What should the one who wants to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah do at the miqaat?
Question

                What should the one who wants to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah do at the miqaat?
Praise be to Allah.
    When he reaches the miqaat it is mustahabb 
    for him to do ghusl and put on perfume, because it is reported that the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) changed out of tailored 
    clothes when he entered ihram, and he did ghusl. And it is proven in as-Saheehayn 
    that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I used to put perfume 
    on the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) for his 
    ihram before he entered ihram, and when he exited ihram before he 
    circumambulated the Ka‘bah (tawaaf al-ifaadah). And the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed ‘Aa’ishah, when she got her 
    menses after entering ihram for ‘umrah, to do ghusl and enter ihram for 
    Hajj. He instructed Asma’ bint ‘Umays, when she gave birth in Dhu’l-Hulayfah, 
    to do ghusl, wrap herself in a cloth, and enter ihram. This indicates that 
    if a woman reaches the miqaat when she is menstruating or bleeding following 
    childbirth, she should do ghusl and enter ihram with the people, and she 
    should do everything that the pilgrims do apart from circumambulating the 
    Ka‘bah, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed 
    ‘Aa’ishah and Asma’ to do. 

    It is mustahabb for the one who wants to 
    enter ihram to trim his moustache, clip his nails, and deal with his pubes 
    and armpit hair. So he should remove whatever needs to be removed, so that 
    he will not need to remove that after entering ihram, when doing so will be 
    prohibited for him. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    instructed the Muslims to take care of these things at all times, as it is 
    proven in as-Saheehayn that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with 
    him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    said: “Five things are part of the fitrah: circumcision, removing the pubic 
    hair, trimming the moustache, trimming the nails, and plucking the armpit 
    hairs.” In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Anas (may Allah be 
    pleased with him) said: A time limit was set for others with regard to 
    trimming the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking the armpit hair and 
    shaving the pubes: we were not to leave that for more than forty days. 

    It was also narrated by an-Nasaa’i as 
    follows: “The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    set a time limit for us.” And the version narrated by an-Nasaa’i was also 
    narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi. With regard to the head, it 
    is not prescribed to remove any hair from the head when entering ihram, 
    either for men or for women. 

    With regard to the beard, it is haraam to 
    shave it or remove anything from it at all times. Rather it is obligatory to 
    leave it alone and let it grow, because it is proven in as-Saheehayn that 
    Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Be different from the 
    mushrikeen: let your beards grow and trim your moustaches.” Muslim narrated 
    in his Saheeh that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 
    The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 
    “Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow; be different from the 
    Magians.” 

    There is a serious issue nowadays whereby 
    many people go against this Sunnah and oppose the beard; they are content to 
    resemble the disbelievers and women, especially those who claim to be 
    knowledgeable or seekers of knowledge. Verily to Allah we belong and verily 
    unto Him is our return. We ask Allah to guide us and all the Muslims to act 
    in accordance with the Sunnah and to adhere to it and promote it, even if 
    the majority turn away from it. Sufficient for us is Allah and He is the 
    best disposer of affairs; there is no power and no strength except with 
    Allah, the Most High, the Almighty. 

    Then the male pilgrim puts on the izaar 
    (lower garment or waist wrapper) and rida’ (upper garment). It is mustahabb 
    for them to be made of two pieces of clean white cloth. It is also mustahabb 
    to enter ihram wearing sandals, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) said: “Let one of you enter ihram in an izaar, rida’ and 
    sandals.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). 

    As for the female pilgrim, it is 
    permissible for her to enter ihram in whatever clothes she wants, black or 
    green or otherwise, but she should beware of resembling men in their 
    garments,. However she does not have the right to wear the niqab (face veil) 
    or gloves when in ihram; rather she should cover her face and hands with 
    something other than the niqab and gloves, because the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade the woman in ihram to wear the niqab 
    and gloves. As for what the common folk do, of singling out green or black 
    for women to wear in ihram, and not other colours, there is no basis for 
    that. 

    Then after finishing ghusl and cleaning 
    oneself, and putting on the ihram garments, the pilgrim should form the 
    intention in his heart to begin the rituals that he wants to perform, either 
    Hajj or ‘umrah, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) said: “Actions are but by intentions, and each person will have but 
    that which he intended.” 

    It is prescribed for him to utter what he 
    has intended. If his intention is to do ‘Umrah, he should say: “Labbayka 
    ‘umratan (Here I am for ‘Umrah)” or “Allahumma labbayka ‘umratan 
    (O Allah, here I am for ‘umrah).” If his intention is to do Hajj, he should 
    say: “Labbayka Hajjan (Here I am for Hajj)” or “Allahumma labbayka 
    Hajjan (O Allah, here I am for Hajj),” be cause the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) did that. If his intention is to do both of 
    them together, he should say words to that effect: “Allahumma labbayka 
    ‘umratan wa Hajjan (O Allah, here I am for ‘umrah and Hajj).” It is 
    preferable for him to utter that after he gets up on his mount or into his 
    vehicle and so on, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) only said the Talbiyah when he got on his mount and it set out with him 
    from the miqaat to begin the journey. This is the most correct scholarly 
    opinion. 

    It is not prescribed for him to utter his 
    intention except in the case of ihram, because that was narrated from the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). But in the case of 
    prayer, tawaaf and so on, he should not utter any of the intention out loud. 
    So he should not say “I intend to pray such and such” or “I intend to 
    circumambulate the Ka‘bah”; rather uttering these intentions comes under the 
    heading of innovations that have been introduced into Islam, and uttering 
    them loudly is even worse and more sinful. If uttering the intention was 
    prescribed, the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would 
    have stated that and would have made it clear to his ummah by his deeds or 
    words, and the righteous early generations would have hastened to do that. 

    No report to that effect has been narrated 
    from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or from his 
    Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), hence it is known that it is an 
    innovation, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 
    “The worst of matters are those which are newly invented, and every 
    innovation is a going astray.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. And 
    the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever 
    introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will 
    have it rejected.” Saheeh – agreed upon. According to a version narrated by 
    Muslim: “Whoever does an action that is not in accordance with this matter 
    of ours will have it rejected.” End quote. 

    Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah 
    have mercy on him).