Intention

Intention (النِّيَّة) accompanies all the worships in Islam. The conditions of intention in hajj and 'umra rites are as follows:

• Specifying that one wants to perform hajj or 'umra and its type; whether it is al-'umra al-mufrada or al-'umra al-tamattu', or it is hajj al-tamattu', hajj al-ifrad, hajj al-qiran, hajj on behalf, hajjat al-Islam, hajj of nadhr, or recommended hajj.
• He should have pure intention of obeying the orders of Allah Almighty because 'umra and hajj and all the rites are acts of worship. So, one should perform them with intention of seeking proximity to Allah Almighty.

While making the intention, it is not necessary for a person to have a detailed picture of the rites and deeds of hajj or 'umra in his mind; but it is enough to know them in general and perform them step by step. For a person who wears ihram, it is not necessary to make the intention to stop committing the prohibited acts. Moreover, the intention of committing some forbidden acts does not make ihram invalid. That said, unless he has intention of committing some acts which invalidate 'umra or hajj; like intercourse. Because intention of these deeds does not conform to intention of performing hajj, rather intending doing these deeds contradicts the intention.

References

• The Rites of Hajj, In Accord with Fatwās of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Hajj and Ziarah Research Center