The Manner of Hajj and 'Umrah

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the ninetieth session of the Open Door sessions, which take place every Thursday of every week. This is the twentieth Thursday of the month of Dhul-Qa'dah in the year 1415. Today's session will include a concise description of the manner of 'Umrah and Hajj. Then, in the other sessions, if Allah wills, we will speak about the pillars and obligations of Hajj and 'Umrah, and then about the prohibitions of ihram, if Allah wills.
It is known to us all that worship is not completed except with two conditions. The first condition is sincerity for Allah, and the second condition is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: "So make your religion sincere to Him." This is the sincerity, and "and be upright" is the following. In the two Sahihs, it is narrated from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): This is the sincerity.
Following: It is also established in the two Sahihs from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in another wording: So it is necessary to have sincerity and following, and following is not realized except by knowing how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do things, so that we may be followers of him. For this reason, we should keep these two matters in mind when we perform acts of worship: sincerity, and secondly, following. Sincerity means that we do not seek in our worship anything but the Face of Allah and the Hereafter, and that we also feel that we are obeying the commands of Allah. For example, when performing wudu', we wash the parts that are washed and wipe the parts that are wiped, but we should keep in mind that we are obeying the saying of Allah the Exalted: and so on, until sincerity, submission, and humility to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are complete. Then we should also keep in mind that we are following the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) in this, because this is what we were commanded to do, as Allah the Exalted said:
Among the matters we are currently addressing is the description of 'Umrah and Hajj. First, we begin with the miqat: when a person reaches the miqat, he performs ghusl (the full ritual bath) as he would for janabah (major ritual impurity). After undressing, he applies the best perfume he can find to his body, placing it on his head and his beard. Then he wears the garments of ihram, an izar (lower garment) and a rida' (upper garment), both white; this is for the man. As for the woman, she wears whatever she wishes of clothing, provided she does not display her adornment (tabarruj). If it is the time for an obligatory prayer, he performs the obligatory prayer and then enters into ihram. If it is not the time for an obligatory prayer, he prays a voluntary prayer, which is the sunnah of wudu' (ablution), because it is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prescribed a specific prayer upon entering into the rites. Then, after intending to enter into the rites, he recites the talbiyah, saying: "Labbaik Allahumma 'Umrah" (Here I am, O Allah, for 'Umrah). He then heads toward Makkah and continues to recite the talbiyah until he begins the tawaf (circumambulation). When beginning the tawaf, the first thing he does is touch the Black Stone; that is, he touches it with his hand and kisses it, if it is feasible. If not, the sunnah is not to crowd, so that he does not harm himself or others. You know that in the crowd, a person loses the presence of intention and the presence of worship, because he is trying to defend himself. So if you find a crowd, the sunnah is not to crowd; rather, point to it, and the pointing is sufficient. In the case of pointing, do not extend your hand; begin the tawaf. This is called Tawaf al-Qudum (the arrival tawaf), and it is simultaneously the tawaf of 'Umrah. In this tawaf, it is recommended (sunnah) for the man to perform idhtiba' (exposing the right shoulder) throughout the entire tawaf. Idhtiba' is placing the middle of his rida' under his right armpit and its ends over his left shoulder. He should also perform ramal (brisk walking) in the first three circuits, but not in the remaining four. Ramal is walking quickly without extending the stride; that is, hurrying, but not taking a stride longer than a normal one, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so in the Farewell Pilgrimage. When you finish the seven circuits of tawaf, proceed to the Maqam Ibrahim (Station of Ibrahim) and recite the word of Allah the Exalted: You recite this verse following the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and in observance of Allah's command. Then you pray two rak'ahs behind the Maqam. These two rak'ahs are distinguished by reciting in the first: and in the second: al-Ikhlas (Sincerity). You should be brief in them and not prolong them, because the place is a place of prayer for you and for others. If you prolong it, you occupy the place for others. When you finish this, return to the Black Stone; if it is feasible for you to touch it, do so, otherwise there is no blame. Do not point in this case. Go out to the Sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah). When you approach al-Safa, recite the word of Allah the Exalted: Then climb al-Safa until you see the Ka'bah, face it, raise your hands for supplication and dhikr (remembrance), and say: "Allahu Akbar" three times, "La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir" (There is no god but Allah alone, without partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is over all things competent), "La ilaha illa Allah wahdah, anjaza wa'dah, wa nasara 'abduh, wa hazamal ahzab wahdah" (There is no god but Allah alone; He fulfilled His promise, and He helped His servant, and He defeated the confederates alone). Then you supplicate with whatever you wish. Then you repeat the dhikr a second time, then supplicate with whatever you wish. Then you repeat the dhikr a third time and descend. The dhikr is repeated three times, and the supplication is how many times? Twice. You descend from al-Safa heading toward al-Marwah, walking until you reach the green marker, that is, the green pole, which is well known, and praise be to Allah, there are green lights above your head indicating it. When you reach this, run vigorously as much as you can if there is space; otherwise, walk as is feasible for you to the other marker. Then walk normally to al-Marwah. When you reach al-Marwah, say what you said on al-Safa. This is one circuit (shut). Then return from al-Marwah to al-Safa, and this is another circuit, and so on until seven circuits, beginning with al-Safa and ending with al-Marwah. After this, shorten your hair if you are performing tamattu' (combining 'Umrah and Hajj). If you are not performing tamattu', shave it or shorten it, and shaving is better. Then you exit from your ihram completely. You wear your clothes, apply perfume, and enjoy your family if they are with you, and you do all that was forbidden to you in ihram. When the second day of Dhul-Hijjah arrives, enter into ihram for Hajj from your current location. You perform ghusl, apply perfume, wear the garments of ihram, and go out to Mina to stay there until the sun rises on the ninth day. You pray Zuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha', and Fajr there, five times, each prayer in its time, except that you shorten the four-rak'ah prayers. When the sun rises, you proceed to 'Arafah. However, if it is feasible for you to stop at Namirah, which is a place near 'Arafah but not part of 'Arafah, stop there, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped at Namirah until the sun passed its zenith. Do this if it is feasible; if not, there is no blame in going directly from Mina to 'Arafah. When the sun passes its zenith on the Day of 'Arafah, then devote yourself to dhikr and supplication after praying Zuhr and 'Asr, shortened and combined as a combination of advancing (jam' taqdim). Devote yourself to dhikr and supplication on this great day, which is among the best days of the year and the closest to being answered, until the sun sets. When the sun sets, depart from 'Arafah heading toward Muzdalifah, and combine Maghrib and 'Isha', meaning you delay Maghrib until you reach Muzdalifah. Then you pray Maghrib and 'Isha' there; Maghrib is three rak'ahs, not shortened, and 'Isha' is four rak'ahs, which you pray as two rak'ahs. Then you stay there until you pray Fajr. When you have prayed Fajr, devote yourself to supplication and standing until it is clearly light, meaning until the light is clearly apparent. Then proceed to Mina and aim for the Jamarat al-Aqabah (the pillar of Aqabah) before anything else. Throw it with seven pebbles in succession, saying takbir (Allahu Akbar) with each pebble. Then proceed to the place of sacrifice, meaning the place where you intend to slaughter your hady (sacrificial animal), and slaughter the hady. Then shave your head and perform the first exit (tahallul al-awwal). Then go down to Makkah to perform Tawaf al-Ifadah (the tawaf of departure) and the Sa'y of Hajj. Here, the tawaf is in your usual clothing, because you have performed the first exit, and there is no ramal. Likewise, the Sa'y is in your usual clothing, but it includes walking between the two markers. When you finish this, you have exited completely. You enjoy everything that was forbidden to you in ihram. Then you go out to Mina to stay there on the night of the eleventh and the night of the twelfth. On these two days, you throw the three pillars, each with seven pebbles, beginning with the first, which is the farthest from Makkah. You throw it with seven pebbles in succession, saying takbir with each pebble. Then you stand for supplication facing the qiblah, raising your hands. Prolong the supplication if you are able, otherwise do what is feasible. Then throw the middle pillar likewise, and stand after it to supplicate. Then the Jamarat al-Aqabah likewise, but do not stand after it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood between the first and second pillars, and between the second and third, but did not stand after the third. Then you remain in Mina until the twelfth day and throw the pillars as you did yesterday. If you wish, you may hasten and go down to Makkah. If you wish, you may remain in Mina on the night of the thirteenth and throw the pillars on the thirteenth day as you did on the eleventh and twelfth days. Then Hajj ends on the last of the days of Tashriq. If you wish to return to your country, it is obligatory for you to perform Tawaf al-Wada' (the farewell tawaf). It is obligatory on everyone who performs Hajj or 'Umrah, except that it is waived for the menstruating woman or the woman with post-natal bleeding, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the people that their last visit should be to the House, but he made it easier for the menstruating woman. This is a summary of the description of Hajj and 'Umrah.