Second tahallul (the major/greater, complete release from ihram)
Al-Tahallul al-Akbar (al-Thani)
Overview
The second (major) tahallul is the complete end of ihram, reached once all three Day-of-Sacrifice acts are done — the stoning, the shaving/trimming, and Tawaf al-Ifadah — after which even the restriction on marital relations is lifted.
Qur'an
Surah al-Hajj —'وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ'('and let them perform tawaf around the Ancient House'), the command underlying Tawaf al-Ifadah, the pivotal act of the complete tahallul. Surah al-Baqarah —'فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ'('let there be no rafath [sexual relations], nor wickedness, nor disputing during the Hajj'), the intercourse restriction that this second tahallul finally lifts.
'وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ'References · Qur'an 22:29 · Qur'an 2:197
Hadith
- •'Aishah (RA) —'كُنْتُ أُطَيِّبُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ(ﷺ) لِإِحْرَامِهِ...وَلِحِلِّهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَطُوفَ بِالْبَيْتِ'('I used to perfume the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for his ihram... and for his exiting ihram before he performed tawaf of the House'): perfume is lifted before Tawaf al-Ifadah (first tahallul), whereas intercourse is not — establishing that intercourse is only lifted after the tawaf, at the second tahallul.References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1754 · Sahih Muslim 1189Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
- •SUPPORTING (weak): 'Aishah (RA), marfu' —'إِذَا رَمَيْتُمُ الْجَمْرَةَ فَقَدْ حَلَّ لَكُمْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا النِّسَاءَ'('When you have stoned the Jamrah, everything has become lawful for you except women'), identifying intercourse as the last restriction, lifted only by the remaining act (Tawaf al-Ifadah).Reference · Sunan Abi Dawud 1978Grade · Da'if (weak) — inqita'/tadlis (al-Hajjaj ibn Artat (RH) did not hear from al-Zuhri (RH)); the ruling is upheld through the sahih perfume hadith and ijma'
For Umrah
'Umrah has no second tahallul, because it has no first: its single release lifts every prohibition at once, marital relations included — see "Tahallul of 'Umrah". A Mutamatti' does experience this complete release at the end of his 'Umrah, which is exactly what distinguishes tamattu' from qiran, where the one ihram runs on into the Hajj without any release in between.
Applies to
All three Hajj types (Tamattu', Qiran, Ifrad). The threshold is the same, but there is a sa'i count difference: a Mutamatti' (and, per the Maliki school, every pilgrim) performs sa'i with Tawaf al-Ifadah, whereas a Mufrid or Qarin who already performed his single sa'i after Tawaf al-Qudum does not repeat it (majority view).
If missed
The second tahallul is not 'performed'; it is the automatic result of completing the last outstanding act — in practice Tawaf al-Ifadah. If that act is never done, the second tahallul never occurs: marital intercourse remains prohibited indefinitely and the Hajj itself stays incomplete, because Tawaf al-Ifadah is a rukn (pillar) with no dam-substitute — the pilgrim must return and perform it whenever, even years later, and remains in ihram with respect to intercourse until then. Sexual intercourse after the first tahallul but before the second does not invalidate the Hajj, but is sinful and obliges a dam (a sheep per Hanafi/Shafi'i/Hanbali; a badanah/camel per Maliki) plus re-entering ihram from the Hill (outside the Haram) to complete Tawaf al-Ifadah in a valid state.
Timing & place
Takes effect the moment the last outstanding act (in practice Tawaf al-Ifadah) is completed. Tawaf al-Ifadah's own window opens after the Wuquf at 'Arafah — the majority permit it from after midnight at Muzdalifah / dawn of the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah onward — and has no upper cut-off, so the second tahallul may occur on the 10th or, if the tawaf is delayed, later.
A legal state that hinges on Tawaf al-Ifadah performed at al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah (with its accompanying sa'i between al-Safa and al-Marwah where due). The other component acts occur at Mina.
Common mistakes
- •Approaching one's spouse after the first tahallul in the belief that ihram is fully over — intercourse remains prohibited until this second stage
- •Delaying Tawaf al-Ifadah and having marital relations before performing it
- •A woman who menstruates assuming she has fully exited ihram before performing Tawaf al-Ifadah
- •Departing Makkah without Tawaf al-Ifadah (the Hajj is incomplete and the second tahallul never takes effect until she returns and performs it)
- •Assuming a dam 'buys out' Tawaf al-Ifadah (it does not — being a pillar, it must actually be performed)
Across the madhabs
Point of divergence: The schools agree the complete tahallul lifts intercourse, but differ on exactly what remained to be lifted at this stage and on whether sa'i is coupled with the tawaf. All four agree marital intercourse is lifted only at this second/complete stage and that it centres on Tawaf al-Ifadah. For a Mutamatti' or Qarin (and for the Maliki school generally) Tawaf al-Ifadah is accompanied by sa'i; a Mufrid/Qarin who already performed sa'i after Tawaf al-Qudum does not repeat it (majority).
- •Hanafi: Completed by Tawaf al-Ziyarah (= al-Ifadah) after the ramy+halq that gave the first tahallul; it lifts the sole remaining restriction — marital intercourse.
- •Maliki: The greater tahallul (al-akbar) is effected by Tawaf al-Ifadah together with its sa'i; it lifts the three things the school kept prohibited after the minor tahallul — sexual intercourse (and its preliminaries), perfume (tib), and hunting (sayd).
- •Shafi'i: Completed by whichever is the third of the three acts to be performed; it lifts sexual intercourse, its preliminaries (mubasharah), and the contracting of a marriage.
- •Hanbali: Completed by the third of the three acts; it lifts sexual intercourse (and the marriage contract).
Notes
This is the 'greater/complete' release (al-akbar / al-thani), following the 'minor/lesser' first tahallul (item tahallul-first). Intercourse timeline: before any tahallul (i.e. before Ramy al-'Aqabah, while fully in ihram) → the majority hold it invalidates the Hajj and obliges a badanah, completing the corrupted Hajj and making it up the following year; after the first tahallul but before the second → the Hajj is valid but the act is sinful and obliges a dam (sheep per Hanafi/Shafi'i/Hanbali, camel per Maliki); after the second tahallul → fully lawful. The order among the three acts is not a condition for the tahallul count per the 'no harm' concessions, though sequencing matters for the Hanafi and Maliki triggers. Linked items: tawaf-ifadah, halq-taqsir, jamarat, tahallul-first, sai.