The stages of Hajj are:
1) Ihram - entering Makkah and declaring intention to perform Hajj
2) Tawaf - circling the Ka'aba 7 times counter-clockwise
3) Sa'ee - running 7 times between the hills of Safa and Marwa
4) Staying overnight at Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah
5) Rami - stoning 3 pillars in Mina to resist shaitan
6) Sacrifice or Yaum-un-Nahr - offering animals in memory of Ibrahim
7) Shaving heads or clipping hair for men and women
8) Tawaf-
4. Stages of Hajj:
Ihram
Tawaf
Sa'ee
Stay at Mina
Stay at Arafat
Stay at Muzdalifah
Rami
Sacrifice or Yaum-un-Nahr
Shaving of the head
Tawaf-e-Ziyarat
The final Tawaf or Tawaf-e-Wida
5.
6. Ihram
The first stage of Hajj is entering
Makkah on the 8th of Zil-Hajjah.
The pilgrim declares the intention
or niyat of performing Hajj. The
Ihram removes differences
between rich and poor, Black and
white, as all human beings are
same and equal in the eyes of
Allah’s sight.
7. Tawaf
Tawaf is
circumambulation or
the act of going
round the Holy
Ka’aba in an
anticlockwise
direction starting
from the Hajr-e-
Aswad,(the black
stone) fixed in the
wall of the Ka’aba
near its door.
8. Sa’ee
Sa’ee is the act of
running seven times
between the two
hills, Safa and
Marwa.
This signifies Hazrat
Hajra’s search for
water for the baby
Ismail(A.s).
9. Stay at Mina
The pilgrim next goes
to Mina, which is
about 6 kilometers
from Makkah. Mina
is a very large plain,
covered by tents,
where the pilgrims
stay overnight. All
pilgrims must be
there before Zuhr.
10. Arafat is a large open ground about 20km
south-east of Makkah.The pilgrims enter
Arafat on the 9th of Zil-Hajjah and stay
there for Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers and leaves
just after sunset. This stay is compulsory as
without it the Hajj is incomplete.
11. Stay at Muzdalifah
Muzdalifah is a plain
between Mina and
Arafat. The pilgrims
come from Arafat to
Muzdalifah and stay
there for the night,
spending the time
mostly in prayer.
12. Rami
Rami is the stoning
of three pillars, the
Jamraat in the
memory of Hazrat
Ibrahim (A.s)
resistance to
shaitan. It takes
place on three
consecutive days,
10th,11th and 12th of
Zil-Hajjah.
13. Sacrifice or
Yaum-un-Nahr
After Rami, on the 10th of Zil-Hajjah,
the pilgrims offer sacrifice of animals
such as sheep, cattle, goat or camel in
memory of Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S)
supreme sacrifice.
14. Male pilgrims have their heads shaven
or their hair clipped. Women have a
small lock of their hair clipped. Then the
pilgrims are released fro the Ihram, and
after taking a bath, change into normal
clothes.
15. This circling of the
Ka’aba seven times
is done after
shaving or clipping
of the hair.This
Tawaf is
compulsory as
failing to perform
it will invalidate
the Hajj.