Short answer
Ihram is the sacred state a pilgrim enters for Hajj or umrah, in which some normal things become forbidden. It starts with the intention and the talbiyah, not with putting on the white clothes. For umrah it ends when you shave or trim after sa'i; for Hajj it ends in two steps on and after the day of sacrifice.
Ihram is made by the intention together with the talbiyah (or what takes its place). Umrah ends with shaving or trimming after sa'i. In Hajj, shaving on 10 Dhul Hijjah releases everything except marital relations, which become lawful only after tawaf al-ziyarah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i and Hanbali
- The intention alone starts ihram; the talbiyah is sunnah. The first release in Hajj comes after any two of stoning, shaving and tawaf, and marriage contracts stay forbidden until the full release.
- Maliki
- The intention starts ihram; the talbiyah is wajib and leaving it requires a dam. The first release comes with stoning Jamrat al-Aqabah.
Explanation
Ihram comes from haram, forbidden or sacred. The word is used for two things: the state of a pilgrim, and the clothes worn in it. The clothes alone do not make you a muhrim (person in ihram). You can wear the sheets at home or at the airport and still be free of its rules until you make the intention and say the talbiyah.
- Before: clip nails, remove unwanted hair, take a ghusl, put on the clothes and, if it is not a disliked time, pray two rakats.
- Start: at or before the miqat, make the intention and say the talbiyah (see niyyah for umrah and the talbiyah).
- During: keep away from what is forbidden (see what is forbidden in ihram).
- End of umrah: after tawaf and sa'i, shave or trim. Then everything is lawful again.
- End of Hajj: after shaving on the 10th, everything is lawful except intimacy; after tawaf al-ziyarah, that too.
How long does it last? An umrah takes a few hours from arrival, but ihram lasts from the miqat until the cut, however long that is. If you forget to cut, you are still in ihram (see forgot to cut hair). For Hajj, ihram is usually from the 8th (or earlier for ifrad and qiran; in tamattu the umrah ihram ends first and a new Hajj ihram starts on the 8th) to the 10th or later.
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.
Entering ihram binds you to the rules of Hajj.
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.
Shaving is the act that ends ihram.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1549
Sahih... لبيك اللهم لبيك لبيك لا شريك لك لبيك ...
"Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am."
The talbiyah that is said on entering ihram.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1545
Sahih... ولبس إزاره ورداءه هو وأصحابه ...
"He put on his lower and upper sheets, he and his companions. In the morning at Dhul Hulayfah he mounted, and when he reached al-Bayda he and his companions began the talbiyah."
The ihram clothes are put on first; ihram itself begins with the talbiyah at the miqat.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, chapter on ihram. Ihram is by the intention with the talbiyah.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hajj, on the release from ihram. Shaving releases everything but women; tawaf al-ziyarah releases that.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Hajj, on the two releases. The Shafi'i order of the first and second release.
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.