Whoever walks past the Meeqaat for Hajj or Umrah and does not enter ihram must return to the Meeqaat to enter ihram for Hajj and Umrah because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The people of Madina should enter ihram at Dhu’l-Hulayfa, the people of Syria should do so at al-Juhfa, and the people of Najd should do so at Qarn.” And Ibn ‘Abbas said that Allaah’s messenger appointed the following places for putting on the ihram:
Dhul Hulaifa for the people of Medina, al- Juhfa for the people of Syria, Qarn al-Manazil for the people of Najd, and Yalamlam for the people of the Yemen; so, these spots are for these regions and for people of other regions who come to them intending to perform the hajj and the ‘umra.
If he intends to perform Hajj or Umrah, then he must enter ihram from the meeqaat that passed by, and if it is through Madinah, he enters ihram from Dhul-Hulayfah, and if it is through the Syria, Egypt or Morocco, he enters ihram from Al-Juhfa (or) from Rabigh now, and if it is through Yemen, his ihram is from Yalamlam, and if It was through Najd or Taif, the Ihram is from Wadi Qarn, which is called Qarnah, or Al-Sail now, and some people call it Wadi Muharram, so he wears ihram from those places for Hajj or Umrah or both. The best, if it is the month for Hajj is to enter ihram for Umrah, and he makes tawaf, do sa’y and shortens prayers (qasr), thereafter, he takes ihram for Hajj at its time.
If he passed the Meeqaat in other than the months of Hajj, such as Ramadan or Shaban, he will make ihram for Umrah only, and this is the verdict according to sharia. However, if he has come for another reason aside hajj and umrah, say he had come to Makkah for trade, to visit friends and family, or for other reasons apart from Hajj or Umrah, then he does not have to enter ihram according to the correct view, and he may enter (Makkah) without the ihram, though it is better for him to enter with ihram for ‘umrah in order to take advantage of the opportunity.