Hajj can only be performed in the hajj months. Its peak is standing at Arafah on 9 Dhul Hijjah. This guide follows the days, so you know what happens and where.
Compiled by Aiman Malib · Checked against the sources on 31 October 2026.
Pillars of hajj (6)
Intention (ihram) for hajj
Standing at Arafah (wuquf)
Tawaf (al-ifadah)
Sa'i between Safa and Marwah
Shaving or cutting the hair
Order, for most of the pillars
Missing a pillar leaves the hajj invalid or incomplete, and the pilgrim remains bound by the ihram restrictions.
The Federal Territory Mufti counts five pillars (ihram, wuquf, tawaf, sa'i, tahallul) without listing order separately. The substance is the same.
Missing an obligation leaves the hajj valid, but a dam is due. The count differs by how items are grouped (stoning is sometimes one item, sometimes two).
Calculated with the Umm al-Qura method (Saudi Arabia’s official method); Isha is 30 minutes later in Ramadan. An estimate: follow the adhan of the Masjid al-Haram.
Step
Marks are saved in this browser only.
1OverviewBefore the intention at the miqat
Choose the type of hajj
Ifrad: intend hajj only at the miqat; umrah is done after the hajj. No dam.
Tamattu': umrah first within the hajj months (1 Shawwal to 10 Dhul Hijjah), then hajj in the same year. A dam is due: a goat or sheep, or 1/7 of a cow or camel. If unable, fast 10 days: 3 in Makkah and 7 after returning home.
Qiran: intend hajj and umrah together at the miqat. A dam is due, as with Tamattu'.
2PillarIfrad/Qiran: at the miqat · Tamattu': 8 Dhul Hijjah (Tarwiyah)
Enter ihram for hajj
Ifrad and Qiran pilgrims make the intention at the first miqat they pass: Bir Ali (Dhul Hulaifah) from Madinah, or Qarnul Manazil in flight before landing in Jeddah. Tamattu' pilgrims make it on 8 Dhul Hijjah at their lodging or anywhere within the Haram of Makkah.
Sunnah before the intention: trim the nails, take the ihram bath, apply perfume to the body and pray the ihram prayer. Once the intention is made the ihram restrictions apply, and reciting the talbiyah often is sunnah.
The greatest pillar: "Hajj is Arafah." Wuquf means being in Arafah after the hajj intention, even briefly, between midday on 9 Dhul Hijjah and dawn on 10 Dhul Hijjah, while conscious. Best is to include part of the day and part of the night. No wuquf within that window means no hajj.
Pilgrims move from Mina to Arafah after dawn. After the Arafah sermon, Zuhr and Asr are combined early. There is no specific ritual beyond much supplication and remembrance. Bring medicine and essentials: the tents can be hot, dusty or cold.
Leave Arafah after sunset. The time for the stay runs from midnight to dawn on 10 Dhul Hijjah: being at Muzdalifah even briefly, or passing through it after midnight, is enough.
Maghrib and Isha are combined late at Muzdalifah. It is sunnah to pick up 7 pebbles for Jamrat al-Aqabah (or 70 for all the stoning).
Stone Jamrat al-Aqabah (the large one) with 7 pebbles, one at a time, saying takbir with each throw. The best time is mid-morning on 10 Dhul Hijjah. Only Jamrat al-Aqabah is stoned today.
After stoning, shave or cut the hair (shaving is better for men): this is the first release (tahallul awal). Every ihram restriction is lifted except intimacy, intercourse and marriage.
Tawaf al-ifadah can be done from the middle of the night of 10 Dhul Hijjah, with no end time. The hajj sa'i follows it, unless already done after the arrival tawaf. Once tawaf al-ifadah and sa'i are done, the second release (tahallul thani) lifts every restriction.
Spend most of each night at Mina (at least 6 hours): the nights of 11, 12 and 13 Dhul Hijjah. Being at Mina during the day is not required.
Each day after midday, stone all three jamarat in order: the small (Ula), the middle (Wusta), then the large (Aqabah), 7 pebbles each. You must be sure each pebble lands in the jamrah.
Early departure (nafar awwal): stay two nights, stone on the 12th and leave Mina before sunset. Still in Mina after sunset means one more night and stoning on the 13th (nafar thani). Both are permitted, with no dam.
Required of anyone leaving Makkah for two marhalah (91 km) or more. Leaving it out or invalidating it requires a dam of a goat, or 1/7 of a cow or camel. Women in menstruation or postnatal bleeding are exempt.
A short guide for learning and revision, compiled from the official sources below. For rulings or your own situation, ask your mutawwif, hajj guide or a mufti’s office.