Miqat for 'Umrah for one already inside the Haram (al-Tan'im, al-Ji'ranah)
Miqat al-'Umrah li-man kana dakhil al-Haram (al-Tan'im, al-Ji'ranah)
Overview
This is the special miqat rule for someone already inside Makkah who wants to perform 'Umrah: instead of a territorial boundary, they go out to the edge of the Haram — commonly al-Tan'im or al-Ji'ranah — to enter ihram.
Qur'an
No ayah of the Qur'an is cited for this act — the evidence for it is from the Sunnah. See the Hadith below.
Hadith
- •أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَمَرَهُ أَنْ يُرْدِفَ عَائِشَةَ وَيُعْمِرَهَا مِنَ التَّنْعِيمِ'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr (RA) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) ordered him to seat 'Aishah (RA) behind him [on his mount] and to have her perform 'Umrah from al-Tan'im. She had been unable to complete her intended 'Umrah because of menstruation, and this was her replacement 'Umrah at the end of the Farewell Hajj.References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1784 · Sahih Muslim 1211Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
- •وَعُمْرَةً مِنَ الْجِعْرَانَةِ حَيْثُ قَسَمَ غَنَائِمَ حُنَيْنٍ فِي ذِي الْقَعْدَةِ'...and an 'Umrah from al-Ji'ranah, where he distributed the spoils of Hunayn, in Dhul-Qa'dah' — from the narration listing the Prophet's (ﷺ) four 'Umrahs. The Prophet (ﷺ) was inside the Haram at the time and went out to al-Ji'ranah to enter ihram, which is the second established point.References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1778 · Sahih Muslim 1253Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
- •هُنَّ لَهُنَّ وَلِمَنْ أَتَى عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِنَّ مِمَّنْ أَرَادَ الْحَجَّ وَالْعُمْرَةَ وَمَنْ كَانَ دُونَ ذَلِكَ فَمِنْ حَيْثُ أَنْشَأَ حَتَّى أَهْلُ مَكَّةَ مِنْ مَكَّةَ'These [mawaqit] are for their people and for those who come through them from elsewhere intending Hajj or 'Umrah; and whoever is nearer than that, then from where he sets out — even the people of Makkah, from Makkah.' The closing clause 'even the people of Makkah, from Makkah' is the general rule; the 'Aishah (RA) hadith is what carves 'Umrah out of it.References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1524 · Sahih Muslim 1181Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
The mawaqit
- Dhu'l-Hulayfah (Abyar 'Ali) — Madinah & those passing through it
- al-Juhfah (near Rabigh) — Sham, Egypt & the Maghreb
- Dhat 'Irq — Iraq & the East
- Qarn al-Manazil (al-Sayl al-Kabir) — Najd & Ta'if
- Yalamlam (al-Sa'diyah) — Yemen
Placed by true bearing from Makkah on a stylised terrain backdrop; distances are approximate road distances. Those living inside the mawaqit enter ihram from their locality.
Applies to
'Umrah, for anyone who is already inside the boundary of the Haram when they form the intention: residents of Makkah, visitors staying in Makkah, a pilgrim performing a second or later 'Umrah in the same trip, and a Mutamatti' who has completed his 'Umrah. It does not apply to a pilgrim arriving from outside — that person uses the ordinary territorial mawaqit (see 'Entering Ihram from the Miqat'). It has no application to Hajj at all: for Hajj, a person in Makkah enters ihram from Makkah, and a Mutamatti' takes his Hajj ihram from his lodging on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah without going anywhere.
If missed
Entering ihram for 'Umrah from inside the Haram (e.g. from one's hotel or from Masjid al-Haram itself) without going out to the Hill does not invalidate the 'Umrah, but it leaves the pilgrim in the same position as anyone who crossed a miqat without ihram: he must either go out to the Hill and enter ihram properly, or complete the 'Umrah and offer a dam (a sheep slaughtered in the Haram and given to its poor). This is the same ruling as the general 'Entering Ihram from the Miqat' obligation, applied to the special case. Note the asymmetry: a person who does this for Hajj owes nothing, because Makkah itself is his Hajj miqat.
Timing & place
Not time-bound — it is a place rule, triggered whenever a person already inside the Haram forms the intention to perform an 'Umrah. It applies at any time of year, since 'Umrah itself has no season.
Any point in the Hill (al-hill) — the belt of land between the boundary of the Haram of Makkah and the five mawaqit. The established points, in the order the Shafi'is rank them: al-Ji'ranah (about 14 km / 9 miles from Makkah, on the Ta'if road; the Prophet's (ﷺ) own 'Umrah), al-Tan'im (the nearest point of the Hill to Makkah, about 6–7 km, site of today's Masjid 'Aishah — the busiest by far), and al-Hudaybiyah (al-Shumaysi, on the Jeddah road). Any other point of the Hill also suffices; these three are simply the ones with Prophetic precedent and the ones served by transport.
Common mistakes
- •Entering ihram for an additional 'Umrah from inside Makkah — from a hotel or from Masjid al-Haram — instead of going out to al-Tan'im or al-Ji'ranah; this is the single most common error and it obliges a dam.
- •Conversely, a Mutamatti' travelling out to al-Tan'im to enter ihram for his Hajj on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah; this is unnecessary — Makkah is his miqat for the Hajj, and the Prophet's (ﷺ) Companions entered Hajj ihram from their lodgings in Makkah.
- •Believing Masjid 'Aishah at al-Tan'im must itself be entered or prayed in — the mosque is a landmark on the Hill, not the miqat; the boundary is.
- •Repeatedly shuttling to al-Tan'im to stack up 'Umrahs during a single stay, which the Companions did not do and which several schools discourage.
- •Assuming a resident of Makkah cannot perform 'Umrah at all.
Across the madhabs
Point of divergence: The four schools agree on the rule itself — 'Umrah ihram must be taken from outside the Haram, and Hajj ihram may be taken from inside Makkah. There is no substantial divergence on the ruling; the differences are about which point in the Hill is best, and about the status of repeatedly going out for extra 'Umrahs. The near-agreement here is worth stating positively: a reader following any of the four schools is on safe ground going out to al-Tan'im. The contrast with Hajj is the part most often missed — for Hajj there is nothing to go out for.
- •Hanafi: One inside the mawaqit (including Makkah) enters ihram for 'Umrah from the Hill — the area between the boundary of the Haram and the mawaqit. Entering ihram for 'Umrah from inside the Haram and performing the rites without going out obliges a dam.
- •Maliki: Same rule: exit to the Hill. Al-Ji'ranah is held superior to al-Tan'im by some Malikis on the strength of the Prophet's (ﷺ) own 'Umrah from al-Ji'ranah; the school also discourages a pilgrim from adding an extra 'Umrah in the middle of his Hajj trip.
- •Shafi'i: Same rule, stated explicitly by al-Shirbini in Mughni al-Muhtaj — a Makkan or a resident of Makkah must leave the Haram before entering ihram for 'Umrah, on the strength of the Prophet (ﷺ) sending 'Aishah (RA) out to al-Tan'im. Al-Ji'ranah is ranked best, then al-Tan'im, then al-Hudaybiyah, following the order in which the Prophet (ﷺ) is reported to have used them.
- •Hanbali: Same rule: the miqat for 'Umrah of one in Makkah is the Hill (al-hill). Ibn Qudamah records this as the position of the school and of the majority, again on the 'Aishah (RA) hadith.
Notes
The asymmetry between Hajj and 'Umrah for a person inside Makkah is the fact worth remembering.