Must Stoning Be Done on Three Days? By Adil Salahi

Must Stoning Be Done on Three Days?

By Adil Salahi

Arab News, November 22, 2009

Can a pilgrim throw all his pebbles on one visit to the Jamarahs, instead of making three visits on three consecutive days? Must all pilgrims stay at Mina for three days? Could this be relaxed?

These questions are asked within the context of making things easier for pilgrims. It is well known that during the pilgrimage, we stay in Mina for three days and we perform the stoning at the Jamarahs on each of these days. Some of us add a fourth day. Staying in Mina and stoning at its Jamarahs are often thought of as a single act of pilgrimage, which is untrue. The confusion arises from the fact that the Jamarahs are at Mina. We certainly do a part of the stoning duty on each day, but this is different from staying in Mina. Some schools of thought consider staying Mina during these three days to be a sunnah, i.e. a recommended action which, if omitted, does not affect the validity of the pilgrimage and requires no compensation. It remains much better for all pilgrims to stay in Mina during this period, spending there at least half the night, each night. Besides, a new ruling, or fatwa, by one of the leading scholars of Saudi Arabia makes clear that if a pilgrim does not find a proper place to stay, due to the overcrowding, then he can stay in the adjacent areas, such as Al-Aziziyyah.

The stoning on these three days is a duty of the pilgrimage. It is stated in the Qur’anic verse that says: “Give glory to God during certain appointed days. Those who hasten their departure after two days incur no sin, and those who stay longer incur no sin, provided that they are truly God-fearing. Have fear of God and know well that you shall all be gathered before Him.” (2: 203) ‘Giving glory to God’ refers to the stoning, which is a symbolic act that implies the rejection of Satan and a resolve to obey God and never listen to Satan.

The stoning is in two parts, each of which is a separate duty: the one on the first day is done at the grand Jamrah only. The other part is done on the next two or three days, when we actually do the stoning at each of the three Jamrahs, throwing seven pebbles at each. This act has been made much easier with the new expansion of the stoning area at each Jamrah and the arrangement that allows only one-way movement of the pilgrims.

Can it be done on one visit? According to the Shafie and Hanbali schools of thought, the time of the second stoning duty, i.e. the stoning at the three Jamarahs on 11, 12 and 13 Dhul-Hijjah, is all one. If you want to do it on one visit, you have to do that on the last day of staying in Mina. You should do the stoning at all three Jamrahs for the first day, then come back to the first Jamrah and do all three again. If you choose to stay three days in Mina, then you have to repeat that a third time. This involves a very long walk, because the one-way movement makes the round trip quite long. Yet God has given us an easier way out. Anyone who finds it difficult to go and do the stoning themselves can always request a relative or a friend to do the stoning on their behalf.

There are always good ways to facilitate the pilgrimage duties and enable the pilgrims to offer them without undue difficulty. What is important is for all pilgrims to study what the pilgrimage involves and make sure of what is obligatory and what is not essential. Thus, they will do what is necessary at the right time and in the proper manner, without inconveniencing themselves or other pilgrims.

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