Some people have a misconception about the boundaries of the Makkah Haram. They believe that the entire city of Makkah is Haram. To clarify, Haram is the Masjid-al-Haram. Various marks have been set up to identify the boundaries of Haram in the city of Makkah.

Thereby we have collected different pieces of literature that would help us know about the exact boundaries of Haram.

1-Taneem – Boundary of Haram towards Madinah

In the direction towards the Madinah, the boundary is 8 km or 3 miles from Makkah by the houses of Banu Nikaar and just before Taneem. Taneem here refers to Masjid Taneem which is generally known as Masjid e Aisha.

As Masjid e Aisha is situated outside the boundaries of Makkah Haram, it is also called the Miqat for people in Makkah. While coming towards Makkah the At-Tan’eem initiates at Buyoot as-Suqya, which are alternatively known as Buyoot Nifaar.

2-Adaat Laban – Boundary of Haram towards Yemen

In the direction towards Yemen, the boundary of the Haram lies seven miles from Makkah and is located at Adaat Laban which is on the road towards Yemen.

3-Wadi Nakhla – Boundary of Haram towards Iraq

Towards Iraq, the boundary of Haram is at a mountain pass on one side of Jabal al-Muqatta‘. It is 7 miles away from Makkah; however, in the books of the Maalikis it noted as eight miles.

4-Jiranah – Boundary of Haram towards Jiranah

Toward the al-Ji‘raanah, the boundary of Haram lies at the mountain pass of ‘Abdullah ibn Khaalid. This is 14 km or 9 miles away from Makkah.

Masjid al-Jiranah مسجد الجعرانة is the mosque which marks the location where the Prophet Muhammad entered into Ihram after returning from the Battle of Hunayn.

5-Arafat – Boundary of Haram towards Taif

The next boundary of Makkah Haram is Arafat which is one the road to Taif. This boundary is at bottom of Masjid-e-Nimrah and is seven miles away from Makkah.

6- Hudaybiyah – Boundary of Haram towards Jeddah

On the road to Jeddah, the boundary of Haram is Munqati‘al-A‘shaash, which rests 10 miles or 16 km from Makkah.

Munqata‘ al-A‘shaash, which is at the end of al-Hudaybiyah. Hudaybiyah is part of the Haram. This the place where the Treaty of Hudaybiyah took place. Moreover, pilgrims living or staying in Makkah come to this place to wear Ihram.

How to locate the boundaries of Makkah Haram?

Today, locating the boundaries of Haram is not a task anymore as the Saudi Authorities have set up clear marks of these boundaries.

As a result, one can see these marks in form of edges like minarets. The name of the boundary is written in Arabic and some other widely known languages of the Kingdom.