Woman in menses with limited days in Makkah al-Mukarramah
Question
A few months ago, we booked to travel for ʿUmrah for a few days. My pregnancy had just started so I was confident that menses will not be an issue hence we booked for a few days. However, I suffered from a miscarriage several weeks ago and following my Nifās, my monthly Ḥayḍ (menstrual bleeding) has started and our departure is imminent. Please advise what I should do because my bleeding will not stop whilst in Makkah al-Mukarramah and our hotels and flights are all non-changeable and non-refundable.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
(1) The ideal scenario is that you change or extend your travel dates in a way that you are able to perform ʿUmrah in the state of purity. If this is possible by travelling to Madīnah Munawwarah first then this should be considered. If you travel to Madīnah Munawwarah first, then you do not need to enter into Iḥrām when initially crossing Mīqāt. It is only necessary to enter into Iḥrām when crossing Mīqāt and intending to travel to Makkah al-Mukarramah (Ḥaram).
(2) If the above is not possible, then one option for you when passing Mīqāt is to make Ḥill (the area between Mīqāt and Ḥaram such as Jeddah) your primary intention, for example to meet relatives or touring the city. Once arriving in Ḥill and fulfilling the primary objective, it is permitted for you to enter Makkah without Iḥrām, and there is no penalty, as long as the primary intention is to visit Ḥill. This option is suggested for in difficult circumstances such as yours where the menses was not envisaged.
(3) If, however, you are travelling direct to Makkah al-Mukarramah, or you do not make Ḥill your primary intention, then you should not enter into Iḥrām at all, and compensate for this via a Dam (sacrifice of a goat or equivalent in Ḥaram) for crossing Mīqāt without entering into Iḥrām. This is not ideal, but is better than entering into Iḥrām, because Ṭawāf in the state of menses is a sin and rafḍ (abandonment) of ʿUmrah is not possible merely due to menses. It should be noted that if you return to Mīqāt in the future and enter into Iḥrām, whether on this journey to Saudi Arabia or in any future journey, the Dam penalty will be cancelled.
For further information, refer to our earlier answers particularly the one entitled: Crossing mīqāt without iḥrām.
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
17 Ramadan 1446 / 17 March 2025
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed and Mufti Muhammad Tahir
