The Miqat and Ihram for pilgrims flying from India

A Miqat is one of the boundary points set by the Prophet ﷺ around Makkah. Anyone travelling to Makkah for Umrah or Hajj must be in Ihram before they cross it. There are five, one on each of the old routes into the Hijaz. Pilgrims flying in cross the same boundary in the air.

The five Miqat points

Distances are approximate, by road. Jeddah lies inside the Miqat boundary, so it is not itself a Miqat for pilgrims arriving from abroad, according to the large majority of scholars.

Flying from India: when to wear Ihram

Flights from Indian cities to Jeddah cross the line between Yalamlam and Qarn al-Manazil before the plane starts to descend. Most airlines announce it — usually around 20 to 40 minutes before the Miqat — but don't rely on the announcement alone; ask the crew if you aren't sure.

1. 1

   Prepare at home or at the airport

   Take a bath, trim your nails, and put on the Ihram clothes before you leave home or in the airport before boarding. Changing in an aeroplane toilet is difficult. If your flight connects through Dubai, Doha or elsewhere, you can change during the layover instead.

2. 2

   Don't make the intention yet

   Wearing the clothes doesn't put you in Ihram. Until you make the intention, nothing of Ihram applies — you may still use unscented items, and you can pray in your seat normally.

3. 3

   Make the intention before the Miqat

   When the crew announces the Miqat — or a little before, to be safe — make the intention in your heart and say “Labbayk Allahumma ‘Umrah” (or “Hajjan” for Hajj). You are now in Ihram.

4. 4

   Begin the Talbiyah

   Recite the Talbiyah — men aloud but not disturbing other passengers, women quietly — and keep repeating it until you reach the Kaaba and begin the Tawaf.

Going to Madinah first?

Many packages from India fly into Madinah and visit Makkah afterwards. If your plane lands in Madinah, you don't need Ihram on the flight, because Madinah is outside the Miqat. When you later travel from Madinah to Makkah, you enter Ihram at Dhul Hulayfah (Masjid Abyar Ali), on the edge of the city. Most groups stop there on the way out, or put on Ihram at the hotel and make the intention as the bus or Haramain train passes the Miqat.

Ihram for men and women

• Men wear two unstitched white sheets — the izar around the waist and the rida over the shoulders — and leave the head uncovered. Sandals or slippers must leave the top of the foot and the ankle bones open. A belt or money pouch to hold up the izar is allowed.
• Women have no special Ihram clothes. They wear any modest, loose clothing that covers everything except the face and hands, in any colour. A woman doesn't wear a niqab or gloves in Ihram, but she may lower a cloth over her face when men are near.
• Children can enter Ihram too, and their Umrah or Hajj is valid, though it doesn't replace the obligatory Hajj they perform as adults.

The rules of Ihram

Once you have made the intention, these restrictions apply until you finish your Umrah with the haircut, or until the 10th of Dhul Hijjah for Hajj:

Then follow our step-by-step guide to performing Umrah, from entering Masjid al-Haram to the haircut.