Short answer
Getting married in Makkah when you are not in ihram is fine. A nikah performed while the groom, bride or guardian is in ihram is valid in the Hanafi school, but the couple may not be intimate until they leave ihram. The other three schools hold such a nikah is void, so it is wiser to do it before or after ihram.
A nikah contracted in ihram is valid, based on the report that the Prophet ﷺ married Maymunah while in ihram. What is forbidden in ihram is intercourse and anything leading to it, which wait until release from ihram.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali
- A nikah in which the groom, bride or guardian is in ihram is void and must be redone after ihram, based on the hadith "the muhrim does not marry, nor give in marriage, nor propose".
Explanation
Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet ﷺ married Maymunah while he was in ihram. Maymunah herself, and others, reported that he married her when he was not. Uthman narrated that the Prophet said the muhrim does not marry, give in marriage or propose. The Hanafis follow Ibn Abbas and read the prohibition as forbidding what leads to intimacy; the other schools give it full force.
- Nikah in Makkah, not in ihram: permitted, like anywhere else. There is no special sunnah to marry in Makkah, though doing it near the Haram is a blessed place.
- Nikah during umrah: in the Hanafi school it is valid, but because the majority see it as void, it is better to hold it before your ihram or after you have trimmed your hair.
- Intimacy: not allowed until you are fully out of ihram (see intercourse in ihram).
- Couples of different schools: if either side follows another school, avoid a nikah in ihram so that no one doubts it.
The conditions of a valid nikah (offer and acceptance, witnesses, mahr) are the same everywhere. For any questions on the contract itself, ask a mufti.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:197
ٱلْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌۭ مَّعْلُومَٰتٌۭ ۚ فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ ٱلْحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِى ٱلْحَجِّ ۗ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ يَعْلَمْهُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَتَزَوَّدُوا۟ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ ٱلزَّادِ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۚ وَٱتَّقُونِ يَٰٓأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ ﴿١٩٧﴾
Hajj is [during] well-known months, so whoever has made Hajj obligatory upon himself therein [by entering the state of ihram], there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience and no disputing during Hajj. And whatever good you do - Allah knows it. And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O you of understanding.
Intimacy is forbidden in ihram.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1837
Sahih... أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم تزوج ميمونة وهو محرم ...
"The Prophet married Maymunah while he was in ihram."
The Hanafi evidence that the contract is valid.
Sahih Muslim 1409
Sahih... لا ينكح المحرم ولا ينكح ولا يخطب ...
"The muhrim does not marry, nor give in marriage, nor propose."
The majority's evidence that the contract is void.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Nikah, on prohibited women, on marrying in ihram. A nikah in ihram is valid.
- Fath al-Qadir, Kitab al-Nikah, on the muhrim's marriage. Discusses the conflicting reports about Maymunah.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Hajj, on marriage in ihram. The Hanbali view that it is void.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.