Do I Need to Be in Ihram Prior to Landing in Jeddah?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

My nephew is visiting Saudi Arabia, he intends to visit his friends in Taif after landing in Jeddah, and he intends to perform ‘Umra some days after landing. My question is, does he have to be in Ihram prior to landing in Jeddah even though he is not going to perform ‘Umra upon landing, this will happen a few days later as he has mentioned. Any proof/reference would be admirable.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

He does not have to be in Ihram before landing. He can enter into ihram at any point before entering the boundary of haram, whether from Taif, where he is intending to visit, or at Masjid ‘A’isha/Tan‘im. This is because Jeddah is within hill (the area between ḥaram and miqat) and once you are in ḥill, your designated boundary (miqat) is the entire hill.  [‘Ala’ al-din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

I pray this helps with your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.