Mistakes made by people in ihraam

We are coming to Jeddah by plane. Is it permissible for us to delay
ihraam for Hajj until we reach Jeddah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Some of the mistakes made by some pilgrims with regard to ihraam
include the following:
-1-
Not entering ihraam from the meeqaat. Somepilgrims, especially
thosewho come by air, do not enter ihraam from the meeqaat and wait
until they arrive in Jeddah, even though they pass over the meeqaat.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) defined the
meeqaats and said: "They are for them (theirresidents) and whoever
comes to them who is not of their people."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1524; Muslim, 1181.
And it was narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari that when the people of Iraq
complained to 'Umar ibnal-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him),
saying that the meeqaat that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had defined for the people of Najd
was out of their way, or was too far for them, he (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: "Look fora place that is in line with it on
your route." Narrated by al-Bukhaari,1531. This indicates that coming
in line with the meeqaat is like passing through it. So one who comes
in line with the meeqaat from above, in a plane, is like one who
passes through it, so he has to enter ihraam when he comes in line
with the meeqaat, and itis not permissible for him to pass the meeqaat
and enter ihraam when he lands in Jeddah.
The way to correct this mistake is to do ghusl in one's house or in
the airport, and to change inthe plane and put on theihraam garments
and take off one's regular clothes. Then when he comes in line with
the meeqaat he should enterihraam from there, and recite the talbiyah
for whatever he intends to do, 'Umrah or Hajj. It is not permissible
for him to delay that until he reaches Jeddah. If he does that then he
has done wrong and according to the majority of scholars he has to
offer a sacrifice which he should slaughter in Makkah anddistribute
the meat to the poor, because he hasomitted one of the obligatory
duties.
-2-
Some people think that it is essential to enter ihraam wearing shoes,
and that if a person is not wearing shoes whenhe enters ihraam, then
itis not permissible for him to put them on. This is a mistake because
it is not essential to wear shoes when entering ihraam. Ihraam may be
done without wearing shoes, and if a person enters ihraam without
wearing shoes, that doesnot mean that he cannotput them on afterwards.
He can put shoes on afterwards if he wasn't wearing them when he
entered ihraam – there is nothing wrong with that.
-3-
Some people think that it is essential to enter ihraam in the ihraam
garments and to keep them on until they exit ihraam, and that it is
notpermitted to change these clothes. This is a mistake, because the
muhrim (person in ihraam) is permitted to change his ihraam garments
with or without a reason, if he changes them for something that he is
permitted to wear during ihraam.
In this regard there is no difference between men and women. Anyone
who enters ihraam in ihraam garments and wants to change it may do so,
but sometimes he may have to change it, such as if it becomes
contaminated with some impurity (najaasah) that he cannot wash without
taking it off. And sometimes changing it may be preferable, such as if
it becomes very dirty, without there being any najaasah, so he should
change it for aclean ihraam garment.
Sometimes the matter may be one in which he has the choice: if he
wants he can change it and if he does not want he does not have to
change it. The point is that this notion is incorrect, namely the
pilgrim's belief that if heenters ihraam in a certain garment it is
not permissible for him to take if off until he has exited his ihraam.
-4-
Some people uncover their right shoulders andthrow the end of the
rida' (upper garment) over their left shoulders from the time they
enterihraam, i.e., from the moment they form the intention, so we see
many pilgrims – if not most of them – wearing their ihraam garments
inthis manner from the moment they enter ihraam until they exit
ihraam. This is a mistake,because this manner of wearing the ihraam is
only to be done during Tawaaf al-Qudoom (the tawaaf performed upon
arrival in Makkah), not during al-saa'ee and not before the tawaaf.
-5-
Some of them believe that it is obligatory to pray two rak'ahs when
entering ihraam. This is also a mistake; it is not obligatory to pray
two rak'ahs when entering ihraam. Rather the correct view on this
matter was that suggested by Abu'l-'Abbaas Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), who said that there is no
specific prayer to be offered when entering ihraam, because that was
not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him).
If a person does ghusl and puts on the ihraam garments, then he
should enter ihraam without praying, unless it is the time of prayer,
such as if the time for anobligatory prayer has come or is
approaching, and he wants to stay at the meeqaat until he hasprayed.
In that case it is better for him to enter ihraam after praying. With
regard to intending to pray a specific prayer in ihraam, the most
correct opinion is that there is no specific prayer for entering
ihraam.And Allah knows best.