The Pilgrimage - Part 5: Prohibitions,Atonements and Other Regulations.
     
        
      As we have seen in our discussion of the main Islamic duty of pilgrimage, entering into the state of consecration, or ihraam, is an essential prerequisite. Ihraam is indeed a duty for all pilgrims and those who do the Umrah. There is no disagreement among the Islamic schools of Fiqh as to its being a duty, except that the Hanafi school makes it necessary for anyone who does not enter into ihraam when doing the pilgrimage or the Umrah to sacrifice a sheep in atonement for that omission. We have referred to the restrictions of ihraam and here is a full statement of these restrictions. When a person goes into ihraam, he is forbidden to do any of the following: 

      1. Sexual intercourse with his wife and its preliminaries such as cuddling, kissing, and even speaking about sex. It is also forbidden to enter into a marriage contract when a person is in ihraam.

      2. To wear any sewn garment: This includes any type of clothing such as shirts, trousers, overcoats, robes, and jackets. A pilgrim normally wears two pieces of cloth; wrapping himself with one so as to cover himself from the waistline to well below his knees, preferably to the middle of his lower leg. The other he throws over his shoulders, covering shoulders, his back and chest. If these two pieces are connected with a string, this is acceptable. 

      A pilgrim in ihraam must not cover his head or wear shoes that reach his ankles. It is preferable that he should wear slippers or sandals, but if he cannot find suitable slippers, then he can bend the back of his shoes so that they do not touch his ankles. 

      All these restriction about clothes apply to men only. Women wear their ordinary clothes during ihraam and cover all their bodies with the exception of their faces and the lower parts of their hands. A woman may, if she so desires, cover her face temporarily to avoid men gazing at her, and she may cover her hands with anything other than gloves.

      3. To go hunting on land: This is to distinguish hunting from fishing. Both actions are expressed by the same word in Arabic. Fishing is permissible during ihraam, while hunting, including shooting birds, is prohibited. Pilgrims must not cut any tree or grass in the Haram area, just to spoil it. If the grass is totally dry, it may be cut. What is planted for food, medical herbs and other plants that are used for beneficial purposes, may be cut. 

      4. To shave, cut one's hair, wear perfume or clip one's nails: A person in ihraam may wash his head or his body with water and soap that is not perfumed. He may also sit in the shade of a tent or a house, or carry an umbrella, provided that that does not cover a woman's face or a man's head. They must remain uncovered. 

      Any violation of these restrictions, with the exception of making a marriage contract, requires an atonement which differs according to which restriction is violated.

      Omission of a Duty

      If a pilgrim omits the duty of attendance at Arafat, which means that he does not arrive at Arafat before the break of dawn on the Day of Sacrifice, his pilgrimage is invalid. He must complete the duties of the Umrah, namely, tawaf and sa'ie, and then release himself from ihraam by shaving his head or shortening his hair. He must do the pilgrimage the following year and atone for the omission by slaughtering a sheep. 

      If a pilgrim omits the other major duty of pilgrimage, namely the tawaf of ifaadah, he compensates for it by actually doing this tawaf at any time. According to the Hanafi and the Hanbali schools of Fiqh, he may do it at any time in his lifetime. The Maliki school of Fiqh, however, restricts its time to the end of the month of Dhul-Hijjah. If he delays it further than that, he has to slaughter a sheep in compensation. If a pilgrim omits sa'ie, he may do it as long as he is in Makkah or close to it. If he has gone back home, and he lives a long distance away from Makkah, he does not have to return to do the sa'ie. He arranges instead for a sheep to be sacrificed on his behalf in the Haram area. 

      A pilgrim who omits any lesser duty of pilgrimage must sacrifice a sheep in compensation and his pilgrimage is valid. If he violates any restrictions of ihraam, other than sexual intercourse, before his first-stage release from ihraam, his pilgrimage is valid provided that he slaughters a sheep, or, if that is unavailable to him, he feeds six needy people or fasts for three days. If he violates his ihraam by having sexual intercourse with his wife before his first-stage release, his pilgrimage is invalid. He must, however, complete the pilgrimage duties and slaughter a cow or a camel in sacrifice, and he must repeat his pilgrimage the following year.

      If a pilgrim in ihraam kills an animal that passes for game, he is punished by providing a similar animal. If there is no similar animal, he is required to assess the price of that animal and buy with it food and give it away to charity. Alternatively, he may fast for one day for each mudd, an Arabian measure, of that food. A pilgrim who cuts a tree of the Haram area to spoil it must slaughter a cow for a large tree, a sheep for a small one. Alternatively, he may buy food for the price of the cow or the sheep to give it to poor people. Another option is to fast one day in place of each mudd of that food.

      He, who is physically prevented from completing his pilgrimage or Umrah or both, having gone into ihraam, should slaughter a sheep at the place where his prevention takes place and release himself from ihraam. If no sheep is available he can substitute for it food bought for the same price as a sheep. If he cannot afford that, he fasts one day for each mudd.

      In each case where the atonement is to sacrifice an animal, the sacrifice may be done at any time, but only in the Haram area. It must be distributed to the poor of the Haram area. The pilgrim himself and his family cannot eat any portion of it.

      Nowadays, with the system that allows pilgrims to do their sacrifice through an Islamic Bank that undertakes the distribution of the meat to the poor in the Haram area and other Muslim areas in need, all such sacrifice may be so done. In this case, the bank acts as an agent for the pilgrim and once the pilgrim hands in his voucher, clearly indicating the type of sacrifice he is making, he is deemed to have fulfilled his duty once it becomes due.

      Tawaf of Farewell

      This tawaf is a duty required of all pilgrims other than those who live in Makkah and the Haram area. In other words, it is due of pilgrims living in Jeddah, Bahrah and the Hil area, as well as all other pilgrims. If omitted, the omission is rectified by the sacrifice of a sheep. The purpose of this tawaf is to bid farewell to the Sacred Mosque and Makkah. No jogging is recommended in this tawaf. When a pilgrim completes his stay in Makkah and is about to depart, he should do a normal tawaf that he intends to be his last act in Makkah. A woman who is in her menstrual period is exempt from it. It is not necessary when this tawaf is finished to walk backward, with one's face toward the Kaabah, as some people do. This was not reported to have been done by the Prophet (peace be upon him) or his companions. Hence, it is a deviation from proper Islamic worship. 

      When a pilgrim has done this tawaf and left the Haram, he should leave Makkah without delay. If he comes back to the Haram again, he should repeat his tawaf of farewell. He may pray after the tawaf as he wishes. The Prophet's prayer after his farewell tawaf is easily found in any manual of pilgrimage.

      Pilgrimage on Behalf of a deceased Person

      If a person dies before doing his first pilgrimage, i.e. the compulsory pilgrimage, or before doing a pilgrimage he pledged himself to do, his executor must either do the pilgrimage on his behalf or send someone to do it for him, paying the expenses from the deceased person's estate. The Sahfie and Hanbali schools of Fiqh advocate this ruling that is supported by an authentic Hadith. The other two schools do not require heirs to do the pilgrimage on behalf of the deceased person unless he has specified this in his will, and the expenses are then paid from the one-third of his estate which he may bequeath by will. This ruling, however, is less weighty than that of the Sahfie and Hanbali schools. He who does the pilgrimage on behalf of another person must have done his own obligatory pilgrimage first.

      A Visit to Madinah 

      Visiting Madinah and the Prophet's mosque is strongly recommended. The Prophet's Mosque in Madinah is one of the three mosques to which Muslims may travel. It is a highly rewarded visit and it demonstrates the Muslims' love of their Prophet and their gratitude to him for delivering God's message to them complete. 

      Scholars have expressed different views about the preferability of visiting Madinah before or after the pilgrimage. Either course is correct and valid. Since pilgrims arrive in large numbers these days, when traveling has been made easy by air, land and sea, it is impractical to restrict visiting Madinah to either end of the pilgrimage. Hence, pilgrims should choose what is easier for them. Islam is a religion that always prefers what is easier and more practicable for its followers. 

      There is no specified limit or duration for visiting Madinah. A short visit is as good as a long one except for two points: 1) In a longer stay in Madinah, one may greet the Prophet several times; and 2) Each prayer in the Prophet's mosque is rewarded as highly as one thousand prayers anywhere else, except the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. 
     

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