The ruling on staying overnight in Mina on the sidewalks

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, if a person finds a place for himself in Mina on the sidewalks, is it obligatory for him to stay overnight in that place?

Answer:
Yes, it is obligatory for him to stay overnight, even on the sidewalk. Allah the Exalted said: stay overnight in Mina. Even on a sidewalk, yes, he stays for most of the night, and if he completes the whole night, that is better and more complete. Some pilgrims were negligent; some pilgrims were negligent, they would go down to al-Aziziyah and set up fans and air conditioners, and not look for a place in Mina. They would say, "We will go up at night and stay overnight in Mina on a sidewalk, or on a car, or on anything," and this is a great deficiency in the Hajj. It is obligatory for them to look for a place in Mina and stay in it. They say they are following a group, or they agree with the owners of the tents that are in Mina and agree with them, even if for a fee, to stay in them, and they do not neglect this by making excuses and abandoning this duty. Because his intention from the day he starts walking is that he is not a stranger in Mina and not looking for a place there, but rather he will take shelter in al-Aziziyah or in Makkah and stay there among the air conditioners and refrigerators, and if he goes up at night, he goes for a short time. This is a deficiency and a shortcoming in the Hajj. But if he is able and he looks and searches and finds no place, Allah the Exalted says: he stays in any place. His staying at the edge of the pilgrims, his staying at the edge of the pilgrims from the direction of Muzdalifah or from the direction of the Jamarat, is better for him than if he goes and rents an apartment and stays far away from Mina. His staying at the edge of the pilgrims connected to Mina is within his ability. As for if he goes far away and stays in Jeddah, or stays in Makkah, or stays in a far place and says, "I will come at night," this is a great deficiency, and he may not fulfill the requirement of staying overnight in the valley in his case. Yes.