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 حج. They were designated by نبی کریم Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) as recorded in the hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim. There are five principal miqat stations, each serving حجاج arriving from different geographical directions: Dhul Hulayfah (also called Abyar Ali), located about 450 km north of مکہ مکرمہ near مدینہ منورہ — it is the farthest miqat and serves حجاج coming from مدینہ منورہ and the north; Al-Juhfah (near modern Rabigh), about 183 km northwest, serving حجاج from the Levant, Egypt, and North Africa; Qarn al-Manazil (also called al-Sayl al-Kabir), about 75 km east, serving حجاج from Najd and the central Arabian Peninsula; Yalamlam (also called al-Sa'diyyah), about 100 km south, serving حجاج from Yemen and the south; and Dhat Irq, about 90 km northeast, serving حجاج from Iraq and the east. For حجاج 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 حجاج enter احرام at the airport before departure to avoid missing it. Residents of مکہ مکرمہ enter احرام from their homes for حج, but for عمرہ 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 حج or عمرہ who passes beyond the miqat line without being in احرام must either return to the miqat to assume احرام or offer a fidyah (compensatory sacrifice of a sheep). This applies to all حجاج regardless of their mode of travel. However, a person passing through the miqat zone without intending حج — for business or other purposes — is not required to enter احرام, جمہور علماء کے مطابق.