I live in Jeddah. Last year my wife and I did the obligatory Hajj, but we did `umrah eight days before Hajj, and we entered ihram from Masjid `A’ishah in Makkah instead of from our house. Is what we did valid, or do we have to offer a fidyah (compensatory sacrifice); how should we do that, and to whom should we give the meat?
Whoever is a resident of Jeddah and wants to do Hajj or `umrah may enter ihram from Jeddah, because it is regarded as being within the Haram zone, so the ruling on its people is the same as the ruling on those who reside near Makkah, and are closer [to Makkah] than the miqat, so they enter ihram from the place where they formed the intention [to do Hajj or `umrah].
That is because of the report narrated by al-Bukhari (1526) and Muslim (1181) from Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) defined the miqat of the people of Madinah as Dhu’l-Hulayfah; that of the people of ash-Sham (Syria) as al-Juhfah; that of the people of Najd as Qarn al-Manazil; and that of the people of Yemen as Yalamlam. And he said: “And these miqats are for the people at those very places, and besides them for those who come through those places with the intention of doing Hajj and `Umrah; and whoever is living within these boundaries can enter ihram from the place he starts, and the people of Makkah can start from Makkah.”
Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What is required of the pilgrim who is doing `umrah is to enter ihram from the miqat through which he passes on his way to Makkah, if he is coming from beyond the miqat.
But if he is within the Haram zone, such as the residents of Jeddah, Umm al-Salam, Bahrah, Luzaymah, ash-Shara’i` and so on, then he must enter ihram from the place where he formed the intention to do Hajj or `umrah.(Fatawa Islamiyyah, 2/690).
Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the one who intends to do `umrah is a resident of Jeddah, then he must enter ihram from Jeddah, and not delay it.(Liqa’ al-Bab al-Maftuh, 121/24).
Based on the above, if you intended to enter ihram from Masjid `A’ishah for the `umrah that you did before Hajj, then you had passed the miqat from which you should have entered ihram, namely your place of residence, which is Jeddah.
The most prudent option for you is to offer a sacrifice, one sheep on behalf of each of you, to be slaughtered in Makkah and its meat distributed to the poor; you should not eat any of it.
Ibn `Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If someone enters ihram for Hajj or `umrah from somewhere other than the miqat which was specified by the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), his ihram is valid and binding (meaning that he must complete the rituals), and his Hajj and `umrah are valid, but the scholars say that entering ihram from the miqat is one of the obligatory actions of Hajj and `umrah, and that the one who omits one of the obligatory actions of Hajj or `umrah must offer a compensatory sacrifice (fidyah) to make up for this shortcoming, which is to be slaughtered in Makkah and the meat is to be distributed to the poor; he should not eat any of it. But if he cannot afford to do that, then some of the scholars say that he must fast for ten days, and others say that he does not have to do anything. The correct view is that he does not have to do anything if he cannot afford it, because there is no sound evidence to indicate that the one who is unable to offer a compensatory sacrifice for omitting an obligatory action must fast for ten days.(Liqa’ al-Bab al-Maftuh, 175/14).
But if when you entered ihram from Masjid `A’ishah, that was for Hajj, after having done `umrah, and you had entered ihram for `umrah from Jeddah, then there is nothing wrong with that, even though your entering ihram for Hajj should have been from the place where you were staying in Makkah or elsewhere, and there was no need to go out to Masjid `A’ishah or anywhere else beyond the Haram zone.
