The ruling on staying overnight in Mina during the crowds

The questioner : Your Eminence the Shaykh, the noble and beloved one, may Allah greet you on this bright and beautiful morning. I heard that you issued a ruling for those who wish to perform Hajj that it is permissible to reside in the Aziziyah district on the outskirts of Makkah, and near Mina in the morning, and to go to Mina at night to stay overnight, since many Hajj and 'Umrah groups do this. However, due to the crowds, they do not enter Mina until after midnight. The question, Your Eminence the Shaykh, is what is the ruling on doing this, and what is its criterion? And may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : It is known that the scholars differed regarding staying overnight in Mina on the nights of the days of Tashriq. Some said it is a recommended practice (sunnah), and some said it is obligatory. The truth is what is most likely to be correct. The apparent evidence indicates that it is obligatory. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granting a dispensation to al-Abbas to stay overnight in Makkah due to his need for water indicates that staying overnight in Mina is obligatory. This is the stronger position, and it is the ruling we issue. But if a person does not find a place in Mina, what do we say? Should he crowd the people in their tents and bother them? No, this is prohibited. But what should he do?
This has two aspects, or it is pulled between two principles. The first principle is that we say this is an obligation he is unable to fulfill, so it is dropped from him. All other obligations are the same, and among the established and known rules among the scholars is that there is no obligation with inability. If a man’s hand were cut off above the elbow, would the washing of it be dropped from him? So likewise, if he does not find a place to reside in and stay overnight, it is dropped from him. And if it is dropped, he may stay overnight in any place, in Makkah, on the outskirts of Makkah, because there is no obligation with inability, so it is dropped.
The second principle is that we say: if residing in Mina becomes difficult, the obligation is to reside at the last tent of the pilgrims. Like a man who finds the mosque full; he lines up outside the mosque in the nearest place close to it, so that the rows connect and the appearance is one. Likewise, the tents in Mina connect and the appearance is one. This second principle is stronger in my view than the first.
Because it is closer to the unity of people in place and their unity in time, and the feeling of a person that he is in a state of worship far from luxury. So the issue is pulled between two principles, and the closest to me is that the obligation is to pitch his tent at the last tent, whether from the direction of Muzdalifah or from the direction of Makkah. The important thing is that the people’s tents are connected to one another.
This is what I have regarding staying overnight in Mina. But do we say it is obligatory for a person to reside in Aziziyah, and when the sun sets or at midnight, he must go out to Mina? This is a hardship. And a person may not impose that obligation on people because of the hardship of departure. He may have thought he would find a place in Mina but did not find one. The crowds in Mina exist even at night.
So in answer, we say it is obligatory for the one who resides in Aziziyah to enter Mina and stay overnight, he and his family and his children, on the sidewalks. I have some aversion to that. So what is before us now is two things: either we say it is an obligation he is unable to fulfill, so it is dropped from him and he stays where he wishes, or we say it is an obligation that must be realized as much as possible, and that is by the tents being connected to one another.