The sixth ruling: Departing Muzdalifah

A healthy person is not permitted to depart Muzdalifah unless he has performed the Fajr Prayer on the Day of ‘Eed. The Prophet spent the night of ‘Eed there and did not depart until he had performed the Fajr Prayer, saying: "Learn your rituals (of Hajj) from me."

It was narrated on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah that she said, "Sawdah (the wife of the Prophet ), who was bulky, sought the permission of the Prophet on the night of Muzdalifah to move (from that place) ahead of him and before the multitude (set forth). He gave her permission. So she set forth before the departure of the Prophet . But we stayed there until dawn and we moved on, when he departed." [Muslim]

According to another narration, it was narrated that she said, "I wished I had asked the permission of the Prophet as Sawdah had sought permission, so I could perform the Subh (morning) Prayer in Mina and I could throw the pebbles before the coming of other people." [Muslim]

An ailing person who cannot deal with crowds is permitted to depart before dawn, when the moon disappears, and go to throw the pebbles before the other people arrive. It was narrated that Asmaa’ waited for the disappearance of the moon and asked her freed slave whether the moon had set. If he said, "Yes," she would say, "Set forth along with me." They then set forth and she threw the pebbles. She then prayed (the Fajr Prayer) in her place. Then the freed slave said to her, "O respected lady, [how come] we set forth (in the very early part of dawn) when it was dark?" Whereupon she said, "My son! The Prophet granted permission to women." [Muslim]

Those who accompany ailing people can also depart Muzdalifah before dawn. The Prophet ordered Ibn ‘Abbaas along with the weak and ill people of his family to depart Muzdalifah during the night. If such a person is unwell and cannot deal with crowds, he is allowed to throw the pebbles as soon as he reaches Mina; and if he is not, he should delay throwing until sunrise. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas that he said, "The Messenger of Allah sent ahead some boys from the Banu ‘Abd Al-Muttalib on donkeys on the night of Muzdalifah. He began to pat our thighs (out of love) and said: ‘O my sons! Do not throw the pebbles till the sun rises.'" [Abu Daawood, Ibn Maajah, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i and Ahmad] [At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah: Saheeh]

We conclude that departing Muzdalifah and throwing the pebbles of ‘Aqabah on the Day of ‘Eed is summarized as follows:

First: Whoever is healthy and not accompanied by any weak or ailing people is not allowed to depart Muzdalifah unless he offers the Fajr Prayer there and he is not allowed to throw the pebbles until the sun rises. This was the practice of the Prophet who said: "Learn your rituals (of Hajj) from me." The Prophet did not permit healthy and strong people to depart Muzdalifah before the break of dawn nor to throw the pebbles before the rising of the sun.

Second: Whoever is healthy but is accompanied by weak members of his family, is allowed to depart along with them at the end of the night if he wills. Nonetheless, only the weak and unwell people are permitted to throw the pebbles upon reaching Mina. The healthy and strong people, however, are required to wait until sunrise because they have no excuse.

Third: The weak and unwell person is permitted to depart Muzdalifah at the end of the night when the moon disappears and then go to throw the pebbles as soon as he reaches Mina.

Whoever reaches Muzdalifah just after the break of dawn of the night of ‘Eed and offers the Fajr Prayer there after standing at ‘Arafah before dawn, his Hajj is valid. ‘Urwah ibn Mudharris narrated that the Prophet said: "Anyone who offers this prayer (Fajr Prayer) along with us and stands with us until we depart after standing at ‘Arafah before it by night or day, his Hajj is perfect and he has completed the rituals (of Hajj)." [Abu Daawood, Ibn Maajah, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i and Ahmad] [At-Tirmithi and Al-Haakim: Saheeh]

According to the apparent meaning of this Hadeeth (narration), such a person is not required to offer a sacrificial animal because he realized part of the time of standing by ‘Arafah and remembered Allah at Al-Mash‘ar Al-Haraam by offering the Fajr Prayer there. Consequently, his Hajj is valid and he is not required to offer a sacrificial animal, since the Prophet did not state that.

The seventh ruling: Throwing the pebbles

1) The pebbles used in throwing should be middle sized between the size of a chickpea and a hazelnut. The pebbles for each day are to be collected from any place in Mina or Muzdalifah. It is proved that the Prophet neither collected the pebbles from Muzdalifah nor collected all the pebbles at once. As far as I know he did not command any of the Companions to do so.

2) Hitting the pillar which is located in the middle of the pit is not a condition for a valid throwing of pebbles. Rather, it must land in the pit where all the pebbles are gathered. When a pebble hits the pillar and then lands outside the pit, the pilgrim has to throw another one instead. On the contrary, when the pebble lands in the pit, even if it did not hit the pillar, the throwing is valid.

3) When a pilgrim throws only six pebbles, for example, out of forgetfulness, and returns to his place of residence and then remembers, he is blameless if he goes back and throws the pebble that he forgot. If the sun sets, however, he should delay it until the following day. When the sun declines from the middle of the sky, he should throw the forgotten pebble first and then throw the pebbles of the present day.

13 Miscellaneous Rulings of Hajj - III