What is the penalty for violating ihram? What are the prohibitions and restrictions of ihram?
Committing the acts that are prohibited in the Ḥaram region while in the state of iḥrām is called “jināyāt”. We can describe this term as the deficiencies or failure to follow the rules during hajj or ʿumra. A person who abandons one of the obligatory rituals of hajj or ʿumra without a valid excuse or does not do it on time must be punished. If a wājib act is neglected due to a valid excuse, or if it is re-performed again later, the penalty is dropped. According to the Ḥanafis, due to the deficiencies regarding the prohibitions of the state of iḥrām in hajj al-qirān, two penalties are required for each deficiency, one for the ʿumra and the other for the hajj. A single penalty is required for the deficiencies related to the abandonment of a wājib act that concerns only ʿumra, such as performing the ʿumra circumambulation without being in the state of wuḍū, or an act that that concerns only hajj such as abandoning the ritual standing at Muzdalifah. According to the other three schools, it is sufficient to pay a single penalty for deficiencies in the prohibitions of iḥrām.
A) Penalties and Atonements for the Deficiencies in Hajj and Umra
Some deficiencies committed during the hajj lead to the invalidation of hajj and making it up, while others require the punishment of offering a sacrifice or giving charity depending on the severity of the deficiency. These punishments and expiations are as follows: making up the pilgrimage, sacrificing badana (camel-cattle), sacrificing dam (sheep-goat), giving alms, payment of a price, and fasting.
1) Deficiencies that necessitate the making up hajj or ʿumra:
a) Having sexual intercourse after entering the state of iḥrām for hajj and before performing the ritual standing at Arafat invalidates the pilgrimage. There is a consensus among the schools on this issue. Such a person must leave the state of iḥrām by sacrificing a dam (sheep or goat) and has to make up this pilgrimage in the following years.
If the person performing the hajj has sexual intercourse after performing the ritual standing at Arafat, but before shaving and leaving the state of iḥrām, his pilgrimage will not be considered invalid, but he has to sacrifice a badana (cattle or a camel). According to the three schools except for the Ḥanafis, in this case, the pilgrimage is invalid.
b) After entering the state of iḥrām for ʿumra, the ʿumra of a person who has sexual intercourse without performing at least four shawṭs of ʿumra circumambulation is invalidated. The invalidated ʿumra is not left incomplete but completed, and then one leaves the state of iḥrām and a dam (sheep or goat) is sacrificed. It is also necessary to make up the ʿumra by entering a new state of iḥrām.
2) Deficiencies that Require to Sacrifice a Badana (Camel or Cattle):
a) Having sexual intercourse after the ritual standing at Arafat but before shaving and leaving the state of iḥrām (which is called the first taḥallul).
b) To perform the circumambulation in a state of ceremonial impurity (janabah). According to the majority, performing the obligatory ṭawāf while menstruating or postpartum bleeding requires the same penalty. According to some scholars who are in the minority, there is no penalty if a woman performs the obligatory ṭawāf during such period or impediment occurs outside of the woman’s will. This last view provides convenience for women who have to act as a group.
If the circumambulation performed in a state of ceremonial impurity (janabah), without being in the state of wuḍū, during menstruation or in the postpartum period is re-performed again in the state of wuḍū, no matter what kind of circumambulation it was, the penalty will be waived.
3) Deficiencies that Require Sacrificing a Dam (Sheep or Goat):
These are divided into two types the deficiencies related to the wājib acts of hajj and ʿumra and the prohibitions of the state of iḥrām:
a) Those related to the wājib acts of hajj and ʿumra:
1) To pass the borders of mīqāt without entering the state of iḥrām. Before performing any rites of pilgrimage such as ʿumra or ṭawāf al-qudūm, the penalty will be removed if the person returns to the place of mīqāt and enters the iḥrām there.
2) To abandon the entire saʿy or at least it’s four shawṭs or not to walk without a valid excuse.
3) To leave the ritual standing at Muzdalifah without a valid excuse.
4) Not carrying out the stoning at all or not throwing more than half of the pebbles that should be thrown in a day. If more than half is thrown, alms must be given for each missing pebble.
5) Not performing the last three shawṭs or only one of them in obligatory or ʿumra circumambulation.
6) Those who come from outside the mīqāt borders (āfāqīs) to not perform the farewell ṭawāf or at least four shawṭs of this circumambulation.
7) Not to comply with the rules of satr al-awrah in a circumambulation such as ziyārah, ʿumra, and farewell circumambulation, which is considered farḍ and wājib.
8) Ziyārah and ʿumra circumambulation without being in the state of wuḍū. To perform the circumambulation of qudūm, farewell, and ʿumra in the state of janabah. If the circumambulation is performed again in the state of ritual purity, the penalty will be dropped.
9) Leaving Arafat before sunset on the day of Arafa.
10) According to Abu Ḥanīfa, to shave outside the Ḥaram area or after Eid days and go out of the state of iḥrām, delay the ziyārah circumambulation after the third day of Eid, and not observe the order in the acts of throwing pebbles at Jamra al-Aqaba, slaughtering the sacrifice and shaving. According to Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, and the other three schools, these acts are not wājib and are considered sunnah, so no penance is required.
b) Deficiencies related to the prohibitions of ihram:
1) Men wearing any other clothing, covering their head or face for one full day or night. Any attire, underwear, socks, and shoes that cover the ankles are considered clothing items. If it is worn for less than one day or nighttime, giving charity is sufficient.
According to the Shafiʿis and the Ḥanbalis, a certain period of time is not required for the penalty, it is sufficient to wear the clothing item. According to the Malikis, if the clothing that is worn protects from heat or cold, it is punishable by wearing it for a short time, and if it is a thin thing that does not protect from heat or cold, it is punishable by wearing it for a full day.
Women wear their normal clothes in the state of iḥrām, but they do not cover their faces.
2) Applying fragrance or oil to the entire body or to all of a limb. If the width and length of the perfume applied to the towels of iḥrām are larger than one inch each and the effect of the fragrance lasts during the day or night, it is necessary to sacrifice a small animal. Otherwise, payment of charity is required according to its effect.
According to the three schools other than the Ḥanafis, it is sufficient to apply it, regardless of the amount and time, in order for a penalty for a fragrance to be required.
3) Applying oil, jelly, brilliantine, or painting with henna, hair dye, and similar things to decorate the body or a whole part of the body such as hair and beard. There is no need for drugs and ointments or odorless creams and oils applied for treatment.
4) Shaving at least a quarter of the hair or beard or the entirety of another limb. For less, payment of charity will be enough.
5) Trimming all nails or the nails of one hand or foot at once. If all fingernails or toenails are cut in separate places and times, a separate penalty is required for each. If a part, but not all, is cut off, alms are required for each nail clipped. There is no need for a nail that breaks or falls on its own.
4) Deficiencies that Require Giving Charity (Sadaqah) as much as Zakāt al-Fitr
1) Applying perfume by the person who is in the state of iḥrām to less than one of his limbs.
2) Shaving less than a quarter of his head or beard.
3) Wearing stitched clothes or covering one’s head for less than a day or night.
4) Trimming the nails of less than five of the various fingers.
5) To perform qudūm or farewell or any supererogatory circumambulation without being in the state of wuḍū. A person who performs the circumambulation of qudūm in the state of janabah or without being in the state of wuḍū must sacrifice a ram.
6) To abandon one of the shawṭs of the farewell circumambulation or saʿy, to use an insufficient number of pebbles in stoning the devil.
7) Shaving the head of another person who is in the state of iḥrām or not.
5) Deficiencies that Require Payment of Price
These are divided into two types of land-dwelling game animals, hunting and the ones related to the vegetation of the Ḥaram region.
a) Those related to game animals living on land:
According to the Ḥanafis, if an animal that lives on land is hunted while the hunter is in the state of iḥrām, the value of this animal is appreciated. The appreciated amount is divided into the amounts of zakāt al-fiṭr and distributed to the poor, or one day is fasted for each amount of zakāt al-fiṭr. If this amount is enough to buy a hady sacrifice, the sacrifice needs to be bought and slaughtered in the Ḥaram region. The money left over from the sacrifice does not have to be given as charity. On the other hand, although the value of the game animal whose meat is eaten can be appreciated more than the value of the sheep and goat, a value exceeding this value is not appreciated for the game whose meat cannot be eaten.
According to the three schools other than the Ḥanafis, game animals are divided into two types, similar and non-similar. For example; wild ass is similar to cattle; the gazelle is comparable to the goat and the rabbit is accepted as equal to the goat kid.
b) Those related to the hunting and the vegetation of the Ḥaram region:
Cutting the grass and trees that grow spontaneously in the Ḥaram of Mecca also requires giving alms as much as their value. Plants such as mushrooms and yams are exceptional. There is no difference whether the damage to game animals, self-grown grass, and trees in the Ḥaram region is intentional, accidental, or due to forgetfulness. The Qur’an says, “O you who believe! Kill not game while in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb. If any of you does so intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought to the Kaʿba, of a domestic animal equivalent to the one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you; or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent; or its equivalent in fasts…”[1]
The fact that the animals and vegetation that grow spontaneously in the Ḥaram region are protected by these prohibitions, not only is an indicator of Islamic civilization but also means that the compassion and mercy of the pilgrims, who take on a spirit that will not hurt each other with their words and actions, also extends to other living beings and plants.[2]
Things that are forbidden for those who enter the state of iḥrām for a farḍ hajj are also prohibited for those who are in iḥrām for ʿumra. According to the Ḥanafis, if the person performing the ʿumra has sexual intercourse with his wife before performing the four shawṭs of the ṭawāf, he must perform the ʿumra and sacrifice a dam (a sheep or a goat). Having sexual intercourse after four shawṭs of the ṭawāf does not require making it up, in such a case it is sufficient to sacrifice a sheep.[3]
There is no penalty for cutting down man-raised plants and trees, whether by their owners or others, as workers or caretakers.
6) Failure to comply with the Prohibitions of Ihram due to an Excuse:
If the person in the state of iḥrām applies fragrance, shaves, or wears a stitched cloth due to a valid excuse, he can choose one of the following alternatives as a penalty:
a) Sacrificing a dam (a sheep or a goat) in the Ḥaram region, b) Donating money as much as zakāt al-fiṭr to six poor people, and c) Fasting for three days. The following is stated in the Qur’anic verse, “…and do not shave your heads until the offering reaches the place of sacrifice. And if any of you is ill, or has an ailment in his scalp, (necessitating shaving), (He should) in compensation either fast, or feed the poor, or offer the sacrifice…”[4]
According to the Ḥanafis, the right to choose among the above-mentioned penalties is valid only for God-given excuses such as illness, traffic accident, or sunstroke. Accordingly, there is no optional right for prohibitions committed with non-heavenly excuses such as ignorance, mistake, forgetfulness, or pressure (threat). Only a sacrifice penalty is applied to them. In the other three schools, they have the right to choose one of the above punishments due to non-heavenly excuses as well.
B) Place and Time of Fulfillment of Penalties and Atonements in Hajj or Umra:
There is no specific time to pay the penalty for a deficiency committed in hajj and ʿumra. It is always payable until the end of life. For all atonements are of the type of wājib acts that can be performed on a delayed (tarakhī) basis. However, it is more virtuous to correct such a defect as soon as possible. A person who does not pay the atonement until his death or does not leave a will to be paid becomes a sinner. Without leaving a will, the debt is deemed to have been paid by the payment of the heirs as donations.
The animal that will be slaughtered as a penalty for a deficiency during hajj or ʿumra is called “hady” and must be slaughtered in the Ḥaram area. Other atonements such as fasting, alms, and paying the price of game animals can be paid anywhere.
[1] Al-Mā’ida, 5: 95.
[2] For the penalties of non-compliance with the prohibitions of the state of iḥrām see Ibn al-Humām, ibid, II, 224-254; al-Maydanī, ibid, I, 199-210; Ibn Abidīn, ibid, II, 273-296; Ibn Rushd (Averroes), ibid, I, 346, 356; al-Shirazī, ibid, I, 210-217; Ibn Qudāmah, ibid, III, 494-496; al-Zuhaylī, ibid, III, 257 ff.
[3] Al-Maydanī, ibid, I, 202.
[4] Al-Baqara, 2: 196.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ilmiḥal) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications