The Days of Hajj
As the 8th of Dhul Hijjah arrives, you will come to the day which you have anticipated for so long to complete one of the greatest acts of worship: Hajj.
For pilgrims performing Hajj Qiran or Hajj Ifrad, they will likely already be in Ihram. For pilgrims performing Hajj Tamattu, they will enter the state of Ihram again.
Hajj spans from the 8th of Dhul Hijjah to the 13th of Dhul Hijjah
8th Dhul Hijjah
Location: Mina
On the morning of the 8th Dhul Hijjah you will enter into Ihram again from your hotel room.
This is in the same manner in which you entered the state of Ihram for Umrah. You will perform the Ghusl of Ihram and apply perfume to yourself. After this you will don the clothing of Ihram and then state the intention for Hajj verbally by saying:
لبيك اللهم حجا
Here I am, Oh Allah, For Hajj
And you will start reading the Talbiyyah again.
Mina
By Dhuhr time you should be in Mina. The prayers from this point on are shortened for the days of Hajj.
On this day there is no specific act of worship until you leave for Arafah in the morning. This can be a good time to recite the Quran, make dua or sit in circles of knowledge.
9th Dhul Hijjah
Location: Mina to Arafah. Arafah to Muzdalifah
Arafah
After Fajr you will leave Mina for Arafah. Women, elderly and those accompanying them can leave before Fajr in the night.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The Hajj is Arafah, the Hajj is Arafah, the Hajj is Arafah.”
Tirmidhi
Remember the day of Arafah is the main day of Hajj, regarding which the Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafah. He comes close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, ‘What do these people want?’”
So it is imperative that you use this day to make du'a.
The Prophet ﷺ said “All of Arafah is a place for standing”. So the key is to stand in Arafah and make du'a. Many people rush to climb upon Jabal Rahma. There is no reward associated with this and you are likely to waste valuable time going there and coming back to your tent. Instead you should spend this valuable time in du'a.
In Arafah, you will pray a shortened and combined Dhuhr and Asr. This will be at the time of Dhuhr. When the Prophet ﷺ did Hajj, he ordered Bilal رضي الله عنه to do Adhaan, followed by iqama for dhuhr and he led the people in Dhuhr. Then he ﷺ ordered Bilal رضي الله عنه to do iqamah without Adhaan for Asr and lead Asr
Sahih Muslim 1218
After that there is usually a short khutba, it is optional to listen to this khutba.
We advise that you spend your time beseeching and asking Allah. This time may seem long but it can go very fast.
Muzdalifah
After Maghrib you will leave Arafah towards Muzdalifah. Muzdalifah is simply a large plain, it looks like a large car park. You will be sleeping under the stars on tarmac ground, in a sleeping bag.
As soon as you get to Muzdalifah you should pray Maghrib and Esha combined and shortened as 3 and 2 rakah. This is because the Prophet ﷺ lead it with one adhaan and two iqamas.
Sahih Muslim 1218
It is not sunnah to pray any sunnah or nafil prayers, however you should pray your witr before you retire for the night.
You will stay in Muzdalifah until after Fajr salah but women, elderly and those with valid excuses are permitted to leave after half the night.
Muzdalifah is usually where people pick pebbles for the stoning of the Jamarat. You do not have to pick up pebbles from Muzdalifah, they can be picked from anywhere except the Jamarat area itself. You will need to pick 49 pebbles at least (7 for day 1, 21 on day 2 and 21 on day3). It is best to pick up some extra pebbles in case some break or are lost).
The pebbles should be bigger than a chickpea but smaller than a hazelnut. If they are misshapen or chipped this does not matter. It is not correct to wash the stones.
10th Dhul Hijjah
This is probably the busiest day you will have on Hajj. You must do 4 things:
- Stone the Jamarat (Ramy)
- Qurbani/Udhiya
- Shave or cut your hair
- Make Tawaf of the Kaaba and Sa'ee
The preferred order is as listed but the Prophet ﷺ allowed changes to this sequence.
When a pilgrim has done two of the four acts they are free from the restrictions of Ihram, except sexual relations. Full freedom from Ihram comes when one has completed at least three of the four acts.
If you become confused beyond this by mixing up the order, then it may be best to ask a reliable scholar who has a good grasp of knowledge based on the Quran and Sunnah.
Leaving Muzdalifah
You will leave Muzdalifah after Fajr. The Prophet ﷺ stopped at Ma’shar al-Haram and made a long du'a but your group might not stop due to the rush.
Stoning the Jamarat
On the first day you will only throw 7 pebbles at Jamrat al Aqaba only.
The way to throw the pebbles is to throw them one after the other, raising your hands each time while throwing and saying “Allahu Akbar” as you throw it.
Once you have stoned Jamarat al Aqaba, stop reciting Talbiyyah.
The following days (11th and 12th Dhul Hijjah) you will return to stone the Jamarat and stone all three.
Udhiyah
The sacrifice known as the Hady, Udhiya or Qurbani is an obligation (unless you are a resident of Makkah).
The conditions of the sacrificial animal are:
- It is purchased with Halal earnings
- The animal is in good health
For the unlikely scenario that you can not afford a sacrificial animal, you must fast 10 days: 3 days during hajj and 7 days upon returning home. The three fasts should be kept before the day of Arafah. All the 10 fasts can be kept consecutively or intermittently.
If someone donates a sacrificial animal or pays on your behalf then there is no need to fast as the condition will be met. However it is not correct to beg for it and it is better to fast the 10 days.
It is not permissible to ask someone in your home country or any other place to do a Hady on your behalf there.
Damm
Damm is a penalty sacrifice one must do as compensation if they missed a waajib action or violated one of the conditions of Hajj. Damm is not applicable for someone who purposely chooses to give a damm instead of doing an action, for example a healthy man who says he will not go to Muzdalifah because it’s too crowded so he decides that he would rather give a penalty.
The damm must be different to the Hady and a pilgrim can not combine both Damm and Hady in one sacrifice.
We suggest you as a reliable scholar who knows the details of when a Damm is applicable. Masjid haram has many scholars who speak a variety of languages who stand around in order to guide people on issues just like these.
Halaq (Shaving or cutting the hair)
Men should shave their head for Hajj. The Prophet ﷺ made du'a three times for the one who shave their hair and only once for the one who cuts their hair.
Barbers can be extremely busy on this day, so some pilgrims often times take razors with them on Hajj and get into groups to shave each other’s heads in their hotel rooms (be careful of safety and not reusing a blade).
Tawaf and Sa'ee
The Tawaf and Sa'ee are the same as those done for Umrah. Two rakah must be prayed after any tawaaf.
11th and 12th Dhul Hijjah
Stoning the Jamaraat
On these days the only rite of Hajj to be carried out is the stoning of the Jamarat. All three should be stoned with 7 pebbles each. After the first and second stoning, the sunnah is to make du'a for a longtime facing the Kaaba which is towards the top left of the Jamarat (you can usually see the clock tower from the first Jamarat to give you an idea). There is no stopping to make du'a after the third.
For the elderly, children, sick, pregnant or those physically unable, they are permitted to ask someone to stone the Jamarat on their behalf. This is the only act of Hajj which those with an excuse can appoint someone to do so on their behalf.
If you are stoning on behalf of someone else, simply stone the first Jamarat for yourself then for the one on behalf of the person who appointed you, then stone the second Jamarat for yourself and then on behalf of the person and so on. There is no need to do the order of 1-2-3 for yourself and return to the first Jamarat to stone the first one.
A handy trick is to stone the Jamarat from the far end of the Jamarat as opposed to the beginning of them. There is usually less crowding in those areas. If you throw a pebble and it falls into the enclave around the Jamarat, it will hit the Jamarat. The Jamarat have been built in a way that every pebble which drops will hit the pillar, so it does not have to be rethrown.
*Warning*
Some pilgrims wrongly think the Jamarat is the Shaytaan. As such some can start throwing objects at the Jamarat or curse shaytaan during pelting. This is not from the sunnah and should be avoided. We pelt the Jamarat because it is sunnah to do so. The act is symbolic in nature.
13th Dhul Hijjah
Staying in Mina
Staying in Mina is optional on the 13th of Dhul Hijjah, but if you have not left Mina by sunset on the 12th then you must stay until the 13th that day too. There is more reward in staying but no harm in leaving on the 12th.
Farewell Tawaf
This is obligatory for everyone when they leave Makkah to return to their homes, except women in menstruation of post-childbirth bleeding.
After making this Tawaaf and praying the 2 rakahs of Tawaaf, one should leave straight away so that your last action in Makkah was is Tawaaf of the Kaaba.
*Warning*
Some people wrongly walk backwards out of Masjid al-Haram because they believe it is better to not turn your back towards the Kaaba when leaving it. This is an innovation in the religion and not permissible.
