The Wajibat of Ihram
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The Wajibat of Ihram
The wajibat of ihram, with some difference between the legal schools on some points, are three: niyyah (intention); talbiyah; and putting on of the clothes of ihram.
Al‑Niyyah
Obviously niyyah or intention is essential to every voluntary act; for every such act is motivated by conscious intent. Therefore, some scholars have pointed out that had we been assigned a duty to be performed without intention it would have been impossible to be carried out. However, when the question of intention is raised in relation to the pilgrim (of the Hajj or the `Umrah), what is meant is whether he becomes muhrimsolely on account of the niyyah or if something else is required in addition, acknowledging that ihramisvoid if assumed frivolously or absent‑mindedly.
According to the Hanafi school, ihramisnot considered to commence solely with intention unless it is accompanied by the utterance of the talbiyah(Fath al‑qadir). According to the Shafi'i, Imamiyyah and Hanbali schools, the ihramisassumed merely by niyyah (al‑Jawahir, Fiqh al‑Sunnah). The Imamiyyah add that it is obligatory for the niyyah to coincide with the commencement of ihram, and it is not sufficient for the act of niyyah to occur in the course of assuming ihram. Also while making the niyyah it is essential to specify the purpose of ihram, whether it is Hajj or `Umrah, whether it is Hajj al‑tamattu; Hajj al‑qiran or Hajj al‑'ifrad, whether he is performing the Hajj for himself or as a na'ib of someone else, whether for the obligatory Hajj (Hijjat al‑'Islam) or for something else. If one assumes ihram without specifying these particulars, postponing their determination to future, the ihram is invalid. (al‑`Urwat al‑wuthqa).
According to the Hanafi text al‑Mughni,"It is mustahabb to specify the purpose of ihram. Malik is of the same opinion. Two opinions are ascribed to al‑Shafi'i. According to one of them, it is adequate if one assumes ihram with a general, non‑specific purpose of pilgrimage... without determining the exact purpose, whether Hajj or `Umrah. The ihram thus assumed is valid and makes one a muhrim .... Afterwards, he may select any of the kinds of pilgrimage." All the five schools agree that if one assumes ihram with the intention to follow another person's intention, his ihram is valid if the other person's purpose is specific. (al‑Jawahir; al‑Mughni)
