One of the Noble Companion, Hudhayfah Bin Yaman said, “People used to ask the Prophet (peace be upon him) about good things, but I used to ask him about bad things because I was afraid that they might overtake me.” What a beautiful example to follow! And thus, on a similar note, we have listed some of the common mistakes:
Ihram
• Focus on what you are saying when you say Talbiyyah.
• Capturing pictures of yourselves in Ihram is wrong. Pilgrims should only concentrate on their Ibadah. Taking pictures for show off might contradict your good faith.
• Do change your Ihram if it get dirty, because, cleanliness is half of faith.
• Shaving beard before, during or after Ihram is not permissible. It’s the Sunnah of our Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
• Pilgrims should shower with unscented soaps, because, perfumes or any fragrance is not allowed in Ihraam.
• Women should only wear the clothes which are recommended for her in Shariah.
• In Ihraam, pilgrims must abstain themselves from arguing or quarrelling.
• It is not permissible for men to cover their head in Ihraam.
In Tawaf:
• Touching the black stone is not necessary for acceptance of Tawaf. If it is impossible for you to touch the black stone then you can just raise your right hand towards it and say Allah-o-Akbar.
• Do not kiss or face your hand to the Yameni corner. You can only touch it.
• Do not worship Hajr-e-Aswad (black stone). Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) never worshipped it.
• Do not touch the walls of Ka’abah during Tawaf. Pilgrims can only touch the black stone and Yameni corner.
In Sa’i:
• Do not climb to the mountain of Safa and Marwah.
• You can take breaks when performing Sa’i.
• During Sa’i, there is no specific du’a. Pilgrims may recite Quran and say supplication.
Shaving or Trimming The Hair:
• Pilgrims (men) should shave their head completely. If they trim, they will have to take hair from all sides of their head.
• Pilgrims (women) can only cut a fingertip length of their hair.
• You cannot take off your Ihraam before shaving or trimming the hair.
In Mina, Arafah and Muzdalifah:
• Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) spend the day of 8th Dhul-Hijja in Mina. Pilgrims, sometimes, skip this and move to Arafah.
• In Mina, you are just allowed to shorten your prayer but do pray at their correct time.
• Do make the most of Arafah day. You should know the significance of this day and make as many supplications as you can.
• Pilgrims are not allowed to fast on the day of Arafah.
• Do not leave Arafah before sunsets.
• Do not pray Maghrib in Arafah. Do pray it after reaching Muzdalifah, combined with Isha prayer.
When performing Ramy (stoning):
• Do not wash your stones.
• Do not say Bismillah when throwing stone, just say Allah-o-Akbar.
• Do not curse or throw sandals/wood at Jamarah. Jamarah is not a devil, nor devil are tied in it for stoning. It is the command of ALLAH to say ALLAH -o-Akbar when throwing each stone.
• Just throw seven pebble (separately) at each Jamarah.
• Stoning should be done before the time of Zawal.
In Tawaf Al-Wada (farewell tawaf):
• Do perform stoning of final Jamarah before Tawaf Al-Wada.
• Do not perform Sa’i in farewell Tawaf.
• Do spend the night of 10th Dhul-Hijja and 11th Dhul-Hijja in Mina.
• Do leave Makkah after the farewell Tawaf, otherwise, you will have to make another Tawaf.
Oh ALLAH, do not take us to account if we forget or make a mistake. [Noble Quran 2:286]
