Nasai

The miqat for the people of Iraq or those coming from that direction is Dhat ‘Irq, and this is an agreed-upon matter. It is approximately 94 kilometers from Makkah al-Mukarramah. Nowadays, people assume ihram from al-Dhuraybah (al-Khuraybat). In some narrations, “Aqiq” is also mentioned, but there is some weakness in that narration. From the aforementioned narrations, it is understood that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) designated Dhat ‘Irq as the miqat for Iraq. However, in some narrations, this designation is attributed to ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhu). It is possible that ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhu) did not have access to the aforementioned narrations, and he designated Dhat ‘Irq as the miqat based on his own ijtihad (independent reasoning), because the famous cities of Iraq, Kufah and Basrah, were established during his era. His ijtihad coincided with the statement of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), just as his other ijtihads coincided with the Qur’an. And Allah knows best.

If the people of Egypt come to Makkah Mukarramah by land, they pass through the route of the people of Shaam; therefore, their miqat will also be the miqat of the people of Shaam, which is Juhfah.

591 Lexical Explanation:
«ذَاتَ عِرَقٍ» ‘Irq’ has a kasrah under the letter ‘ayn’. It is the name of a place located 94 kilometers to the northeast of Makkah al-Mukarramah. It is a small mountain situated to the north of Qarn al-Manazil, at the same level as Qarn al-Manazil.
«وَفِي البخاري : اَنْ عُمَرَ هُوَ الَّذِيِ وَقَّتْ ذَاتَ عِرْقٍ» And in al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that Dhat ‘Irq was designated as a miqat by Umar radi Allahu anhu. Apparently, this contradicts the marfu‘ narration of Aisha radi Allahu anha, in which it is stated that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam designated it, whereas in the narration of al-Bukhari, it is Umar radi Allahu anhu who designated it. The reconciliation and harmonization between the two is that Umar radi Allahu anhu was perhaps not aware of the marfu‘ narration, so he exercised ijtihad (independent reasoning) in this matter, and his ijtihad turned out to be in accordance with the correct Sunnah.
«اَلْعَقيق» This is the name of a place located somewhat behind Dhat ‘Irq. It is also said that it falls within the boundaries of “Dhat ‘Irq.” Every valley that has been widened by a flood is called «عقيق», which is derived from «عق», meaning “to tear apart.” By “people of the east” are meant the people of Iraq and those who pass through their route. The reconciliation between the two ahadith is that “Dhat ‘Irq” is the obligatory miqat, and “Aqiq” is the recommended miqat, because it is also from Dhat ‘Irq.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ It should be remembered that the valley of Marr al-Zahran, which is nowadays well-known as Wadi Fatimah, begins on the eastern side of Makkah facing Ta’if, and ends in the south near the Red Sea, close to Jeddah in the west. There are two edges to this valley on the east. One is the southern edge, which is on the way to Ta’if, near the large valley before Nakhla Yamaniyyah, and this is called Qarn al-Manazil. When the people of Ta’if and Najd intend to go to Makkah, they pass through here. The other is the northern edge, near Darbiyyah, which is called Dhat ‘Irq, from where the people of Iraq and the northern people of Najd pass, and these two edges are opposite each other, but there is a great distance between them, and both are at an equal distance from Makkah al-Mukarramah. Umar radi Allahu anhu, in designating Dhat ‘Irq as a miqat, exercised ijtihad, which was in complete accordance with the needs of the local people and the ease provided by the Shari‘ah. When his ijtihad matched the miqat designated by the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it became a case of “light upon light.”
➋ It should also be remembered that if a person travels by a route where none of these five miqats is located, then he should assume ihram from the point where he passes parallel to any of the miqats. Umar radi Allahu anhu designated Dhat ‘Irq for the people of Iraq precisely because it was parallel and at the same level as the other miqats. All scholars are agreed upon this principle and rule. The meaning of parallel and at the same level is that the miqat is situated to the right or left of a person as he is heading towards Makkah. To clarify, if we connect all five miqats with a line, Makkah al-Mukarramah would be encircled from all sides by this line. Therefore, whenever anyone approaches Makkah from any place other than these miqats, it is necessary that he will cross this line which connects to another miqat. This line is, in fact, the line of parallel and equivalence to the miqat. Thus, when a pilgrim is outside this line, he is in the afaq (outer regions), and ihram is not obligatory upon him. But when he passes by this line, he is at the parallel of the miqat, so it is not permissible for him to proceed further without ihram. All these miqats are on land, and the lines connecting them are also on land. Therefore, as long as a person is traveling by sea, he will not be at the parallel of these miqats. This situation will only arise when he completes his sea journey and sets foot on land. From our research, it becomes clear that pilgrims from Pakistan and India who travel for Hajj by sea are not obliged to assume ihram before reaching Jeddah, because during the sea journey, they neither pass through any miqat nor parallel to any miqat. Their ship is also about a hundred miles away from the limits of the miqat and its parallels, such as Yalamlam, so it is not obligatory for them to assume ihram at that point. Their example is like that of a person traveling from Khurma to Ta’if, or from Lith to Ta’if, or from Madinah Tayyibah or Khaybar to Yanbu‘ by a route other than Dhu’l-Hulayfah; in all these cases, the miqat will come to his right or left, but he has not yet reached the parallel of the miqat, as he is still behind the limits of the miqat. Similarly, as long as a person is traveling by sea, he will remain behind the limits of the miqat and will not be at its parallel until he disembarks at Jeddah, because the line connecting Yalamlam and Juhfah lies towards Makkah, a little ahead of Jeddah near the sea.