Hajj Almanac

the last three days

↑ back to index

What to do

1. Make tawbah from every category of sin you can remember. Be specific. Itemise.
2. Settle debts — pay what you can. For what you can't, get the creditor's written knowledge or arrange a clear repayment plan.
3. Reconcile with any person you have wronged or fallen out with. Send a message. Make a call. If they refuse, your duty is fulfilled.
4. Write your waṣiyyah (will) — even a short one. Required if you have any wealth and dependants (Bukhārī 2738).
5. Brief your family — finances, schools, medical, who to call. Leave the people you provide for in good order.
6. Give ṣadaqah before you leave — even small. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged it.
7. Choose your companions for the journey carefully — "A man is upon the religion of his close friend" (Tirmidhī 2378).

What to say

Sincere intention — refresh in your heart:

O Allāh, I am intending Ḥajj for Your Face alone. Make it easy for me, accept it from me, and do not let it be a Ḥajj of show or fame.

When leaving the house:

Leaving anything (house, hotel, building) — refuge from harm:

↑ back to index

What to do

1. Wuḍū before leaving for the airport — it's nāfilah but recommended.
2. Pray two rakʿah of "travel ṣalāh" if time allows (the Prophet ﷺ used to pray two before journeying).
3. Pack the iḥrām garments in carry-on — you may need to change into them mid-flight.
4. At the airport: pray any due ṣalāh before boarding. Don't board with unpaid debts of ṣalāh.
5. In flight: maintain calm dhikr; recite Qur'ān; sleep so you arrive rested.

What to say

When the vehicle/plane begins to move:

When the plane goes up (ascending) — three times Allāhu akbar; when it descends — three times Subḥān Allāh. (Bukhārī 2993)

↑ back to index

The full Madinah Visit guide is in its own section. This is the chronological summary.

What to do

1. Drop luggage at the hotel. Make wuḍū.
2. First visit to Masjid Nabawī — enter with right foot, two rakʿah taḥiyyat al-masjid.
3. Book Rawḍah permit on Nusuk app for the next available slot (men and women have separate slots).
4. At the Rawḍah: two rakʿah, du'ā in sujūd, salām to the Prophet ﷺ, salām to Abū Bakr, salām to ʿUmar.
5. Every fard ṣalāh in Masjid Nabawī — multiplier of 1,000.
6. ʿAṣr → Maghrib block in the masjid — the most blessed window of the day.
7. Visit Qubā' Masjid (Saturday is Sunnah) — wuḍū at the hotel, two rakʿah at Qubā' = reward of ʿUmrah (Tirmidhī 324, ṣaḥīḥ).
8. Visit Baqīʿ al-Gharqad — the cemetery beside the masjid.
9. Visit Uḥud — the martyrs' graves and the mountain.
10. Send abundant ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ throughout. Target 500/day.
11. Eat 7 ʿAjwa dates in the morning (Bukhārī 5445).

What to say

Entering Masjid Nabawī (right foot):

Exiting any masjid (left foot):

At the Rawḍah — salām to the Prophet ﷺ:

Salām to Abū Bakr (step right):

Salām to ʿUmar (step right):

At Baqīʿ al-Gharqad (the Prophet's ﷺ own words there):

Leaving Madīnah:

↑ back to index

travelling from Madinah to Makkah

What to do

Before the bus / train leaves Madīnah:

1. Full ghusl (Sunnah, Muslim 1184).
2. Trim nails, mustache, armpit and pubic hair.
3. Apply perfume to your body — not to the iḥrām garments (Bukhārī 270).
4. Don the iḥrām garments (men: izār + ridā', white, unstitched; women: modest, loose clothing, no niqāb / gloves).
5. Pray Ẓuhr (or whatever obligatory ṣalāh is due) before entering iḥrām if possible.

At Dhul-Ḥulayfah miqāt (Abyār ʿAlī):

1. Pray two raka'ah of ṣalāh al-iḥrām (Sunnah).
2. Make niyyah in the heart, then say aloud the niyyah for the type of pilgrimage.
3. Begin the Talbiyah immediately — say it audibly (men); women say it to themselves. Continue saying it until you begin Tawāf in Makkah.

What to say

Niyyah for ʿUmrah (Tamattuʿ — the standard Hajj package):

Conditional niyyah (in case illness prevents completion) — Sunnah for the cautious:

The Talbiyah (from miqāt until Tawāf):

The Talbiyah is the audible sign of iḥrām. Repeat it continuously — in the bus, the tent, walking, sitting. Raise the voice (men); lower it for ṣalāh, in masjids, and at moments of mass quiet. Stop only at the start of Tawāf in Makkah.

From the moment of iḥrām, the 9 prohibitions apply

(Full details in the Foundations section, Layer 5):

1. Cutting any hair
2. Cutting nails
3. Using perfume (after entering iḥrām)
4. Sexual intercourse / foreplay
5. Marriage contract (yours or as witness)
6. Hunting wildlife
7. Covering the head (men)
8. Wearing sewn clothing fitted to the body (men)
9. Wearing niqāb or gloves (women)

↑ back to index

What to do

1. Arrive at hotel (the bus / train brings you here).
2. Continue the Talbiyah until you begin Tawāf.
3. Drop luggage, refresh wuḍū.
4. Walk to the Masjid al-Ḥarām — your tour group will guide.
5. Enter via Bāb al-Salām if convenient (Sunnah for first visit).

What to say

Entering Makkah / approaching the Ḥaram:

Most authentic narrations show the Prophet ﷺ did not have a specific verbal du'ā at the city boundary; he was reciting the Talbiyah. Continue the Talbiyah. Make personal du'ā as the buildings appear.

Entering the Masjid al-Ḥarām (right foot):

First sight of the Kaʿbah:

When the Kaʿbah first comes into view, pause. The Prophet ﷺ did not teach a single specific formula here. Companions are reported to have raised hands and made du'ā. Du'ā at first sight of the Kaʿbah is among the times du'ā is answered. Ask Allāh for whatever is in your heart — for yourself, your parents, your family, the ummah. Stop the Talbiyah when you reach the Black Stone to begin Tawāf.

↑ back to index

The ʿUmrah is four acts in sequence: Tawāf → 2 raka'ah → Saʿy → Halq/Taqsīr. After the last, you exit iḥrām and remain in normal clothes until 8 Dhul Ḥijjah.

6.1 Tawāf al-Qudūm (the Welcome / ʿUmrah Tawāf) — 7 circuits

What to do

1. Men only: idhṭibāʿ — pass the ridā' under the right armpit so the right shoulder is exposed. (Only for this first Tawāf; revert after.)
2. Approach the Black Stone. Face it. Raise the right hand.
3. Say (below).
4. Touch / kiss the Black Stone if possible without harming anyone; otherwise gesture with the right hand. Do not kiss the hand afterwards.
5. Begin walking counter-clockwise — Kaʿbah on your left.
6. First three circuits (men): raml — walk briskly with shoulders swung. The last four: normal walk.
7. At each pass of the Black Stone: gesture, say "Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar".
8. At the Yamānī Corner (the corner just before the Black Stone): touch with right hand if possible. No kissing, no gesturing if you can't reach.
9. Between Yamānī Corner and Black Stone: recite the Rabbanā du'ā (below).
10. The rest of the circuit: personal du'ā, dhikr.
11. Complete 7 circuits.
12. Re-cover the right shoulder (for men) after the 7th.

What to say

At the Black Stone — starting and each circuit:

Between Yamānī Corner and Black Stone — every circuit:

Rest of the circuit: your own du'ā. Personal. In any language. There are no other specific Sunnah formulas for each circuit — anyone telling you to recite a specific page per circuit is teaching a later innovation.

6.2 Two raka'ah behind Maqām Ibrāhīm

What to do

1. After the 7th circuit, walk to behind Maqām Ibrāhīm (the small glass-enclosed station east of the Kaʿbah).
2. Recite Q. 2:125: "Wa-ttakhidhū min maqāmi Ibrāhīma muṣallā."
3. Pray two raka'ah with: • Rakʿah 1: al-Fātiḥah + Sūrat al-Kāfirūn (109) • Rakʿah 2: al-Fātiḥah + Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (112)
4. If you can't get near the Maqām (very likely — it is one of the most contested spots in the Masjid), pray anywhere in the Masjid. The reward attaches to the prayer, not strictly the location.

6.3 Zamzam

What to do

1. Drink Zamzam after the two raka'ah.
2. Face the Qiblah. Drink in three breaths.
3. Drink your fill.
4. Pour some on your head and body.

What to say

Before drinking — make du'ā for whatever you want. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for." — Ibn Mājah 3062, ṣaḥīḥ

A complete du'ā:

6.4 Saʿy between Ṣafā and Marwa — 7 trips

What to do

1. Walk to Ṣafā (south-east end of the masʿā corridor).
2. At the foot of Ṣafā, recite Q. 2:158 (below).
3. Climb a few steps; face the Kaʿbah.
4. Raise both hands. Recite the takbīr + tahleel formula three times, with personal du'ā in between.
5. Walk down toward Marwa = Trip 1.
6. Between the green markers (Sunnah): men jog/run; women walk.
7. At Marwa: climb, face Kaʿbah, repeat the same formula three times with du'ā.
8. Walk back to Ṣafā = Trip 2. Continue.
9. End at Marwa = Trip 7.

What to say

At Ṣafā (only the first time you stand here):

At each climb of Ṣafā and Marwa (face Kaʿbah, raise hands, ×3):

Repeat this formula three times with your own personal du'ā in between each repetition.

While walking between the two hills: personal du'ā, dhikr, ṣalawāt. No specific Sunnah formula for the corridor itself.

6.5 Halq or Taqsīr — exiting iḥrām

What to do

• Men: shave the entire head (ḥalq, preferred) or trim throughout (taqṣīr). "O Allāh, have mercy on the shavers — three times — and on the trimmers — once" (Bukhārī 1727).
• Women: trim a fingertip's length from the ends of the hair (Abū Dāwūd 1985).
• You have now exited iḥrām. All 9 prohibitions are lifted.
• Resume normal clothing, perfume, your wife, food preferences.
• Stay in this state in Makkah until 8 Dhul Ḥijjah (Yawm al-Tarwiyah) when you re-enter iḥrām for Ḥajj.

↑ back to index

This is the day Hajj begins.

What to do

Pre-Fajr:

1. Ghusl at your Makkah hotel (Sunnah before iḥrām).
2. Trim any hair / nails — last chance for ~3 days.
3. Apply perfume to body (not iḥrām cloth).
4. Don iḥrām garments — second time, for Ḥajj.
5. Pack a small backpack for 5 days at Minā / ʿArafah / Muzdalifah. Heavy luggage stays in the Makkah hotel.

After Fajr at the hotel (or in Minā if you have arrived already):

1. Make niyyah for Ḥajj.
2. Begin the Talbiyah.
3. Travel to Minā (your tour transport).
4. Pray Ẓuhr, ʿAṣr, Maghrib, ʿIshā', and Fajr at Minā — each fard shortened to 2 raka'ah (qaṣr), not combined. This is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ (Bukhārī 1656).
5. Sleep at Minā — modest comforts, your tour camp, communal meals.

What to say

Niyyah for Ḥajj (Tamattuʿ — entering iḥrām for the second time, from Makkah):

The Talbiyah again (from now until Ramy al-ʿAqaba on 10 Dhul Ḥijjah):

Say the Talbiyah continuously through the day — in the tent, walking, lying down. Men raise the voice; women say it to themselves.

↑ back to index

The standing at ʿArafah is the entire Ḥajj. "Hajj is ʿArafah" (Tirmidhī 889). Missing it invalidates the Ḥajj.

>

For the full ʿArafah du'ā companion — 28,000 words, every du'ā you'll want from sunrise to sunset on this day — go to the dedicated **Arafah Duas** page. This entry is the chronological summary only.

What to do

1. Fajr at Minā. After sunrise, set off for ʿArafah.
2. Stop at Namira (just outside ʿArafah) — wait there until Ẓuhr time, hear the khuṭbah.
3. Enter ʿArafah boundary after the khuṭbah.
4. Pray Ẓuhr + ʿAṣr combined and shortened — 2 + 2, one adhān, two iqāmahs.
5. Stand from Ẓuhr time until Maghrib (sunset) — face the Qiblah (not Jabal al-Raḥmah), raise your hands, do not stop making du'ā.
6. At sunset, leave for Muzdalifah. Do NOT pray Maghrib at ʿArafah.

What to say

The best du'ā of ʿArafah — the one the Prophet ﷺ named:

The Prophet ﷺ: "The best du'ā is the du'ā of the Day of ʿArafah, and the best of what I and the prophets before me have said is this." Repeat it 100+ times throughout the day, with everything else.

>

**For the complete du'ā companion for this day, see the Arafah Duas page.**

↑ back to index

What to do

1. Travel from ʿArafah to Muzdalifah after sunset (by bus / train).
2. Pray Maghrib + ʿIshā' combined — jamʿ ta'khīr — at Muzdalifah. One adhān, two iqāmahs, 3 + 2 raka'ah, with ʿIshā' shortened.
3. Collect pebbles — 49 (for a 3-day Tashrīq) or 70 (for 4-day, if staying through 13 Dhul Ḥijjah). Pea-sized. Anywhere in Muzdalifah is fine. Don't wash them.
4. Sleep at Muzdalifah under the open sky — at minimum half the night.
5. Pray Fajr at Muzdalifah in jamāʿah.
6. Stand at al-Mash'ar al-Ḥarām facing the Qiblah, raising hands, making du'ā until the sky lightens fully (just before sunrise).

What to say

At al-Mash'ar al-Ḥarām after Fajr (the Qur'ān names this place specifically):

Then make du'ā — for yourself, parents, family, ummah. Continue until the sky brightens fully, then depart for Minā before sunrise.

Continue the Talbiyah on the road to Minā until you throw the first pebble at Jamarat al-ʿAqaba.

↑ back to index

The biggest day of Ḥajj. Four acts in order: Ramy → Qurbānī → Ḥalq → Tawāf al-Ifāḍah (+ Saʿy).

10.1 Ramy al-Jamarat al-ʿAqaba

What to do

1. Arrive at Minā before sunrise (or during the morning).
2. Approach Jamarat al-ʿAqaba — the largest, nearest Makkah.
3. Throw 7 pebbles, one at a time — into the basin (not necessarily at the wall).
4. Say "Allāhu akbar" with each pebble — only that, not "Bismillāh Allāhu akbar" (the basmala is a later addition).
5. Stop the Talbiyah with the first pebble.
6. Do not make du'ā after Aqaba (today only) — walk away.

What to say

With each of the 7 pebbles:

10.2 Qurbānī — the sacrifice

For Tamattuʿ and Qārin pilgrims (obligatory). One sheep / goat per pilgrim, or 1/7 of a camel / cow.

What to do

• Your tour package typically handles this — confirm timing and that it is performed inside the Ḥaram boundary, on 10–13 Dhul Ḥijjah.
• You cannot proceed to Ḥalq (next step) until Qurbānī is confirmed done.

10.3 Ḥalq or Taqsīr — second time, for Ḥajj

What to do

• Men: shave the entire head (ḥalq, preferred) or trim throughout.
• Women: trim a fingertip's length from the ends.
• First taḥallul: all iḥrām prohibitions are now lifted except marital relations. Change out of iḥrām, apply perfume, eat normally.

10.4 Tawāf al-Ifāḍah — the Rukn Tawāf

This is the Rukn of Ḥajj — missing it means no Ḥajj.

What to do

1. Travel back to Makkah for Tawāf al-Ifāḍah (can be the same day or any time before leaving Makkah).
2. Tawāf — same procedure as ʿUmrah's Tawāf, except no idhṭibāʿ, no raml (those are only for the first Tawāf after arrival).
3. 2 raka'ah behind Maqām Ibrāhīm (or anywhere).
4. Saʿy of Ḥajj — for Tamattuʿ pilgrims, this is a second Saʿy (the first was during ʿUmrah). Same procedure as the ʿUmrah Saʿy.
5. Second taḥallul: marital relations now permitted. All Ḥajj prohibitions lifted.

What to say

Same du'ās as the ʿUmrah Tawāf (Part 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 above).

↑ back to index

What to do

Each day (11th and 12th):

1. Stay at Minā — sleep there both nights.
2. After Ẓuhr time begins (not before — ramy before Ẓuhr is invalid):
3. Ramy all three Jamarat in order: • Sughra (small, farthest from Makkah) — 7 pebbles, Allāhu akbar with each. • After Sughra: face Qiblah, raise hands, make long du'ā — for yourself, family, ummah. This is one of the established du'ā moments. • Wusṭa (middle) — 7 pebbles, Allāhu akbar with each. • After Wusṭa: face Qiblah, raise hands, long du'ā again. • ʿAqaba (large) — 7 pebbles, Allāhu akbar with each. • After ʿAqaba: walk away. No du'ā here.

On 12 Dhul Ḥijjah:

1. If you leave Minā before sunset — your Ḥajj is fewer days (taʿjīl, Q. 2:203).
2. If you are still in Minā at sunset on 12th — you MUST stay another night and stone again on the 13th.

What to say

With each pebble (all 3 jamarat, both days):

After Sughra and Wusṭa (NOT after ʿAqaba) — face Qiblah, raise hands, make personal du'ā at length. The Companions narrate the Prophet's ﷺ stop here was "as long as the recitation of Sūrat al-Baqarah" (Bukhārī 1751).

A good frame for the du'ā:

• Praise of Allāh + ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ
• Forgiveness for self, parents, family, the ummah
• Acceptance of this Ḥajj
• Husn al-khātimah
• Personal needs — work, marriage, children, health
• Refuge from the Fire

↑ back to index

What to do

Just before leaving Makkah for the airport / city of return:

1. Tawāf — 7 circuits, same procedure as before.
2. No Saʿy after.
3. 2 raka'ah behind Maqām Ibrāhīm (or anywhere).
4. Zamzam one last time.
5. Leave — the farewell Tawāf should be your last contact with the Masjid before departure.

Exception: A menstruating woman is exempted from the farewell Tawāf (Bukhārī 1755).

What to say

Same as for any Tawāf — same du'ās at the Black Stone, at the Yamānī Corner, etc.

After the Tawāf, personal du'ā — for safe return, for acceptance of the entire Ḥajj, for being able to return one day.

↑ back to index

What to do

1. Travel du'ā — same as outbound (Part 2).
2. Continue saying Allāhu akbar when ascending hills / taking off, Subḥān Allāh when descending / landing.
3. At each town you pass on the route home (or each leg of the flight):

What to say

When approaching a city / settlement:

When entering your home (or hotel on the way back):

After return — practices to maintain

• Pray ṣalāt al-shukr (two raka'ah of gratitude) on arrival home.
• Treat your first night at home as the new Hajj-Mabrūr threshold — sincere intention, no rancour, charity to the poor.
• Write down your du'ās from ʿArafah — revisit them; some Companions saw their du'ās answered 5+ years later.
• Send a thank-you to those who supported you in the journey (financially, emotionally, logistically).
• Repeat the Hajj cycle every year on its anniversary — fast 9 Dhul Ḥijjah (for non-pilgrims), give in charity on 10th, remember the day you stood at ʿArafah.

↑ back to index

read once before you land

1.1 The intention — what you are actually here for

The pilgrim travels to Madīnah to visit the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ. That is the Sunnah niyyah, the one the ḥadīth singles out:

"Do not undertake a journey except to three masjids…" (Bukhārī 1189)

The visit to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ happens because you are inside his masjid — but the niyyah of the journey is the masjid, not the grave. This is the position of the four Sunnī schools and the safer path against the over-veneration that crept into later practice in some places.

What this means practically:

• When you board the bus / train / car to Madīnah, intend: "O Allāh, I am travelling to visit the Masjid of Your Prophet ﷺ, seeking the reward You have promised the people of this masjid, and to send my salām upon him."
• Du'ā in Madīnah is to Allāh, not to the Prophet ﷺ. Salām (greeting) on the Prophet ﷺ — yes, abundantly. Asking the Prophet ﷺ for needs directly — no.
• The visit to the grave is by way of salām from the legal entry point, not by clinging to the structure or asking it for things. (The structure around the grave was built by ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, not by the Prophet ﷺ.)

1.2 The reward attached to this visit

Three multipliers stack while you are in Madīnah:

1. Every prayer in Masjid Nabawī = 1,000 prayers elsewhere (Bukhārī 1190). One ṣalāh in the masjid is the reward of roughly half a lifetime of prayer in your home masjid.
2. The 40-prayer promise — if you pray forty obligatory prayers in Masjid Nabawī without missing one, you are "freed from the Fire, freed from punishment, and freed from hypocrisy" (Aḥmad 12583, graded ḥasan by Shaykh al-Albānī, weak by others; the Sunnī majority act on it). In a 3-night ALJ-style stay this is roughly 15 prayers max, so the full 40 is not on the table — but the intention and what you can pray still attaches you to it.
3. Visiting the Rawḍah — see Part 4. "Between my house and my pulpit is a garden of the gardens of Paradise."

Three things to do every day in Madīnah — minimum:

• Pray every fard ṣalāh in jamāʿah inside Masjid Nabawī.
• Send abundant ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ.
• Sit, read Qurʾān, make duʿā — this is one of three places on earth where time multiplies.

your first hour and your first masjid visit

2.1 As you enter the Madīnah ḥaram

The boundary of Madīnah's ḥaram is wider than the masjid — it extends to the surrounding mountains. There is no specific du'ā the Prophet ﷺ taught at this boundary, but the Sunnah du'ā when entering any settlement applies:

And then the Prophet's ﷺ own duʿā for Madīnah — a duʿā about Madīnah, made by the Prophet ﷺ for the city — which is appropriate to repeat while you are in it:

2.2 The drop at the hotel — the first moves

1. Drop your luggage at the hotel (your tour will route you here first). Do not be the person who tries to "just stop at the masjid first" with a suitcase — Masjid Nabawī is a 5–7 minute walk from the Saja hotel, but rolling luggage and not knowing the layout will frustrate you.
2. Make wuḍū at the hotel. Masjid Nabawī wuḍū areas exist but are crowded; coming with wuḍū saves you time.
3. Wear clean, modest clothing. For men: thawb or modest shirt/trousers; for women: full ḥijāb / ʿabāyah (the masjid has specific expectations and the security is firm).
4. Bring — a small water bottle (Zamzam is freely available inside), tissues, your phone (silent), a small notebook for du'ā list if you have one, your Nusuk app already opened for the Rawḍah permit (Part 4).
5. Do NOT bring — backpacks (will not be allowed inside; can be checked at the gate but it's a queue), food, camera bags, valuables.

2.3 The walk to Masjid Nabawī

The first time you walk this — the dome appears, the minarets, the open courtyards under their famous mechanical umbrellas — slow down. There is no rush. Make ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ continuously as you walk. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Whoever sends one ṣalāh upon me, Allāh sends ten upon him, ten of his sins are wiped away, and he is raised ten degrees." — Sunan al-Nasā'ī 1297, ṣaḥīḥ

A simple, beautiful ṣalawāt for this walk:

the masjid itself, before the Rawḍah

3.1 Which gate to enter from

Masjid Nabawī has many gates, numbered. The most relevant:

• Bāb al-Salām (Gate 1) — the historical gate the Prophet ﷺ used. Entry through it is Sunnah preferred for the first visit.
• Bāb al-Baqīʿ (East gates) — closer to most hotels including Saja Al-Madinah.
• Bāb Jibrīl — historical, between Bāb al-Salām and the Rawḍah.

If your hotel is on the east side, you will likely enter from there. The first visit's Sunnah is to enter from Bāb al-Salām if you can. For subsequent visits, any gate is fine.

3.2 The du'ā entering the masjid

Step in with the right foot and say:

3.3 Two raka'ah of taḥiyyatu-l-masjid — the greeting of the masjid

The Sunnah is to pray two raka'ah upon entering, before sitting. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"When one of you enters the masjid, let him not sit until he prays two raka'ah." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 444, Muslim 714

Where to pray these:

• Best: inside the Rawḍah (see Part 4) — but the Rawḍah requires a permit and queue, so this is usually not the first prayer.
• Practical for the first visit: anywhere in the masjid's prayer hall, facing the qiblah.
• In a hurry: even at the edge of the masjid, near the gate.

Recite al-Fātiḥah + a short sūrah in each raka'ah. Personal du'ā in sujūd if you have time.

3.4 What to do after the two raka'ah

This is where your priorities shape your time:

• If the Rawḍah permit time is now or soon: queue toward the Rawḍah area (Part 4).
• If you have time before iqāmah of the next ṣalāh: sit in the masjid, read Qur'ān, make du'ā, send ṣalawāt.
• If iqāmah is being called: join the jamāʿah.

The Prophet ﷺ said about waiting in the masjid for ṣalāh: "As long as one of you sits waiting for the ṣalāh, he is in ṣalāh — and the angels say: O Allāh, forgive him, O Allāh, have mercy on him." (Bukhārī 659, Muslim 649). Sitting and waiting is itself worship.

the deep dive — read this before you go

4.1 What it actually is

The Rawḍah ash-Sharīfah ("the Noble Garden") is a physical area inside Masjid Nabawī — specifically, the space between the Prophet's ﷺ pulpit (minbar) and his house (now the area enclosing his grave). This was the original masjid he ﷺ built when he arrived in Madīnah. Today the masjid is vastly expanded, but the Rawḍah area itself is preserved and marked.

The hadīth:

"Mā bayna baytī wa minbarī rawḍatun min riyāḍi-l-jannah, wa minbarī ʿalā ḥawḍī."

>

"Between my house and my pulpit is a garden of the gardens of Paradise, and my pulpit is upon my pond (al-Ḥawḍ)." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1196, Muslim 1391 — narrated by Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)

Scholars differ on the meaning of "a garden of the gardens of Paradise":

• Literal: an actual piece of Paradise — a portion of the eternal garden manifest on this earth.
• Metaphorical: a place that, by being there in worship, brings one toward Paradise.

Either way, this is one of the most sacred spots on earth outside the Ḥaram of Makkah. People wait hours for ten minutes inside it.

4.2 What it looks like today

You will recognise the Rawḍah by:

• Green carpet instead of the red carpet of the rest of the masjid. (As you walk in the masjid, the carpet changes color — that boundary is the Rawḍah.)
• The minbar of the Prophet ﷺ — a marked pulpit on one end (the original is long gone; the marker is on its location).
• The miḥrāb of the Prophet ﷺ — a marked spot indicating where he led prayer.
• The Ḥujrah — the enclosed structure on the other end, containing the graves of:
• The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ
• Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)
• ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)
• An empty spot reserved by tradition for ʿĪsā ibn Maryam ﷺ when he returns at the end of times
• The graves themselves are sealed off; you cannot see them. You face the exterior of the structure to give salām.

4.3 The permit (Nusuk app) — required

Since 2022, entering the Rawḍah requires a permit from the Saudi Nusuk app (formerly Eatmarna). The Saudi authorities cap the number of visitors per slot to manage crowds. Without a permit, security at the Rawḍah entrance will turn you back.

How to get a permit:

1. Download the Nusuk app (Apple App Store / Google Play) — Saudi government app.
2. Register with your passport / iqama details.
3. From the home screen: Reservations → Al-Rawda Visit (or "زيارة الروضة الشريفة").
4. Choose: • Date (within the next 3 days; permits open ~3 days in advance) • Time slot (15–30 minute windows) • Number of people in your group (one permit per person)
5. Receive a QR code to show at the Rawḍah security gate.

Important:

• Separate slots for men and women — they enter at different times.
• Permits are FREE but limited. Book the moment you have visibility (~3 days ahead).
• Show up 15 minutes before your slot — the queue forms early.
• One permit per visit — you cannot use the same permit twice or get back in if you leave.

If permits are sold out, try again at 12 AM Saudi time (when new days open) — the next available day usually opens then.

4.4 What to do once you are inside

Time inside the Rawḍah is typically 10–15 minutes before security politely moves the next batch through. Use it deliberately:

Step 1 — Two raka'ah inside the Rawḍah (Sunnah)

If you can find a spot to pray (it can be tightly packed), pray two raka'ah with full khushūʿ. This is the taḥiyyat al-masjid if you haven't prayed it elsewhere, OR a nāfilah specifically intended for the Rawḍah.

• Rakʿah 1: al-Fātiḥah + Sūrat al-Kāfirūn (109) or al-Ikhlāṣ (112)
• Rakʿah 2: al-Fātiḥah + al-Ikhlāṣ (112) or al-Falaq (113)

Slow down. Do not rush the rukūʿ and sujūd. You will not get this spot again easily.

Step 2 — Du'ā in sujūd of the second raka'ah

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The closest a slave is to his Lord is in sujūd, so make abundant du'ā." (Muslim 482). Make your most personal, most urgent du'ās here. Things to ask:

• Forgiveness — itemise sins if you can
• Acceptance of your Hajj
• Guidance and steadfastness
• Health for parents, spouse, children
• Whatever your heart has been carrying

Step 3 — Sit and make du'ā

After the two raka'ah, sit briefly (if there's space) and make more du'ā. Anything is appropriate here:

• Your personal du'ās for dunya and ākhirah
• For those who asked you to make du'ā in Madīnah (have your list ready)
• For the ummah, for Gaza, for the oppressed
• For the people of Madīnah and the safety of this masjid

Step 4 — Send salām on the Prophet ﷺ (the main act)

This is the conventional next step. See Part 5 for the full salām formula. After the salām, take a step right to greet Abū Bakr, another step right to greet ʿUmar (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā).

Step 5 — Leave with calm and the niyyah to return

Do not linger past the point security moves you. Walk out with the niyyah to return again (if there is time in your stay).

4.5 Etiquette inside the Rawḍah — read this before you go

The Rawḍah is small, intensely contested for space, and emotionally charged. Most of the friction and difficulty pilgrims experience is from other pilgrims, not from the place itself. Set yourself up to be a good visitor:

• No pushing. "You are only a stone; you neither harm nor benefit" — ʿUmar (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) said this of the Black Stone (Bukhārī 1597). The same applies to physical proximity to the Ḥujrah. Reaching closer at the cost of harming a Muslim is a sin that outweighs the Sunnah you sought.
• No photos / videos. The masjid security strictly enforces this near the Ḥujrah. Beyond enforcement: this is not a tourist site. Putting your phone down is part of the niyyah.
• No raised voices. Du'ā is in a whisper. The Prophet ﷺ said about his own masjid: "My ummah will be in well-being as long as they do not raise their voices in the masjid." (Sunan Abū Dāwūd 449, ḥasan)
• No clinging to walls / pillars / the Ḥujrah grille. Some pilgrims grasp the grille around the Prophet's ﷺ chamber to "feel close." The Salaf did not do this. The walls are not the Prophet ﷺ. Stand respectfully and give salām.
• Move when security asks. They are not against you; they are managing thousands of people who all want what you want. Cooperation is part of adab.
• Make du'ā for the people next to you. They came from every corner of the earth to be here. Your du'ā for them is among the most accepted du'ās of your life.

4.6 For women specifically

• Women have dedicated time slots for the Rawḍah, separate from men. The hours are typically after Fajr until late morning and after ʿIshā'.
• The women's entrance is on the east side (Bāb al-Nisā').
• Inside the Rawḍah, the women's section is partitioned. The view of the Ḥujrah is via a separate enclosed area.
• The same etiquette applies.
• The Nusuk app handles permits the same way.

This is what you came for. Get this right.

5.1 The position to stand

After your two raka'ah and du'ā in the Rawḍah, walk toward the Ḥujrah (the structure enclosing the graves). There is a clear path / area marked for the salām, with security guiding the flow.

The Sunnī position: face the structure (not the qiblah — the position of the four schools). Some scholars say face the qiblah; the dominant practice and the position of the majority of the schools is to face the structure for the salām itself, then turn to the qiblah for du'ā after.

Stand:

• A few feet away from the grille / wall. Do not touch it.
• Respectfully, with hands at your sides (not raised — raising hands is for du'ā to Allāh, not for salām on a person).
• In a soft voice — the dead hear the salām of the living (per several aḥādīth — Bukhārī 1338, Muslim 2870 in context).

5.2 The salām to the Prophet ﷺ

The salām is brief and sincere. Avoid the lengthy elaborate panegyrics in some popular handbooks — the Companions did not say them. The salām of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā) is the model:

Ibn ʿUmar, when he came to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ, would say: "As-salāmu ʿalayka yā Rasūl-Allāh, as-salāmu ʿalayka yā Abā Bakr, as-salāmu ʿalayka yā abatī" — then he would leave. — Reported by Imām Mālik in al-Muwaṭṭa', Kitāb al-Janā'iz

A fuller, classical Sunnī salām:

Then follow with the ṣalawāt ibrāhīmiyyah:

And the witnessing — that he ﷺ fulfilled his duty:

5.3 What NOT to do at the Prophet's ﷺ grave

This is the most-violated etiquette in this place. Read carefully, even if it feels uncomfortable:

• Do not ask the Prophet ﷺ for anything. Du'ā is to Allāh alone. "And do not invoke any deity besides Allāh" (Q. 28:88). The Prophet ﷺ is the one we send salām on; he is not the one we ask.
• Do not kiss the grille / wall / curtains. This is not Sunnah. The Companions, who loved him ﷺ infinitely more than we do, did not do this.
• Do not prostrate (sujūd) in the direction of the grave. This is impermissible — sujūd is to Allāh alone.
• Do not circle / ṭawāf around the structure. Ṭawāf is around the Kaʿbah alone.
• Do not raise your hands in du'ā facing the grave. If you want to make du'ā after the salām, turn to face the qiblah and then raise hands.

5.4 Salām to Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)

Take one step to the right. The grave of Abū Bakr is positioned behind the Prophet's ﷺ, slightly to the right.

5.5 Salām to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)

Take one more step to the right. ʿUmar's grave is behind Abū Bakr's.

5.6 Du'ā after the salām — facing the qiblah

After greeting all three, turn to face the qiblah (away from the structure) and raise your hands. Make your du'ās:

• For yourself — forgiveness, acceptance, husn al-khātimah
• For your parents, spouse, children — by name
• For everyone who asked you for du'ā in Madīnah (have your list)
• For the ummah and the oppressed
• For acceptance of your Ḥajj

Then walk away calmly. Do not walk backwards out of "respect" — that is a cultural innovation, not Sunnah. Walk away as you would from any masjid spot.

6.1 The forty-prayer ḥadīth — what it is and what it isn't

The narration:

"Whoever prays in my masjid forty prayers, not missing a single prayer — he is granted freedom from the Fire, freedom from punishment, and freedom from hypocrisy." — Musnad Aḥmad 12583, narrated by Anas ibn Mālik (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)

Status: graded ḥasan by Shaykh Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī, weak by others (Shuʿayb al-Arnā'ūṭ). The majority of Sunnī scholars regard it as actionable.

The math for a 3-night stay (Wed→Sat, typical Tamattuʿ package):

• 5 prayers × 3 days ≈ 15 prayers maximum if you catch every single one.
• 40 prayers requires 8+ days in Madīnah — which most Hajj packages don't allow.

What this means for you:

• The full 40 may not be on the table. Do not let this be a reason to lose hope.
• The intention itself — that you would have prayed 40 if you could — Allāh writes for you.
• Pray every single congregational ṣalāh in the masjid for the days you are there. Don't sleep through Fajr in your hotel.
• Be early. The masjid fills up. Walk to the masjid 30+ minutes before iqāmah.
• If you have to walk back to the hotel between prayers, that's fine — but for closer ṣalawāt (Maghrib-ʿIshā', or Fajr after sleeping in the masjid), stay.

6.2 The daily rhythm — what a good Madīnah day looks like

A model day, for the pilgrim who wants to maximise his three or four days:

Pre-Fajr (~4:00 AM):

• Wake, wuḍū, light snack if needed
• Walk to the masjid before adhān
• Pray sunnah of Fajr in the masjid
• Listen to the adhān, then iqāmah, then Fajr in jamāʿah

After Fajr until sunrise (~45 min):

• Do NOT leave. The Prophet ﷺ used to sit in his place of ṣalāh until sunrise, then pray 2 raka'ah, and the reward was "complete, complete, complete — like a Ḥajj and an ʿUmrah" (Tirmidhī 586, ḥasan).
• Use this time: dhikr, Qur'ān, du'ā.
• After sunrise (~15 min wait after the disc clears the horizon), pray two raka'ah of Ishrāq / Ḍuḥā.

Return to hotel for breakfast and rest (~7:00 AM → 11:30 AM).

Ẓuhr (~12:30 PM):

• Wuḍū, walk to the masjid
• Sunnah ṣalāh before, fard, sunnah after

Between Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr (~1:00 PM → 3:30 PM):

• This is the best window for Rawḍah permit slots — book yours here if you got one
• OR rest at the hotel through the afternoon heat
• OR do a daylight visit (Quba, Uhud) if your tour offers it

ʿAṣr (~3:30 PM):

• Pray ʿAṣr in jamāʿah at the masjid

Between ʿAṣr and Maghrib (~4:00 PM → 6:30 PM):

• One of the most blessed times of the day across the week
• Stay in the masjid: Qur'ān, du'ā, dhikr
• ʿAṣr → Maghrib in the masjid is a single sitting of immense reward

Maghrib + ʿIshā' (~6:30 PM → 8:30 PM):

• Pray both in jamāʿah; stay in the masjid in between
• Listen to the Imām's recitation in ʿIshā' — the imāms of Masjid Nabawī are world-class qurrā'

After ʿIshā' (~9:00 PM):

• Light dinner at the hotel
• Sleep by 10:30 to wake for tahajjud or Fajr

Optional — tahajjud (~2:00 AM):

• Some pilgrims wake for 1–2 hours of tahajjud in the masjid. Even 2 raka'ah followed by witr is enormously rewarded.

6.3 The 1,000-prayer multiplier — apply it to your fards

"Prayer in this masjid of mine is better than 1,000 prayers elsewhere — except al-Masjid al-Ḥarām." — Bukhārī 1190, Muslim 1394

This means: every single fard ṣalāh you pray in Masjid Nabawī is worth approximately the reward of a person who has prayed five times a day for 200 days elsewhere.

A 3-day stay with all 15 prayers caught in jamāʿah = 15,000 prayers of reward.

Do not skip a single prayer.

7.1 Masjid Qubā' — the masjid of one ʿUmrah

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Whoever purifies himself in his home, then comes to Masjid Qubā' and prays in it two raka'ah, has the reward of an ʿUmrah." — Sunan al-Nasā'ī 700, Ibn Mājah 1412 — ṣaḥīḥ

Practical:

• Masjid Qubā' is about 5 km south of Masjid Nabawī. Taxi 10–15 min.
• The Prophet ﷺ used to walk or ride to it, especially on Saturdays (Bukhārī 1193).
• Do wuḍū / ghusl at the hotel before going, not after arriving. The wording of the ḥadīth is "purifies himself in his home" — the reward attaches to coming purified, not to wuḍū at the masjid.
• Pray two raka'ah with full khushūʿ. That is the act.
• There is no salām to give at Qubā' — it is a masjid visit, not a grave visit.

7.2 Baqīʿ al-Gharqad — the cemetery of the Companions

Baqīʿ al-Gharqad is the cemetery adjacent to Masjid Nabawī (east of the Ḥujrah). It contains an estimated 10,000+ Companions and family of the Prophet ﷺ, including:

• ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu)
• The wives of the Prophet ﷺ except Khadījah and Maymūnah
• His daughters (including Fāṭimah per the dominant opinion)
• His son Ibrāhīm

Visit hours:

• Men: typically open after Fajr and after ʿAṣr / Maghrib
• Women: traditionally not entered by women per the standard Sunnī ruling, though there's a minority opinion permitting it with full ḥijāb and no wailing
• Check with security at the gate before entering

The salām (the Prophet's ﷺ own words when he visited Baqīʿ):

Etiquette:

• Walk with calm and reverence — this is a graveyard
• Do not walk on top of graves
• No raised voices, no wailing
• Make du'ā for the deceased and for yourself
• Reflect on death — "Visit graves; they remind you of the Hereafter" (Muslim 976)

7.3 Uhud — the battlefield and the martyrs

Mount Uhud is ~5 km north of Masjid Nabawī. The battle of Uhud (3 AH / 625 CE) was the second major battle of the Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ used to visit the graves of the martyrs annually.

Sites at Uhud:

• The graves of the martyrs — including Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (the Prophet's ﷺ uncle and a martyr of Uhud)
• The archers' hill — where the archers descended against the Prophet's ﷺ command
• The mountain itself — where the Prophet ﷺ said "This is Uhud, a mountain that loves us and that we love" (Bukhārī 4422, Muslim 1393)

The salām at the martyrs' graves:

Reflect on the cost of this deen. The companions left their homes, their wealth, their families — and gave their bodies for what we now read in our handheld translations.

7.4 Masjid al-Qiblatayn — the mosque of the two qiblahs

The masjid where the Prophet ﷺ was praying when the revelation came to change the qiblah from Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) to the Kaʿbah (Makkah). Mid-ṣalāh, he turned the congregation around to face the new qiblah.

• About 3 km from Masjid Nabawī, taxi 8 minutes.
• Pray two raka'ah inside.
• There is no specific Sunnah du'ā at this masjid; the historical significance is itself the reason for the visit.

7.5 The "seven mosques" tour — politely skip

Tour groups often offer a tour of seven smaller historical mosques in Madīnah. There is no Sunnah basis for visiting these specifically. They are mostly named-after-Companion mosques of debatable historical accuracy. If your time is short, skip and use those hours in Masjid Nabawī instead — the multiplier on every prayer there is unbeatable.

8.1 The dates of Madīnah — and ʿAjwa specifically

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Whoever eats seven ʿAjwa dates in the morning, no poison or magic will harm him that day." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5445, Muslim 2047

ʿAjwa is a specific variety of date — black, slightly sweet, from Madīnah. It is widely available in Madīnah supermarkets and the dates market near the masjid (you'll see vendors with mountains of dates of different colors).

Practical:

• Buy ʿAjwa at the dates market or any supermarket. Quality varies; ALJ-grade is usually well-priced.
• Seven, in the morning, with intention.
• Eat odd numbers of dates in general — the Prophet's ﷺ practice.
• Bring some home as a gift; ʿAjwa dates make the most-loved Madīnah souvenir.

8.2 The water of Madīnah and the masjid wells

Multiple wells in Madīnah have prophetic association — including Bi'r Aris (the well into which the Prophet's ﷺ ring fell) and the well Bi'r Ḥā' which Abū Ṭalḥah gave as ṣadaqah after Q 3:92 was revealed.

The masjid itself has dispensers of Zamzam water (transported daily from Makkah). Drink from them, share them with others. Drink standing (Prophet ﷺ drank Zamzam standing — Bukhārī 1637).

8.3 Ṣalawāt — the constant background

Above everything else: send ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ continuously while in his city. Walking, sitting, between prayers, on the toilet (not aloud), at meals. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"My ummah's ṣalawāt on me is presented to me on Fridays. Whoever sent the most ṣalawāt on me will be closest to me." — al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īmān 2790

A target: at least 500 ṣalawāt per day in Madīnah. Use Tasbīḥ / a counter on your phone. The simplest form is the shortest:

8.4 The people of Madīnah

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"The people of Madīnah will not be harmed by anyone who wishes them harm, except that Allāh will dissolve him as salt dissolves in water." — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1387

Be kind to the people of Madīnah — the shopkeepers, the porters, the masjid cleaners. They are descendants of and inheritors of a city the Prophet ﷺ loved. Tip generously. Smile. Make duʿā for them.

If you are tired, hungry, or jet-lagged and feel impatience rising — pause. "Verily Madīnah expels its filth as the bellows expels the impurity of iron" (Bukhārī 1883). Whatever is not from you, leave at the boundary.

the last visit, the iḥrām, the journey to Makkah

9.1 The last visit to the masjid

If at all possible, pray the last ṣalāh of your stay in Masjid Nabawī. After it, walk to the Rawḍah (if a permit is available — last-day permits are often easiest), give salām to the Prophet ﷺ and the two Shaykhs one more time, and make du'ā for safe return and for being among those who return again.

9.2 The du'ā leaving Madīnah

The Prophet ﷺ used to say when he departed from a place:

Then the standard travel du'ā:

9.3 Iḥrām for the Tamattuʿ pilgrim

For the Tamattuʿ pilgrim leaving Madīnah for Makkah, the mīqāt is Dhul-Ḥulayfah (also called Abyār ʿAlī) — about 12 km south of Madīnah. The bus / train will stop here.

Before reaching the mīqāt:

• Ghusl at the hotel (Sunnah).
• Trim nails, hair if needed.
• Apply perfume to the body (not the iḥrām cloth).
• Wear the iḥrām garments (men) before boarding.
• Women: standard modest travel clothing — no niqāb / gloves in iḥrām (drape the face when men pass).

At the mīqāt:

• Pray two raka'ah if a stop is made (Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ at Dhul-Ḥulayfah).
• Make niyyah for ʿUmrah (for Tamattuʿ):

• Begin the Talbiyah audibly (men) — say it continuously until you begin Tawāf in Makkah:

From this moment, the 9 prohibitions of iḥrām apply (see the Foundations section, Layer 5).

≈ 30 minutes

1.1 Niyyah (Intention) for the Day

Before you begin, say in your heart:

Yā Allāh — I stand at ʿArafah this day seeking only Your Face. I have come for You, from You, to You. Accept my Hajj. Forgive my sins. Free me and my family from the Fire. Make me of those whom You boast about to the angels this evening. Let this be the day I am born anew. Āmīn.

Then say aloud:

1.2 Adab of Duʿā' — read once, return to in spirit all day

1. Purify the tongue first: ḥamd, then ṣalawāt. The Prophet ﷺ heard a man supplicate in ṣalāh without ḥamd or ṣalawāt and said: "This man has hurried." Then he ﷺ taught: begin with the praise of your Lord, then ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ, then ask whatever you will (Abū Dāwūd 1481, Tirmidhī 3477).
2. Face the Qiblah and raise both hands — "Your Lord is shy and generous; He is shy to send His servant's hands back empty when he raises them to Him" (Abū Dāwūd 1488, Tirmidhī 3556).
3. Whisper your duʿā' — Allāh is near, you do not need to shout (Qur'ān 7:55, 50:16).
4. Have certainty in the response — "Call upon Allāh while being certain He will answer; and know that Allāh does not answer a duʿā' from a heedless heart" (Tirmidhī 3479).
5. Do not be hasty — "The duʿā' of any one of you is answered as long as he is not hasty, saying: I made duʿā' and I made duʿā' and it was not answered" (Bukhārī 6340, Muslim 2735).
6. Repeat three times — "When the Prophet ﷺ made duʿā', he would repeat it three times; and when he asked, he would ask three times" (Muslim 1794).
7. Choose the times of response: • The last third of the night • Between the adhān and the iqāmah • In sujūd • After the obligatory prayers • The hour of Jumuʿah • The Day of ʿArafah — the greatest of all times for duʿā'
8. Eat only ḥalāl — the man who travels long and raises his hands but his food, drink and clothing are ḥarām — "How could his duʿā' be answered?" (Muslim 1015).
9. Weep, or feign weeping. "Recite the Qur'ān and weep; and if you do not weep, then feign weeping" (Ibn Mājah 1337).
10. Seal with ṣalawāt — between two ṣalawāt no duʿā' is rejected (Ṭabarānī, ṣaḥīḥ).

1.3 Opening Ḥamd — Praising Allāh

1.4 Opening Ṣalawāt — Al-Ṣalāt al-Ibrāhīmiyyah

Short ṣalawāt to repeat between sections (×100):

1.5 ⭐ THE BEST DUʿĀ' OF ʿARAFAH — return to this 100+ times today

Reminder boxes — at the head of every later section in this document, you will see: ↻ Return to §1.5. That is your cue to pause, raise your hands, face the Qiblah, and repeat this duʿā' three times (or more) with full presence. Track repetitions in Appendix A.

≈ 1.5–2 hours, but you may return to these throughout the day

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The most beloved words to Allāh are four: Subḥān Allāh, al-ḥamdu lillāh, lā ilāha illa-llāh, and Allāhu akbar — it does not matter with which you begin." (Muslim 2137). Begin here. Settle the tongue into dhikr; the heart will follow.

2.1 Tahlīl — Lā ilāha illa-llāh (×100)

"The best dhikr is: Lā ilāha illa-llāh." — Tirmidhī 3383

Extended tahlīl (×33):

2.2 Tasbīḥ — Subḥān Allāh (×100)

Heavy-on-the-scale phrases (×100 each):

"Two phrases, light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, beloved to ar-Raḥmān..." — Bukhārī 6406, Muslim 2694

One hundred subḥān-Allāhi-wa-bi-ḥamdih: a thousand good deeds, a thousand bad deeds erased — Muslim 2698

2.3 Taḥmīd — Al-ḥamdu lillāh (×100)

"Al-ḥamdu lillāh fills the scale." — Muslim 223

2.4 Takbīr — Allāhu Akbar (×100)

The Hajj takbīr (begins from Fajr 9 Dhul Ḥijjah, until ʿAṣr 13 Dhul Ḥijjah — say it often today):

2.5 Ḥawqalah — Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh (×100)

"O ʿAbdullāh ibn Qays, shall I not show you a treasure from the treasures of Paradise?" — "Yes, O Messenger of Allāh." — "Say: Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh." — Bukhārī 6384, Muslim 2704

2.6 Istighfār — Astaghfir-Allāh (×100, more if you can)

Extended form:

"Whoever says this, his sins will be forgiven even if he had fled from the battlefield." — Abū Dāwūd 1517, Tirmidhī 3577, ṣaḥīḥ

"By Allāh, I seek the forgiveness of Allāh and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times every day." — Bukhārī 6307 The Prophet ﷺ said: "O people, repent to Allāh. By Allāh, I repent to Him more than seventy times a day." — Muslim 2702

The Prophet ﷺ — sinless — sought forgiveness 70–100 times daily. You and I have more reason. Repeat this until the tongue is wet with it.

2.7 Sayyid al-Istighfār — The Master of Seeking Forgiveness

"Whoever says this during the day with conviction and dies that day before evening will be of the people of Paradise; and whoever says it at night with conviction and dies before morning will be of the people of Paradise." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6306

Say this at minimum: 3× in the morning, 3× in the afternoon, 3× at sunset. Sit with the words; do not race them.

2.8 Ṣalawāt — additional authentic forms

Short (×100):

"Whoever sends one ṣalāh upon me, Allāh sends ten upon him." — Muslim 384

Al-Ṣalāt al-Tibbiyyah (the healing ṣalāh):

Al-Ṣalāt al-Munjiyyah (the rescuing ṣalāh):

2.9 The Beloved Phrases — heavy on the scale

"The most beloved words to Allāh are four..." (Muslim 2137) — say these five together; aim for 100 repetitions across the day.

2.10 Duʿā' of Distress — Lā ilāha illa-llāh al-ʿAẓīm al-Ḥalīm

2.11 Ḥasbun-Allāh (×100)

2.12 Yā Ḥayy yā Qayyūm — by Your mercy I seek help

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

≈ 1.5 hours

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

"And to Allāh belong the most beautiful names — so call upon Him by them." — Qur'ān al-Aʿrāf 7:180

"Allāh has ninety-nine names — one hundred less one. Whoever enumerates them enters Paradise." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2736, Muslim 2677

Opening invocation:

1. اللَّهُ — Allāh — The God, the only One worthy of worship.

Yā Allāh — I have no Lord but You; let me die having known You truly, having worshipped You alone.

2. الرَّحْمَٰنُ — Ar-Raḥmān — The Entirely Merciful — whose mercy encompasses every creature, believer and disbeliever, in this world.

Yā Raḥmān — let me taste Your mercy this ʿArafah, more than I have ever tasted it before.

3. الرَّحِيمُ — Ar-Raḥīm — The Especially Merciful — whose mercy in the Hereafter is reserved for the believers.

Yā Raḥīm — make me of those for whom Your mercy is written in the Ākhirah.

4. الْمَلِكُ — Al-Malik — The Sovereign King — who owns everything and needs nothing.

Yā Malik — I am Your slave, owned wholly by You; do with me what is best for me.

5. الْقُدُّوسُ — Al-Quddūs — The Holy, the Pure — free of every imperfection.

Yā Quddūs — purify my heart of every disease — riyā', kibr, ḥasad — that none remain.

6. السَّلَامُ — As-Salām — The Source of Peace.

Yā Salām — grant me peace in my heart, peace in my home, peace at my death, and dār as-salām (Paradise) at the end.

7. الْمُؤْمِنُ — Al-Mu'min — The Granter of Security, the Affirmer of Truth.

Yā Mu'min — secure my īmān until the moment of death; let me not waver.

8. الْمُهَيْمِنُ — Al-Muhaymin — The Guardian, the Overseer.

Yā Muhaymin — guard me, my family, and my deen from every harm I see and every harm I do not.

9. الْعَزِيزُ — Al-ʿAzīz — The Almighty, the Mighty, the Irresistible.

Yā ʿAzīz — let Your ʿizzah lift me above every humiliation in this world and the next.

10. الْجَبَّارُ — Al-Jabbār — The Compeller, the Restorer of what is broken.

Yā Jabbār — mend what is broken in me — my heart, my hopes, my relationships — by Your hand.

11. الْمُتَكَبِّرُ — Al-Mutakabbir — The Supremely Great, the only One to whom greatness truly belongs.

Yā Mutakabbir — pull every trace of kibr out of my heart; let me be lowly before You and Your creation.

12. الْخَالِقُ — Al-Khāliq — The Creator.

Yā Khāliq — You created me from nothing; recreate me this ʿArafah, sinless, as a newborn.

13. الْبَارِئُ — Al-Bāri' — The Maker, who fashions without precedent.

Yā Bāri' — make for me from this Hajj a new beginning — a new niyyah, a new heart, a new path.

14. الْمُصَوِّرُ — Al-Muṣawwir — The Fashioner of forms.

Yā Muṣawwir — beautify my inward state as You have beautified my outward form.

15. الْغَفَّارُ — Al-Ghaffār — The Repeatedly Forgiving, who forgives again and again.

Yā Ghaffār — forgive every sin I have ever returned to; do not let any sin of mine stand against me on the Day.

16. الْقَهَّارُ — Al-Qahhār — The Subduer.

Yā Qahhār — subdue my nafs to obedience; subdue my desires under Your command.

17. الْوَهَّابُ — Al-Wahhāb — The Bestower of gifts without expectation of return.

Yā Wahhāb — grant me — from Yourself, not as wages for any deed — a mercy and ease in this dunya and the Ākhirah.

18. الرَّزَّاقُ — Ar-Razzāq — The Provider.

Yā Razzāq — expand my rizq from ḥalāl, bless what You give, and free me from need of anyone but You.

19. الْفَتَّاحُ — Al-Fattāḥ — The Opener, the Granter of Victory.

Yā Fattāḥ — open for me every door of khayr, and close every door of harm and fitnah.

20. الْعَلِيمُ — Al-ʿAlīm — The All-Knowing.

Yā ʿAlīm — You know my state better than I do; give me what is best for me in dunya and Ākhirah, even if I do not see it.

21. الْقَابِضُ — Al-Qābiḍ — The Withholder, who constricts.

Yā Qābiḍ — do not withhold Your mercy from me on the day mercy is most needed.

22. الْبَاسِطُ — Al-Bāsiṭ — The Extender, who expands.

Yā Bāsiṭ — expand my heart for Your remembrance, my chest for ease, my rizq for sufficiency.

23. الْخَافِضُ — Al-Khāfiḍ — The Abaser.

Yā Khāfiḍ — abase before me every fitnah that seeks to harm my deen.

24. الرَّافِعُ — Ar-Rāfiʿ — The Exalter.

Yā Rāfiʿ — raise my rank with You in dunya and Ākhirah, even if it is hidden from the people.

25. الْمُعِزُّ — Al-Muʿizz — The Giver of Honour.

Yā Muʿizz — honour me with obedience to You and humility before Your slaves.

26. الْمُذِلُّ — Al-Mudhill — The Giver of Lowliness (to those who deserve it).

Yā Mudhill — humble every oppressor of the Muslims; bring back to dignity every Muslim humiliated for the sake of his deen.

27. السَّمِيعُ — As-Samīʿ — The All-Hearing.

Yā Samīʿ — You hear me at ʿArafah this hour; do not turn me away empty-handed.

28. الْبَصِيرُ — Al-Baṣīr — The All-Seeing.

Yā Baṣīr — let what You see of me be what pleases You.

29. الْحَكَمُ — Al-Ḥakam — The Judge.

Yā Ḥakam — judge between me and those who have wronged me with Your justice and Your mercy.

30. الْعَدْلُ — Al-ʿAdl — The Utterly Just.

Yā ʿAdl — do not treat me with Your justice alone, but with Your faḍl (bounty).

31. اللَّطِيفُ — Al-Laṭīf — The Subtle, the Gentle.

Yā Laṭīf — be gentle with me in every affair; let me feel Your subtle kindness in the trials I do not see the wisdom in.

32. الْخَبِيرُ — Al-Khabīr — The All-Aware of the hidden.

Yā Khabīr — You know what is hidden in my heart; cleanse what should not be there.

33. الْحَلِيمُ — Al-Ḥalīm — The Forbearing.

Yā Ḥalīm — forbear with me as You have forborne with me my whole life until this hour, and forgive me.

34. الْعَظِيمُ — Al-ʿAẓīm — The Magnificent.

Yā ʿAẓīm — Your magnificence is greater than my sin; forgive me by Your greatness, not by what I deserve.

35. الْغَفُورُ — Al-Ghafūr — The All-Forgiving, the Concealer of sins.

Yā Ghafūr — conceal every sin of mine in dunya, and forgive it on the Day of Judgement so it never appears.

36. الشَّكُورُ — Ash-Shakūr — The Appreciative.

Yā Shakūr — accept the little I have done as if it were much; multiply my deeds beyond what I can imagine.

37. الْعَلِيُّ — Al-ʿAlī — The Most High.

Yā ʿAlī — raise me to the Firdaws al-Aʿlā, neighbour of Your Prophet ﷺ.

38. الْكَبِيرُ — Al-Kabīr — The Most Great.

Yā Kabīr — every problem before me is small before Your greatness; remove what burdens me.

39. الْحَفِيظُ — Al-Ḥafīẓ — The Preserver, the Protector.

Yā Ḥafīẓ — preserve my deen, my family, my health, my Qur'ān in heart, my taqwā — until I meet You.

40. الْمُقِيتُ — Al-Muqīt — The Nourisher.

Yā Muqīt — nourish my body with ḥalāl and my soul with dhikr.

41. الْحَسِيبُ — Al-Ḥasīb — The Reckoner, the Sufficient.

Yā Ḥasīb — make my reckoning easy on the Day; Allāh is sufficient for me.

42. الْجَلِيلُ — Al-Jalīl — The Majestic.

Yā Jalīl — let my heart tremble at Your majesty as it has never trembled before.

43. الْكَرِيمُ — Al-Karīm — The Most Generous.

Yā Karīm — Your generosity exceeds my asking; give me what I am too shy to ask for, and what I do not even know to ask.

44. الرَّقِيبُ — Ar-Raqīb — The Ever-Watchful.

Yā Raqīb — let me live as if I see You; if I do not see You, You see me — make me of the muḥsinīn.

45. الْمُجِيبُ — Al-Mujīb — The Responder to du'ā'.

Yā Mujīb — respond to my duʿā' at ʿArafah; do not send me back empty.

46. الْوَاسِعُ — Al-Wāsiʿ — The Vast, the Encompassing.

Yā Wāsiʿ — Your mercy is vast; let it embrace me, my family, my parents, my children, and the ummah.

47. الْحَكِيمُ — Al-Ḥakīm — The All-Wise.

Yā Ḥakīm — what You decree for me, make me content with it; what You withhold, make me trust the wisdom of.

48. الْوَدُودُ — Al-Wadūd — The Loving.

Yā Wadūd — put love for You in my heart, and love for those You love, and make me beloved to You.

49. الْمَجِيدُ — Al-Majīd — The Glorious, the Noble.

Yā Majīd — make my deeds noble, my words noble, my akhlāq noble.

50. الْبَاعِثُ — Al-Bāʿith — The Resurrector.

Yā Bāʿith — raise me on the Day with Your Prophet ﷺ, beneath his banner, drinking from his Ḥawḍ.

51. الشَّهِيدُ — Ash-Shahīd — The Witness.

Yā Shahīd — bear witness this day at ʿArafah that I stood for You, sought You, asked You, and that You are my Lord and I have no other.

52. الْحَقُّ — Al-Ḥaqq — The Truth, the Real.

Yā Ḥaqq — keep me on the ḥaqq though all the world be on something else; let me die on it.

53. الْوَكِيلُ — Al-Wakīl — The Trustee, the Disposer of affairs.

Yā Wakīl — I entrust my affairs to You — my deen, my dunya, my family, my future — manage them better than I could.

54. الْقَوِيُّ — Al-Qawī — The All-Strong.

Yā Qawī — strengthen me against my nafs and the shayṭān; make me firm on Your deen.

55. الْمَتِينُ — Al-Matīn — The Firm.

Yā Matīn — make me firm; let my feet not slip on the ṣirāṭ in dunya or on the Day.

56. الْوَلِيُّ — Al-Walī — The Protecting Friend.

Yā Walī — be my walī in dunya and Ākhirah; You are the best of protectors (12:101).

57. الْحَمِيدُ — Al-Ḥamīd — The Praiseworthy.

Yā Ḥamīd — let my last words be Your praise, and the last sound my family hears be lā ilāha illa-llāh.

58. الْمُحْصِي — Al-Muḥṣī — The Counter — who counts everything.

Yā Muḥṣī — count my dhikr at ʿArafah this day; let no breath be wasted.

59. الْمُبْدِئُ — Al-Mubdi' — The Originator.

Yā Mubdi' — You began my creation in mercy; complete it in mercy.

60. الْمُعِيدُ — Al-Muʿīd — The Restorer of creation.

Yā Muʿīd — return me to You purified; return what I have squandered.

61. الْمُحْيِي — Al-Muḥyī — The Giver of Life.

Yā Muḥyī — give my heart life through Qur'ān and dhikr; revive whatever in me has died.

62. الْمُمِيتُ — Al-Mumīt — The Causer of Death.

Yā Mumīt — let my death be the best moment of my life — on lā ilāha illa-llāh, in a state pleasing to You.

63. الْحَيُّ — Al-Ḥayy — The Ever-Living.

Yā Ḥayy — by Your ever-living name, do not leave me to my dying self.

64. الْقَيُّومُ — Al-Qayyūm — The Self-Sustaining, the Sustainer of all.

Yā Qayyūm — sustain me with what I do not even know I need; sustain my deen.

65. الْوَاجِدُ — Al-Wājid — The Perceiver, the Finder of what He wills.

Yā Wājid — never let me lose sight of You; let me find You in dhikr, in Qur'ān, in sujūd.

66. الْمَاجِدُ — Al-Mājid — The Noble in Glory.

Yā Mājid — ennoble my offspring (current and future); let my line be noble before You.

67. الْوَاحِدُ — Al-Wāḥid — The One.

Yā Wāḥid — let my heart be one — for You alone — not divided between You and the dunya.

68. الْأَحَدُ — Al-Aḥad — The Unique, the Indivisible One.

Yā Aḥad — let me die on the tawḥīd of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ.

69. الصَّمَدُ — Aṣ-Ṣamad — The Eternal, the Refuge.

Yā Ṣamad — let me lean on no one but You; You are the only refuge.

70. الْقَادِرُ — Al-Qādir — The Capable.

Yā Qādir — there is nothing You cannot do; do for me what no one else can.

71. الْمُقْتَدِرُ — Al-Muqtadir — The Omnipotent.

Yā Muqtadir — what I have given up hope on, You have full power over; revive it.

72. الْمُقَدِّمُ — Al-Muqaddim — The Expediter.

Yā Muqaddim — hasten for me every good You have decreed.

73. الْمُؤَخِّرُ — Al-Mu'akhkhir — The Delayer.

Yā Mu'akhkhir — delay from me every harm You have decreed.

74. الْأَوَّلُ — Al-Awwal — The First — before whom there is nothing.

Yā Awwal — You were before I existed and willed my existence; will for me good.

75. الْآخِرُ — Al-Ākhir — The Last — after whom there is nothing.

Yā Ākhir — be the last thing I hold to; the last One I worship; the last One I love.

76. الظَّاهِرُ — Aẓ-Ẓāhir — The Manifest.

Yā Ẓāhir — make Your signs manifest to me — in the verses of Qur'ān and in my own life.

77. الْبَاطِنُ — Al-Bāṭin — The Hidden — closer to His slave than his jugular vein.

Yā Bāṭin — You are closer to me than my own self; do not turn from me when I have turned from You.

78. الْوَالِي — Al-Wālī — The Protecting Master, the Governor.

Yā Wālī — govern my affairs; You are the best of governors.

79. الْمُتَعَالِي — Al-Mutaʿālī — The Self-Exalted, far above what they ascribe.

Yā Mutaʿālī — let no false god ever claim a corner of my heart.

80. الْبَرُّ — Al-Barr — The Most Kind, the Source of all goodness.

Yā Barr — be kind to me on a day I cannot bear Your strictness.

81. التَّوَّابُ — At-Tawwāb — The Acceptor of Repentance.

Yā Tawwāb — accept my tawbah today; let me not return to what I am repenting from.

82. الْمُنْتَقِمُ — Al-Muntaqim — The Avenger.

Yā Muntaqim — do not avenge me with my own sins; pardon me.

83. الْعَفُوُّ — Al-ʿAfuww — The Pardoner, who erases sin entirely.

Yā ʿAfuww — You love to pardon, so pardon me. (See §1.5 — and the famous duʿā' of Laylat al-Qadr.)

Allāhumma innaka ʿafuwwun tuḥibbu-l-ʿafwa fa-ʿfu ʿannī. — O Allāh, You are All-Pardoning and love to pardon, so pardon me. (Tirmidhī 3513)

84. الرَّءُوفُ — Ar-Ra'ūf — The Most Compassionate.

Yā Ra'ūf — have compassion on me, my parents, my wife, my offspring, the ummah.

85. مَالِكُ الْمُلْكِ — Mālik al-Mulk — Owner of all dominion.

Yā Mālik al-Mulk — what I cling to of this dunya is Yours; teach my heart to release what You take.

86. ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ — Dhū-l-Jalāli wa-l-Ikrām — Possessor of Majesty and Honour.

Yā Dhā-l-Jalāli wa-l-Ikrām — by Your majesty I take refuge, by Your honour I beg; do not return my hands empty. (Tirmidhī 3525)

87. الْمُقْسِطُ — Al-Muqsiṭ — The Equitable.

Yā Muqsiṭ — establish justice in my home, in my dealings, in my heart.

88. الْجَامِعُ — Al-Jāmiʿ — The Gatherer.

Yā Jāmiʿ — gather me with my parents, my wife, my family, my friends in the Firdaws al-Aʿlā.

89. الْغَنِيُّ — Al-Ghanī — The Self-Sufficient.

Yā Ghanī — make my heart rich with You; the true ghinā is the ghinā of the heart.

90. الْمُغْنِي — Al-Mughnī — The Enricher.

Yā Mughnī — enrich me with ḥalāl, that I never need ḥarām.

91. الْمَانِعُ — Al-Māniʿ — The Withholder of harm.

Yā Māniʿ — withhold from me every harm I see and every harm I do not see.

92. الضَّارُّ — Aḍ-Ḍārr — The One who can permit harm.

Yā Ḍārr — let no creation harm me; You alone permit harm and only by Your wisdom.

93. النَّافِعُ — An-Nāfiʿ — The Benefitter.

Yā Nāfiʿ — benefit me with what You have taught me, teach me what benefits me, and increase me in knowledge.

94. النُّورُ — An-Nūr — The Light.

Yā Nūr — place light in my heart, my grave, my tongue, my hearing, my sight, before me, behind me, on my right, on my left, above me, below me — and make light for me. (Bukhārī 6316 — duʿā' of the Prophet ﷺ)

95. الْهَادِي — Al-Hādī — The Guide.

Yā Hādī — guide me, and through me guide others; keep me on guidance until I die.

96. الْبَدِيعُ — Al-Badīʿ — The Originator without precedent.

Yā Badīʿ — make for me from this Hajj a beginning unprecedented in my life — pure, accepted, transforming.

97. الْبَاقِي — Al-Bāqī — The Everlasting.

Yā Bāqī — let me leave behind ṣadaqah jāriyah, beneficial knowledge, righteous offspring — three things that endure.

98. الْوَارِثُ — Al-Wārith — The Inheritor of all.

Yā Wārith — when the dunya is rolled up and only You remain, accept me into Your mercy.

99. الرَّشِيدُ — Ar-Rashīd — The Guide to Right Conduct.

Yā Rashīd — guide me to the rushd, the most upright path, and keep me on it.

100 (additional). الصَّبُورُ — Aṣ-Ṣabūr — The Patient.

Yā Ṣabūr — grant me ṣabr without complaint, gratitude without forgetfulness.

Closing invocation after the Names:

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

≈ 2 hours

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

4.1 Sūrat al-Fātiḥah — recite 7× with intention

Recite slowly, with the intention that this is your direct conversation with Allāh — "I have divided ṣalāh between Myself and My slave..." (Muslim 395). Between each recitation, pause and ask for what is in your heart.

4.2 The Rabbanā Series — Qur'ānic supplications beginning with "Our Lord"

4.2.1 — Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl at the Kaʿbah (2:127–128)

The duʿā' of Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl as they built the Kaʿbah — say it now, where their footprints walked.

4.2.2 — The most-said duʿā' of the Prophet ﷺ (2:201)

"This was the duʿā' the Prophet ﷺ most often made" — Bukhārī 6389, Muslim 2690. Repeat it many times today.

4.2.3 — At the meeting with Jālūt (2:250)

4.2.4 — The final verses of al-Baqarah (2:285–286)

"Whoever recites the last two verses of al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him." — Bukhārī 5009, Muslim 808.

4.2.5 — Of the people of understanding (3:8)

4.2.6 — Forgiveness and the Fire (3:16)

4.2.7 — Witness with the messengers (3:53)

4.2.8 — Steadfast feet (3:147)

4.2.9 — The people of understanding (3:191–194)

4.2.10 — We witness; write us with the witnesses (5:83)

4.2.11 — The duʿā' of Ādam ﷺ (7:23)

The first duʿā' ever made by a human after sin. Ādam's tawbah. Say it as if you were saying it for the first time.

4.2.12 — Decide between us in truth (7:89)

4.2.13 — The sorcerers who believed (7:126)

Spoken by the magicians of Pharaoh when they accepted Islām and faced crucifixion. Their last words.

4.2.14 — Mūsā for himself and his brother (7:151)

4.2.15 — The duʿā' of Mūsā's people (10:85–86)

4.2.16 — Ibrāhīm ﷺ for the Ḥaram, his offspring, his parents (14:35–41)

Ibrāhīm's du'ā' for the Ḥaram, for the Kaʿbah, for his sons. You are answering his du'ā' by being here.

4.2.17 — For parents (17:24)

Repeat for [father] and [mother] by name. Then again for any deceased — grandparents and beyond. This is one of the most-loved du'ās of a son before Allāh.

4.2.18 — Companions of the Cave (18:10)

4.2.19 — Mūsā ﷺ at the burning bush (20:25–28)

4.2.20 — Increase me in knowledge (20:114)

4.2.21 — The hopeful believers (23:109)

4.2.22 — Forgive and have mercy (23:118)

4.2.23 — Turn the punishment of Hell away from us (25:65–66)

4.2.24 — Coolness of the eyes (25:74)

Say it for [wife], and for offspring You give us, and for [sister 1], [sister 2] and their families.

4.2.25 — Ibrāhīm's long du'ā' (26:83–89)

A "sound heart" — qalbun salīm — free of shirk, free of grudges, free of love of dunya over Ākhirah. Ask for this qalb.

4.2.26 — Mūsā ﷺ in flight, exhausted, alone (28:24)

Mūsā fled Egypt with nothing, sat under the tree, and said these words. Within hours, Allāh gave him shelter, marriage, work, and prophethood. Say it for whatever you are in need of.

4.2.27 — The angels' du'ā' for the believers (40:7–9)

The angels are making this du'ā' for the believers right now. Say it on your own tongue and join their chorus.

4.2.28 — When one reaches maturity (46:15)

The du'ā' Allāh attributes to one who has reached forty. Say it for your generation and the next.

4.2.29 — Those who came after (59:10)

4.2.30 — The duʿā' of Ibrāhīm and those with him (60:4–5)

4.2.31 — Complete our light (66:8)

The believers on the Day of Resurrection, walking with their light on the ṣirāṭ, will see the light of the hypocrites extinguished. They will say this du'ā'. Ask now that your light not flicker.

4.2.32 — Nūḥ ﷺ for his parents and believers (71:28)

The duʿā' of Nūḥ ﷺ after 950 years of daʿwah. Make it your own — for your parents, your home, every believer who has ever crossed your threshold.

4.3 The Duʿās of the Prophets — additional

4.3.1 — Nūḥ ﷺ in his trial (23:29)

4.3.2 — Yūsuf ﷺ — the seal of his story (12:101)

Yūsuf — after every trial, after the well, after the prison, after kingship — asks for one thing: to die a Muslim. Make this the asking of your heart.

4.3.3 — Sulaymān ﷺ — gratitude for blessing (27:19)

4.3.4 — Sulaymān ﷺ — for a unique kingdom (38:35)

4.3.5 — Ayyūb ﷺ in his affliction (21:83)

Ayyūb did not even ask for relief; he simply named his state, and Allāh's mercy. Allāh removed the affliction immediately (21:84).

4.3.6 — Yūnus ﷺ — from the belly of the whale (21:87) — ×40

"No Muslim says it about anything except Allāh answers him." — Tirmidhī 3505, ṣaḥīḥ Repeat 40 times now, slowly. Then return to it through the day.

4.3.7 — Zakariyyā ﷺ — for righteous offspring (3:38)

4.3.8 — Zakariyyā ﷺ — for an heir (19:4–6)

4.3.9 — Zakariyyā ﷺ — do not leave me alone (21:89)

4.3.10 — ʿĪsā ﷺ — for the table (5:114)

4.3.11 — Ibrāhīm ﷺ — for a righteous son (37:100)

4.4 Āyat al-Kursī (2:255) — recite slowly, with hands raised

The greatest verse in the Qur'ān. — Muslim 810. Recite ×3.

4.5 Sūrahs to recite at ʿArafah (in order, as time allows)

If you have the strength, read these in full. If not, the markers tell you the minimum:

1. Sūrat al-Fātiḥah — ×7 (already done above)
2. Sūrat al-Baqarah, last two āyāt (2:285–286) — ×3
3. Sūrat Yāsīn (36) — the heart of the Qur'ān (Tirmidhī 2887, weak isnād but content welcomed by ʿulamā')
4. Sūrat al-Mulk (67) — protection from the punishment of the grave (Tirmidhī 2890)
5. Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah (56) — Ibn Masʿūd: "Whoever recites Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah every night, poverty will never touch him"
6. Sūrat ar-Raḥmān (55) — pause at every "fa-bi-ayyi ālā'i Rabbikumā tukadhdhibān" and answer: Lā bi-shay'in min niʿamika Rabbanā nukadhdhib, fa-laka-l-ḥamd (none of Your blessings do we deny, our Lord — so to You is all praise).
7. Last 10 āyāt of Sūrat al-Kahf (18:101–110) — protection from the Dajjāl (Muslim 809)
8. Sūrat al-Ḥashr, last 3 āyāt (59:22–24) — "Whoever says them in the morning, 70,000 angels send ṣalāh upon him until the evening; and if he dies that day, he dies as a martyr" (Tirmidhī 2922, status disputed but recitation is khayr).
9. Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (112) — ×3 (equivalent to one-third of the Qur'ān — Bukhārī 5013)
10. Sūrat al-Falaq (113) — ×3 (protection)
11. Sūrat an-Nās (114) — ×3 (protection)
12. Juz' ʿAmma (the last juz' — Sūrahs 78–114) — if any time remains, read in order.

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

≈ 1.5 hours

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

5.1 The four-fold ask — huda, tuqā, ʿafāf, ghinā

Hudā = guidance to the right path; tuqā = the fear of Allāh that keeps you on it; ʿafāf = chastity of body and tongue; ghinā = independence from creation. Four asks, one du'ā'.

5.2 The triple-help of Muʿādh — dhikr, shukr, ḥusn al-ʿibādah

5.3 Forgiveness in totality

5.4 Forgiveness — past, future, hidden, open, excess

5.5 The opening ṣalāh-du'ā' of the Prophet ﷺ

5.6 Rectify my deen, my dunya, my Ākhirah, my death

5.7 Pardon and well-being

5.8 Refuge from anxiety, weakness, debt, oppression

5.9 Refuge from disliked death and corrupting tests

5.10 The four refuges sought in tashahhud

5.11 Refuge from kufr, faqr, ʿadhāb al-qabr

5.12 By the Lord of the Mighty Throne — by every mercy and rescue

5.13 Beneficial knowledge, good provision, accepted deeds

5.14 Refuge from the four most-feared

5.15 The seven-part request — for body, deen, dunya, family, wealth, ending, beginning

5.16 The 10-part du'ā' of the Prophet ﷺ — Rabbi aʿinnī

Ten asks, three protections, seven qualities, six rectifications. Slow yourself down on this one — it is the prayer of a slave who has measured what his heart actually needs.

5.17 Make me firm — yā Muqallib al-qulūb

Repeat it through the day. Your heart is in His Hand; ask Him to keep it where He wants it.

5.18 Guide me, set me straight

5.19 The dread of standing — refuge from disaster, sudden disliked things

5.20 — The best — for Jannah, refuge from the Fire (×3)

"When a slave asks Allāh for Paradise three times, Paradise says: O Allāh, admit him to me. And when he seeks refuge from the Fire three times, the Fire says: O Allāh, save him from me." — Tirmidhī 2572, ṣaḥīḥ

Extended:

5.21 — Allāhumma innaka ʿafuwwun tuḥibbu-l-ʿafwa fa-ʿfu ʿannī

Repeat as much as you can. This is the word the Prophet ﷺ taught for the night more valuable than 1000 months — and ʿArafah is the day comparable in mercy.

5.22 — A sound heart, a truthful tongue, a beautiful character

5.23 — Steadfastness, resolve, gratitude, sound speech

5.24 — Light in every limb

5.25 — Health in every part

Followed by:

5.26 — Refuge from leprosy, madness, all bad disease

5.27 — The mercy of beautiful akhlāq

5.28 — Make me ḥalāl-sufficient, and free of need from any but You

5.29 — Three asks heavier than the heavens and the earth

The Prophet ﷺ heard this and said: "He has asked Allāh by His Greatest Name, by which when He is called He answers, and when He is asked, He gives." — Abū Dāwūd 1495, Tirmidhī 3544, Ibn Mājah 3858, ṣaḥīḥ

5.30 — Ḥasbiyallāhu lā ilāha illā huwa (×7 morning, ×7 evening)

5.31 — Du'ā' for husband/wife/family — the inclusive form

5.32 — The night-prayer du'ā' of the Prophet ﷺ (long, beautiful)

5.33 — Morning and Evening Adhkār — selection

Read this set once at sunrise (morning), once after ʿAṣr (evening).

1. Āyat al-Kursī (one time — see §4.4) 2. Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq, an-Nās — three times each 3. The Master of seeking forgiveness — Sayyid al-Istighfār (see §2.7) — three times 4. Subḥān Allāhi wa bi-ḥamdihī — 100 times (see §2.2) 5. Lā ilāha illa-llāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-ḥamd, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shay'in qadīr — 10 times (or 100; see §1.5) 6. Ḥasbiyallāhu lā ilāha illā huwa — 7 times (see §5.30)

Morning-specific:

Evening-specific (replace aṣbaḥnā with amsaynā, hādha-l-yawm with hādhihi-l-laylah).

5.34 — The dhikr that pleases ar-Raḥmān, regardless of all else

Said four times by the Prophet ﷺ to Juwayriyyah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhā) — outweighing all her dhikr from after Fajr until late morning. — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2726. Repeat at least 4× now.

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

≈ 2.5 hours — longest section. Slow down. Visualise each person as you name them.

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

6.1 For Myself

6.1.1 — Forgiveness of every category of sin

O Allāh — I begin with the most urgent: forgive me. You know what I have done and what I have left undone. You know what I admit and what I am too ashamed to admit. Forgive all of it.

O Allāh, forgive me:

• The sins of my youth, when I did not know the gravity of what I was doing
• The sins of my middle years, when I knew and did them anyway
• The sins of my tongue — every backbiting word, every lie, every mockery, every harsh word that broke a heart
• The sins of my ears — what I listened to of music, gossip, slander, ḥarām that I let into me
• The sins of my eyes — every look I should have lowered, every screen I should have turned from, every glance that planted a seed of disobedience
• The sins of my hands — what I touched of ḥarām, what I withheld of ḥalāl, what I struck or signed or built unjustly
• The sins of my feet — every step I took toward what You forbade and away from what You commanded
• The sins of my heart — every moment of arrogance, envy, suspicion, ḥasad, ʿujb, ingratitude, despair of Your mercy, false security from Your plan
• The hidden sins — those I did when no one was watching
• The apparent sins — those I did in front of others, normalising disobedience
• The intentional sins — when I weighed it and chose disobedience anyway
• The unintentional sins — when I was heedless of Your watchfulness
• The sins I remember and the sins I have forgotten — they are not forgotten by You
• The small sins I dismissed and the great sins I delayed repenting from
• The sins I committed in ignorance of Your right, and the sins I committed knowing Your right
• The sins I repeated after repenting
• The sins I have not yet committed but my nafs inclines toward — protect me from them

6.1.2 — Purification of the heart from every spiritual disease

Specifically — by name — O Allāh, pull these out of me:

• Shirk of all kinds — every form of associating partners with You, whether in worship, in love, in fear, in trust, in hope
• Khafī shirk (hidden shirk) — riyā', sumʿah, doing for the sake of being seen — "What I fear most for you is the lesser shirk." — "What is the lesser shirk, O Messenger of Allāh?" — "Riyā'." (Aḥmad 23630, ṣaḥīḥ)
• Nifāq — every sign of hypocrisy (lying when speaking, breaking a promise, betraying a trust, being foul in dispute — Bukhārī 33)
• Kufr after īmān — protect me from any door to it
• Kibr (arrogance) — looking down on anyone of Your creation, dismissing the truth
• ʿUjb (self-admiration) — seeing my own deeds with the eyes of self-praise
• Sumʿah — acting righteously so people will speak well of me
• Ḥasad (envy) — wishing for the removal of what You have given another
• Ghill (rancour) — every grudge in my chest against any believer (59:10)
• Sū' aẓ-ẓann bi-llāh (bad thoughts about Allāh) — every despair of Your mercy or panic about Your decree
• Bukhl (miserliness) — clinging to what You gave me and refusing to give for Your sake
• Jubn (cowardice) — every silence I kept when I should have spoken the truth
• Ḥubb ad-dunyā (love of the world) — every preference of the perishing over the abiding
• Ṭūl al-amal (extended false hopes) — the illusion that I have time
• Qaswat al-qalb (hardness of heart) — every blockage between me and the Qur'ān
• Ghaflah (heedlessness) — every hour I wasted not remembering You

In their place, O Allāh:

• Ikhlāṣ — sincerity, that I do nothing for any but You
• Tawḥīd in love, fear, hope, trust, worship
• Khashyah — fear of You that holds me back from sin
• Maḥabbah — love of You, love of what You love, love for Your sake
• Tawakkul — true reliance, with effort and surrender
• Shukr — gratitude that uses every blessing in obedience
• Ṣabr — patience without complaint, in trial and in obedience
• Tawbah naṣūḥ — repentance that does not return to sin
• Khushūʿ — humility in prayer and in heart
• Riḍā — contentment with Your decree

6.1.3 — Husn al-khātimah — the best ending

• Let me die in a state of taqwā — not in the middle of a sin
• Let my last act be an obedience to You
• Let me be buried in a Muslim land, prayed over by Muslims, with the duʿā' of those who knew me
• Let no one say of me at my death anything but good
• Let me be of those of whom it is said: Yā ayyatuha-n-nafsu-l-muṭma'innah, irjiʿī ilā Rabbiki rāḍiyatan marḍiyyah (89:27–28)

6.1.4 — Beloved deeds, beloved akhlāq

O Allāh, make me:

• Of those who establish ṣalāh properly until my last breath — never letting it slip
• Of those who give zakāh with joy, finding ways to give beyond it
• Of those who fast the obligatory month and what You love beyond it
• Of those who read the Qur'ān daily and act on it
• Of those who uphold silah ar-raḥim even when relatives cut me off
• Of those who honour parents in their old age, after their death, and in their friends
• Of those whose adab with You — in their wuḍū', their walk to the masjid, their entering and leaving — pleases You
• Of those who wake for tahajjud when others sleep, and weep before You alone
• Of those who fast Mondays and Thursdays when life allows
• Of those who say: Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh before any task
• Of those who smile at people as ṣadaqah, who do not raise their voice, who answer ill with iḥsān
• Of those whose hidden deeds are greater than their seen ones

6.2 For My Parents — [father] and [mother]

Visualise them now. Picture their faces. Remember the nights they did not sleep so you could. Remember the food they cut from their own plate. Now lift them to Allāh.

Then by name (substitute the names):

O Allāh — for my father, [father], and my mother, [mother]:

• Grant them long life on īmān — every additional year an increase in nearness to You
• Grant them health of body and mind — let them not be a burden on themselves or others; let them remain capable, active, mentally clear
• Grant them joy in their children, sons-in-law, and grandchildren — let them see only what pleases their hearts
• Grant them barakah in their days — ease in their elder years, comfort in their home
• Grant them maghfirah — every sin in their book wiped clean before their death; their record opened to mercy on the Day
• Enable me to fulfill their right perfectly — patience when I am tired, presence when I am busy, gentleness when they repeat themselves, service when their bodies slow
• Forgive me every time I raised my voice with them, every time I rolled my eyes, every time I was impatient, every time I chose convenience over their need
• Let them see me as a means of Jannah for them, never as a cause of regret
• Pay them, O Allāh, for every night they did not sleep so I could; every meal they shortened so I could eat; every du'ā' they made for me at three in the morning that I never knew about
• Make me a means of perpetual ṣadaqah for them after their death — through what You allow me to leave behind
• Gather us together in Jannat al-Firdaws — me, [father], [mother], my siblings, my wife, our children, our descendants — in the same rank, in the same gathering, looking at Your Face

6.3 For Deceased Loved Ones — [named slots]

Pause now. Name them in your heart, one by one. Grandparents on both sides. Any deceased aunts, uncles, cousins. Family friends. Anyone you knew who has crossed.

For each deceased relative — by name:

O Allāh, for [name] — [paternal grandfather], [paternal grandmother], [maternal grandfather], [maternal grandmother], [deceased aunt/uncle], [deceased cousin], [deceased family friend]:

• Forgive every sin, conceal every fault, erase every misdeed
• Have mercy on them as You commanded us to have mercy
• Replace their sins with good deeds (25:70)
• Expand their grave, fill it with light from the Qur'ān
• Free them from the squeezing of the grave and from any punishment
• Send them the comfort of their good deeds in the grave — every prayer, every fast, every charity, every word of dhikr they ever made
• Open between their grave and Jannah a window so they smell its breeze and see its colours
• Let their faces be among the white faces on the Day of Resurrection (3:106–107)
• Let their book be given in their right hand
• Carry them across the Ṣirāṭ with the speed of light
• Admit them to Jannat al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā — gather them with their parents, their spouses, their righteous offspring, the prophets, the ṣiddīqīn, the shuhadā', and the ṣāliḥīn
• Let me and my family be among the means of their barzakh comfort — through ṣadaqah, du'ā', and beneficial knowledge we leave behind

The funeral prayer du'ā' — say for each:

6.4 For My Wife — [wife]

She is from you and you are from her. Picture her now. Lift her to Allāh by name, with the fullness of your heart.

O Allāh, for my wife [wife]:

• Place between us mawaddah, raḥmah, and sakīnah — the three the Qur'ān names for marriage (30:21) — increasing every year
• Make us coolness of each other's eyes — that I am her joy and she is mine
• Make our love a love for Your sake — that grows in obedience, that strengthens our deen, not weakens it
• Protect us from every fitnah that pulls spouses apart — boredom, suspicion, harshness of tongue, neglect, third parties, financial strain, the influence of others
• Forgive me every wrong I have done to her — every harsh word, every moment of impatience, every right of hers I delayed
• Grant her health of body, mind, and heart — wellness in every limb, peace in every thought, lightness in her chest
• Bless her with iḥsān in every aspect of her life — her ṣalāh, her tilāwah, her du'ā', her relations with family, her work, her joy
• Increase her in īmān every day; let her be of al-mu'mināt al-qānitāt at-tā'ibāt al-ʿābidāt as-sā'iḥāt (66:5)
• Bless our home with barakah — in food, in time, in conversation, in the dhikr that fills it
• Make me the husband she deserves and beyond — patient, gentle, providing, present, fun, romantic, attentive, forgiving
• Make her the wife I am grateful for — and let me never stop expressing that gratitude
• Bless us with righteous offspring (current or future, in shā' Allāh — see §6.5)
• When You take one of us, take us together if it is best for us — and if separately, gather us in the same rank in Jannah (52:21)
• Let our final day on earth be a day of harmony between us — no unresolved grievance carried into the grave
• Raise us together in Jannat al-Firdaws — looking at Your Face together, holding the same cup of Tasnīm, beneath the same shade

6.5 For Our Offspring (current or future — by name if any)

14:40, 25:74, 46:15, 3:38, 37:100 — Allāh Himself put these on the tongues of the prophets so we would have words to ask. Use them now.

O Allāh, for every child You grant — or have already granted — to me and [wife]:

• That every child carry the Qur'ān in their heart — be among the ḥuffāẓ of Your book in their generation
• That every child be granted beneficial knowledge — of deen, of dunya, of what helps Your slaves
• That every child be of those who establish ṣalāh — never miss it from the day they are obligated until they die
• That every child be righteous and obedient to us — and we obedient to You in raising them
• That every child be protected from the fitan of this age — screens, ideology, peers, addictions, ḥarām relationships, the seduction of disbelief dressed as progress
• That every child be healthy, intelligent, generous, courageous, modest
• That we see in every one of them only what pleases You — never grief over a child's deviation
• That they marry the righteous and be raised in Jannah with their righteous spouses
• That they leave righteous progeny after them — that our line be a line of believers until the Hour
• That none of our offspring be a loss in the Ākhirah — that we be gathered, all of us, in Jannat al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā together
• That we, as parents, be a coolness of their eyes — and they of ours (25:74)

6.6 For My In-Laws — [father-in-law] and [mother-in-law]

Whatever good your wife is, she is also from them. Their du'ā', their teaching, their raising her — it all comes back to you.

O Allāh, for my father-in-law [father-in-law] and my mother-in-law [mother-in-law]:

• Long life on īmān, health, joy in their children and grandchildren
• Pay them — from Your treasury — for raising the wife You gave me; reward every night they sat by her side, every du'ā' they made for her
• Enable me to fulfill the right of in-law parents as I fulfill that of my own — never separating between them in iḥsān
• Make me a son they did not have to wish for — easy on them, helpful, present, warm
• Forgive their sins and shortcomings, conceal their faults, raise their ranks
• For any deceased among them — [deceased in-law name(s)] — repeat the funeral prayer du'ā' from §6.3
• Gather us all in Jannat al-Firdaws — both sides of the family, blended in mercy as You blended us in marriage

6.7 For My Wife's Siblings and Their Families — [named slots]

O Allāh, for [wife's siblings — by name] and their families:

• Barakah in their homes, sakīnah in their marriages
• Righteousness in their children — guide them as You have guided whoever You have guided
• Steadfastness on the deen across every generation
• Protection from every harm in dunya and Ākhirah
• Forgiveness, mercy, raising of ranks
• That our families remain knit together in love and silah ar-raḥim until we are all gathered in Jannah

6.8 For My Sisters — [sister 1] and [sister 2]

Two sisters. Picture each one. Name her in your heart. Remember a moment of childhood that bonded you. Now lift her to Allāh.

O Allāh, for my elder sister [sister 1] and my sister [sister 2]:

• Long life on īmān — every year an increase in nearness to You
• Health of body, mind, and heart
• Joy in their husbands, their children, their parents
• Barakah in their marriages — sakīnah, mawaddah, raḥmah; no harshness between them and [brother-in-law 1] / [brother-in-law 2]
• Righteous, ḥāfiẓ children — protect their three sons and their daughters from every harm
• Sufficient ḥalāl rizq — that they want for nothing
• Forgive every sin of theirs — small and great, past and future
• Make me the brother they can call — patient when I am tired, present when I am busy, defending them when they are absent
• Forgive me every time I was harsh with them, distant from them, slow to respond
• Raise our silah ar-raḥim — that the bond You placed between us be of those bonds You honour on the Day
• Gather us — me, [sister 1], [sister 2], our spouses, our children, our parents — in Jannat al-Firdaws together

6.9 For My Brothers-in-Law — [brother-in-law 1] and [brother-in-law 2]

The husbands of your sisters. Their well-being is your sisters' well-being. Their righteousness is your nephews' inheritance.

O Allāh, for [brother-in-law 1] and [brother-in-law 2]:

• Make them the best of husbands to my sisters — gentle, providing, patient, present, loving
• Make them the best of fathers to my nephews (and their daughters) — teaching them the deen, leading them in ṣalāh, modeling Sunnah akhlāq
• Barakah in their rizq — sufficient ḥalāl income, protection from debt
• Health, long life on īmān, steadfastness against every fitnah
• Make the bond of brotherhood between us a bond that lasts beyond the dunya
• Gather us together in Jannah — me, them, my sisters, our parents, our children

6.10 For My Nephews — [nephew 1], [nephew 2], [nephew 3]

Three nephews. Three trusts. Picture each face — the oldest, the middle, the youngest. Allāh has placed in your heart love for them; He answers du'ā' made out of that love.

O Allāh, for my nephews [nephew 1], [nephew 2], [nephew 3]:

• Make every one of them a ḥāfiẓ of Your Book — let them carry the Qur'ān as the Companions carried it
• Grant them beneficial knowledge that they use for Your sake and for the benefit of Your creation
• Make them establishers of ṣalāh before they are obligated — let them walk to the masjid with their fathers, in love with the prayer
• Make them righteous in akhlāq — truthful, generous, courageous, modest, humble
• Protect them from the fitan of this age: screens that desensitise, peers who deviate, ideology dressed as progress, addictions to ḥarām pleasures, doubt about the deen
• Protect their health — physical, mental, spiritual
• Bless them with righteous spouses when the time comes
• Make them a comfort to their parents ([sister 1/2] and [brother-in-law 1/2]) — never a source of grief
• Make them assets to the ummah — leaders of the muttaqīn, not followers of the heedless
• Let me be of those who teach them, du'ā' for them, leave them a legacy of deen
• Let them grow up to bury me with du'ā' — and rise on the Day of Resurrection with me beneath the banner of the Prophet ﷺ

6.11 For My Nieces — [niece names — wife's side, sister's side, all of them]

O Allāh, for every niece — [niece 1], [niece 2], and any others by name:

• All of the above for my nephews — apply the same to my nieces
• Protect their modesty (ḥayā') as the most precious wealth a believing girl carries
• Protect their hearts — from comparisons online, from cultural fitnah, from the lie that her worth is in her appearance
• Bless them with righteous spouses when the time comes — believing, providing, gentle, protective
• Make them the mothers of believers — that the next generation of this family carry the deen
• Make me — and their fathers, their uncles, their brothers — the men who modelled what a believing man is, so they know what to choose

6.12 For My Uncles and Aunts — Paternal and Maternal [named slots]

O Allāh, for every uncle and aunt on both sides — [uncle 1], [uncle 2], [aunt 1], [aunt 2], …:

• Long life on īmān, health, barakah, sakīnah in their homes
• Forgive every sin, raise every rank, ease every difficulty
• Bless their children (my cousins) with righteousness
• For any deceased — [deceased uncles/aunts by name] — repeat the funeral du'ā' from §6.3
• Maintain silah ar-raḥim — that the bond You placed between this extended family hold across miles, busy schedules, and the small frictions of years
• Gather us — every uncle, aunt, cousin — in Jannat al-Firdaws

6.13 For My Cousins — [named slots]

A wider circle. Some you grew up with, some you barely see. Some are firm on the deen, some are struggling. Make du'ā' for each as if you were their elder.

O Allāh, for my cousins on both sides — [cousin name slots]:

• For those firm on the deen — increase them, protect them, make their families a refuge for them
• For those struggling with īmān, marriage, work, health, or any other affair — guide them, ease their hardship, lighten their burden, send them help
• For those distant from the deen — bring them back, soften their hearts, place mercy and yearning in their chests
• For any deceased — forgiveness, mercy, Firdaws
• Make our cousinhood a bond that holds, not breaks; that reaches across distances; that bears witness for us on the Day

6.14 For My Hajj Companions

Three other people walked with you to ʿArafah today. Their du'ā' matters with you; your du'ā' matters with them. Lift them all together.

O Allāh, for those of us standing here today at ʿArafah:

• Accept this Hajj from each of us as Ḥajj Mabrūr — "There is no reward for a Mabrūr Hajj but Paradise." (Bukhārī 1773, Muslim 1349)
• Let each of us return forgiven, like a newborn (Bukhārī 1521) — every past sin wiped, every account zeroed
• Let this Day of ʿArafah be the day You boast about us to the angels, the day You free us from the Fire
• Grant us health, ease, and safety for the remaining rites — Muzdalifah tonight, ramy and naḥr tomorrow, ṭawāf and saʿy, the days of Tashrīq
• Grant us safe return home — by land, by air, by every step
• Let our friendship persist on righteousness for life — that we hold each other to the standard ʿArafah set; that we remind each other of this day when one of us slips; that we be raised together in Jannah
• Forgive any harshness between us on this trip — the fatigue, the heat, the close quarters — let nothing of it remain on our books
• Bless their families — wives, children, parents — exactly as I am asking for my own family

6.15 For My Friends — [named slots, many]

Many friends. Some lifelong, some new. Some Muslim, some not yet. Each one a person Allāh placed in your life for a reason.

O Allāh, for every friend by name — [friend 1], [friend 2], [friend 3] …:

• For my righteous friends — keep them on the deen, increase them, bless their families, gather us in Jannah
• For my friends struggling with īmān — soften their hearts, send them iḥsān from people of guidance, plant in them a yearning to return
• For my friends struggling with marriage, work, health, or any matter — ease their burden, send them relief, replace their hardship with comfort
• For my friends not yet Muslim — open their hearts to the truth, let me be a kind reflection of this deen, send guidance to them by whatever means You will
• For any friends who have passed — forgiveness, mercy, Firdaws
• Bless our friendships — that they be of the friendships of which the Prophet ﷺ said: "Seven will be shaded by Allāh on the Day of no shade except His Shade … two who loved each other for the sake of Allāh." (Bukhārī 660)

6.16 For Family Friends — [named slots]

The families who have known your family for decades. The aunties who fed you. The uncles who corrected you. Their children who grew up beside you.

O Allāh, for our family friends — [family friend 1], [family friend 2] … — and their families:

• Bless their households, their marriages, their children
• Lifelong righteous companionship between our families
• For their deceased — forgiveness, mercy, Firdaws
• Let our bonds with them be of the bonds You honour on the Day

6.17 For Teachers, Mentors, and Whoever Taught Me a Word of Good

"Whoever taught me a letter, I am his slave." — attributed to ʿAlī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu).

O Allāh, for every:

• School teacher who taught me to read, to write, to think
• Qur'ān teacher who placed the first letters of Your Book on my tongue
• Scholar whose book, lecture, or article shaped how I see the deen — alive or passed — forgive them, raise their ranks, reward them with every recitation, every prayer, every act of obedience that flowed from their teaching
• Mentor — at work, in life — who steered me away from a wrong path or toward a right one
• Anyone who corrected me with sincerity, even when it stung
• Anyone whose example taught me without words — by their patience, their generosity, their khushūʿ
• Anyone whose du'ā' for me I never knew about — pay them in full

6.18 For My Neighbours, Masjid, Imāms, and Local Muslim Community

The community Allāh placed you in. They are part of your file before Allāh — your conduct with them is your conduct with His slaves.

O Allāh — for my neighbours (Muslim and non-Muslim), my masjid and its imāms, my local Muslim community, the new Muslims among us, the elders among us, the youth among us:

• Grant us all unity on tawḥīd and the Sunnah
• Protect our masjids, fill them with worshippers, bless their khaṭīb and their du'ā'
• Make our imāms men of taqwā, knowledge, and patience
• Grant our youth firmness against the fitan of this society
• Soften the hearts of our non-Muslim neighbours to Islām, and protect Muslims from harm at their hands
• Let our community be a place where the deen is easy and ḥalāl is the default
• Forgive every grievance between us; mend every broken relationship

6.19 For Everyone Who Asked Me to Make Du'ā' at ʿArafah

This is the section easiest to forget. Stop. Open your phone (if it is permissible) or your mental list. Read every name they sent you. Make du'ā' for each by name.

O Allāh — for every person who said to me "Make du'ā' for me at ʿArafah":

• [name 1] — their stated need: __________________
• [name 2] — their stated need: __________________
• [name 3] — their stated need: __________________
• (continue listing)

And for everyone who asked but whose request I cannot now remember — You remember it perfectly. Answer them.

"The du'ā' of a Muslim for his brother in his absence is answered. At his head is an appointed angel; whenever he makes du'ā' for his brother in good, the appointed angel says: Āmīn, and for you the same." — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2733.

6.20 For Those Who Have Shown Me Iḥsān

Every act of kindness you have ever received from another human is, on the Day, a debt — unless you repay or Allāh repays for you. Pay them now.

O Allāh — for every person who:

• Gave me a meal when I was hungry
• Gave me a place to stay
• Gave me money I needed
• Spoke a word of encouragement when I was low
• Believed in me before I believed in myself
• Defended me when I was absent
• Forgave me when I did not deserve it
• Covered a fault of mine
• Taught me without expecting return
• Made du'ā' for me without telling me

— pay them in full from Your treasury. Whatever I cannot repay, repay for me. Multiply Your repayment to them in dunya, in barzakh, and on the Day.

6.21 For Those Who Have Wronged Me

The Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ at Ṭā'if, when his blood ran into his sandals and the angels offered to crush the people between two mountains — he ﷺ said: "No — rather I hope that Allāh will bring forth from their descendants those who worship Him alone." (Bukhārī 3231, Muslim 1795). This is the standard. Try to reach it.

O Allāh — for everyone who has wronged me, named or unnamed:

• Forgive them as I forgive them today
• Guide them, soften their hearts, do not punish them on my account
• Heal what their words or actions broke in me — let nothing remain in my chest from them on the Day
• Whatever right of mine is still with them, take it from them gently — by their tawbah and Your faḍl, not by their disgrace
• If any of them comes on the Day with my right and I am called to take from them — let me have already given it to You for free, and let You compensate me from Your storehouse

If you can do this — truly — your scales will be heavy in a way nothing else can match.

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

≈ 1 hour

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

7.1 For the Whole Ummah

"The believers are like a single body — when one limb hurts, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever." — Bukhārī 6011, Muslim 2586. You are at ʿArafah. The whole body is now your concern.

O Allāh:

• Unite our hearts on tawḥīd and the Sunnah of Your Prophet ﷺ
• Return us — collectively — to the Qur'ān and the way of the Salaf
• Raise up scholars who are rabbāniyyīn — who teach the deen as it was revealed, fearlessly, with mercy
• Remove from over us leaders who corrupt and replace them with leaders who fear You
• Grant the ummah victory wherever the deen is fought against
• Place dignity on every Muslim's brow — that no Muslim child grow up ashamed of his faith
• Heal the divisions between us — between schools, between cultures, between movements — keep us on the ḥaqq, soften us to one another
• Forgive our collective sins — the public ones we tolerate, the private ones we hide

7.2 For the Oppressed Muslims — by Land

Name them. Each land. Each face. Allāh sees them, and He sees you naming them.

Gaza and Palestine

O Allāh — for the people of Gaza, the West Bank, al-Quds, and every Palestinian in exile:

• Lift the siege. Stop the bombing. Heal the wounded. Reunite the families.
• Accept the shuhadā' — every man, woman, and child killed under the rubble — write them with the highest of martyrs, give their families patience and certainty of their reward
• Replace every collapsed home with a palace in Jannah
• Restore al-Masjid al-Aqṣā to the ummah; let it be prayed in safely, freely, by its people
• Defeat the oppressors by Your power; do not give them victory; do not extend their reach; do not give them rest until they are removed from the land they have stolen
• Give the displaced shelter, the hungry food, the orphans guardianship, the widows companions, the children of Gaza childhoods after the war
• Let no Muslim — including me — forget Gaza. Let the du'ā' for them be a part of my morning and evening adhkār until the day they are free.

Sudan

O Allāh — for the people of Sudan caught between the warring factions:

• Stop the fighting. Heal the wounded. Feed the starving. Reunite the families.
• Accept the shuhadā' from among them
• Restore peace, ḥalāl governance, dignity to a people who have endured so much

The Uyghurs of East Turkestan

O Allāh — for the Uyghurs in the camps, in forced labour, separated from their children, forbidden to fast, forbidden to pray, forbidden to be Muslim openly:

• Lift the persecution
• Reunite the parents with their children, the husbands with their wives
• Strengthen the īmān of every one of them who cannot pray openly — make their internal worship heavier than the openly performed ʿibādah of those who are free
• Hold accountable those who have done this

The Rohingya

O Allāh — for the Rohingya, stateless, in camps, in boats, on borders:

• Grant them a homeland, dignity, the right to live as Muslims
• Heal what was done to them; do not let the world forget them

Kashmir, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, the Sahel, Myanmar, every land where Muslims grieve

O Allāh — for every land where Muslim blood is shed, Muslim homes are razed, Muslim children grow up without parents — for Kashmir, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, the Sahel, Burma, and every land I do not know to name:

• Send Your help. Send Your mercy. Heal Your slaves.
• Give the oppressed patience, the oppressors restraint or destruction, the bystanders conscience
• Bring back what has been lost — homes, families, sacred sites, dignity

Muslim minorities everywhere

O Allāh — for Muslims who are minorities — in Europe, in the Americas, in Africa, in Asia — facing rising hostility, restrictions on ḥijāb, restrictions on masājid, restrictions on speech, restrictions on prayer:

• Strengthen them; preserve their deen; raise up righteous leaders among them
• Protect their children from assimilation that erodes the deen
• Place mercy in the hearts of their neighbours

7.3 For the Shuhadā' (Martyrs)

O Allāh, the martyrs of:

• Gaza since 2023 — every name, every face, every child
• Palestine across decades — those who fought, those who died as civilians, those who died in prison
• Syria — every Muslim killed under tyranny or war
• Iraq — under occupation, under sectarian war, under tyrants
• Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Kashmir, Burma, Sudan — and every shahīd whose name is known only to You

• Accept each one. Give their parents patience that does not break. Give their orphans guardians from Your slaves. Give their widows companions and remarriages of mercy. Give their unmarried beloveds an alternative chosen by Your faḍl.
• Let me be of those who carry their cause in my du'ā' and in my deeds.

7.4 For Makkah and Madīnah

O Allāh:

• Preserve the Ḥaramayn — Makkah and Madīnah — until the Hour
• Protect them from every assault, plot, fitnah, and corruption
• Bless their people, their scholars, the workers who serve the pilgrims, the imāms who lead the prayer
• Make me of those who return again — to Hajj, to ʿUmrah, to standing in al-Rawḍah and at the Ka'bah
• Keep these two cities filled with worshippers until Your decree

7.5 For Scholars and Righteous Leaders

O Allāh:

• Preserve our rabbānī scholars — the inheritors of the prophets. Bless their time, multiply their students, protect them from fitnah of fame and wealth.
• Raise up young scholars — children today who will be muftis tomorrow
• Place in leadership of the Muslims men and women who fear You — who rule by justice, who serve before they accumulate, who fear the Day more than they fear the polls
• Remove the corrupt — gently if You can, decisively if You must
• Replace bad scholars (those who sell the deen for gain) with those who fear You alone

7.6 For the Guidance of Non-Muslims

Allāh guides whom He wills. But du'ā' is part of the means.

O Allāh:

• For everyone You have written to be guided — bring them to Islām before they die
• Let me — and every Muslim — be a kind reflection of this deen
• Send guidance to those reached by Muslims who misrepresented us
• Send guidance to those who hate us — soften their hearts, turn their hatred into yearning
• For the reverts and new Muslims — keep them firm, send them community, ease their family relations, fill the gap of what they gave up to follow You
• For those born Muslim who have drifted — return them. Not all of them are as far as we think.

7.7 For Specific Groups in Difficulty

O Allāh — for every Muslim in:

• Debt that crushes them — relieve them; replace their debt with sufficient ḥalāl rizq
• Prison — wrongly or rightly — ease their burden, soften the hearts of their guards, bring forward their release if there is khayr in it, make their captivity a means of forgiveness
• Severe illness — heal them; if their healing is not written, give them the reward of the patient and meet them with no account
• Addiction — to drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, food, screens — pull them out; replace the chemical reward with the sweetness of īmān
• Mental illness — depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma, suicidal thoughts — send relief in this dunya, ease in their hearts, righteous people around them, treatment that helps, the reward of the patient in the Ākhirah
• Marriage difficulty — separated couples, abusive marriages, abandoned spouses — ease their affairs by what is best for them; reunite if there is khayr, separate if there is not
• Childlessness — grant them from Yourself a dhurriyyatan ṭayyibah (3:38) before their hope runs out
• Loneliness — old age, immigration, divorce, bereavement — send them companions of īmān; let them not feel forgotten by Your slaves or by You
• Loss of a child — grant them ṣabr without despair, and reunion with the child in Jannah
• Apostasy in the family — soften the hearts of those who have left, guide them back, hold firm the rest

7.8 For the Unborn Generations of Muslims

The line continues. Make du'ā' for those who do not yet exist.

O Allāh:

• For every Muslim child to be born from this day until the Hour — preserve their fiṭrah, raise them on tawḥīd, give them parents who fear You
• For my own line — children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren — keep us a line of believers, every generation a ḥāfiẓ of Your Book, every one named for a Companion or a name beloved to You
• For the ummah's future — let it not be worse than its present; let it be raised again

≈ 1 hour

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

8.1 Wealth — Ḥalāl, Barakah, Freedom from Debt

O Allāh:

• Expand my rizq from ḥalāl — and protect me from every door to ḥarām income
• Place barakah in what I have — that little is enough, much is not wasted
• Free me from debt — and protect me from contracting debt that I cannot bear
• Remove me from need of any of Your creation — leave my hand always the upper hand, not the lower (Bukhārī 1429)
• Bless my family's wealth — protect it from being lost suddenly, from being acquired ḥarām, from creating divisions
• Make my wealth a means of obedience — not a fitnah that pulls me from You
• Teach me qanāʿah (contentment) — the true ghinā is the ghinā of the heart (Bukhārī 6446)

8.2 Health — Body, Mind, Heart

O Allāh:

• Physical health — heart, lungs, brain, eyes, ears, joints, every cell. Protect me from cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, neurological decline, autoimmune attack — and from suffering that breaks my ṣabr
• Mental health — protect me from depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, every state of mind that drives a slave to despair or to ḥarām relief
• Spiritual health — the health most precious — protect me from a heart that no longer feels Your dhikr, eyes that no longer weep, a body that no longer rises for tahajjud
• Protect me — and my family — from sudden severe illness that gives no time to prepare
• Protect us from disliked diseases — baraṣ, junūn, judhām, sayyi' al-asqām (Abū Dāwūd 1554)
• For every member of my family currently ill or carrying a chronic condition ([name + condition]) — heal them by Your healing, with no after-effect, no return
• Grant us husn al-khātimah even in sickness — that the final illness be a means of forgiveness, not despair

8.3 Beneficial Knowledge — ʿIlm Nāfiʿ

O Allāh:

• Grant me understanding of Your Book — that I read it and it changes me
• Grant me hifẓ — a portion of the Qur'ān planted firmly in my chest before I die
• Grant me understanding of the Sunnah — that I follow the Prophet ﷺ in details, not just in headlines
• Grant me the Arabic of Your Book — to read it as it was revealed
• Grant me understanding of the dunya — what builds and destroys societies, what people need, what helps me serve You
• Make the knowledge I acquire a witness for me on the Day, not against me
• Protect me from knowledge that does not benefit — every distraction dressed as learning

8.4 Work and Career

(Generic per your note — no employer named.)

O Allāh:

• Bless my work with barakah — that my time produces more than its hours
• Give me colleagues of khayr — and patience with those who are not
• Make my work a means of iḥsān to Your slaves — that whatever I touch leaves people better than I found them
• Give me opportunities that align with the deen — and protect me from opportunities that, though shiny, would compromise it
• Protect me from ego, burnout, riyā', and the worship of productivity
• Let my income be ḥalāl down to the last detail — and barakah on what I bring home
• Let me leave work behind at the door when I come home — give my family the best of me, not the leftovers

8.5 Home and Family

O Allāh:

• Bless our home with sakīnah — that it is a refuge, not a tension
• Place barakah in our food, in our time, in our conversation
• Protect our home from shayāṭīn of jinn and ins — fill it with Qur'ān, dhikr, the recitation of Sūrat al-Baqarah
• Make our home a place where the deen is easy — ṣalāh on time, modest dress, ḥalāl food, kind speech, the names of Allāh on our walls and tongues
• Protect us from everything that creeps into homes — screens that addict, foods that harm, debts that strangle, relatives who corrupt, neighbours who fitnah
• Make our home a place where the angels visit and where the shayāṭīn cannot find rest

8.6 Marriage Du'ā' — For Those Around Me Who Are Unmarried

O Allāh — for every unmarried Muslim in my family, my friends, the ummah:

• Send them a righteous spouse before they despair
• Grant husbands and wives who fear You — imam to the muttaqīn (25:74) for one another
• Replace broken engagements, failed first attempts, family obstacles with what is better
• For those who carry shame about a past — forgive them, conceal it, give them a fresh life

8.7 Children for the Childless

O Allāh — for every couple in our family, our circle, our ummah praying for a child:

• Rabbi hab lī min ladunka dhurriyyatan ṭayyibah, innaka samīʿu-d-duʿā' (3:38)
• Open their wombs as You opened Sārah's, Hannah's, Khadījah's
• Replace their longing with joy — let them taste motherhood and fatherhood before their hope thins
• For those whose path is adoption — bless that with the same barakah You bless biological children with

8.8 Reconciliation — For Estranged Hearts

O Allāh — for every estranged relationship in my family or among those I love:

• [name pair] — soften both hearts, send a means of reconciliation
• Forgive what was done by either side; cover the wrongs; reset the relationship
• Where reconciliation is not possible, let each side find peace in their own dignity
• Let no estrangement carry into the grave

8.9 Travel — Safe Return from Hajj

O Allāh:

• Bring our Hajj group safely from ʿArafah to Muzdalifah, to Minā, to the Ka'bah for ṭawāf, and back home — every flight, every transfer, every step
• Protect us from accident, illness on the road, lost luggage, immigration trouble — and from the small frustrations that the Prophet ﷺ said reveal a traveller's true akhlāq
• Protect our families at home in our absence — anta-l-khalīfatu fi-l-ahl
• Bring us home as if newborn — and let our families notice the change in us

8.10 Anxiety, Sadness, Hardship — The Prophet's Prescribed Du'ās

"No one ever says this and is afflicted with anxiety or grief except that Allāh removes his anxiety and grief and replaces it with joy." — Aḥmad 3712, ṣaḥīḥ

Plus:

8.11 Protection from Envy, Evil Eye, Magic, Jinn

أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ. (×3)

Aʿūdhu bi-kalimāti-llāhi-t-tāmmāti min sharri mā khalaq.

I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allāh from the evil of what He has created. — Muslim 2708 — said three times, no harm reaches the one who says it.

Plus the three quls (Ikhlāṣ, Falaq, Nās) — three times each, morning and evening — sufficient against everything.

8.12 Protection from Sudden Disaster

Refer back to §5.7 — Allāhumma istur ʿawrātī wa āmin rawʿātī, including refuge from being struck down from beneath (mentioned because the Prophet ﷺ specifically sought refuge from collapsing structures — Abū Dāwūd 5074).

Add:

• Refuge from sudden death in a state of sin
• Refuge from drowning, burning, falling, vehicle accident
• Refuge from being killed unjustly
• Refuge from dying alone with no Muslim near to say lā ilāha illa-llāh in my ear

8.13 Protection from the Fitan of This Age

O Allāh — protect me, my wife, my offspring, my family from:

• Dajjāl and his fitnah (recite the last ten of Sūrat al-Kahf — see §4.5)
• Atheism dressed as scholarship
• Liberalism dressed as kindness
• Materialism dressed as success
• Sexual deviance dressed as identity
• Riba dressed as opportunity
• Algorithms that steal hours and rewire desires
• Loneliness that pushes the youth to ḥarām consolation
• The illusion of "later" — that there is time before tawbah

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

≈ 1.5 hours

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

Walk the Day of Resurrection in sequence — from death, to the grave, to the raising, to the standing, to the ḥawḍ, to the ṣirāṭ, to Jannah. Ask Allāh at each station.

9.1 — Husn al-Khātimah: A Best Ending

O Allāh:

• Let my last act be obedience to You — not a sin, not a moment of heedlessness
• Let my last words be: Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh — the words the Prophet ﷺ taught are a key to Jannah
• Let my last thought be a thought of You — Your mercy, Your forgiveness, Your Face
• Let me die in a state of taqwā — never in the middle of a sin
• Let me die a Muslim, holding to the Sunnah, free of bidʿah, free of doubt
• Let me die at peace with people — no unsettled grudge, no unpaid right
• Let me die at the time You love for me — and let me be ready when it comes
• Take my soul gently, like a drop of water sliding from a leaf — not with the harshness of the sinner
• Let those around me at my death say only what is good — Allāhumma irḥamh, Allāhumma-ghfir lah
• Let my janāzah be prayed by people who fear You — let their du'ā' for me be answered

9.2 — In the Grave

O Allāh:

• Protect me from the squeezing of the grave
• Protect me from any punishment in the grave
• When the angels Munkar and Nakīr come and ask Man Rabbuk? Mā dīnuk? Man nabiyyuk? — let my tongue answer with conviction: Rabbiyallāh, dīnī al-Islām, nabiyyī Muḥammad ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam
• Fill my grave with light — from the Qur'ān I recited, the ṣalāh I prayed, the ṣadaqah I gave
• Open a window between my grave and Jannah so I smell its breeze and see its colours
• Make my grave a rawḍah of the gardens of Jannah, not a ḥufrah of the pits of the Fire
• Let my good deeds come to me in the grave in the form of a beautiful, fragrant companion who keeps me company until the Day
• Bless my children, my wife, my family — whatever ṣadaqah jāriyah they make on my behalf, multiply it for me

9.3 — On the Day of Resurrection

O Allāh:

• Let me be raised on the fiṭrah — the way You created me, with my limbs intact, my face shining
• Let my face be among the wujūhun yawma'idhin musfirah, ḍāḥikatun mustabshirah (80:38–39) — bright, smiling, hopeful
• Let me be raised with my parents — and let them be pleased with me
• Let me be raised in the shade of Your Throne on the Day there is no shade except Your Shade — among the seven the Prophet ﷺ named (Bukhārī 660)
• Let me be among those of whom is said: Ūlā'ika ʿalā hudan min Rabbihim (2:5)
• Let my scales be heavy with good — multiply my deeds, accept my small actions as great
• Let me drink from the Ḥawḍ of the Prophet ﷺ — a drink after which I never thirst — and do not let me be of those turned away from it
• Let me cross the Ṣirāṭ with the speed of light — not slipping, not falling
• Let my book be given in my right hand — and let me be of those given an easy reckoning (84:7–8)
• Spare me the public reckoning — give me the muḥāsabatan yasīrā (84:8); whoever is taken to account is punished (Bukhārī 103, ʿĀ'ishah)

9.4 — At the Ḥawḍ of the Prophet ﷺ

O Allāh — do not let me be among those of whom the Prophet ﷺ said: "O my Lord — my companions, my companions" — and is told "You do not know what they innovated after you" (Bukhārī 6584, Muslim 2304). Keep me on the Sunnah; let me approach the Ḥawḍ recognised by the Prophet ﷺ.

9.5 — Shafāʿah of the Prophet ﷺ

O Allāh:

• Make me of those who receive the shafāʿah of Your Prophet ﷺ on the Day
• Make me of those who say al-ṣalāh al-ibrāhīmiyyah on him often — increase my ṣalāh on him until I meet him
• Gather me under his banner at the Mawqif
• Place me near him in Jannah — let me serve him there as his slave, even if at the lowest level

9.6 — Being Raised with the Prophets, Ṣiddīqīn, Shuhadā', Ṣāliḥīn

The Prophet ﷺ, when asked about choosing his companion on the Day, replied with this verse. Your companions on the Day are the people you loved on earth (Bukhārī 6168). Love the prophets, the Companions, the Salaf, the people of taqwā — and ask to be raised with them.

9.7 — Jannat al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā

"When you ask Allāh for Jannah, ask Him for al-Firdaws — for it is the highest part of Jannah, and the most excellent, and above it is the Throne of ar-Raḥmān, and from it spring the rivers of Jannah." — Bukhārī 2790

O Allāh — admit:

• Me to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My parents to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My wife to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My offspring (current and future) to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My sisters and brothers-in-law and nephews and nieces to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My in-laws and their families to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My uncles, aunts, cousins to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My Hajj companions to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My deceased loved ones to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā
• My friends, family friends, teachers, my local Muslim community to al-Firdaws al-Aʿlā

— and gather us together, in the same rank, looking at Your Face, beneath the shade of Your Throne, in the neighbourhood of Your Prophet ﷺ.

9.8 — Specific Pleasures of Jannah to Ask For

O Allāh:

• A palace of pearl, of gold, of silver — palaces beyond imagination (Bukhārī 6549)
• Rivers of milk, honey, wine, pure water (47:15)
• Companions of the highest rank — ḥūr ʿīn for those for whom it is written, and reunion with my believing spouse (52:21)
• Reunion with prophets, Companions, scholars I learned from but never met
• A dwelling I never have to leave — khālidīna fīhā
• The pleasure of never being told no — lakum fīhā mā tashtahī anfusukum (41:31)
• The pleasure of no fatigue, no sorrow, no fear — lā khawfun ʿalayhim wa lā hum yaḥzanūn
• The pleasure of seeing my parents young, healthy, in their best form — and seeing them pleased with me

9.9 — Looking at the Face of Allāh — the Greatest Reward

This is the greatest reward of Jannah. The Prophet ﷺ said the people of Jannah will be given everything, and then Allāh will say: "Shall I increase you?" And He will lift the veil and they will look upon His Face — and they will say: "You have given us what You have given no one else." (Muslim 181)

9.10 — Protection from Hellfire

Repeat for yourself and each named relative in sequence.

اللَّهُمَّ أَجِرْنِي مِنَ النَّارِ. (×7 after Fajr, ×7 after Maghrib)

Allāhumma ajirnī mina-n-nār.

O Allāh, free me from the Fire.

"Whoever asks Allāh for Paradise seven times, Paradise says: O Allāh, admit him to me. And whoever seeks refuge in Allāh from the Fire seven times, the Fire says: O Allāh, save him from me." — Ibn al-Sunnī, similar to Tirmidhī 2572.

O Allāh:

• Free me from the Fire — entirely
• Free [father], [mother] from the Fire
• Free [wife] from the Fire
• Free [every named relative — sisters, BILs, nephews, nieces, in-laws, uncles, aunts, cousins] from the Fire
• Free [your Hajj companions] from the Fire
• Free the deceased among us from the punishment of the grave and the Fire
• Free the ummah from the Fire — let the Day of ʿArafah be the day You boast about us to the angels: "Look at My slaves — disheveled, dusty, come from every distant pass — they ask for My mercy though they have not seen My punishment; how would they ask if they saw it? Bear witness, My angels, that I have forgiven them" (Aḥmad 7089, similar ṣaḥīḥ)

9.11 — Protection from the Dajjāl

Recite the last ten āyāt of Sūrat al-Kahf (18:101–110) — protection from the Dajjāl (Muslim 809).

Plus:

The Prophet ﷺ commanded that this be sought in every tashahhud (Muslim 588).

O Allāh:

• If the Dajjāl appears in my lifetime — protect me. Let me be among those You preserve until Allāh sends ʿĪsā ibn Maryam ﷺ to kill him at Bāb Ludd.
• If I die before — protect me from his lesser fitnah in any form: the fitnah of fame, of wealth, of being told I am special when I am not, of being shown a miracle that has no Lord behind it.

9.12 — Protection from the Trials of Life and Death, Hidden and Apparent

9.13 — The Standing Under the ʿArsh

"Seven will Allāh shade on the Day there is no shade but His Shade ..." (Bukhārī 660). Ask to be of each:

O Allāh, make me of:

• A just leader — in whatever responsibility I am given, even over my own household
• A youth who grew up in worship of Allāh — give me the reward of the youth, retroactively, if I was not one
• A man whose heart is attached to the masjid
• Two who loved each other for the sake of Allāh — alive and at death
• A man who refuses temptation — "I fear Allāh"
• A man who gives ṣadaqah secretly — even his left hand does not know what his right gave
• A man who remembers Allāh alone and his eyes flow with tears

≈ 30 minutes — say toward the late afternoon, as Maghrib approaches

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The Mabrūr Hajj has no reward except Paradise." (Bukhārī 1773, Muslim 1349). Ask Allāh to make yours Mabrūr.

10.1 — Hajj Mabrūr — the great asking

10.2 — Returning Like a Newborn

"Whoever performs Hajj for the sake of Allāh, and does not engage in obscenity or sin, returns like the day his mother gave birth to him." — Bukhārī 1521, Muslim 1350.

10.3 — Rabbanā taqabbal minnā

The du'ā' of Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl at the very Ka'bah you came to. Repeat for:

• This Hajj
• Every ṭawāf you made and will make
• Every saʿy
• Every standing at ʿArafah, every night at Muzdalifah, every ramy at Minā
• Every du'ā' made in the Ḥaramayn
• The four of you in your group, by name

10.4 — That This Be the Day You Free Me from the Fire

"There is no day on which Allāh frees more people from the Fire than the Day of ʿArafah, and He draws near, and then boasts to the angels about them, saying: What do these people want?" — Muslim 1348.

10.5 — Closing Du'ā' Before Leaving ʿArafah for Muzdalifah

When the sun begins to set, before you leave for Muzdalifah, raise your hands one final time. Make this your du'ā' — the most important one of your life, in your own words. But you may use this:

≈ 30 minutes

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

11.1 — Closing Ṣalawāt — abundant

Al-Ṣalāt al-Fātiḥ (a long ṣalawāt loved by the muḥaqqiqūn):

11.2 — Closing Ḥamd

11.3 — Closing Tawassul through al-Asmā' al-Ḥusnā

11.4 — The Sealing Du'ā' — three verses from the end of al-Ṣāffāt

ʿAlī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) said: "Whoever wishes that his deeds be weighed in the fullest measure, let him seal his gathering with these three verses."

Final salām on the Prophet ﷺ:

↻ Return to §1.5 — the Best Duʿā of ʿArafah · repeat three times before continuing

Who must do Hajj, and what must be true about you before you leave

"And [due] to Allāh from the people is a pilgrimage to the House — for whoever is able to find thereto a way." — Qur'ān Āl ʿImrān 3:97

1.1 The five preconditions of obligation (shurūṭ al-wujūb)

Hajj becomes a personal obligation when all five of these are met:

1. Islām — you are Muslim.
2. ʿAql — you are sane (mentally competent).
3. Bulūgh — you are an adult (have reached puberty). A child's Hajj is valid but does not discharge the lifetime obligation; he must do it again as an adult.
4. Ḥurriyyah — you are free (not a slave).
5. Istiṭāʿah — you have the physical and financial capability to do it.

If any one of these is missing, Hajj is not yet a debt on your neck. If all five are met, do not delay — "Whoever intends to perform Hajj, let him hasten" (Abū Dāwūd 1732). Delaying without ʿudhr is a sin in itself.

1.2 Istiṭāʿah — the capability test, in detail

Financial capability means:

• You have enough money for the journey without harming dependants — i.e., your family's food, housing, debts, and reasonable expenses for your absence are covered.
• The money is ḥalāl. The Prophet ﷺ rejected a man who had travelled to Hajj on ḥarām income: "Your Lord is good and accepts only the good. He commanded the believers what He commanded the messengers… So how could his duʿā be answered when his food, drink, clothing, and nourishment are ḥarām?" (Muslim 1015). Doubtful income (riba, gambling, fraud) must be cleansed via tawbah and, where possible, restitution before relying on it for Hajj.
• You have set aside what your debtors and dependants have a right to. Hajj does not erase debts you can still pay.

Physical capability means:

• You can travel and perform the rites — walking Tawāf and Saʿy, standing at ʿArafah, riding to and from Minā/Muzdalifah/Arafāt, stoning the Jamarāt.
• If you are physically able but financially capable to pay someone, you must perform it yourself. If you are physically incapable but financially capable, you must delegate (Hajj al-badal) — pay a trustworthy Muslim who has already done his own Hajj to do it on your behalf.

The Prophet ﷺ was asked by a man whose father was too old to ride: "Do Hajj on his behalf, and ʿUmrah." — Tirmidhī 930.

1.3 Mahram requirement for women

A woman travelling for Hajj must be accompanied by a maḥram — husband or a permanent male relative she cannot marry (father, brother, son, paternal/maternal uncle, father-in-law, etc.).

• This is the position of the Ḥanafī and Ḥanbalī schools, based on: "A woman must not travel except with a maḥram" (Bukhārī 1862, Muslim 1341).
• The Shāfiʿī and Mālikī schools allow a woman to travel for Hajj in the company of a group of trustworthy women, even without a maḥram — provided the journey is safe.
• Practical default: if you have a maḥram, take him. If you cannot, follow the position of a scholar you trust and travel in a safe organised group.

1.4 Settling rights with people (ḥuqūq al-ʿibād)

Before you leave:

• Pay your debts — every loan, every IOU, every unpaid wage. "The first thing judged between people on the Day of Resurrection is blood; the first thing the slave is held to account for among his actions is prayer; the first matter in financial dealings the slave is asked about is the trust." (Ibn Mājah 2410, Tirmidhī 1316).
• Return what is borrowed — books, tools, anything physical.
• Ask forgiveness from anyone you have wronged — by tongue, by hand, by withholding their right. "Whoever has wronged his brother in honour or anything else, let him seek his pardon from him today, before the day comes when there is no dīnār and no dirham…" (Bukhārī 6534).
• Reconcile with anyone you are estranged from — at minimum, reach out. If they refuse, your duty is fulfilled. "It is not permissible for a Muslim to abandon his brother for more than three nights…" (Bukhārī 6077).

1.5 Spiritual pre-departure

• Tawbah naṣūḥ — a sincere repentance from every sin you can remember. Itemise if it helps; pour your heart out.
• Make a waṣiyyah — a written will, even short, so your family is not burdened if you do not return. "It is not befitting for a Muslim who has something to bequeath to sleep two nights without his will written by him." (Bukhārī 2738, Muslim 1627).
• Make arrangements for those who depend on you — finances, schooling of children, parents' care. Leaving them in disarray is not Sunnah of travel.
• Give ṣadaqah — even small. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged ṣadaqah before travel. It is a means of safety on the road (al-Bayhaqī).
• Choose righteous companions for the journey — "A man is upon the religion of his close friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends" (Tirmidhī 2378).
• Refresh your niyyah the day you leave: "O Allāh, I intend Hajj for Your Face alone, seeking Your acceptance. Make it easy for me, accept it from me, and do not let it be a Hajj of show or fame."

The hidden act on which every visible act stands

"Innamā-l-aʿmālu bi-n-niyyāt, wa innamā li-kulli imri'in mā nawā." — "Actions are by intentions, and every person will have what he intended." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1, Muslim 1907 — the first hadīth of Imām al-Bukhārī's Ṣaḥīḥ, deliberately.

2.1 Where niyyah lives

• In the heart — a present, conscious resolve to do the act for Allāh alone, of the specific kind required (e.g., "Hajj Tamattuʿ", not just "worship").
• Verbalising the niyyah aloud is not Sunnah for most acts — none of the four schools' Imams articulated it for wudhū or ṣalāh (it is sometimes confused with the Talbiyah after iḥrām, which is aloud).
• Niyyah for Talbiyah at the miqāt is a special case: you say aloud what kind of pilgrimage you intend, e.g., "Labbayka Allāhumma ʿUmratan mutamattiʿan bihā ila-l-Ḥajj". This is the audible expression of niyyah for the rites.

2.2 Three conditions for a valid niyyah

1. Ikhlāṣ — sincerity. For Allāh alone, not for status, photos, or family pressure. "Verily Allāh does not look at your forms or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Muslim 2564).
2. Mutābaʿah — that the act follows the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in form. "Whoever does an act not in accordance with our matter, it is rejected." (Muslim 1718).
3. Timing — the niyyah is made before or at the start of the act, not after. Niyyah for ṣalāh at the takbīrah, for wudhū at the first wash, for Hajj at the iḥrām.

2.3 The silent danger — riyā' (showing off)

• Lesser shirk, the Prophet ﷺ said: "What I fear most for you is the lesser shirk." — "What is the lesser shirk, O Messenger of Allāh?" — "Riyā'." (Aḥmad 23630, ṣaḥīḥ).
• Hajj is a magnet for riyā' — photos at the Kaʿbah, "I made Hajj" announcements, comparing tents and packages.
• Guard the heart: ask Allāh repeatedly for ikhlāṣ. "Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika an ushrika bika wa anā aʿlam, wa astaghfiruka limā lā aʿlam" (Aḥmad 19606) — "O Allāh, I take refuge in You from associating anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly."

The bedrock — without ṭahārah, no salah, no Tawāf, and on those two the Hajj turns

"The key to ṣalāh is purification." — Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3, ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ — narrated by ʿAlī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu).

3.1 The two states of impurity

You can be in one of three states regarding ritual purity:

Plus a fourth circumstance:

3.2 Najāsah — physical impurity

Distinct from ḥadath (which is on the body's ritual state), najāsah is a substance that, if present on body/clothes/place, prevents valid prayer or Tawāf even with full wudhū.

Universally agreed najis substances:

• Urine — human and most animals
• Stool — human and most animals
• Blood that flows (i.e., not a trace)
• Semen — Shāfiʿīs consider it ṭāhir, the majority najis; easiest practice: wash it out before ṣalāh in all cases
• Pork and all its parts
• Dog saliva — "When a dog drinks from one of your vessels, let him wash it seven times, the first of them with earth" (Muslim 279)
• Alcohol (the majority)
• Maytah — animal that died without proper slaughter (except fish and locust, which are pure)
• Pus, vomit, menstrual blood

How to remove najāsah:

• Liquid najāsah on clothes/body: wash with water until no trace remains — colour, smell, taste. If colour remains very faint after thorough washing, it is excused (Bukhārī 227).
• Solid najāsah (e.g., dried stool): scrape off, then wash.
• Najāsah on a hard surface (mosque floor): a bucket of water over it, then dry; the area is then pure (Bukhārī 220 — the Bedouin who urinated in the mosque).
• Dog saliva on a vessel: wash 7 times, one of them with earth/soil.

A practical rule for Hajj: when in doubt about a stain — wash. The Tawāf has narrow tolerance for najāsah, and you may not be able to re-purify mid-rite easily.

3.3 Istinjā' — purification after using the bathroom

Etiquette of relieving oneself:

1. Say the du'ā before entering the bathroom (use only what your situation allows — many toilets in the Ḥaram are not "fully" private but the du'ā still applies): • Arabic: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْخُبْثِ وَالْخَبَائِثِ • Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika mina-l-khubthi wa-l-khabā'ith. — "O Allāh, I seek refuge in You from male and female evil spirits." (Bukhārī 142, Muslim 375).
2. Enter with the left foot, exit with the right.
3. Do not face or back the Qiblah while relieving yourself (Bukhārī 144). In modern enclosed bathrooms with walls, the prohibition is relaxed for the majority.
4. Do not speak unless necessary.
5. Sit, do not stand, when possible — the Sunnah default, though the Prophet ﷺ urinated standing once for a specific reason (Bukhārī 224).
6. Use the left hand for cleaning. The right hand stays for clean things and food.
7. Clean with water (istinjā' bi-l-mā') — Sunnah, preferred. "Allāh praises the people of Qubā: among them are men who love to purify themselves — they used water after stool." (Tirmidhī 3100).
8. Stones/tissue are also valid if water is not available — odd number, at least three (Bukhārī 156). In Saudi Hajj bathrooms, water is always available — use the hose or the cup; tissue alone is not Sunnah-preferred.
9. Exit with the right foot and say: • غُفْرَانَكَ • Ghufrānak. — "Your forgiveness, [O Allāh]" (Tirmidhī 7).

3.4 Wudhū — the Prophet's ﷺ method, step by step

"None of you make wudhū and do it well, then say: I bear witness that there is no god but Allāh, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His slave and Messenger — except that the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, he enters from whichever one he wishes." — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 234.

The canonical description is the hadīth of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) — Bukhārī 159, Muslim 226. ʿUthmān called for water, performed wudhū exactly as the Prophet ﷺ did, and said: "Whoever performs wudhū as this wudhū of mine, then prays two rakʿahs in which he does not address himself with anything else, his past sins are forgiven."

The 10 steps

Step 1 — Niyyah (in the heart): I intend wudhū to lift ḥadath and to make ṣalāh / Tawāf permissible, for the sake of Allāh.

Step 2 — Tasmiyah — say:

Step 3 — Wash the hands (up to and including the wrists) three times, working between the fingers.

Step 4 — Rinse the mouth and nose — three times each. Take water into the right hand, sip half into the mouth and swirl, then sniff the rest into the nose, then blow out using the left hand. The Prophet ﷺ did this in a single scoop (Bukhārī 191).

• Madmadah — swirling water inside the mouth.
• Istinshāq — drawing water up the nose.
• Istinthār — blowing it back out.
• If you are NOT in iḥrām: be vigorous in istinshāq. "Be vigorous in istinshāq, unless you are fasting" (Tirmidhī 788) — and likewise unless in iḥrām, since water inhaled forcefully may carry the scent of soap.

Step 5 — Wash the face — three times. The boundary of the face:

• Horizontally: from one ear to the other.
• Vertically: from the hairline (normal) to the bottom of the chin.
• Men with thick beards: run wet fingers through the beard (takhlīl — Tirmidhī 31, ṣaḥīḥ).

Step 6 — Wash the right arm to the elbow, three times, then the left arm, three times. Include the elbow, not just up to it. "They will come on the Day of Resurrection with bright limbs, the marks of wudhū…" (Bukhārī 136, Muslim 246). Run the fingers between each other (takhlīl).

Step 7 — Wipe the head once (masḥ ar-ra's):

• Wet both hands. Start with both hands at the front hairline, run them back to the nape of the neck, then forward again to the front. One pass total (Bukhārī 185).
• Some pilgrims wipe only the top of the head — this contradicts the actual hadīth. The Prophet's ﷺ method covered the whole head, front to back to front.
• Wipe the ears with the same water (no fresh water needed) — index fingers inside, thumbs outside. "The ears are part of the head" (Tirmidhī 37, ḥasan).

Step 8 — Wash the right foot, including the ankle, three times, then the left foot. Run the fingers between the toes (takhlīl — Tirmidhī 38, ṣaḥīḥ). "Woe to the heels from the Fire" (Bukhārī 165) — make sure water reaches the back of the heels, the cracks, the spaces between toes; this is where pilgrims most often miss.

Step 9 — Closing du'ā — look toward the sky and say:

Step 10 — Pray 2 raka'at if circumstances allow — the "wudhū prayer." "Whoever performs wudhū as this wudhū of mine, then prays two raka'at in which he does not address himself with anything else — his past sins are forgiven." (Bukhārī 6433, Muslim 226).

What nullifies wudhū

Agreed on (across all schools):

1. Anything from the two private passages — urine, stool, gas, semen, prostatic fluid (madhī).
2. Deep sleep (lying down or leaning to sleep, where consciousness is fully lost).
3. Loss of consciousness — fainting, intoxication, anaesthesia.
4. Apostasy (for the apostate).
5. Direct ejaculation (also requires ghusl).

Differed on (know your default):

• Touching the private parts directly with the inside of the palm — Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī: nullifies. Ḥanafī: does not. Safer practice for Hajj: re-do wudhū.
• Touching a non-maḥram of the opposite gender — Shāfiʿī: nullifies (any skin contact). Ḥanafī: does not. Mālikī/Ḥanbalī: with desire only. In the Tawāf crowd, this is unavoidable; the Shāfiʿī position is that contact through clothing does not nullify, and inadvertent contact is excused.
• Eating camel meat — Ḥanbalī (and based on Muslim 360): nullifies. Other schools: does not. Easiest in Hajj: if you've eaten camel and are about to pray or do Tawāf, redo wudhū.
• Bleeding from a wound, vomiting — Ḥanafī: nullifies. Others: does not.

Practical Hajj wudhū tips

• Carry tissues: bathrooms during peak Hajj may have water shortages.
• Watch your heels and between toes — these are most often missed.
• Wudhū before leaving the hotel for Tawāf — the courtyards are often packed; finding a quiet bathroom is hard.
• Khuff (leather socks): if you have your wudhū on, then put on leather/heavy cotton socks, you may wipe over them for 24 hours as a resident, 3 days as a traveller (Muslim 276). Easier in Minā where shoes come on and off many times.
• If you doubt whether you broke wudhū — do not abandon ṣalāh on doubt: "Let him not leave until he hears a sound or smells an odour" (Bukhārī 137). Certainty does not yield to doubt.

3.5 Ghusl — full ritual bath

When ghusl is wājib (obligatory)

1. Janābah — sexual intercourse OR ejaculation by any cause (wet dream, etc.).
2. End of ḥayḍ — menstruation.
3. End of nifās — post-natal bleeding.
4. Death — the body is given ghusl by others.

When ghusl is mustaḥabb (recommended Sunnah)

• Friday — before Jumuʿah. "The ghusl of Jumuʿah is a duty upon every adult male" (Bukhārī 879).
• Before entering iḥrām — narrated for the Prophet ﷺ and his wife at the miqāt (Muslim 1184). Do not skip this.
• Before entering Makkah — for Tawāf al-Qudūm and ʿUmrah.
• On Yawm ʿArafah — before going out to the standing.
• Before the two ʿEids.
• After ghusl of the deceased — recommended for those who wash the dead.
• After conversion to Islām.

The Prophet's ﷺ method (from ʿĀ'ishah, raḍiyallāhu ʿanhā)

"When the Prophet ﷺ made ghusl from janābah, he started by washing his hands. Then he poured water from his right hand onto his left and washed his private parts. Then he performed wudhū as for ṣalāh. Then he took water and ran his fingers through the roots of his hair. Then he poured water over his head three handfuls. Then he poured water over the rest of his body. Then he washed his feet." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 248, Muslim 316.

Step by step (the full Sunnah ghusl)

1. Niyyah in the heart — for ghusl, to lift major ḥadath.
2. Bismillāh.
3. Wash both hands three times.
4. Wash the private parts with the left hand. Clean any residue (semen, blood, etc.) thoroughly.
5. Wash the hands again with soap.
6. Perform a full wudhū — exactly as in §3.4. You may delay washing the feet to the very end (Sunnah option, Bukhārī 257).
7. Pour water on the head three times — running fingers through the scalp so water reaches every root. Women with tight braids are NOT required to undo them for janābah ghusl, only for ḥayḍ/nifās ghusl (Muslim 330).
8. Pour water over the right side of the body, then the left.
9. Wash the rest of the body, rubbing to ensure water reaches every part — under the arms, between the thighs, navel, behind ears.
10. Wash the feet last if you delayed them from step 6.

The minimum valid ghusl (when time is short)

• Niyyah + water reaching every part of the body and hair. Even if the Sunnah steps are skipped, the ghusl is valid. The wudhū is included automatically (Bukhārī 248). But the Sunnah method is heavily preferred — and at Hajj, where time at home is the last private space you'll have for two weeks, take the Sunnah.

Common ghusl mistakes

• Not rinsing the mouth and nose — these are required in ghusl too (since they are part of wudhū). Skipping invalidates the wudhū within the ghusl.
• Hair not fully wet to scalp — women with thick or oiled hair must ensure water reaches the roots.
• Doubt whether ghusl was complete — re-do; janābah is too consequential to leave to doubt.
• Forgetting between marital relations and pre-dawn: in Hajj, marital relations are prohibited from iḥrām to first taḥallul on 10 Dhul Ḥijjah. If iḥrām is not yet entered (e.g., before leaving Madīnah), and you've had relations, ghusl is required before iḥrām.

3.6 Ḥayḍ and Nifās — for women specifically

Ḥayḍ (menstruation)

• Minimum duration: 24 hours (a day and a night); maximum: 15 days — Ḥanafī. Mālikī: no fixed min/max; observed bleeding is ḥayḍ. Practical: trust your usual cycle.
• Acts forbidden during ḥayḍ:
• Ṣalāh — and it is not made up after.
• Ṣawm — fasting; must be made up after Ramaḍān.
• Touching the muṣḥaf (physical Qur'ān). Reciting from memory: Mālikī allows, Ḥanafī/Shāfiʿī/Ḥanbalī generally not. Safe practice: refrain from recitation, but engage in dhikr, du'ā, listening to Qur'ān, reading translation/commentary.
• Tawāf — invalidates Hajj if Tawāf al-Ifāḍah is performed in ḥayḍ.
• Marital intercourse — fully prohibited.
• Entering the masjid for sitting (Shāfiʿī/Ḥanbalī); passing through is allowed for some.

• Hajj rites during ḥayḍ: Almost all of Hajj continues — Talbiyah, Wuqūf at ʿArafah, Muzdalifah, Ramy al-Jamarāt, even Saʿy (if already made wudhū before menstruating and the Saʿy is being done after a valid Tawāf, or for a Qārinah before Tawāf — per the strongest opinion). Only Tawāf is postponed until ṭuhr. The famous ʿĀ'ishah hadīth: she menstruated during her Hajj; the Prophet ﷺ said "Do everything the pilgrim does — except do not perform Tawāf around the House until you are pure." (Bukhārī 305, Muslim 1211).

Nifās (post-natal bleeding)

• Maximum duration: 40 days (majority). After 40 days, even if bleeding continues, the woman makes ghusl and resumes ṣalāh; the continued bleeding is treated as istiḥāḍah.
• Rulings same as ḥayḍ.

Istiḥāḍah (irregular non-menstrual bleeding)

• The woman is NOT considered ritually impure. She performs wudhū for each ṣalāh and prays. Tawāf is permitted.
• "The blood of ḥayḍ is well-known — it is black, recognised. When you see it, leave ṣalāh. When the other is there, make wudhū and pray, for it is only a vein." (Abū Dāwūd 286, ṣaḥīḥ).

3.7 Tayammum — dry purification

"And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands. Allāh does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you…" — Qur'ān al-Mā'idah 5:6.

When tayammum is valid

1. No water is available within a reasonable distance.
2. Sickness that prevents water use (e.g., wound that cannot get wet, severe cold and no warm water).
3. Water exists but is needed for drinking by you, others, or animals — insufficient for both wudhū and survival.
4. Fear of harm or delay missing the ṣalāh time entirely.

How to perform tayammum

1. Niyyah — for tayammum to lift ḥadath, to make ṣalāh/Tawāf permissible.
2. Bismillāh.
3. Strike both palms once on clean earth, sand, or dust — even a dusty wall, a stone, or fine sand. The Sunnah: "Strike the earth once, wipe with one stroke the face and the hands." (Bukhārī 347).
4. Blow off excess dust lightly.
5. Wipe the face once — palms covering the face from forehead to chin.
6. Wipe the back of the right hand with the left palm up to the wrist, then the back of the left hand with the right palm. Some scholars: up to the elbows; the stronger position from ʿAmmār's hadīth is up to the wrists (Bukhārī 347).

When tayammum is broken

• The moment water becomes available for use, even before you finish the ṣalāh. If during a ṣalāh, the strongest opinion: complete the ṣalāh on tayammum, then redo wudhū for the next.
• Anything that breaks wudhū also breaks tayammum.

Practical Hajj tayammum

• You will almost never need it. The Ḥaram is full of water taps, Zamzam, and the toilets are everywhere. Tayammum becomes relevant if:
• You are stuck in a Tawāf crowd, wudhū has broken, you cannot exit easily, and a ṣalāh time is starting. Some scholars allow continuing the Tawāf with tayammum done from a wall or pillar (controversial).
• You are at Minā/Muzdalifah at night and no water station is near.
• Always carry a small water bottle for wudhū — the simpler solution.

Two raka'ah after every Tawāf, five fard daily — get the form right, the rest follows

"The first thing the slave is held to account for on the Day of Resurrection from his actions is ṣalāh. If it is sound, the rest of his deeds are sound; if it is corrupt, the rest are corrupt." — Sunan al-Tirmidhī 413, ṣaḥīḥ.

4.1 The conditions before ṣalāh (shurūṭ)

Before you can validly pray:

1. Islām — non-Muslims cannot pray.
2. ʿAql — sound mind.
3. Bulūgh — mature (a child's ṣalāh is rewarded but not obligatory).
4. Ṭahārah — wudhū from minor ḥadath, ghusl from major ḥadath, free of najāsah on body/clothes/place.
5. Sitr al-ʿawrah — covering of nakedness (see §4.4).
6. Istiqbāl al-qiblah — facing the Kaʿbah.
7. Dukhūl al-waqt — entering the time of the ṣalāh.
8. Niyyah — intention.

If any one is missing, the ṣalāh is invalid.

4.2 The Five Prayer Times

The Prophet ﷺ taught the time-boundaries via Jibrīl (Tirmidhī 149, ṣaḥīḥ):

At Ḥajj specifically: - On 9 Dhul Ḥijjah at ʿArafah: pray Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr combined and shortened (jamʿ taqdīm qaṣr) — one adhān, two iqāmahs, 2 + 2 raka'ah. Do NOT pray Maghrib at ʿArafah — defer it to Muzdalifah. - At Muzdalifah: pray Maghrib and ʿIshā combined (jamʿ ta'khīr) — one adhān, two iqāmahs, 3 + 2 raka'ah. ʿIshā is shortened to 2. - At Minā during Tashrīq days: each prayer shortened to 2 raka'ah (qaṣr); not combined (Bukhārī 1656).

4.3 Qiblah

• Inside Makkah — face the Kaʿbah directly. Anyone inside the Masjid al-Ḥarām who is misaligned has invalidated the ṣalāh.
• Outside Makkah — face the direction of Makkah. Compass deviation up to a reasonable angle is forgiven (Bukhārī 399).
• In transit, on a vehicle or plane: face the Qiblah for the takbīr al-iḥrām, then continue in the direction of travel — for nāfilah only. For fard, alight if possible; if not (locked airplane), face the Qiblah as best you can.

4.4 ʿAwrah — what must be covered

Men

• Minimum: from navel to knee (inclusive). The knees themselves: majority say covered; Ḥanafī says exposed knee invalidates.
• Better: also cover shoulders — "None of you should pray in a single garment with no part of it on his shoulders" (Bukhārī 359). At Hajj in iḥrām: the iḥrām ridā' (top sheet) is technically on the shoulders, though the right shoulder is exposed during Tawāf al-Qudūm (idhtibāʿ) — which is set aside during ṣalāh.

Women

• Entire body except the face and hands (the position of the four schools).
• Feet: Ḥanafī allows uncovered feet; the other three require covering.
• Clothing must be: opaque (no see-through), loose (not contour-revealing), and not so attention-grabbing as to be ostentatious.
• Ḥijāb in salāh: required during ṣalāh, even alone at home. The angels of witness are with you.

4.5 Niyyah for ṣalāh

• In the heart, before the takbīr al-iḥrām.
• Specific: the name (Ẓuhr, ʿAṣr, etc.), whether fard / sunnah / nāfilah / qaḍā', and the number of raka'ah implicit.
• Not articulated aloud — "None of the four imāms verbalised it; it is an innovation" (Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 22/231).

4.6 The Pillars (Arkān) of Ṣalāh

These are the non-negotiable elements. Forgetting one invalidates the rakʿah or salah.

1. Standing (qiyām) — for fard, if able. Sitting only with valid excuse.
2. Takbīr al-iḥrām — saying Allāhu akbar to enter the ṣalāh, with the niyyah simultaneous.
3. Recitation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah — in every rakʿah (Bukhārī 756: "There is no ṣalāh for one who does not recite al-Fātiḥah").
4. Rukūʿ — bowing with back parallel to the floor, hands on knees.
5. Iʿtidāl — rising fully erect from rukūʿ. "He did not bow again until he stood fully erect" (Bukhārī 828).
6. Two sajdahs — full prostration. Seven points must touch the ground: forehead-nose, two palms, two knees, two feet (toes facing Qiblah).
7. Jalsah between the two sajdahs — sitting briefly.
8. Tashahhud akhīr — the final tashahhud, sitting.
9. Ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ in the final tashahhud (Shāfiʿī ruling; others differ).
10. Tawajjuh ṣalām — the final as-salāmu ʿalaykum to right and (Sunnah: also left).
11. Tartīb — performing the above in order.
12. Ṭuma'nīnah — tranquility, a pause in each posture. The Prophet ﷺ to the "rusher": "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed" — three times — "… then bow until you are at ease in your rukūʿ, then rise until you are at ease standing, then prostrate…" (Bukhārī 757, Muslim 397).

4.7 Wajibāt and Sunan (the supporting acts)

Wājib (if forgotten, sujūd al-sahw at the end fixes it):

• First tashahhud, sitting for it.
• Saying Allāhu akbar on each transition.
• Saying Samiʿa-llāhu liman ḥamidah / Rabbanā wa laka-l-ḥamd on rising from rukūʿ.
• Saying Subḥāna Rabbiya-l-ʿAẓīm in rukūʿ at least once, Subḥāna Rabbiya-l-Aʿlā in sujūd at least once.
• Recitation after al-Fātiḥah in the first two rakʿahs (for the imām and the lone pray-er — not the follower in jama'ah).

Sunan (recommended; missing them doesn't invalidate):

• Raising hands at the four points (takbīr, rukūʿ, rising from rukūʿ, after first tashahhud).
• Reciting the opening duʿā (al-Istiftāḥ) before al-Fātiḥah — full form in the callout below.
• Saying Āmīn after al-Fātiḥah.
• Looking at the sajdah place during qiyām.

4.8 What nullifies ṣalāh

• Speaking deliberately, even one word not part of ṣalāh.
• Eating or drinking deliberately, even a small amount.
• Excessive movement unrelated to ṣalāh (the threshold: three "large" movements per most schools).
• Losing wudhū (gas, etc.).
• Loss of tahara of body, clothes, or place mid-ṣalāh (e.g., bleeding starts).
• Exposing the ʿawrah — even briefly.
• Turning away from the Qiblah without ʿudhr.
• Laughing audibly — Ḥanafī also says this requires renewing wudhū.
• Apostasy.

4.9 Sujūd al-Sahw — prostration of forgetfulness

If you forget a wājib (e.g., the first tashahhud), or do extra by mistake (e.g., an extra rakʿah), or have doubt about how many rakʿahs you prayed — perform two extra sajdahs before the final salām, then say salām.

"When one of you doubts in his ṣalāh and does not know how many he prayed, three or four — let him remove the doubt and build on what he is certain of, then make sujūd twice before the salām." — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 571.

4.10 The Hajj-specific scenarios

• Two rakʿah after Tawāf — behind Maqām Ibrāhīm if accessible (Sunnah, not wājib — Bukhārī 1614); otherwise anywhere in the Masjid al-Ḥarām. Recite:
• Rakʿah 1: al-Fātiḥah + Sūrat al-Kāfirūn (Q. 109)
• Rakʿah 2: al-Fātiḥah + Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (Q. 112)
• Source: Muslim 1218 (long hadīth of Jābir).
• Praying in iḥrām: avoid touching perfume or scented soaps before; cover the head is forbidden, so prostrate without anything between your forehead and the ground that's part of clothing.
• In the crowd, no clean spot to prostrate: prostrate where you can — the Sunnah doesn't require a prayer mat. Pre-Hajj, get used to praying on bare floors.

The state, the garment, the niyyah, and the nine prohibitions

Iḥrām is not the clothing — it is the state of consecration you enter. The clothing is the visible sign. The state itself is a niyyah + a binding intention + a Talbiyah, after which a list of nine ordinarily-permissible things become prohibited on you until you exit (taḥallul).

5.1 Before iḥrām (Sunnah — strongly emphasised)

The night before, or at home before flight, do all of the following — these are the established Sunnahs of preparation (Muslim 1184, Bukhārī 270):

1. Trim nails — fingers and toes. They cannot be cut once in iḥrām.
2. Trim/shave the mustache, armpit hair, pubic hair. "Five are from the fiṭrah…" (Bukhārī 5891). These cannot be removed for the duration of iḥrām (which for Ḥajj Tamattuʿ is ~3 days at minimum — long enough for hair to grow uncomfortably).
3. Bathe / ghusl — full Sunnah ghusl (§3.5). "The Prophet ﷺ took off his stitched garments and bathed before he assumed iḥrām" (Tirmidhī 830, ḥasan).
4. Apply perfume to the body — head, neck, beard — but NOT to the iḥrām cloth itself. ʿĀ'ishah: "I used to perfume the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ with the best perfume I could find, before he entered iḥrām…" (Bukhārī 270, Muslim 1189). The scent on the body may persist; perfume residue on the iḥrām garments may not be worn into iḥrām.
5. Don the iḥrām garments: • Men: two unstitched white cloths — an izār (lower wrap, navel to mid-shin) and a ridā' (upper wrap, over both shoulders or one). The garments must be clean, white preferred, with no stitching that forms a shape around any body part. • Women: any modest, loose clothing — usually a long abāya or jilbāb + ḥijāb. No niqāb, no gloves in iḥrām (Bukhārī 1838). Hand and face are NOT to be covered with sewn-shape coverings, though a loose fabric can fall over the face when men pass by.
6. Pray 2 rakʿah if you are at the miqāt or have time before leaving (the famous "ṣalāt al-iḥrām"; some scholars hold it is not specifically a separate ṣalāh, but you simply make iḥrām after a fard salah).

5.2 The Mīqāts — boundary points

Five boundaries fixed by the Prophet ﷺ (Bukhārī 1524):

For air travellers coming from elsewhere: assume iḥrām before crossing the mīqāt-parallel in the air. Pilots typically announce: "We are crossing the mīqāt in 30 minutes." Be in iḥrām by then.

Pilgrims residing inside the mīqāts (e.g., Jeddah residents): assume iḥrām from your home (Bukhārī 1526).

For people in Makkah doing Hajj (after Tamattuʿ ʿUmrah): assume iḥrām from your residence in Makkah for the Hajj — on 8 Dhul Ḥijjah (Yawm al-Tarwiyah), after Fajr. This is the famous "second iḥrām" for Tamattuʿ pilgrims.

5.3 Niyyah — the type of pilgrimage

At the mīqāt (or before crossing the parallel), make the niyyah in the heart for the specific type of pilgrimage, then announce it aloud with the Talbiyah:

Tamattuʿ (the route you are doing — most common, recommended)

You arrive doing ʿUmrah, exit iḥrām after ʿUmrah, then re-enter iḥrām for Ḥajj on 8 Dhul Ḥijjah from Makkah.

• At the mīqāt (first iḥrām, for ʿUmrah):

• On 8 Dhul Ḥijjah from Makkah (second iḥrām, for Ḥajj):

Ifrād (Ḥajj only, no ʿUmrah on this trip)

Qirān (Ḥajj + ʿUmrah, combined in one iḥrām)

Conditional niyyah (in case of illness or obstacle)

A Sunnah for those worried they may not complete: at the mīqāt, after the type-niyyah, add:

This grants you a Sunnah dispensation: if you become medically unable to complete, you exit iḥrām without a sacrifice. — Bukhārī 5089, Muslim 1207.

5.4 The Talbiyah — the audible mark of iḥrām

Begin the Talbiyah immediately after the niyyah and continue saying it loudly (men) until:

• For Tamattuʿ ʿUmrah — until you begin Tawāf al-Qudūm at the Kaʿbah.
• For Ḥajj — until you begin Ramy al-Jamarat al-ʿAqaba on 10 Dhul Ḥijjah.

Women say it audibly to themselves, not loud enough to be heard by unrelated men.

لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ.

>

Labbayka Allāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna-l-ḥamda wa-n-niʿmata laka wa-l-mulk, lā sharīka lak.

>

"Here I am, O Allāh, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily, all praise, grace, and dominion are Yours. You have no partner." — Bukhārī 1549, Muslim 1184. Repeat continuously — in the bus, in the tent, walking, sitting. Raise the voice (men); lower it for ṣalāh and at moments of mass quiet.

5.5 The Nine Prohibitions of Iḥrām

From the moment you say the Talbiyah at the mīqāt until first taḥallul (10 Dhul Ḥijjah after Ramy al-ʿAqaba), the following are prohibited:

5.6 What is allowed in iḥrām (clarifications)

• Bathing — even washing your head/hair (Bukhārī 1840).
• Replacing the iḥrām cloths if soiled — wear new ones.
• Sitting under shade — vehicle roof, tent, umbrella (not touching the head).
• Wearing belt, watch, glasses, hearing aid — none of these violate iḥrām.
• Sandals that show the heel and top of the foot.
• Killing harmful animals — the five named by the Prophet ﷺ: snake, scorpion, biting dog, rat, crow that attacks.
• Looking at the Kaʿbah, reading Qur'ān, making du'ā, dhikr.
• Eating fish, slaughtered meat that was killed before your iḥrām, ḥalāl food in general.

5.7 Fidya — compensations for violations

The Qur'ān (al-Baqarah 2:196) sets the framework for inadvertent violations of certain prohibitions. The Prophet ﷺ explained for hair removal:

"Perhaps the lice are bothering you?" — "Yes, O Messenger of Allāh." — "Shave your head, and fast three days, or feed six poor people, or sacrifice a sheep." — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1816, Muslim 1201.

Standard "fidya al-adhā" (choose one) for: hair removal, nail cutting, wearing sewn clothes, perfume use, niqāb/glove (women), covering head (men) — done out of necessity OR by intentional violation:

1. Fast 3 days, OR
2. Feed 6 poor people — half a ṣāʿ each (~1.5 kg of staple food, e.g., rice), OR
3. Sacrifice a sheep in Makkah and distribute the meat to the poor.

Hunting — Q. 5:95 — the compensation is equivalent value of the animal slaughtered as a sacrifice, OR feeding poor people of equivalent value, OR fasting the equivalent days.

Intercourse before first taḥallul — invalidates the entire Ḥajj. The pilgrim must:

• Complete the rites anyway (the rites do not stop).
• Make up the Hajj in a future year.
• Sacrifice a camel (or other compensation per scholars).

Intercourse between first and second taḥallul — Hajj remains valid but the pilgrim sacrifices a sheep and the rest of the iḥrām breaches require compensation.

For accidents (someone bumps you, your scarf falls and exposes your head briefly, you forget and put on perfume): no fidya for inadvertent acts in most cases (Q. 2:286 — "Allāh does not burden a soul beyond its capacity").

Seven circuits, eight conditions, a thousand mistakes possible — get them all right

"Ṭawāf around the House is like ṣalāh — except that you may speak in it. So whoever speaks in it, let him not speak except in good." — Sunan al-Tirmidhī 960, ṣaḥīḥ — narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās.

Because the Prophet ﷺ called Ṭawāf "like ṣalāh," the conditions of ṣalāh apply to Ṭawāf — most importantly wudhū and covering ʿawrah.

6.1 The eight conditions for a valid Ṭawāf

1. Niyyah — in the heart, for the specific Ṭawāf (al-Qudūm / al-Ifāḍah / al-Wadāʿ / nāfilah).
2. Wudhū (ṭahārah from minor ḥadath). The four schools unanimously hold this. "The first thing the Prophet ﷺ did when he reached [Makkah] was perform wudhū, then Ṭawāf." (Bukhārī 1641, Muslim 1235). The Ḥanafī school technically calls wudhū wājib (not a shart in their terminology), meaning if you did Tawāf without wudhū, it counts but a dam (sacrifice) is required to rectify. The other three: Tawāf without wudhū is invalid and must be repeated. Practical default: never do Tawāf without wudhū.
3. Ghusl from major ḥadath — implied above; a person in janābah/menstruation cannot do Ṭawāf.
4. Body, clothes, and place free of najāsah.
5. Covering of ʿawrah — same rules as ṣalāh.
6. Inside the Masjid al-Ḥarām — including all floors (ground, mezzanine, roof). Ṭawāf done outside the Masjid is invalid.
7. Seven complete circuits — counted carefully.
8. The Kaʿbah on your left — counter-clockwise direction.

Two additional structural conditions

1. Begin at the Black Stone (or in line with it — the green light marker on the marble floor).
2. The Ḥijr Ismaʿīl (the semicircular wall north of the Kaʿbah) is part of the Kaʿbah — you MUST walk outside it, not cut through. "Were it not that your people are recently from disbelief, I would demolish the Kaʿbah and rebuild it on the foundation of Ibrāhīm — and I would include the Ḥijr in it." (Bukhārī 1583, Muslim 1333).

6.2 Ṭawāf step by step

Before entering the Masjid

1. Wudhū — fresh, complete. Doing a Tawāf with wudhū about to expire is risky.
2. Tahir clothing — check shoes/socks for stains before stepping into the Masjid.
3. For men in Tawāf al-Qudūm (the first Tawāf after iḥrām for ʿUmrah or for the Qārin/Mufrid): apply idtibāʿ — pass the ridā' under the right armpit so the right shoulder is exposed. Not for women. Not for subsequent Tawāfs like Ifāḍah and Wadāʿ.

Entering the Masjid

1. Step in with the right foot and say: • بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ، اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ. • Bismillāh, wa-ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Allāhumma-ftaḥ lī abwāba raḥmatik. • "In the name of Allāh, ṣalāh and salām be upon the Messenger of Allāh. O Allāh, open for me the doors of Your mercy." — Muslim 713.

At the Black Stone (first circuit start)

1. Approach the Black Stone.
2. Face it, raise your right hand (some schools both hands), and say: • بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُمَّ إِيمَانًا بِكَ وَتَصْدِيقًا بِكِتَابِكَ وَوَفَاءً بِعَهْدِكَ وَاتِّبَاعًا لِسُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ ﷺ. • Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar, Allāhumma īmānan bika wa taṣdīqan bi-kitābik wa wafā'an bi-ʿahdik wa-ttibāʿan li-sunnati nabiyyik ﷺ. • "In the name of Allāh, Allāh is greater. O Allāh, in faith in You, in attestation of Your Book, in fulfilment of Your covenant, and in following the Sunnah of Your Prophet ﷺ."
3. Touch and kiss the Black Stone if you can reach it without harming yourself or others. Do not push or shove. "You are only a stone; you neither harm nor benefit" — ʿUmar (Bukhārī 1597). If you cannot reach: face it, gesture with the right hand, and say Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar. Do not kiss the hand afterwards (not Sunnah, though some schools allow it).

Walking the circuit

1. Begin walking counter-clockwise — Kaʿbah on your left.
2. First three circuits of Tawāf al-Qudūm only: walk briskly with chest out and shoulders swung — raml (Bukhārī 1602, Muslim 1262). The remaining four are normal walk. Raml not in Tawāf al-Ifāḍah or al-Wadāʿ — only in the first Tawāf after entering Makkah.
3. At each pass of the Black Stone: gesture with the right hand (no kiss unless you can reach), say Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar. This counts the circuit.
4. At the Yamānī Corner (the corner before the Black Stone — south-west): touch it with the right hand if possible (Muslim 1267). Do NOT kiss it. Do NOT gesture if you cannot touch — gesture is only for the Black Stone.
5. Between the Yamānī Corner and the Black Stone, recite: • رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. • Rabbanā ātinā fi-d-dunyā ḥasanah, wa fi-l-ākhirati ḥasanah, wa qinā ʿadhāba-n-nār. • — Qur'ān 2:201, the most-said duʿā of the Prophet ﷺ (Bukhārī 6389). Established at this place in Sunan Abū Dāwūd 1892.
6. The rest of the circuit — your own duʿā in any language, dhikr, or silence. Do not recite specific memorised duʿās for each circuit — that is a later innovation (bidʿah) not from the Sunnah.

Completing the seven

1. After the 7th pass of the Black Stone (i.e., gesturing to it for the 7th time), you have completed Tawāf.
2. For men in Tawāf al-Qudūm: re-cover the right shoulder with the ridā'.

After Tawāf

1. Pray 2 rakʿah behind Maqām Ibrāhīm if you can reach. "And take from the Maqām of Ibrāhīm a place of prayer." (Q. 2:125). Recite Sūrat al-Kāfirūn (109) in the first rakʿah, Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (112) in the second (Muslim 1218).
2. If you cannot reach the Maqām due to crowds, pray anywhere in the Masjid al-Ḥarām — the entire Masjid is virtuous. "And the whole of Mina is a place of slaughter, and the whole of Makkah is a Masjid." (Muslim 1218).
3. Go to Zamzam and drink — face the Qiblah, drink three breaths, drink your fill. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for." (Ibn Mājah 3062, ṣaḥīḥ). Pour some on your head/body.
4. Return to the Black Stone one last time — face it, say Bismillāh, Allāhu akbar. (Sunnah, optional.)

6.3 Important conditions and clarifications

Continuity (muwālāh)

The seven circuits should be continuous. A short break for water, a small interruption — fine. A long break that would interrupt the rite — invalidates. Practical: do all seven in one stretch.

Doubt about count

If you doubt — "Did I do four or five circuits?" — build on certainty (Sahw rule from ṣalāh — Muslim 571 — applied here too): assume the lower number. Continue from there. Better to do an extra circuit than a missed one.

Wudhū breaks mid-Tawāf

• Leave immediately, redo wudhū, return.
• The four schools differ on whether to resume at the same circuit or start over:
• Mālikī/Ḥanbalī: resume.
• Shāfiʿī: if the gap is short, resume; if long, restart.
• Ḥanafī: resume, and pay a dam for the gap if you completed at least four circuits.
• Safest: if you've done ≥4 circuits, resume; if <4, start over.

Praying salah during the Tawāf

If the iqāmah for a fard salah is called during your Tawāf:

• Stop where you are, pray the fard with the jama'ah.
• After salam, resume from the circuit you were on — most scholars allow this without restarting.

Children with you

You may carry a child during your Tawāf — your Tawāf counts for you, not for the child. The child can be made to do Tawāf separately when older.

Tawaf in the upper floor

All floors of the Masjid al-Ḥarām are valid for Tawāf. The upper floors are less crowded and more accessible at peak times. The circuit is longer (a larger circle), but counts the same.

6.4 The three Tawāfs of Hajj

6.5 What invalidates Tawāf

• Doing fewer than 7 circuits.
• Going clockwise (Kaʿbah on your right).
• Cutting through the Ḥijr Ismaʿīl instead of going around it.
• Losing wudhū without redoing it before continuing.
• Major impurity discovered mid-Tawāf.
• Najāsah on body/clothes that you knew about but did not remove.

6.6 Common mistakes pilgrims make in Tawāf

• Pushing and shoving to touch the Black Stone — the touch is Sunnah, not obligatory; if you cannot reach, gesturing is the established Sunnah. Reaching the stone at the cost of harming another Muslim is a sin that outweighs the Sunnah you sought.
• Kissing the Yamānī Corner — not Sunnah. Only the Black Stone is kissed.
• Praying inside the Ḥijr Ismaʿīl during Tawāf — invalidates the circuit.
• Reciting specific group du'ās for each circuit — not Sunnah; the Salaf made personal du'ā in their own words.
• Stopping to take photos — interrupts the rite and exposes the muraqqaba (mindfulness) to riyā'.
• Tawāf without wudhū "because it's crowded" — invalid per most.
• Restarting from the wrong corner after a break — you must remember where you left off, OR restart entirely.

Seven trips between Ṣafā and Marwa — the legacy of Hājar (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhā)

"Verily, Ṣafā and Marwa are among the symbols of Allāh. So whoever makes Ḥajj or ʿUmrah to the House — there is no blame on him for going between them." — Qur'ān al-Baqarah 2:158.

"Saʿy is between Ṣafā and Marwa, in remembrance of Hājar's running to look for water for Ismaʿīl. Whoever does not do Saʿy, Allāh does not accept his Hajj or ʿUmrah." — Aḥmad 27367, narrated by Ḥabībah bint Abī Tijrāh.

7.1 Conditions for valid Saʿy

1. Niyyah — for the Saʿy of ʿUmrah / Ḥajj.
2. After a valid Tawāf — the majority hold that Saʿy must follow Tawāf. "Saʿy is only valid after Tawāf" (the established practice). For Tamattuʿ: Saʿy of ʿUmrah follows the Tawāf of ʿUmrah; Saʿy of Ḥajj follows Tawāf al-Ifāḍah on 10 Dhul Ḥijjah (or before, on 8th, per some — see §7.5).
3. Seven complete trips — Ṣafā to Marwa = 1, Marwa to Ṣafā = 1, ending at Marwa.
4. Within the Masʿā — the corridor between the two hills. The Saudi authorities have marked it well; the entire indoor sā'ī area is valid.
5. Continuity — preferred, but a break for ṣalāh or rest is allowed.

What is NOT a condition

• Wudhū — Saʿy does NOT require wudhū. "The pure and the menstruating woman may do Saʿy." (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī agreement.) You may do Saʿy without wudhū — but it is preferred to be in wudhū anyway for the dhikr and du'ā.
• Covering ʿawrah to ṣalāh-standard — modesty is required, but technically full ṣalāh-standard not required (still: cover normally).
• Stitched clothing — for men in iḥrām, the iḥrām is still on; for women, normal Hajj clothing.

7.2 Saʿy step by step

1. Approach Ṣafā — the hill is at the south-east end of the Masʿā corridor, nearest the Kaʿbah.
2. At the foot of Ṣafā, face the Kaʿbah, raise both hands, recite Q. 2:158: • إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ، فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا. • Innaṣ-Ṣafā wa-l-Marwata min shaʿā'iri-llāh, faman ḥajja-l-bayta awi-ʿtamara fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayhi an yaṭṭawwafa bihimā. • "I begin with what Allāh began with." — أَبْدَأُ بِمَا بَدَأَ اللَّهُ بِهِ — Abda'u bimā bada'a-llāhu bih. (Muslim 1218.)
3. Climb a few steps up Ṣafā until you can see the Kaʿbah (or the direction). Face it.
4. Raise both hands and say (×3, with personal duʿā in between): • اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ الْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ. • Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar. Lā ilāha illa-llāh waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-ḥamd, yuḥyī wa yumīt, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shay'in qadīr. Lā ilāha illa-llāh waḥdah, anjaza waʿdah, wa naṣara ʿabdah, wa hazama-l-aḥzāba waḥdah. • "Allāh is greatest, Allāh is greatest, Allāh is greatest. There is no god but Allāh alone, no partner with Him. To Him is the dominion and to Him is praise. He gives life and gives death. He is over all things able. There is no god but Allāh alone, He fulfilled His promise, helped His slave, and defeated the confederates alone." • Repeat the whole sequence three times, with personal duʿā in between each repetition. • — Muslim 1218.
5. Walk down Ṣafā toward Marwa. First trip = #1.
6. At the green light markers (two pillars, set well apart — they mark the area where Hājar ran) — men run/jog between the green markers. Women walk.
7. Continue to Marwa. Climb a few steps. Face Kaʿbah. Repeat the same du'ā (Allāhu akbar ×3, lā ilāha illa-llāh formula, personal du'ā in between, ×3 repetitions).
8. From Marwa back to Ṣafā = trip #2. Continue until you have done 7 trips total, ending at Marwa. • Ṣafā → Marwa (1) • Marwa → Ṣafā (2) • Ṣafā → Marwa (3) • Marwa → Ṣafā (4) • Ṣafā → Marwa (5) • Marwa → Ṣafā (6) • Ṣafā → Marwa (7) ← END

7.3 Etiquette during Saʿy

• Du'ā in your own language — pour out your heart. The Saʿy is a long, walking duʿā.
• Dhikr — Tahleel, Tasbeeh, Salawāt — continuously.
• No specific memorised du'ā per trip is established Sunnah. Don't fall for booklets that prescribe one.
• Stop and pray fard salah if iqāmah is called — resume from where you stopped after salam.

7.4 After Saʿy

For ʿUmrah (Tamattuʿ)

• Halq or Taqsīr — men: shave the entire head (ḥalq, preferred) or trim throughout (taqṣīr). The Prophet ﷺ said "O Allāh, have mercy on the shavers" — three times — "and on the trimmers" — once (Bukhārī 1727).
• Women: trim a fingertip-length from the ends of the hair (Abū Dāwūd 1985).
• You have exited iḥrām — all 9 prohibitions are now lifted.
• Resume normal life (within Makkah) until 8 Dhul Ḥijjah when iḥrām is renewed for Hajj.

For Hajj (after Tawāf al-Ifāḍah)

• The Saʿy of Hajj follows Tawāf al-Ifāḍah on 10 Dhul Ḥijjah (or the days after).
• After this Saʿy, no further Saʿy is required.

7.5 The "early Saʿy" option for Tamattuʿ pilgrims

A subtle point: in Tamattuʿ, you do Saʿy of ʿUmrah on arrival. Later, on 10 Dhul Ḥijjah after Tawāf al-Ifāḍah, you must do Saʿy of Hajj.

• The majority (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, and the strongest position in Ḥanafī): the Tamattuʿ pilgrim does TWO Saʿys — one for ʿUmrah, one for Hajj.
• The Mufrid and Qārin do ONE Saʿy total (which can be done after the Tawāf al-Qudūm on arrival, or after the Tawāf al-Ifāḍah).

Practical note: confirm with your group leader or scholar. The standard tour script for Tamattuʿ involves two Saʿys.

The day on which, if you miss it, your Hajj is invalid

"Hajj is ʿArafah. Whoever catches the night of Jamʿ [Muzdalifah] before Fajr breaks has caught the Hajj." — Sunan Abū Dāwūd 1949, Tirmidhī 889, ṣaḥīḥ.

8.1 The single rukn — being present in ʿArafah on 9 Dhul Ḥijjah

The standing (wuqūf) is the most important act of Hajj. The boundary of ʿArafah is marked; standing inside the boundary, even for a moment, between Ẓuhr time of 9 Dhul Ḥijjah and Fajr of 10 Dhul Ḥijjah, fulfills the rukn.

Missing the wuqūf entirely invalidates the Hajj — even if all other rites are performed. "Whoever does not catch ʿArafah before Fajr has missed the Hajj" (Tirmidhī 889).

8.2 Conditions for valid wuqūf

1. Being a Muslim, sane, in iḥrām for Hajj.
2. Being physically inside the boundary of ʿArafah — there are road signs. Note: the Masjid Namira sits outside the boundary. Pilgrims listen to the khuṭbah from there, then cross into ʿArafah for the wuqūf.
3. Being there during the valid window — from Ẓuhr 9 Dhul Ḥijjah to Fajr 10 Dhul Ḥijjah. (Standing only before Zuhr does not satisfy.)
4. No requirement to be standing the whole time — sitting, walking, sleeping (briefly) all count. The state is presence, not posture.