folk do, of singling out green or black
for women to wear in ihram, and not other colours, there is no basis for
that.

Then after finishing ghusl and cleaning
oneself, and putting on the ihram garments, the pilgrim should form the
intention in his heart to begin the rituals that he wants to perform, either
Hajj or ‘umrah, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: “Actions are but by intentions, and each person will have but
that which he intended.”

It is prescribed for him to utter what he
has intended. If his intention is to do ‘Umrah, he should say: “Labbayka
‘umratan (Here I am for ‘Umrah)” or “Allahumma labbayka ‘umratan
(O Allah, here I am for ‘umrah).” If his intention is to do Hajj, he should
say: “Labbayka Hajjan (Here I am for Hajj)” or “Allahumma labbayka
Hajjan (O Allah, here I am for Hajj),” be cause the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) did that. If his intention is to do both of
them together, he should say words to that effect: “Allahumma labbayka
‘umratan wa Hajjan (O Allah, here I am for ‘umrah and Hajj).” It is
preferable for him to utter that after he gets up on his mount or into his
vehicle and so on, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) only said the Talbiyah when he got on his mount and it set out with him
from the miqaat to begin the journey. This is the most correct scholarly
opinion.

It is not prescribed for him to utter his
intention except in the case of ihram, because that was narrated from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). But in the case of
prayer, tawaaf and so on, he should not utter any of the intention out loud.
So he should not say “I intend to pray such and such” or “I intend to
circumambulate the Ka‘bah”; rather uttering these intentions comes under the
heading of innovations that have been introduced into Islam, and uttering
them loudly is even worse and more sinful. If uttering the intention was
prescribed, the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would
have stated that and would have made it clear to his ummah by his deeds or
words, and the righteous early generations would have hastened to do that.

No report to that effect has been narrated
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or from his
Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), hence it is known that it is an
innovation, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“The worst of matters are those which are newly invented, and every
innovation is a going astray.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. And
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever
introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will
have it rejected.” Saheeh – agreed upon. According to a version narrated by
Muslim: “Whoever does an action that is not in accordance with this matter
of ours will have it rejected.” End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah
have mercy on him).