ra
Tawaf; (5) to shave the head after the pilgrimage is over.

The Hajj must be made at the appointed season. "Let the pilgrimage (Hajj)
be made in the months already known." (Sura ii. 193). These months are
Shawwal, Zu'l-q'ada, and the first ten days of Zu'l-Hajja. The actual Hajj
must be in the month Zu'l-Hajja, but the preparations for, and the niyyat,
or intention of the Hajj can be made in the two preceding months. The
'Umrah, or ordinary pilgrimage, can be done at any time of the year except
on the ninth, and four succeeding days of Zu'l-Hajja. On each of the
various roads leading to Mecca, there are at a distance of about five or
six miles from the city stages called Miqat. The following are the names.
On the Madina road, the stage (manzil) is called Zu'l-Halifah; on the 'Iraq
road, Zat-i-'Arq; on the Syrian road, Hujfah; on the Najd road, Qarn; on
the Yaman road, Yalamlam.[232]

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The Hajis from all parts of the Muslim world at length arrive weary and
worn at one of these stages. They then divest themselves of their ordinary
clothing, and after a legal ablution, and after saying a Namaz of two nafl
rak'ats they put on the Ihram. The Haji, having now really entered upon the
Hajj, faces Mecca and makes the niyyat (intention), and says: "O God, I
purpose to make the Hajj; make this service easy to me and accept it from
me." He then says the Talbiyah[233]: "Here I am! O Allah! Here I am! Here I
am! There is no God but Thee! Truly, praise and bounty, and the kingdom are
to Thee! No partner hast Thou! Here am I!"

The persons who reside permanently in any of these Miqat can assume the
pilgrim's garb in a place called Hal, near to Mecca, or in the city itself;
whilst the inhabitants of Mecca can put on the Ihram in the precincts of
the temple.

The Haji having assumed the Ihram must now abstain from worldly affairs,
and devote himself entirely to the duties of the Hajj. He is not allowed to
hunt, though he may catch fish if he can. "O Believers, kill no game while
ye are on pilgrimage." (Sura v. 96). The Prophet also said: "He who shows
the place where game is to be found is equally as bad as the man who kills
it." The Haji must not scratch himself, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair
be uprooted. Should he feel uncomfortable, he must rub himself with the
open palm of his hand.[234] The face and head must be left uncovered, the
hair on the head and beard unwashed and uncut. "Shave not your heads until
the {22