All Muslims know that to follow the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in matters of religion is required as a duty. To follow him in other aspects is always good and fruitful. In as far as offering the pilgrimage is concerned, we have no option but to follow his guidance. As he started his pilgrimage, he said: “Learn from me your rituals.” This is an all-embracing Hadith that makes clear that the way the Prophet did his pilgrimage is the proper way we should all follow. We have a very detailed Hadith narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah telling us of everything the Prophet did on his pilgrimage. Jabir reports: “God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) stayed (in Madinah) nine years without offering the pilgrimage. In his tenth year in Madinah it was announced to all people that God’s Messenger would be offering the pilgrimage. Many people flocked to Madinah seeking to follow the Prophet’s guidance and to do like him.”
Several reasons led to the delay of the Prophet’s offering of the pilgrimage. In the first few years of his stay in Madinah, he could not have traveled to Makkah, while the Quraysh, its inhabitants, were raising one army after another to fight him. When Makkah fell to Islam towards the end of Year 8, the Prophet chose not to offer the pilgrimage the following year because he did not wish to see the abominable practices of the unbelievers which they introduced into the pilgrimage, such as being naked when doing the tawaf. In Year 9, Abu Bakr was the leader of the pilgrimage and a ban was declared prohibiting idolaters from coming to Makkah for pilgrimage, and banning the practice of doing the tawaf naked. With that done, the pilgrimage could be offered in the proper Islamic way, and this is what the Prophet did. With him were no less than one hundred thousand people, all eager to offer this great act of worship with him.
“We went out with him until we arrived at Dhul-Hulayfah where Asma’ bint Umays gave birth to Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr. She sent a message to the Prophet asking what she should do (considering that she would be in her post natal period). He told her to have a bath and to wrap herself properly (putting a wide piece of cloth at the place of discharge, tying both ends from the front and the back and sticking that wrapping tight to a belt she has around her waist.) She could then enter into ihraam, or consecration. The Prophet offered his prayers at the mosque there and mounted his she-camel, Al-Qaswa’. When his she-camel was well into the desert, I looked up and saw all around me people walking or riding animals, accompanying him. I could not see the end of them in any direction: Front or rear, right or left. The Prophet was with us receiving Qur’anic revelations, the interpretation of which we knew very well. Whatever he did, we did likewise. He raised his voice with phrases stressing God’s oneness: Labbayk Allahumma labbayk. Labbayk Laa shareeka laka labbayk. Inna al-hamda wal-ni’mata laka wal-mulk. Laa shareeka lak. People raised their voices with whatever praises they wished to repeat, and the Prophet did not take exception to any of that. He, however, maintained his own form of talbiyah.”
A woman’s discharge, whether menstrual or postnatal, does not stop her from offering the pilgrimage. She can indeed perform all the duties and rituals required, but she obviously cannot offer her prayers. She is exempt from these. Here we have the detailed guidance the Prophet gave to Asma’ making clear that she could conduct her pilgrimage easily, but she must not do any tawaf until she has been cleansed of all discharge. It should be noted that she gave birth to her son shortly after departure from Madinah, when she arrived at the point of meeqat, which is Dhul-Hulayfah or Abyar Ali as it is better known nowadays. The ruling given to her applies to all women who start such discharge at any time during their pilgrimage. We also learn that there could be different forms of declaring our response to God’s call to do the pilgrimage. However, the Prophet’s preferred form is the one that millions of pilgrims repeat all the time. The Prophet entered into the state of consecration, or ihraam, shortly after leaving Madinah, at the point of meeqat, which is known today as Abyar Ali. We also learned what a woman who is having her period should do if she begins her pilgrimage. We continue with Jabir, the Prophet’s companion, as he gives this detailed account of the Prophet’s pilgrimage. “We did not intend to do anything other than the pilgrimage. We knew nothing about the Umrah. When we arrived at the House (i.e. the Kaaba) with the Prophet, he touched the corner (i.e. kissed the Black Stone) then he moved in a jogging movement for three rounds and walked the other four. He then went to Maqam Ibraheem and recited: ‘Make the place where Abraham stood as a place of prayer.’ He stood with that place (Maqam Ibraheem) between himself and the Kaaba. In his two rak’ahs he read Surah 112, Al-Ikhlas, and Surah 109, Al-Kafiroon. He then returned to the corner (of the Kaaba, where the Black Stone is) and kissed it. He then left thro-ugh the door nearer to the hill of Al-Safa.
“When he reached Al-Safa, he read: “Safa and Mar-wah are among the symbols set up by God. Whoever visits the Sacred House for Pilgrimage or Umrah, would do no wrong to walk to and fro between them. He who does good of his own accord shall find that God is most thankful, all-knowing.” (2: 158) He also said: “Al-Safa and Al-Marwah are two places which God has made sacred.” He went first to Al-Safa and climbed up until he could see the Kaaba. He turned his face towards the qiblah and declared God’s oneness and glorified Him. He then said: ‘There is no deity other than God. He has no partners. To Him belongs the Kingdom as well as all praise. He is able to do everything. There is no deity other than God. He has fulfilled His promise, given victory to His servant and has defeated the confederate forces on His own.’ He also prayed to God. He repeated these phrases three times then descended towards Al-Marwah. When he was at the bottom of the valley (marked nowadays with two green lights) he started jogging. When we were again climbing up, he walked. When he arrived at Al-Marwah, he did there the same as he did at Al-Safa. He finished his sa’ie at Al-Marwah.
Thus, there is nothing special to be done on the way to Makkah other than repeating the phrases of talbiyah. These make clear that offering the pilgrimage is dedicated to God alone, in response to his order stated in the Qur’an. Purity of faith is emphasized as God’s oneness is repeated over and over again. The mention of God’s support of His Messenger is a reference to the defeat of the allied forces of unbelievers who tried to annihilate the Muslim community, but they suffered a humiliating defeat without being fought by any human forces.
On arrival in Makkah, a pilgrim should offer the tawaf and the sa’ie. If he is doing his pilgrimage in the ifraad or qiran methods, these count as his tawaf of arrival and the obligatory sa’ie of pilgrimage. Indeed in the case of qiran, it counts for both the pilgrimage and the Umrah. If the pilgrim opts for the tamattu’ method, which is the one preferred by the Prophet, these count for his Umrah and he releases himself from consecration immediately after he finishes these duties.