Ihram: The Hajj garment

[Heba E. Husseyn]

As-Salam Alaikum dear everyone. 

Wearing the Ihram during Hajj is not in the Quran. 

How and why did the practice start? 

Ihram consists of two seamless white pieces of clothing for men visiting the Kaa’ba for Hajj.  One piece of this clothing is worn around the waist and the other loosely over the shoulder.  There are no buttons or pins in the Ihram to help tie the two pieces of white wrapping together.

The location where male pilgrims are required to wear the Ihram is termed as miqat. This point is known as ‘entering the state of Ihram.’ From here they proceed to Makkah for Hajj or Umrah.  Altogether there are five locations or miqats for those who reside on the location of any of the miqats or those who reside in faraway places and pass by any of the miqats on their way to Makkah.  For those who reside closer to Makkah than the locations of the miqats, can wear the Ihram in their homes.

The word 'Ihram' in Arabic means abstention.  The purpose of Ihram is meant to be abstinence from anything showy or fancy.  The abstentions stated in the Quran during Hajj are war, hunting, sexual contact, cutting of hair and misconduct.  Ihram in the form of the clothing we see is not listed as one of the abstentions.

Allah Almighty says in the Noble Quran:

“O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.”  7:31.

The Arabic word zīnatakum in the Quran which translates to “adornment” refers to wearing clean, modest and decent clothes to the masjid.  Needless to say, the Kaa’ba is the most important of all masjids.  The style and appearance of Ihram seems to violate V.7:31. 

The purpose commonly cited for wearing ihram is that it equates everyone, rich and poor.  That is understandable.  The point is that there is absolutely no need nor any logical reason to design the Ihram as unstitched pieces of flimsy wrappings, often leaving the male pilgrims half bare chested.  Instead, mandating a properly stitched simple and inexpensive white cotton abaya or qamis with buttons for all men would have been a far more decent and appropriate choice for an occasion as significant as Hajj.

Moreover, every female pilgrim dresses differently, yet neatly and modestly according to their choice and no one has ever felt superior or inferior to each other based on their clothing.  The idea of choosing Ihram to equate all male pilgrims is neither logical nor appropriate.

It is also viewed that Ihram portrays the concept of the white shroud which is unstitched.  Similarly, Ihram is wrapped around the body without stitches.  The unstitched shroud  for covering our earthly remains is perfectly fine.  But Hajj is not symbolic of the Final Journey, and it makes no sense to have a dress code for Hajj that mimics a shroud.  When a dead body is wrapped in a white shroud, it is never wrapped in the same manner as the ihram with the upper part of the body half exposed.  It is undoubtedly necessary for male pilgrims to be dressed in properly stitched clothing so as not to reveal the upper part of their bodies. The appearance of Ihram for sure does not represent our Islamic values.

These sort of half covering garments were / are often worn by pagans during their pilgrimages and religious ceremonies.  It was the same in pre-Islamic Arabia.

“And when they commit a Fahisha (evil deed, going round the Ka'bah in naked state, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.), they say: "We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has commanded us of it." Say: "Nay, Allah never commands of Fahisha. Do you say of Allah what you know not?”  7:28 Noble Quran  (translation Muhsin Khan).

We do have information in Islamic History that the polytheists of Makkah in the 6th century and before desecrated the Kaa’ba and its precincts by visiting the area half dressed or naked during their pagan pilgrimages. Their custom of their corrupted faith was to specifically perform tawaf around the Kaa’ba with scant clothing or none.  There are also many ahadith to this effect, yet those same narrators have introduced the idea of wearing “Ihram” during Hajj.

Take a look at the following:

Abdullah ibn Umar reported: A man stood up and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, what should I wear to prepare for the pilgrimage?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do not wear a shirt, or pants, or turban, or a hooded cloak. If someone has no shoes, he may wear leather socks if they are cut lower than his ankles. Do not wear any perfume or fragrance. The woman prepared for pilgrimage should not cover her face or wear gloves.”  Source: Ṣaḥiḥ al-Bukhari 1741.

The above narration and many more of its type are the origins of “Ihram.”  Needless to say, many hadith narrators embraced Islam with personal motives to achieve personal goals.  Some had political goals, others were still tethered to their pre-Islamic customs they had far from forgotten.  Forged hadith narrations were the easiest way to re-introduce old practices.

Referring to Verse 9:36  "Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him]."  9:36.

The original Arabic word in V.9:36 is “hurumun” translated as ‘sacred’ in English. But “hurumun” does not mean ‘sacred,’ it actually means “to abstain” (or avoid) or “forbidden.”

Also let us refer to Verse 5:1.

“O you who believe! Fulfil your obligations. The beast of cattle is made lawful unto you (for food) except that which is announced unto you (herein), game being unlawful when you are on the pilgrimage. Indeed! Allah ordains that which pleases Him.”  5:1.

The expression “when you are on the pilgrimage” (original Arabic “wa-antum hurumun”) is translated by many translators as ‘Ihram” or “state of Ihram.”  The translation is right but their interpretation of Ihram lacks accuracy.    Hurumun or state of Ihram refers to the morally pure state during performance of the pilgrimage. It has nothing to do with the kind of clothes you wear. As long as your clothing is modest and clean, you can wear anything.

Traditionalists agree that the term Ihram comes from the Arabic word “harama” which means “forbidden” (the practices forbidden during Hajj). “Harama” refers to a state of purity (or moral purity) required for performing Hajj, Umrah or both before entering the boundaries of Makkah.  Non-traditionalists explain “hurum” or “hurumun” as ‘abstinence.’  In this context, ‘forbidden’ and ‘abstinence’ both carry the same sense, that is, the avoidance of things forbidden during Hajj.  This establishes the concept of the ‘state of moral purity’ (Ihram) during Hajj.  The clothing of male pilgrims called Ihram as seen at present is unwarranted by the Noble Quran.


As seen in the clipart image below, while the female Ihram is perfectly suited for the occasion of Hajj, the male Ihram is not.

[Zainab_M]

Many thanks for this Sister Heba.  I certainly have a problem in regard to the Ihram worn by men and that too on such a great event as Hajj.  I ask, would any guy go for Jum'aah wearing a sleeveless t-shirt over their trousers?  I bet not.  They would either wear a half sleeve t-shirt or a qamis with sleeves or an abaya.  Then why such indecorous show of the bare chests and backs during Hajj?  Women's dress code is even more concealing than the Muslim dress code at normal times, and quite understandably, because this is the great occasion of Hajj.  Unfortunately that's not the case with the men's dress code during Hajj.

[N. Truth Seeker]

That was a thoroughly honest write-up.  Plenty of thanks Sister.   Actually the origin was a practical trend that started by the same ones who narrated unauthentic and forged ahadith.  So, in the hadiths we may not find any specific one saying to don the ihram during Hajj.  But there are plenty of hadith that make references to wearing ihram.  And those references arise from an already established social tradition with no bearing in the Noble Quran.  Example, see the following hadith:

Yala bin Umayya reported that a person came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as he was staying at Ji'rana and he had put on Ihram for 'Umra and he had dyed his beard and his head with yellow colour and there was a cloak on him. He said: I put on Ihram for 'Umra and I am in this state as you see (with dyed beard and head and a cloak over me). He (the Holy Prophet) said: Take off the cloak and wash the yellowness and do in your 'Umra what you do in Hajj. (Sahih al-Muslim Book 7, Number 2657).

One can be 100% certain these are all forged narrations for the simple reason that there was no official practice nor any sustainable system to preserve the Prophet's (quotes) by any central authority.  The narrations we see are coming from scattered narrators, not known nor heard of, many of these names of narrators are also fictitious.  Some names that may not be fictitious hardly knew the Prophet (pbuh).  Abu Huraira had not seen the Prophet (pbuh) more than once or twice at most.  He had certainly never met the Prophet (pbuh) as he lived in Medinah only during the last 3 years of the Prophet's (pbuh) lifetime. That was a time when the Prophet (pbuh) was very busy with a multitude of obligations and he already had his trusted confidants , with no time to waste chatting with strangers and useless newcomers like Abu Huraira.  Many of these people masquerading as "sahabas" were born decades after the passing of the Prophet (pbuh).  By that time the custom of wearing ihram for Hajj had already been introduced by the earlier narrators through their practices. 

In his lifetime the Prophet (pbuh) never allowed any one to write anything he spoke.  There was also no such thing as ihram as a clothing during the Prophet's (pbuh) lifetime.  It was only 'harama' that is, purification of the mind and body already elucidated in the Noble Quran highlighting the behavioral and ethical / moral conduct that must be observed during Hajj.   

[Zainab_M]

Very well perceived Brother TS.  That was an exhilarating input.  Thanks.   Alhumdulilah.

[N. Truth Seeker]

Very welcome Sister Zainab.

[Ruhi_Rose]

For sure, ihram referring to the white sheets of clothing is nowhere in the Noble Quran.  The Quranic ideology of “ihram” is spiritual and moral purification and dressing decently according to Quranic values is included. 

The problem with ihram (name of the clothing) is its layout which is not Islamic.  The Noble Quran calls for propriety in appearance.  This needs to be followed by men as well as women.  Modesty in dress basically refers to non-revealing apparels.  We are already aware of the Islamic dress code for women.  Similarly, men are not supposed to be walking around with a lungi-like wrap covering the lower body and showing large portions of their bare and hairy chests and backs. Men require to cover their bodies just as much. 

The lower wrapping of the Ihram worn by Muslim men has been compared by several non-Muslim onlookers with the wrapping worn by male hindu pilgrims. That really sounds upsetting because Muslims (followers of Monotheism) should NOT have any similarities at all, including clothing, with pagans.   As everyone knows, hindus still adhere to the decadent and ancient caste system.  I have heard that those hindus who belong to upper castes perform pilgrimage by visiting some rivers which they reverence according to their kufar belief.  I have also read that during such visits, they wear a white wrap around the lower part of their body.  Upper body is left bare.   You will find that kaffir traditions everywhere have some common features.  Kuffar of Makkah in pre-Islamic times also visited the Kaa'ba with scant clothing.  I am not saying that Ihram is exactly the same as those kinda clothings; no, not as unrefined as that.  But visually, there is a common touch.  That's quite obvious.

I certainly don't accept the idea of propagating the ihram as symbolic of the white shroud.   Needless to mention, as sister mentioned, the white shroud is totally suitable to cover the remains of the human body, the soul of which has departed for the Final Journey.  Male Muslim pilgrims are living beings.  Hajj is a serious obligation with an opportunity to multiply our blessings from The Almighty.  While it is very necessary NOT to show nor be involved with one's material possessions during Hajj, there is also no reason to equate Hajj with the event of death by wearing unstitched clothing.  Men need to wear their decent, respectful and simple earthly clothes during Hajj.

I really don't understand why our jurists are so unwilling to do any research and read between the lines to discern the obvious facts behind so much untruth which the hadith literature and fatwas have borrowed from pre-Islamic times and dumped into our lives.  We are Muslims and followers of the Noble Quran alone, not those senseless traditions replete with decadence.

[Zainab_M]

The lower wrapping of the Ihram worn by Muslim men has been compared by several non-Muslim onlookers with the wrapping worn by male hindu pilgrims. That really sounds upsetting because Muslims (followers of Monotheism) should NOT have any similarities at all, including clothing, with pagans.   As everyone knows, hindus still adhere to the decadent and ancient caste system.  I have heard that those hindus who belong to upper castes perform pilgrimage by visiting some rivers which they reverence according to their kufar belief.  I have also read that during such visits, they wear a white wrap around the lower part of their body.  Upper body is left bare.   You will find that kaffir traditions everywhere have some common features.  Kuffar of Makkah in pre-Islamic times also visited the Kaa'ba with scant clothing.  I am not saying that Ihram is exactly the same as those kinda clothings; no, not as unrefined as that.  But visually, there is a common touch.  That's quite obvious.

Unfortunately I have also heard and read people talking about this similarity.  You're right, it sounds very distressing because people around the world don't know of the forged traditional narratives that have been slipped inside Islamic teachings. And they presume these forgeries to be part of Islam teachings.   

I really don't understand why our jurists are so unwilling to do any research and read between the lines to discern the obvious facts behind so much untruth which the hadith literature and fatwas have borrowed from pre-Islamic times and dumped into our lives.  We are Muslims and followers of the Noble Quran alone, not those senseless traditions replete with decadence.  

So true Sister Ruhi.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Big thanks for all the additional input. 

That bit Sister Ruhi mentioned about similarity of Ihram clothing with kuffar pilgrims of India is something my husband had also read about somewhere few years ago.