When he reaches the miqaat it is mustahabb for him to do ghusl and put on perfume, because it is reported that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) changed out of tailored clothes when he entered ihram, and he did ghusl. And it is proven in as-Saheehayn that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I used to put perfume on the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) for his ihram before he entered ihram, and when he exited ihram before he circumambulated the Ka‘bah (tawaaf al-ifaadah). And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed ‘Aa’ishah, when she got her menses after entering ihram for ‘umrah, to do ghusl and enter ihram for Hajj. He instructed Asma’ bint ‘Umays, when she gave birth in Dhu’l-Hulayfah, to do ghusl, wrap herself in a cloth, and enter ihram. This indicates that if a woman reaches the miqaat when she is menstruating or bleeding following childbirth, she should do ghusl and enter ihram with the people, and she should do everything that the pilgrims do apart from circumambulating the Ka‘bah, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed ‘Aa’ishah and Asma’ to do.

It is mustahabb for the one who wants to enter ihram to trim his moustache, clip his nails, and deal with his pubes and armpit hair. So he should remove whatever needs to be removed, so that he will not need to remove that after entering ihram, when doing so will be prohibited for him. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed the Muslims to take care of these things at all times, as it is proven in as-Saheehayn that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Five things are part of the fitrah: circumcision, removing the pubic hair, trimming the moustache, trimming the nails, and plucking the armpit hairs.” In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A time limit was set for others with regard to trimming the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking the armpit hair and shaving the pubes: we were not to leave that for more than forty days.

It was also narrated by an-Nasaa’i as follows: “The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) set a time limit for us.” And the version narrated by an-Nasaa’i was also narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi. With regard to the head, it is not prescribed to remove any hair from the head when entering ihram, either for men or for women.

With regard to the beard, it is haraam to shave it or remove anything from it at all times. Rather it is obligatory to leave it alone and let it grow, because it is proven in as-Saheehayn that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Be different from the mushrikeen: let your beards grow and trim your moustaches.” Muslim narrated in his Saheeh that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow; be different from the Magians.”

There is a serious issue nowadays whereby many people go against this Sunnah and oppose the beard; they are content to resemble the disbelievers and women, especially those who claim to be knowledgeable or seekers of knowledge. Verily to Allah we belong and verily unto Him is our return. We ask Allah to guide us and all the Muslims to act in accordance with the Sunnah and to adhere to it and promote it, even if the majority turn away from it. Sufficient for us is Allah and He is the best disposer of affairs; there is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.

Then the male pilgrim puts on the izaar (lower garment or waist wrapper) and rida’ (upper garment). It is mustahabb for them to be made of two pieces of clean white cloth. It is also mustahabb to enter ihram wearing sandals, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Let one of you enter ihram in an izaar, rida’ and sandals.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him).

As for the female pilgrim, it is permissible for her to enter ihram in whatever clothes she wants, black or green or otherwise, but she should beware of resembling men in their garments,. However she does not have the right to wear the niqab (face veil) or gloves when in ihram; rather she should cover her face and hands with something other than the niqab and gloves, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade the woman in ihram to wear the niqab and gloves. As for what the common folk do, of singling out green or black for women to wear in ihram, and not other colours, there is no basis for that.

Then after finishing ghusl and cleaning oneself, and putting on the ihram garments, the pilgrim should form the intention in his heart to begin the rituals that he wants to perform, either Hajj or ‘umrah, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Actions are but by intentions, and each person will have but that which he intended.”

It is prescribed for him to utter what he has intended. If his intention is to do ‘Umrah, he should say: “Labbayka ‘umratan (Here I am for ‘Umrah)” or “Allahumma labbayka ‘umratan (O Allah, here I am for ‘umrah).” If his intention is to do Hajj, he should say: “Labbayka Hajjan (Here I am for Hajj)” or “Allahumma labbayka Hajjan (O Allah, here I am for Hajj),” be cause the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did that. If his intention is to do both of them together, he should say words to that effect: “Allahumma labbayka ‘umratan wa Hajjan (O Allah, here I am for ‘umrah and Hajj).” It is preferable for him to utter that after he gets up on his mount or into his vehicle and so on, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) only said the Talbiyah when he got on his mount and it set out with him from the miqaat to begin the journey. This is the most correct scholarly opinion.

It is not prescribed for him to utter his intention except in the case of ihram, because that was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). But in the case of prayer, tawaaf and so on, he should not utter any of the intention out loud. So he should not say “I intend to pray such and such” or “I intend to circumambulate the Ka‘bah”; rather uttering these intentions comes under the heading of innovations that have been introduced into Islam, and uttering them loudly is even worse and more sinful. If uttering the intention was prescribed, the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would have stated that and would have made it clear to his ummah by his deeds or words, and the righteous early generations would have hastened to do that.

No report to that effect has been narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or from his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), hence it is known that it is an innovation, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The worst of matters are those which are newly invented, and every innovation is a going astray.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.” Saheeh – agreed upon. According to a version narrated by Muslim: “Whoever does an action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours will have it rejected.” End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him).