A complete guide to the Hajj: stages, rites and supplications

The Hajj unfolds through several rites: entering ihram at the miqat, the arrival tawaf around the Kaaba, the sa'i between Safa and Marwah, the night at Mina, the standing at Arafat, the night at Muzdalifah, the stoning of the pillars at Mina, the sacrifice, the tawaf al-ifadah and then the farewell tawaf. Each stage has its own supplications, set out in this guide.

The Hajj is performed each year during the month of Dhul-Hijjah, the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. The main rites begin on 8 Dhul-Hijjah with the departure for Mina, continue on the 9th with the standing at Arafat, then on the 10th, the day of Eid al-Adha, with the stoning and the sacrifice. The stoning then continues during the days of Tashriq at Mina.

Ihram is the state of consecration the pilgrim enters before crossing the miqat. Men wear two unsewn pieces of white cloth, women plain clothing covering the body except the face and the hands. The pilgrim makes the intention and recites the talbiyah: "Labbayka Allahumma labbayk". Certain acts, such as using perfume or cutting the hair, then become forbidden until the rites are complete.

The standing at Arafat (wuquf), on 9 Dhul-Hijjah, is regarded as the central pillar of the Hajj: a pilgrim who misses it has not performed the pilgrimage. That day is given to supplication, repentance and reflection before Allah. Pilgrims repeat in particular "La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah" and ask forgiveness again and again until sunset.

At the start of each circuit, facing the Black Stone, the pilgrim says "Bismillahi Allahu Akbar". Between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, it is recommended to recite the Quranic supplication "Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhaban-nar". The rest of the tawaf is left to personal supplication, dhikr and reading the Quran, moving anticlockwise.