Touching the Black Stone and Praying at the Station During Crowds
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Also, there is in fact a warning that some of the honorable brothers among the pilgrims exhaust themselves when touching the Black Stone. They may expose themselves to harm, and they may expose others to harm. There may be trampling and difficulties, and Allah knows what causes them. What do you say to these people who are exhausting themselves and exhausting others?
The Shaykh:
We say that touching the Black Stone and kissing it is a recommended practice (sunnah) of the tawaf, and they are not obligatory. If one is able to touch and kiss it without difficulty or without doing something forbidden—because some people crowd the women and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) occurs—then if it is possible without hardship and without leading to something forbidden, it is recommended. If he is not able to do so, he touches it with his hand or with a tool he has with him.
The questioner:
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
The Shaykh:
(peace and blessings be upon him) performed tawaf and used to touch the Black Stone with a staff while he was on his mount, to show his ummah (the Muslim community) the ease in this. If he was performing tawaf at the farthest point of the tawaf, or on the second round, or on the roof, he would point to it, and that is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. So kissing the Stone or touching it is a recommended practice if it is possible, and pointing to it is sufficient, even from a distance.
The questioner:
Likewise, praying at the Station: some people try to stick to the Station and pray there, even if it causes difficulty for the people performing tawaf, and so on.
The Shaykh:
Such a prayer becomes a harm and an obstruction of the tawaf area and the people performing tawaf. So the prayer of tawaf is permissible in any place of the Haram (the sacred precinct).
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good, and thank you.
Also, there is in fact a warning that some of the honorable brothers among the pilgrims exhaust themselves when touching the Black Stone. They may expose themselves to harm, and they may expose others to harm. There may be trampling and difficulties, and Allah knows what causes them. What do you say to these people who are exhausting themselves and exhausting others?
The Shaykh:
We say that touching the Black Stone and kissing it is a recommended practice (sunnah) of the tawaf, and they are not obligatory. If one is able to touch and kiss it without difficulty or without doing something forbidden—because some people crowd the women and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) occurs—then if it is possible without hardship and without leading to something forbidden, it is recommended. If he is not able to do so, he touches it with his hand or with a tool he has with him.
The questioner:
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
The Shaykh:
(peace and blessings be upon him) performed tawaf and used to touch the Black Stone with a staff while he was on his mount, to show his ummah (the Muslim community) the ease in this. If he was performing tawaf at the farthest point of the tawaf, or on the second round, or on the roof, he would point to it, and that is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. So kissing the Stone or touching it is a recommended practice if it is possible, and pointing to it is sufficient, even from a distance.
The questioner:
Likewise, praying at the Station: some people try to stick to the Station and pray there, even if it causes difficulty for the people performing tawaf, and so on.
The Shaykh:
Such a prayer becomes a harm and an obstruction of the tawaf area and the people performing tawaf. So the prayer of tawaf is permissible in any place of the Haram (the sacred precinct).
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good, and thank you.
Source
أهمية الحج — alfawzan.live (56:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.