Short answer
Yes. You can wear the ihram clothes at home or at the airport, since the clothes alone are not ihram. You may even make the intention before the miqat; Hanafi scholars call that better for someone sure he can keep its rules. Entering ihram for Hajj before the Hajj months is disliked.
Entering ihram before the miqat is valid, and better for one confident of avoiding violations. The miqat is the latest point, not the only point. Entering ihram for Hajj before Shawwal is makruh.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- It is valid, but the relied-upon view is that entering ihram at the miqat is better, following the sunnah.
- Maliki
- Entering ihram before the miqat is makruh, though valid.
- Hanbali
- Entering ihram before the miqat is makruh, though valid.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ set the miqats and said they are for their own people and for everyone who passes them intending Hajj or umrah. The miqat is the boundary you must not cross without ihram. Crossing it earlier in ihram is not a violation, so the schools agree it is valid. They differ on whether it is better.
- Clothes vs ihram: wearing the two sheets is not ihram. Ihram starts with the intention and the talbiyah (see what is ihram). Many people dress at home and make the intention on the plane.
- Flying: make the intention before the plane reaches the miqat. Airlines announce it, but it is safer to intend some minutes early (see ihram when flying to Jeddah).
- Long journeys: if you enter ihram many hours early, every rule of ihram applies from that moment. If you might struggle to keep them, wait until close to the miqat.
- Hajj before Shawwal: makruh in the Hanafi school, as the Quran ties Hajj to its months.
Before ihram, use perfume on your body if you like, clip nails and remove unwanted hair, since these become forbidden once you start. See what is forbidden in ihram.
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.
Ihram for Hajj belongs in the Hajj months.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1524
Sahih... هن لهن ولمن أتى عليهن من غيرهن ...
"They are for their people and for those who come to them from elsewhere."
The miqats are boundaries for everyone passing them.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, fasl fil-mawaqit. Entering ihram before the miqats is allowed, and better.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hajj, matlab fil-mawaqit. It is better only for one who can avoid violations; ihram for Hajj before its months is makruh.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Hajj, bab al-mawaqit. The Hanbali view that it is disliked.
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.