According to my belief, the obligation of Hajj was born with the birth of the Islamic religion, but it became clear to me that people were performing Hajj before the Islamic religion, and

The questioner : According to my belief, the obligation of Hajj was born with the birth of the Islamic religion, but it became clear to me that people were performing Hajj before Islam, and the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) would gather with these pilgrims to call them to Islam. How was that? I hope you will inform me. May Allah guide you and reward you with good?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Hajj in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance was one of the known and customary acts of worship.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : There was no change in it except for a small matter, such as the people of the Haram not standing at 'Arafah except at Muzdalifah, as indicated by the hadith of Jabir.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Islam also came to correct what they had deviated from, as they would leave 'Arafah before the sun set and would not depart from Muzdalifah until after it rose. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) differed from them in this; he stood at 'Arafah and did not depart from it until after the sun had set, and he departed from Muzdalifah when it was very bright, before the sun rose.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : I do not know of anything more than this regarding Hajj in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. As for in Islam, the matter is clear, praise be to Allah. Indeed, Allah the Exalted made it obligatory, according to the stronger position, in the ninth or tenth year of the Hijrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj in the tenth year, the Farewell Pilgrimage, and he clarified the rituals for the people. The people understood the rituals with complete jurisprudence. He used to say (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) So the people learned Hajj, and the Salaf (the earliest generations) transmitted it to the Khalaf (the later generations), and the Khalaf received it from the Salaf, until it became clear and evident, praise be to Allah. Even though there are some disagreements in it, the source of which is independent legal reasoning by the scholars, for the mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings) who is correct there are two rewards, and for the mujtahid who is mistaken there is one reward.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Also, the brother in Allah, H. H., who resides in Riyadh, says.