Ibn Baaz's Fatwa about speaking the intention out in Hajj and 'Umrah
17-11-2011 | IslamWeb
Question:
Dear scholar, I am confused reading both opinion of great Shaykh Ibn Baaz (rah). The first Fatwa clearly says it is innovation to speak intention for Hajj/Umra and second fatwa says it is permissible rather better. Also, first point says it is Talbiya instead of intention but second point elaborates it as intention. Please clarify. Speaking the intention for Hajj and ‘Umrah [http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/31821] 1) It was not proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or his companions spoke the intention for any act of worship out loud. The Talbiyah in Hajj and ‘Umrah is not the intention. Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Say: Will you inform Allaah of your religion while Allaah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth?” [al-Hujuraat 49:16] It was not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the Sahaabah or any of the most prominent imams that they spoke the intention out loud. From this we may understand that it is not prescribed, rather it is an innovation that has been introduced into the religion. And Allaah is the Source of strength. Fataawa Islamiyyah, 2/315 2) Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) [http://www.sistersbookroom.net/t978-intention-of-ihram-be-uttered-by-tongue-and-performing-on-behalf-of-another] in reply to whether intention of ihram be uttered by tongue and how if it is done on behalf of others said : The place of intention is the heart. Nevertheless, it is better to utter his intention by tongue and say: "Oh Allah! I am in Thy presence intending to perform Hajj on behalf of so-and-so" or "Oh Allah! I am in Thy presence intending Umrah on behalf of so-and-so" or "my father or other person, So that the intention is confirmed by utterance. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) uttered the intention of Hajj and Umrah. This indicated the legality of utterance following the Prophet's (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) Sunnah .
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, we should say that it is known that the place of intention is the heart and not the tongue, so the utterance is not the intention; rather, it [utterance] is speaking out loud the intention which is in the heart. Indeed, there is no contradiction between the two Fataawa of Shaykh Ibn Baaz 
to which you referred because the Fatwa in which he stated that it is an innovation to utter the intention, was a reply to a question about the ruling of uttering the intention in the prayer and not in Hajj and ‘Umrah as per the question of that Fatwa in his "Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa".
We will hereby mention the whole Fatwa from "Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa Ash-Shaykh Ibn Baaz" exactly as it is in volume no. 10 page 423:
Question: A questioner from Egypt asks: What is the ruling of uttering the intention loudly in the prayer?
Answer: “Uttering the intention is an innovation and uttering it loudly is even more sinful; rather, the Sunnah is to make the intention in the heart as Allaah Knows that which is secret and what is even more hidden as Allaah Says (what means): {Say: Will you inform Allaah of your religion while Allaah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth?}[Quran 49:16] It was not confirmed that the Prophet or the Companions or any of the most prominent Imaams spoke the intention out loud. From this we understand that uttering the intention is not legislated; rather it is an innovation that has been introduced into the religion.”
So, dear questioner, you know now that Shaykh Ibn Baaz issued that Fatwa as a reply to a question about uttering the intention in the prayer and not in Hajj and ‘Umrah. Rather, the Shaykh is of the view that it is permissible to utter the intention in Hajj and ‘Umrah as per the second Fatwa to which you referred. He also said in "Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa": “It is not permissible for a person to utter his intention except when especially assuming the state of Ihraam, as it was confirmed that the Prophet did so. As regards the prayer and the Tawaaf and other acts, then one should not utter the intention in any of them.”