Almost every pilgrim asks the same thing on arrival: am I still a traveller here? The answer depends on how many days you intend to stay in each city, not on the length of the whole trip. A typical Umrah package of 7 nights in Makkah and 5 in Madinah can give different answers in different schools.
On the way
A pilgrim flying from abroad is a traveller from the moment they leave their home town. Pray qasr at the airport, on the plane if needed, and in Jeddah. The short drive from Jeddah to Makkah is close to some schools' thresholds on its own, but it does not matter for someone already travelling from home. What matters is whether your stay in each city makes you a resident.
Makkah and Madinah: the stay rules
| School | Become a resident in a city if you intend to stay | 7 nights in Makkah |
|---|---|---|
| Hanafi | 15 days or more | Qasr |
| Shafi'i | 4 full days, not counting arrival and departure days | Full prayer |
| Maliki | 4 full days (20 prayers) | Full prayer |
| Hanbali and Ibn Baz | more than 4 days | Full prayer |
| Ja'fari | 10 days or more | Qasr, with the option described below |
Each city is counted separately. Seven nights in Makkah and five in Madinah is not a 12-day stay in one place. Enter your package dates in the calculator to see the result for each city.
Praying behind the imam of the Haram
The imams of Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi are residents and pray four. In the Sunni schools a traveller who joins them follows the imam and prays four. You only pray two when praying alone or in a group of travellers, for example in your hotel.
Hajj: Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah
All the Sunni schools agree that the pilgrims combine Dhuhr and Asr at Arafat and Maghrib and Isha at Muzdalifah, following the Prophet ﷺ. The Hanafis place extra conditions on the combining at Arafat, so Hanafi groups often follow their own scholar's guidance on this.
Whether prayers are shortened at Mina and Arafat depends on your status:
- Maliki school: shortening at Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah is a sunnah of Hajj for everyone, except the residents of that particular place.
- Shafi'i and Hanbali schools: shortening there follows the normal travel rules. Many contemporary scholars, following Ibn Taymiyyah, allow all pilgrims to shorten, as the people of Makkah did with the Prophet ﷺ.
- Hanafi school: the question is whether Mina is now part of Makkah. Classical texts treat them as separate places, so a pilgrim who arrived in Makkah less than 15 days before going to Mina stays a traveller. Some contemporary Hanafi scholars say the city has grown to include Mina, which changes the count. Hajj groups follow different positions, so ask your group's scholar before the days of Hajj.
- Ja'fari fiqh: the ruling depends on whether you intended 10 days in Makkah before going out, and on the distances involved. Follow the Hajj manual of your marja', which covers these cases in detail.
The Shia rule of choice in the Haramayn
In Ja'fari fiqh a traveller may choose between qasr and full prayer in Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi, and praying in full is better. The maraji' differ on whether the choice covers the whole cities of Makkah and Madinah or only the mosques.
Fasting
A traveller may leave optional fasts, and a pilgrim who is a traveller during Ramadan Umrah may postpone the fast in the Sunni schools. In Ja'fari fiqh a traveller who must pray qasr may not fast, but a Shia pilgrim who intends 10 days in Makkah becomes a resident and fasts there.
Use the calculator with each leg of your trip, and read the guide to long stays for how the day counts work.