Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I am a resident of Jeddah who performed Haj recently. I have the following questions.

(1) Is it okay if one starts from Mina to Arfaat before Fajr? We actually started at around 1 AM on 9th Dhul Hajjah Intervening night between 8th and 9th). This we had to do because authorities alloted that time to our group.

(2) We were ready to leave Mina on 12th Dhul Hajjah. However it started to rain and the police stopped buses that were to pick us up from entering Mina Therefore we were forced to cancel our departure before Maghrib. One scholar was present and he said that Ramy (stoning) was not necessary on the 13th since were were forced by circumstances beyond our control to stay back and since we had a clear intention of leaving before but could not do so. Please clarify.

(3) There were people there who strongly advised us not to do Tawaf Al Vidaa since we were residents of Jeddah as it was not applicable to residents of Jeddah.

(4) Some of the Hajis left Makkah without performing Tawaf Al Vida saying they would return within a week and perform Tawaf Al Vidaa.

(5) Since we had no place in Muzdalifah, we had to remain on the side-walk without toilet facilities. We remained there until 1:30 AM of 10 Dhul Hajjah and left for Mina instead of leaving after Fajr. Is this Okay?

Could you please clarify on these points. Although my Haj is over, I can be better prepared for Haj in future. Moreover I can also guide people in these matters in future.

It is also strongly advisable for a forum like this to have a hotline during Haj which can enable seekers of clarifications, answers on the spot. What I observed mostly during Haj was everyone trying to justify his own school of thought without bothering about the exact Islamic position. 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Hajj issues

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-(1): Is it okay if one starts from Mina to Arfaat before Fajr? We actually started at around 1 AM on 9th Dhul Hajjah Intervening night between 8th and 9th). This we had to do because authorities alloted that time to our group.

Although it is preferred that one leave Muna for Arafah on the 9^th of Dhul-Hijja after Fajr, if for any reason one left before Fajr, the absolute majority of the scholars are of the opinion that there is absolutely no harm and it would not effect the validity of one’s Hajj in the least.

Q-(2): We were ready to leave Mina on 12th Dhul Hajjah. However it started to rain and the police stopped buses that were to pick us up from entering Mina Therefore we were forced to cancel our departure before Maghrib. One scholar was present and he said that Ramy (stoning) was not necessary on the 13th since were were forced by circumstances beyond our control to stay back and since we had a clear intention of leaving before but could not do so. Please clarify.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah Verse 203:

203 Celebrate the Praises of Allah during the Appointed Days (of Muna) but if anyone hastens to leave in two days there is no blame on him; and if anyone stays on there is no blame on him, if his aim is to do right. Then fear Allah and know that ye will surely be gathered unto Him.

If you had indeed intended to shorten your stay in Muna and leave on the 12^th of Dhul Hijja, and had made the necessary preparations to do so….and were forced to cancel your departure because of reasons out of your control, there is absolutely no obligation upon you to perform the ‘rami’ on the 13^th of Dhul-Hijja.

The opinion of the brother scholar who was with you in the group indeed made the correct ruling.

Q-(3): There were people there who strongly advised us not to do Tawaf Al Vidaa since we were residents of Jeddah as it was not applicable to residents of Jeddah.

Only the people who reside within the prescribed ‘hudood’ (boundary) of Makkah are excused from performing the ‘tawaaf ul-wida’ (farewell tawaaf). The scholars and jurists in Islam are unanimous in their opinion that anyone who lives outside the ‘hudood’ of Makkah must perform the ‘tawaaf ul wida’ as their last rite before departing Makkah.

The city of Jeddah is obviously beyond the ‘hudood’ of Makkah, and therefore the residents of Jeddah would be required to perform the ‘tawaaf ul wida’ as their last rite of the Hajj pilgrimage.

There is however a difference of opinion amongst the scholars regarding the legal position of the ‘tawaaf ul wida’. Imam Malik, Imam Shafei, Abu Dawood, and Ibn Al-Mundhir say it is a Sunnah and by leaving it one does not incur any penalty; whereas Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Imam Abu Hanifah are of the opinion that the performance of the ‘tawaaf ul wida’ is obligatory, and a pilgrim who misses it must slaughter an animal to atone for it.

Q-(4): Some of the Hajis left Makkah without performing Tawaf Al Vida saying they would return within a week and perform Tawaf Al Vidaa.

It is best and preferred that non-residents of Makkah perform the ‘tawaaf ul wida’ as the last rite before they leave Makkah for their respective locations after the Hajj pilgrimage. But if for some reason one is unable to fulfill it, and intends to come back a week later to perform the rite, it would suffice and there is no harm.

Q-(5): Since we had no place in Muzdalifah, we had to remain on the side-walk without toilet facilities. We remained there until 1:30 AM of 10 Dhul Hajjah and left for Mina instead of leaving after Fajr. Is this Okay?

It is best and preferred that the pilgrims stay and rest in Muzdalifah until Fajr, but there is evidence in the authentic Sunnah that the Messenger of Allah (saws) gave permission to the old and the womenfolk (and the men accompanying them) to leave Muzdalifah after half the night had passed.

The absolute majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that if a pilgrim spends even a part or a portion of the night in Muzdalifah, one would have deemed to have fulfilled the minimum requirement and it would suffice as a rite of Hajj.

If you stayed in Muzdalifah for even a portion of the night, it would suffice to fulfill the requirement of staying in Muzdalifah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan