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The Meeqaat for pilgrims from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Question

As-salamualaikum, What is the Meeqat for the people coming from India/Pakistan/Bangladesh countries to perform Hajj/Umrah?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

If someone from those countries is coming by air, the Meeqaat from which they should assume Ihraam is the Meeqaat over which their plane passes, and if someone is coming by the Red Sea, their Meeqaat is parallel to Yalamlam, which is the Meeqaat of the people of Yemen, now known as As-Sa‘diyyah, so they should assume Ihraam when they are parallel to it in the sea.

Asna Al-Mataalib, a book of the Shaafi‘i School of jurisprudence, reads: “If a pilgrim takes a way other than that of the Meeqaat, then he should assume Ihraam when he is parallel to the Meeqaat whether he is on land or at sea.

Also, the Fatwa of the Permanent Committee of Iftaa’ reads: “The one (pilgrim) who is in the air must assume Ihraam when he is parallel to the Meeqaat, in the same manner that the pilgrim in the sea must assume Ihraam at a place that is parallel to his Meeqaat.” [End of quote]

Also, a Fatwa from Shaykh Abdul Azeez ibn Baaz  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him reads: “The one coming by air or sea assumes Ihraam when he is parallel to the Meeqaat like the one on land. When he is parallel to the Meeqaat, he assumes Ihraam, in the air or at sea or shortly before it so as to take into account the speed of the plane or the ship or boat.” [End of quote]

He also said: “Whoever intends to go for Hajj or ‘Umrah among the people who are coming to Makkah by air or sea must assume Ihraam for their rites which they intend to perform, whether Hajj or ‘Umrah, when they are parallel to the Meeqaat that is on their way or in proximity with it and they are not permitted to delay assuming Ihraam.

Besides, the Fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-‘Uthaymeen  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him reads: “If a person is in the plane and intends to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah, he must assume Ihraam when he is parallel to the Meeqaat from above, so he should prepare himself and wear Ihraam garments before he is parallel to the Meeqaat, and when he comes parallel to it, he should immediately make the intention of assuming Ihraam and he is not permitted to delay it until the plane lands in Jeddah, as this is transgressing the Limits of Allaah.

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 89379 and 138425.

Allaah Knows best.

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