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TheWu’qufinMuzdalifah

TheWu’qufinMuzdalifah

 The halt in Muzdalifah is the next rite after the halt in `Arafat, by consensus of all the schools. They also agree that when the Hajj pilgrim turns to Muzdalifah (where al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram is situated) after the halt in `Arafat, he is acting in accordance with the following Divine verse of the Qur'an

... فاذا افضتم من عرفات فاذکروا الله عند المشعر الحرام و اذکروه کماهد نکم ...

When you pour forth from 'Arafat, then remember Allah in al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram, remembering Him in the way you have been shown. (2:198)

Also, there is agreement that it is mustahabb to delay the maghrib (sunset) prayer on the night preceding the `Id day until Muzdalifah is reached. The author of al‑Tadhkirah writes that when sun sets in `Arafat, then one should go forth before the (maghrib) prayer towards al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram and recite there the supplication prescribed by tradition. The author of al‑Mughni says, "It is sunnah (i.e. mustahabb) for one leaving `Arafat not to offer the maghrib prayer until Muzdalifah is reached, whereat the maghrib and the `isha' prayers should be offered together. There is no difference regarding this, as Ibn al‑Mundhir also points out when he says: "There is consensus among the `ulama', and no divergence of opinion, that it is sunnah for the Hajj pilgrim to offer the maghrib and the `isha' prayers together; the basis for it is that the Prophet (s) offered them together.' " [7]

All the legal schools, with the exception of the Hanafi, agree that if one were to offer the maghrib prayer before reaching Muzdalifah and not offer the two prayers together, his salatisnevertheless valid despite its being contrary to what is mustahabb. Abu Hanifah does not consider it valid.

The Limits of Muzdalifah

According to al‑Tadhkirah and al‑Mughni, Muzdalifah has three names: Muzdalifah, Jam`, and al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram, its limits are from al‑Ma'zamayn to al‑Hiyad, towards the valley of Muhassir. The entire Muzdalifah is mawqif, like `Arafat, and it is legitimate to make the halt at any spot inside it. According to al‑Madarik, it is a settled and definite matter among the Imamiyyah legists that it is permissible, in case of overcrowding, to ascend the heights towards the hill, which is one of the limits of Muzdalifah.

The Night at Muzdalifah

Is it obligatory to spend the entire night of `Id at Muzdalifah, or is it sufficient to halt in al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram even for a moment after the daybreak? (It is assumed, of course, that the meaning of wuquf ismere presence: one may be walking around, sitting or riding a mount, as in the case of the halt at 'Arafat).

According to the Hanafi, the Shafi`i, and the Hanbali schools, it is obligatory to spend the entire night at Muzdalifah and the defaulter is required to make a sacrifice. (al‑Mughni) According to the Imamiyyah and the Maliki, it is not wajib, though meritorious. This is what Shihab al‑Din al‑Baghdadi the Maliki, in his Irshad al‑salik, and al‑Hakim and al‑Khu'i have confirmed. However, no one has considered it a rukn.

As to halting in al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram after the daybreak, Ibn Rushd, in al‑Bidayah wa al‑nihayah, cites the consensus of the Sunni fuqaha' to the effect that it is one of the sunan (sing. sunnah) of the Hajj, not one of its furud (duties; sing. fard).

According to al‑Tadhkirah, "It is obligatory to halt in al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram after the daybreak, and if someone were to leave intentionally before the daybreak after halting there for the night, he must sacrifice a sheep. Abu Hanifah also says that it is obligatory to halt after the daybreak. The rest of the schools permit departure after midnight." Therefore, with the exception of the Imamiyyah and the Hanafi schools, others permit departure from Muzdalifah before the daybreak.

The Imamiyyah say that the time of halt in al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram is of two kinds: the first (ikhtiyari) isfor one who has no reason for delaying, and that is the entire period between the daybreak and the sunrise on the day of `Id; whoever leaves advertently and knowingly from the Mash'ar before the daybreak and after being there for the whole or part of the night, his Hajj is not invalidated if he had halted at 'Arafat, although he must sacrifice a sheep. If he had left the Mash'ar on account of ignorance, there is nothing upon him, as made explicit in the above quotation. The second (idtirari) isfor women and those who have an excuse for not halting between the daybreak and the sunrise; their time extends to midday on the day of `Id. The author of al‑Jawahir says that there is both textual evidence (from hadith) as well as consensus to support the above prescription, and the fatawa of al‑Sayyid al‑Hakim and al‑Sayyid al‑Khu'i are also in accordance with it. The latter has not stated midday as the idtirari time limit, but says that it is sufficient to make the halt after sunrise.

The Imamiyyah also say that the wuquf in the two specified periods of time is a ruknof the Hajj. Therefore, if someone does not perform it altogether either in the ikhtiyari period for the night or in the idtirari period, his Hajj is invalid if he hadn't spent the night there; but not if the default ‑was on account of a legitimate excuse, on condition that he had performed the halt at 'Arafat. So one who fails to make the halts at 'Arafat and the Mash'ar, neither in the ikhtiyari nor in the idtirari period, his Hajj is invalid even if the failure was on account of a legitimate reason. It is obligatory upon him to perform Hajj the year after if the Hajj intended was a wajib one; and if it was a mustahabb Hajj, it is mustahabb for him to perform it the next year. (al-Jawahir)

The halt in al‑Mash'ar al‑Haram is held in greater importance by the Imamiyyah than the one in 'Arafat; that is why they say that one who loses the chance to be present at the halt in 'Arafat but participates in the halt at the Mash'ar before the sunrise, his Hajj is complete. (al‑Tadhkirah)

Mustahabbat of the Mash`ar

According to the Imamiyyah it is mustahabb for one performing Hajj for the first time to put his feet on the ground of the Mash'ar. (al-Jawahir)

According to the Imamiyyah, the Shafi`i and the Maliki schools, it is mustahabb while leaving for Mina to gather seventy pebbles, for the ramy al‑jamarat, at Muzdalifah. The reason for this, according to the author of al‑Tadhkirah, isthat when the Hajj pilgrim arrives in Mina he should not be detained by anything from the rite of the ramy. Ibn Hanbal is narrated to have said that the pebbles may be gathered from any place; and there is no disagreement that it suffices to gather them from whatever place one wishes.

The maintenance of taharah, the pronouncing of tahlil, takbir, and du`a' (the prescribed one or something else) is also mustahabb.


Notes:

[6]. Al‑Shaykh `Abd al‑Muta'al al‑Sa`idi says: This order is obligatory in the rites of `Umrah, but in the rites of Hajj there is no order of sequence between the tawaf and the halq, orbetween the sa’y and the wuquf at 'Arafat. See al‑Fiqh al‑musawwar ala Madhhabal‑Shafi'i.

[7]. This act of the Prophet (s) makes the grounds for the Imamiyyah for the permissibility of offering the two prayers together, because the Prophet (s) had said, ØµÙ„ّوا کما رأیتمونی اصلّی  "Pray in the same way as you see me praying." The fact that something is permitted at one time or a place suggests its permissibility in all places and at all times, unless there is some textual proof (nass) to show that it is particular and not general. But there is no nass in favour of its being particular (takhsis). Therefore offering the two prayers together is permissible in general and at all times and in all places.

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