Miqat

What Does Miqat Mean in Detail?

The mawaqit (plural of miqat) are sacred boundary markers that define the threshold between ordinary travel and the sacred pilgrimage. They were designated by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as recorded in the hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim. There are five principal miqat stations, each serving pilgrims arriving from different geographical directions: Dhul Hulayfah (also called Abyar Ali), located about 450 km north of Makkah near Madinah — it is the farthest miqat and serves pilgrims coming from Madinah and the north; Al-Juhfah (near modern Rabigh), about 183 km northwest, serving pilgrims from the Levant, Egypt, and North Africa; Qarn al-Manazil (also called al-Sayl al-Kabir), about 75 km east, serving pilgrims from Najd and the central Arabian Peninsula; Yalamlam (also called al-Sa'diyyah), about 100 km south, serving pilgrims from Yemen and the south; and Dhat Irq, about 90 km northeast, serving pilgrims from Iraq and the east. For pilgrims arriving by air, the miqat is the point where their flight path crosses the miqat boundary. Airlines announce when the plane approaches the miqat, and many pilgrims enter ihram at the airport before departure to avoid missing it. Residents of Makkah enter ihram from their homes for Hajj, but for Umrah they must go outside the haram boundary — traditionally to Masjid Aisha in Tan'im, the nearest point outside the sacred precinct. The ruling is clear: any person intending Hajj or Umrah who passes beyond the miqat line without being in ihram must either return to the miqat to assume ihram or offer a fidyah (compensatory sacrifice of a sheep). This applies to all pilgrims regardless of their mode of travel. However, a person passing through the miqat zone without intending pilgrimage — for business or other purposes — is not required to enter ihram, according to the majority of scholars.