Short answer
Go outside the Haram boundary to the nearest point, usually Masjid A'ishah at al-Tan'im, and enter ihram there, as the Prophet ﷺ told A'ishah. You may change into ihram clothes at your hotel, but the intention for umrah must be made outside the Haram. For Hajj, people in Makkah enter ihram from where they are staying.
The miqat for umrah of anyone inside Makkah is the hill (the land outside the Haram); al-Tan'im is the best and nearest. Entering ihram for umrah inside the Haram and doing it without going out requires a dam. For Hajj, the miqat of those in Makkah is the Haram itself.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The best place to go out to is al-Ji'ranah, then al-Tan'im, then al-Hudaybiyah.
- Maliki
- Imam Malik disliked doing more than one umrah in a year, though it is valid.
Explanation
After her Hajj, A'ishah wanted an umrah of her own. The Prophet ﷺ told her brother Abd al-Rahman to take her out of the Haram to al-Tan'im, where she entered ihram. That is why people in Makkah go out for umrah: an umrah should join the land outside the Haram with the Haram itself.
- Clip nails and take a shower at your hotel if you like, and put on ihram clothes.
- Take a taxi or bus to Masjid A'ishah (al-Tan'im), a short drive from the Haram, or to al-Ji'ranah.
- Pray two rakats there if it is not a disliked time, make the intention and say the talbiyah.
- Return and do tawaf, sa'i and the cut as usual (see our umrah guide).
- Intention in the hotel: if you make it inside the Haram and do umrah without going out, a dam is due. If you go out to the hill before starting tawaf, no dam.
- Hajj from Makkah: on the 8th, enter ihram for Hajj from your hotel or the Sacred Mosque.
- Several umrahs: allowed and rewarding in the Hanafi school, except on the five days of Hajj. Some scholars prefer extra tawafs to repeated umrahs; both are good.
- Umrah for someone else: intend it for them (see Hajj badal).
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:196
وَأَتِمُّوا۟ ٱلْحَجَّ وَٱلْعُمْرَةَ لِلَّهِ ۚ فَإِنْ أُحْصِرْتُمْ فَمَا ٱسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ ٱلْهَدْىِ ۖ وَلَا تَحْلِقُوا۟ رُءُوسَكُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ ٱلْهَدْىُ مَحِلَّهُۥ ۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ بِهِۦٓ أَذًۭى مِّن رَّأْسِهِۦ فَفِدْيَةٌۭ مِّن صِيَامٍ أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ أَوْ نُسُكٍۢ ۚ فَإِذَآ أَمِنتُمْ فَمَن تَمَتَّعَ بِٱلْعُمْرَةِ إِلَى ٱلْحَجِّ فَمَا ٱسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ ٱلْهَدْىِ ۚ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَٰثَةِ أَيَّامٍۢ فِى ٱلْحَجِّ وَسَبْعَةٍ إِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ ۗ تِلْكَ عَشَرَةٌۭ كَامِلَةٌۭ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن لَّمْ يَكُنْ أَهْلُهُۥ حَاضِرِى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ ﴿١٩٦﴾
And complete the Hajj and 'umrah for Allah. But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice. And when you are secure, then whoever performs 'umrah [during the Hajj months] followed by Hajj [offers] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find [or afford such an animal] - then a fast of three days during Hajj and of seven when you have returned [home]. Those are ten complete [days]. This is for those whose family is not in the area of al-Masjid al-Haram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty.
Umrah is completed for Allah wherever one starts.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1784
Sahih... أمره أن يردف عائشة ويعمرها من التنعيم ...
"He told him to take A'ishah behind him and let her perform umrah from al-Tan'im."
Those in Makkah enter ihram for umrah outside the Haram.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1526
Sahih... فمن كان دونهن فمهله من أهله وكذاك حتى أهل مكة يهلون منها ...
"Whoever lives closer than these enters ihram from his home, even the people of Makkah enter ihram from it."
The people of Makkah enter ihram for Hajj from Makkah.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, chapter on the miqats. The miqat of the people of Makkah is the Haram for Hajj and the hill for umrah.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hajj, on the miqats. Al-Tan'im is the best place for umrah from Makkah in the Hanafi school.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Hajj, on the miqat of umrah for those in Makkah. The Shafi'i preference for al-Ji'ranah.
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.