Twenty kilometres, five days, eleven rites in a fixed order.

Ihram at the miqatإحرام

Rukn · a pillar

The pilgrimage begins at a boundary, not at a place. Five mawaqit ring Makkah, and ihram is entered at or before the one you approach through: the intention, the talbiyah, and for men the two unstitched sheets. Everything inside the ring is what the rest of this page shows.

A pillar in all four schools, though some classify the intention as the pillar and the garments as a condition of it.

• Dhul Hulayfah · Abyar Ali~410 km from Makkah
• Al-Juhfah · Rabigh in practice~190 km
• Qarn al-Manazil · As-Sayl al-Kabir~90 km
• Yalamlam · As-Sa‘diyah~100 km
• Dhat ‘Irq~85 km

Tawafطواف

Rukn · a pillar

Seven circuits anticlockwise, beginning and ending level with the Black Stone. It is the only rite in Islam performed around a physical object, and it produces the densest crowd a pilgrim will stand in. Tawaf goes around the outside of the Hijr wall, never between it and the building.

Tawaf al-Ifadah, performed after Arafah, is a pillar in all four schools. The arrival tawaf shown here is sunnah for those performing Ifrad or Qiran.

Sa‘iسعي

Classified differently by the schools

Seven passages between two hills now enclosed within the mosque, beginning at Safa and ending at Marwah, about 3.5 km in total. It retraces Hajar’s search for water for her son. One of the five pillars of Islam contains, at its centre, a woman’s refusal to give up.

A pillar in the Shafi‘i, Maliki and Hanbali schools. The Hanafi school classifies it as wajib, so its omission is compensated by a sacrifice rather than invalidating the Hajj.

The night at Minaمنى

Sunnah

Seven kilometres east of the Haram, a valley that is empty for most of the year and the largest temporary city on earth for five days of it. Over a hundred thousand fireproof tents, permanently installed, in lanes that repeat.

The night of the eighth at Mina is sunnah rather than obligatory. Every operator schedules it. The nights of the eleventh and twelfth are a separate matter and are wajib.

Wuquf at Arafahوقوف عرفة

Rukn · a pillar

“Hajj is Arafah.” Standing within the boundary from midday until sunset is the essential act: a pilgrim who is here for any part of that period has performed it, and one who misses it has missed the Hajj whatever else they did. Note that the western end of Masjid Namirah lies outside the boundary.

A pillar in all four schools, and the one rite with no substitute of any kind.

The night at Muzdalifahمزدلفة

Wajib · required, repairable

Open ground between Arafah and Mina, with no accommodation of any kind. Maghrib and ‘Isha are combined on arrival, pebbles are gathered for the stoning, and the night is spent on bare ground under the sky by kings and labourers alike.

Wajib rather than a pillar. Omission is compensated by a sacrifice. The weak, the elderly and those accompanying them may leave after midnight.

Ramy al-Jamaratرمي الجمرات

Wajib · required, repairable

Seven pebbles at the large pillar on the tenth, then all three on the days that follow. The rite is a rejection, not an attack on an object. After the crushes of 1990 and 2015 the site was rebuilt as a multi-level bridge with one-way flow and the pillars elongated into walls so more people can throw at once.

Wajib in all four schools rather than a pillar, so an omission is repaired by sacrifice rather than invalidating the Hajj.

Hady, then halq or taqsirحلق / تقصير

Classified differently by the schools

The sacrifice, then men shave the head or shorten the hair throughout and women shorten by roughly a fingertip’s length. Most restrictions of ihram lift at this point. The tenth carries four separate rites in several locations and is the busiest day of the pilgrimage.

A pillar in the Shafi‘i school; wajib in the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools. The hady, the sacrifice, is required of those performing Tamattu‘ or Qiran.

Tawaf al-Ifadahطواف الإفاضة

Rukn · a pillar

The return to the Haram, and seven more circuits. Sa‘i follows if it is still due. This is the pillar that closes the Hajj, and the twenty-kilometre round trip you have just watched is the shape of the days between it and the arrival tawaf.

A pillar in all four schools. It may be delayed, but until it is performed the intimacy restriction of ihram remains in force.

Ayyam at-Tashriqأيام التشريق

Wajib · required, repairable

Back to Mina for two or three more nights, and all three pillars each afternoon in order: the small, the middle, then al-Aqabah. Staying for the thirteenth is the more complete option, and it is what the Prophet ﷺ did.

Staying the nights at Mina and stoning all three pillars after midday are wajib. A pilgrim in a hurry may leave before sunset on the twelfth; one still there at sunset stays for the thirteenth.

Tawaf al-Wada‘طواف الوداع

Wajib · required, repairable

Seven circuits as the last act before leaving the city. It should genuinely be the last thing you do. This is the whole circuit: about 20 km of ground, five days, and eleven rites that have to happen in the right order, in the right boundaries, on the right days.

Wajib for those leaving Makkah, and waived for menstruating women.