I am flying to Pakistan on Saudi Airlines and have a 17-hour stopover at the Airport. We will apply for the appropriate visa but it is uncertain. If visa is granted, where do we wear the iḥrām from, Jeddah Airport or Masjid Aishah?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
There are two scenarios:
First, if you acquire your transit visa before you leave the UK and you intend to travel to the blessed city of Makkah for ʿUmrah, you must enter into iḥrām at mīqāt before arriving into Jeddah as usual.
Second, if you are unsure about travelling to the blessed city of Makkah or intend to apply for your visa after arriving into Jeddah Airport and manage to acquire it and thereafter you wish to perform ʿUmrah, you can enter into iḥrām at any point before entering the boundary of ḥaram, whether in Jeddah or at Masjid Aishah. This is because Jeddah is within ḥill (the area between ḥaram and mīqāt) and once you are in ḥill, your mīqāt is the entire ḥill. It is also permitted to visit Makkah without entering into iḥrām if you do not wish to perform ʿUmrah (this is relevant if a person has limited time). The same rule applies to a person who already has transit visa before leaving the UK but is unsure about visiting Makkah because of the time it takes at immigration, for example.
Note: In both scenarios, if you plan to travel to Makkah via the blessed city of Madīnah first, you must enter into iḥrām at Dhū al-Ḥulayfah or before.
قال محمد في الجامع الصغير (ص ١٤٦): رجل دخل بستان بني عامر لحاجة فله أن يدخل مكة بغير إحرام ووقته البستان، وهو وصاحب المنزل سواء إن أحرما من الحل، انتهى. وقال الحاكم الشهيد في الكافي المطبوع في الأصل (٢/٥١٩): كوفي أراد بستان بني عامر لحاجة ثم بدا له بعد ما قدم البستان أن يحج فأحرم من البستان فلا شيء عليه، وإن أراد أن يدخل مكة بغير إحرام لحاجة فله ذلك۔
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
27 Rajab 1440 / 2 April 2019
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed and Mufti Muhammad Tahir