This is one of the mistakes that are made when entering ihram for Hajj. We will deal with it in some detail.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Some of the mistakes made when entering ihram for Hajj on the day of al-tarwiyah include the following:

-1-

Some people think that they have to enter ihram from al-Masjid al-Haraam, so you see them putting themselves through hardship to go to the mosque and enter ihram from there. This is a mistaken notion, because it is not obligatory to enter ihram from al-Masjid al-Haraam. Rather the Sunnah is for the pilgrim to enter ihram from the place where he is staying, because the Sahaabah who had exited ihram for ‘Umrah by the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then entered ihram for Hajj on the day of al-Tarwiyah, did not go to al-Masjid al-Haraam to enter ihram from there, rather each one of them entered ihram from the place where he was staying. This was at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so this is the Sunnah. So the Sunnah for the one who wants to enter ihram for Hajj is to enter ihram from the place where he is staying, whether he is in Makkah or in Mina, as some people do nowadays, when they go to Mina so that they can keep their places there.

Secondly:

Some of the pilgrims think that it is not proper to enter ihram in the garments that they wore when they entered ihram for ‘Umrah, unless they wash them first. This is also a mistaken notion, because the ihram garments do not have to be new or clean. It is true that the cleaner they are, the better, but to say that they are not valid for ihram because one has worn them for ihram when performing ‘Umrah is not correct. This is what springs to mind now about the mistakes made by some pilgrims with regard to entering ihram for Hajj.