Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for a Muslim who is able to make the journey.

Ability includes financial ability, physical ability, safety of the route, and having enough for the journey there and back after one’s basic needs and the maintenance of dependents. A woman also needs safety and trustworthy company, and the issue of a mahram has known details among the scholars.

The pillars without which Hajj is not valid are:

• Ihram.
• Standing at Arafah.
• Tawaf al-ifadah.
• Sa‘i between Safa and Marwah according to the majority of scholars.

Whoever leaves a pillar has not completed his Hajj until he performs it, except what cannot be made up, in which case he must ask qualified scholars.

Among the obligations of Hajj according to many scholars are:

• Entering ihram from the miqat.
• Remaining at Arafah until sunset for one who stood there during the day.
• Spending the night at Muzdalifah.
• Spending the nights of Tashriq at Mina.
• Stoning the jamarat.
• Shaving or shortening the hair.
• Farewell tawaf for those other than menstruating or postpartum women.

Whoever leaves an obligation must offer a sacrifice according to many scholars, with details for valid excuses.

The types of rites are three:

• Tamattu: performing Umrah during the months of Hajj, exiting ihram, then entering ihram for Hajj in the same year.
• Qiran: entering ihram for Umrah and Hajj together, or adding Hajj to Umrah before tawaf.
• Ifrad: entering ihram for Hajj alone.

Tamattu is easiest for many people, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم instructed his Companions to do it during the Farewell Hajj for those who did not bring sacrificial animals.

The miqat is the place appointed by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم for those intending Hajj or Umrah to enter ihram from. Whoever intends the rite may not pass it without ihram.

Whoever passes the miqat intending Hajj or Umrah without entering ihram should return to the miqat and enter ihram from there if able. If he does not return and enters ihram after it, then according to many scholars he owes a sacrifice, and he should ask scholars according to his situation.

The pillars of Umrah are:

• Ihram.
• Tawaf.
• Sa‘i between Safa and Marwah according to the majority of scholars.

Shaving or shortening the hair is required, as is entering ihram from the miqat.

Umrah in brief is:

• Enter ihram from the miqat.
• Recite the talbiyah until beginning tawaf.
• Perform seven circuits around the Ka‘bah.
• Pray two rak‘ahs behind the Maqam if possible without crowding.
• Perform seven rounds of sa‘i between Safa and Marwah.
• Shave or shorten the hair.

By this, the person exits ihram.

Among the important matters to observe in tawaf are:

• Intention.
• Purification according to the majority of scholars.
• Covering the awrah.
• Keeping the Ka‘bah on one’s left.
• Completing seven circuits.
• Performing tawaf inside the mosque and outside the Ka‘bah.

It is not permissible to harm or crowd people in order to kiss the Black Stone.

Kissing the Black Stone is a Sunnah for whoever can do so without crowding or harm. If he cannot, he points toward it and says takbir. He should not crowd or harm people.

Sa‘i is seven rounds. It begins at Safa and ends at Marwah. Going from Safa to Marwah is one round, and returning from Marwah to Safa is another round.

For men, shaving is better than shortening in Hajj and Umrah, except in the Umrah of tamattu if Hajj is near, in which case he may shorten so that hair remains to shave during Hajj.

As for women, they shorten approximately a fingertip length from their hair and do not shave.

Among the prohibitions of ihram are:

• Removing hair.
• Clipping nails.
• Using perfume after entering ihram.
• Wearing tailored clothing for men.
• Covering the head for men.
• A niqab and gloves for women.
• Contracting marriage.
• Intercourse and its preliminaries.
• Killing land game.

Whoever commits a prohibition out of ignorance, forgetfulness, or necessity has details that should be referred to scholars.

Yes. A person in ihram may bathe and change his ihram garments if needed, provided he avoids perfume and the prohibitions of ihram. Ihram does not mean that a person must remain in the same upper and lower garments until the rite ends.

It is permissible to use soap or shampoo that is free of perfume. Anything scented should be avoided, because using perfume is from the prohibitions of ihram.

A person in ihram may wear a watch, glasses, a belt, permissible footwear, and whatever he needs to protect his money or organize his affairs, because these are not prohibited clothing for men.

As for a mask for men or women, if it is needed due to illness, prevention, or severe crowding, there is no harm in sha Allah. If it covers a woman’s face while she is in ihram, she avoids it unless needed, because a woman in ihram is prohibited from the niqab and gloves, though she covers her face when non-mahram men pass by with something that is not a fitted face veil.

Yes. The one performing tamattu or qiran owes a sacrificial animal if he is not from the residents of the Sacred Mosque area.

Yes. A menstruating woman enters ihram and performs all the rites except tawaf around the House until she becomes pure.

Farewell tawaf is obligatory upon the pilgrim according to the majority of scholars, and it is waived for menstruating and postpartum women.

Tawaf al-qudum: performed by one arriving in Makkah for Hajj. It is a Sunnah according to many scholars for the one doing ifrad or qiran.

Tawaf al-ifadah: a pillar of Hajj. It is performed after standing at Arafah, and Hajj is not complete without it.

Tawaf al-wada: the pilgrim’s final act at the House before leaving Makkah. It is obligatory for those other than menstruating and postpartum women according to the majority of scholars.

As for the one performing Umrah, his main tawaf is the tawaf of Umrah. Farewell tawaf is not obligatory for him according to many scholars, though there is no harm if he performs tawaf when leaving.

Tawaf al-ifadah is a pillar of Hajj and is not waived due to menstruation. If a woman menstruates before tawaf al-ifadah, she waits until she becomes pure and then performs tawaf if possible.

If she is tied to travel that she cannot delay, this is a necessity issue that requires asking qualified scholars at the time according to her situation, because scholars have detailed discussion about it.

Standing at Arafah is the greatest pillar of Hajj. Whoever misses standing at Arafah has missed Hajj; his rite becomes Umrah and he exits ihram. He must perform Hajj the following year if Hajj was obligatory upon him, along with the rulings scholars mention regarding missing Hajj.

The original ruling during the days of Tashriq is that stoning is after zawal, as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did. There is contemporary scholarly difference regarding some cases of need and severe crowding, so a pilgrim should ask scholars or the trusted religious authority in his group and should not be careless without need.

The original ruling is that the pilgrim stones on his own if able. It is permissible to appoint someone else for one who cannot stone himself, such as the elderly, the sick, the weak, one for whom crowding is severely difficult, a woman who fears harm, and similar excuses.

As for one who is able, he should not appoint another without an excuse.

Whoever leaves an obligation of Hajj owes a sacrifice according to many scholars, slaughtered in Makkah and distributed to the poor of the Haram, unless he is excused in some cases. He should ask scholars about his specific situation.

It is permissible to perform Hajj on behalf of a deceased person, or on behalf of a living person who has a permanent inability that is not expected to end, provided the one performing it has already performed Hajj for himself first.

The basic practice is that when a person comes to Makkah for Umrah, he performs his Umrah and then occupies himself with tawaf, remembrance, prayer, and Qur’an. It was not the regular guidance of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم or his Companions to repeat multiple Umrahs in one trip as a habit. If someone does that occasionally for a need or on behalf of another, there is scholarly difference and detail. It is better to avoid unnecessary burden and be keen on what is established and practiced by the early generations.

Common mistakes include:

• Traveling for Hajj or Umrah without learning the basic rulings.
• Passing the miqat without ihram while intending the rite.
• Harming people through crowding at the Black Stone, in tawaf, or in sa‘i.
• Believing in specific supplications for each circuit that are not established.
• Being distracted by photography and conversation from humility and remembrance.
• Being careless about the prohibitions of ihram.
• Delaying questions until after the mistake occurs and becomes difficult to correct.
• Turning Hajj into argument and dispute.

He should make his intention sincere for Allah, learn the rites before traveling, guard his tongue and limbs, be patient with crowds and difficulty, and avoid harming Muslims.