How is Hajj performed, step by step?

The three ways to perform it

Before the rites begin, you choose one of three anasak (modes of pilgrimage). All three are valid and legislated; they differ in what you enter ihram for and whether a sacrifice (hady) is due.

Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen both state that tamattu' is the best of the three for someone arriving in the months of Hajj, then qiran, then ifrad. A person who has driven a sacrificial animal with him cannot exit ihram before the Day of Sacrifice, so he remains in qiran or ifrad.

The steps of Hajj

1. Ihram at the miqat

You bathe, apply perfume, and — for men — wear the izar and rida' (two unstitched white garments). A woman wears her ordinary clothing, without adornment or visibly fragrant perfume. You pray two rak'ahs, then intend the rite and begin the talbiyah: "Labbayk Allahumma labbayk…" You continue repeating it until you reach Makkah. Each pilgrim enters ihram at the miqat he passes — the people of Madinah at Dhul-Hulayfah, of Egypt and Syria at al-Juhfah (Rabigh), of Najd at Qarn al-Manazil, of Yemen at Yalamlam, of Iraq at Dhat 'Irq.

2. Arrival in Makkah: tawaf al-qudum

On reaching Makkah you perform the tawaf of arrival — seven circuits of the Ka'bah, keeping it on your left, beginning and ending at the Black Stone. It is a sunnah, not a pillar. During it, two things are recommended for men: idtiba' (passing the middle of the rida' under the right arm, its ends over the left shoulder) throughout the tawaf, and ramal (a brisk walk with short steps) in the first three circuits only. After the seven circuits you pray two rak'ahs behind the Station of Ibrahim.

3. Sa'i between Safa and Marwah

You then walk seven times between Safa and Marwah. For the one in ifrad or qiran, this sa'i counts for the Hajj; for the one in tamattu', it completes his umrah, after which he trims or shaves and exits ihram fully, remaining in Makkah until the eighth.

4. The eighth of Dhul-Hijjah: to Mina

You move to Mina and spend the night there, praying Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha and Fajr, each at its own time, shortening the four-rak'ah prayers to two.

5. The ninth: Arafah

At sunrise you proceed to Arafah, alighting at Namirah, and pray Dhuhr and Asr together, two rak'ahs each, at the time of Dhuhr. You remain standing in Arafah until sunset — this standing is the pillar of Hajj. Shaykh Ibn Baz lists "standing at Arafah until sunset" among the obligatory acts; if you stand at night only, that suffices, but having stood by day you must remain until the sun sets.

6. The night at Muzdalifah

After sunset you leave for Muzdalifah and spend the night there, praying Fajr, then standing in supplication and remembrance until the sky lightens, before heading to Mina before sunrise. The sunnah is to stay until Fajr; remaining only a short while after midnight is sufficient.

7. The tenth: Mina

This is the busiest day. In order:

1. Stone Jamrat al-'Aqabah with seven pebbles, saying Allahu akbar with each one.
2. Sacrifice the hady, if you have one — the one in ifrad is not required to.
3. Shave or trim — shaving is better for men; a woman only trims.
4. Bathe and apply perfume, now that the restrictions of ihram are lifted.
5. Go to Makkah and perform tawaf al-ifadah — this is a pillar of Hajj, not a sunnah.
6. Perform sa'i, if you did not perform it earlier with the tawaf of arrival.

From the stoning of Jamrat al-'Aqabah through the sa'i, the sunnah is to keep this order; if you advance or delay one of them, there is no harm.

8. The days of Mina: the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth

You return to Mina and spend the night of the eleventh and twelfth — and the thirteenth if you are not hastening. Each day after the sun passes its zenith, you stone all three jamrahs, seven pebbles each, beginning with the small, then the middle, then 'Aqabah.

9. Tawaf al-wada'

When the days of Mina are over and you intend to leave Makkah, you perform the farewell tawaf — seven circuits. Shaykh Ibn Baz counts it among the seven obligatory acts of Hajj; al-Nawawi reports two positions on whether it is obligatory. It is waived for a menstruating woman.

What is pillar, what is obligation

The scholars distinguish sharply between these, because the consequence of missing each differs.

Al-Nawawi's summary in al-Majmu' is that whoever leaves a pillar does not complete his rite and does not exit ihram until he performs it; whoever leaves an obligation owes a sacrifice; and whoever leaves a sunnah owes nothing. Whoever cannot find a sacrifice or someone to lend him one fasts three days during Hajj and seven when he returns.

The tamattu' pilgrim's difference

The one in tamattu' performs two tawafs and two sa'is — one pair for his umrah and one for his Hajj — and owes the hady, because Allah says:

"And whoever performs tamattu' with the umrah to the Hajj, then what is easy of the sacrifice."— Qur'an 2:196

The one in qiran and the one in ifrad perform only one tawaf and one sa'i, and the qiran pilgrim also owes the hady.

Key takeaways

• Arafah is the pillar: no standing on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah means no Hajj, and having stood by day you must remain until sunset.
• Tamattu' is the preferred mode for one arriving in the months of Hajj, and it obliges two tawafs, two sa'is and a sacrifice.
• Pillars, obligations and sunnahs carry different consequences — a missed pillar stops the rite, a missed obligation costs a sacrifice, a missed sunnah costs nothing.
• The order from stoning to sa'i on the tenth is sunnah, so advancing or delaying one of those acts does not invalidate the Hajj.
• Tawaf al-wada' is owed before leaving Makkah, and it is waived for a menstruating woman.

Further reading

• Shaykh Ibn Baz, al-Tahqiq wa al-Idah li Kathir min Masa'il al-Hajj wa al-'Umrah wa al-Ziyarah
• Imam al-Nawawi, al-Majmu'
• Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, al-Liqa' al-Bab al-Maftuh

And Allah knows best.