CHAPTER 9 ETIQUETTE WHEN ENTERING MAKKAH AL MUKARRAMAH 1
CHAPTER 8: ETIQUETTE WHEN ENTERING MAKKAH AL MUKARRAMAH 1. THE SACRED PRECINCT OF MAKKAH 1.1 ETIQUETTE OF ENTERING THE HOLY CITY OF MAKKAH Pilgrims should observe decorum when entering the sacred precinct of Makkah which has been ennobled by Allah according to what has been related by the Prophet (s.a.w) as follows: 1. After invoking the intention for ihram (hajj or umrah), one should proceed directly to Makkah. From Makkah, go next to Mina and Arafah for the hajj devotional acts after the qudum tawaf (welcome circumambulation of the Ka bah). Be not as some pilgrims who come in ihram from Madinah and go directly to Mina or Arafah, because this transgresses the sunnah, and certainly, a lot of other sunnah rites will be omitted. 2. Always be in a state of (khusyu ) concentration and khudu (humility) when approaching the sacred precinct of Makkah, and feeling one s lowliness as well as the destination s sanctity. 3. Upon reaching the boundary of the sacred precinct, recite the supplication which is always recited by Allah s virtuous and learned servants, that is: "O Allah, this is Your sacred precinct and Your peace, prohibit me then from the hell fire, and secure me from Your punishment on the day You would resurrect Your servants and make me be among those who love and obey You. 4. Take the sunnah ghusl (bath) before entering Makkah. This is done by the Prophet (s.a.w) at the location called Bir Tuwa (Tuwa Well), 3 km from Al Haram Mosque. Pilgrims may perhaps be able to perform this act while in Jeddah or at the place of passport inspection for hajj pilgrims upon approaching the City of Makkah. However, if one does not manage to do so, it is indeed good to clean the body with a slightly wet face towel, and then perform the ablution. 2
5. It is sunnah to enter Makkah from the Hujun road located at the Ma ala cemetery (Makkah cemetery). 6. One should rightly be mindful of hurting others while in a crowded situation, and offer forgiveness to those who hurt him, for the attribute of humility/kindness will not be revoked except from a hardened and damned heart. 7. Proceed quickly to Baitullah upon arriving in Makkah. Do not be pre-occupied with lodging and other worldly matters first, instead of performing the tawaf (circumambulating the Ka bah). 8. It is sunnah to enter the Al Haram Mosque by way of the Babu Bani Syaibah gate, now known as Babus Salam. The actual Bani Syaibah gate is the one located in between Prophet Ibrahim s Sanctuary and the zam zam well. However if the mosque has been enlarged, then the entrance which is in line with it is named the Babus Salam gate. Aerial Photo of BABUSSALAM Entrance/Door 3
Old photo of Kaabah Bani Syaibah Gate is seen between Mimbar and Zam Zam well house However, one can enter the Mosque from whichever entrance, and then turn towards the Bani Syaibah gate. This is if conditions permit. If the situation is too crowded, it would not matter from which direction one proceeds towards the Ka bah. 9. Enter the Mosque with the right leg, in full concentration and humility, as well as reciting the supplication for entering the Mosque:. I seek protection with Allah the Exalted, and His noble countenance, as well as His (eternal) Power from the cursed satan. In the name of Allah, salawat (salutations) and salams to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and his family. O Allah, do forgive my sins and open for me the door to Your Mercy. This supplication is a sunnah when entering all mosques. 10. When one s eyes gaze at the Ka bah, he should raise both his hands in prayer, while supplicating thus: 4
. O Allah, increase upon this house honour, greatness, nobility, and intensity and increase upon those who embark on the hajj and umrah to this house with honour, nobility, greatness and virtue. O Allah, You it is Who Is Peace, from You Peace, resurrect us then with Peace (prosperity). 11. One immediately does the tawaf without performing the solat of tahiyattul masjid, because in the Al Haram Mosque resides two manifestations of nobility: (1) the Mosque (2) the Ka bah The solat is a respect for the Mosque is, while the tawaf is a respect for the Ka bah. When the two collide, the tahiyyat is accorded priority to that which is the more noble, and in this regard, it is the Ka bah. Consequently, everyone who enters the Al-Haram Mosque, immediately performs the tawaf (whichever tawaf it may be) -- if not the obligatory tawaf, such as the hajj and umrah tawaf, then the sunnah tawaf only. After that, perform the solat for the sunnah tawaf, including the sunnah of tahiyyatul masjid. However, if one cannot perform the tawaf due to reasons such as: The obligatory solat is in progress or the iqamat (call to start the solat) is approaching There are too many people crowded together, or other valid reasons, do not sit unless one has first performed the sunnah solat for tahiyyatul masjid, as related by the Prophet (s.a.w).. When any of you enters the mosque, do not be seated until you have done two rakaat (of solat). If performing the tahiyyatul masjid for the ordinary mosque is taken seriously, what more if it be for the noblest mosque -- the Al-Haram Mosque. As such, we wish to refute the assertion of some other who say that there is no tahiyyatul masjid upon entering the Al Haram Mosque, even though no tawaf is performed. 1 1 Rujuk Manasik Nawawi m.s. 226 5
1.2 ENTERING MAKKAH WITHOUT IHRAM There is no prohibition against entering Makkah without the ihram for those who do not intend to perform the hajj or umrah, regardless of whether he enters Makkah because of business, visiting friends, or for other matters. This is based on the hadith related by Muslim:. That the Prophet (s.a.w) enters the City of Makkah donned in black turban without the ihram. 2 There is not even one prohibition from Allah or the Prophet against entering Makkah without the ihram. However, as a matter of etiquette for the sacred precinct, everyone who enters it should ideally be in ihram, even though he has no intention of performing the umrah. The exception is those who always have to travel to and from the sacred precinct, such as the residents of Makkah who work in Jeddah. For those who comes from Madinah or from a foreign country to Makkah with the sole purpose of performing the umrah, it is obligatory for him to don the ihram from the miqat through which his journey traverses. Otherwise, it is then obligatory to impose the penalty (dam) upon him because he is considered as having transgressed the miqat. Let he not be beguiled by what others say: Why trouble yourself by being in ihram from miqat Bir Ali, Madinah, or others. Just rest and relax, we would enter Makkah as usual (in our normal attire). Then after the rest, we will proceed to Tana im to invoke the intention for umrah. Those who say this, are actually mistaken with the above hadith, because the Prophet (s.a.w) entered Makkah then during the battle to capture Makkah from the hands of the infidel Quraish, and not to perform the umrah. The same applies to the Makkah residents who shuttle to and from Jeddah because of their daily work. If what is said earlier is true -- that it is not necessary to trouble oneself with donning the ihram from the miqat, and suffice it to be from Tanai m, then why would the Prophet (s.a.w) trouble his followers to ihram from the miqat? In fact, the Prophet (s.a.w) himself together with his companions went through the trouble of being in ihram from Bir Ali, Madinah, through the desert for eight days and seven nights. May Allah show us the true path. Ameen. 1.3 PROHIBITIONS WITHIN THE SACRED PRECINCT OF MAKKAH While in Makkah, everyone, regardless of being in ihram or otherwise, is prohibited from committing certain acts, such as: 2 Ini pada tahun 8 Hijrah sewaktu mengambil kembali Kota Makkah dari Quraisy 6
1. Hunting wild animals (not domesticated by people) such as pigeons. 2. Chasing away wild animals. 3. Cutting off, without purpose, vegetation which is not planted by man 4. Weeding out grass which is not yet dry, including its thorns too. 5. Not to pick up stray items except with the purpose of announcing them aloud. These five prohibitions are based on the hadith related by the Prophet (s.a.w) during the Wada Hajj: :. : Verily, in this country (Makkah), one may not cut its thorns, weed out its grass, hunt its wild animals, and pick up its stray items, except with the purpose of announcing them aloud. Suddenly Abbas interjected, Except for Idz Khar (a kind of fragrant plant used by Makkah residents to make their homes fragrant). The Prophet (s.a.w) replied: Yes, except for Idz Khar. (Hadith: Bukhari) 6. As regards this matter of extracting earth from the sacred precinct to the permissible precinct, the Shafie scholars differ in ruling it as either haram (forbidden) or as makruh (undesirable) though permissible because there is found no juristic authority in prohibiting it. However, in keeping within the norms of etiquette it is advisable not to remove anything out from the sacred precinct to the permissible precinct. Imam Shafie related from Abdul A la, who said: I came with my mother or my grandmother, and she was visited by Safiyah binti Shaibah, who was honoured by my grandmother. Safiyah said, There is nothing that I can give in return. So she gave her a piece of stone from the rukun (Ka bah s edge), and we then went out of Makkah with the stone and arrived at a place where we all fell sick. My grandmother said: This would not have happened if not because of this stone. So the stone was returned to Safiyah, while saying: Verily, Allah has placed something in His sacred precinct, then do not remove it away. After having returned it, we felt reinvigorated and well again.3 More importantly, do not deposit into the sacred precinct, earth which is from the permissible precinct, so that the earth from the sacred precinct is not mixed with those from the permissible land. 3 Refer to Majmuk Nawawi Kitab, chapter 7, page 455. 7
7. Committing vice, because sins incurred while in the sacred precinct of Makkah are multiplied in the same way as rewards which are multiplied for performing good deeds. There is not even one hadith which mentions the multiplying of sins in the City of Makkah. However, this matter is viewed gravely by the learned scholars for this is like the difference between one who commits a wrong outside the King s Palace and one who commits the same within his palace. The wrongdoer in the palace does not accord respect to the presence of the King in the Palace. The case for Allah Most Sublime can be analogised from that of His creation. For that reason, Sayyidina Umar and Ibnu Abbas r.a. had once said: It is better for me to commit 70 sins in Rukyah (outside Makkah), than to commit one sin in Makkah. And so it is, in the Kanzul Ummal kitab, as related by Al Azraqi. 8