Discussion on the ruling of making Jeddah a miqat for Hajj and 'Umrah

The Shaykh : Or at least, what you have studied, or I am unable to study, but while listening to you, it seemed to me, or a thought occurred to me, that you think you have at least adopted it, yet it did not come from you; rather, it came from our companion 'Adnan, and I was convinced by it.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : I want to represent this now: this is Makkah and this is Jeddah... relative to your visualization of the issue, this is the coast.
The student : This is the coast.

The Shaykh : Ah, this is the coast, this is the coast.
The student : Madinah.

The Shaykh : This is Madinah.
The student : This is Madinah.

The Shaykh: All right.
The student: All right.

The Shaykh : Dhul-Hulayfah is farther from Makkah than al-Juhfah, is it not? And where is al-Juhfah?
The student: Here.

The Shaykh : Where is Jeddah?
The student : Here.

The Shaykh: All right.
The student : This is Yalamlam.

The Shaykh : This is Yalamlam. Ah, so when you set out, do you look at al-Juhfah and not at Yalamlam?
The student : In terms of...

The Shaykh : proximity and distance.
The student : In terms of proximity and distance from Makkah, and in terms of the alignment between the two points, or the closest point to these points.

The Shaykh : Put down two points.
The student : This is Yalamlam and this is al-Juhfah.

The Shaykh: All right.
The student : And here is Jeddah. So if we take 'Umar's statement, "Measure it," and if he meant by that the distance, we look at the distance between Makkah and Jeddah and the closest point on the road to Makkah, which would be... Qarn al-Manazil. Qarn al-Manazil is far; it is two stages from Makkah, and Jeddah is two stages from Makkah. So if we want to take the distance, they are the same distance. And if 'Umar intended "alignment," meaning between the two points, then this Jeddah lies between two miqats, al-Juhfah and Yalamlam. So if 'Umar intended this, then Jeddah is situated... or if 'Umar intended this, then it is situated.

The Shaykh : Okay, let the issue proceed now from the jurisprudential aspect, without looking at 'Umar's report, because you keep saying "if he intended, if he intended."
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : So let the issue proceed: is it permissible to make Jeddah a miqat without looking at 'Umar's report?
The student : ... We agree that these five areas are not sacred in themselves.

The Shaykh : I hope you do not deviate from the word and cover it up, so they will say about us, "The Levantines."
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : The word and cover it up.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Does the situation proceed or not? If it proceeds, its proceeding does not require a lecture. If it does not proceed, we stop at it.
The student : I believe the situation proceeds.

The Shaykh : Ah, may Allah reward you with good. Leave me 'Umar's report for now, since the situation proceeds. Without a doubt, the miqats specified in the Shari'ah differ completely in terms of proximity and distance. So if the miqat for the Levantines, for example, has two miqats, Dhul-Hulayfah and al-Juhfah, there in the south, meaning behind those who came from the north, is there a miqat, let us assume, one kilometer away? Is it permissible for us Levantines to adopt a miqat between it and Makkah, one kilometer away?
The student : ... This specified miqat... was not determined by the Shari'ah.

The Shaykh : This would be in...
The student : Yes.

The Shaykh : In... from north to south, how is this? But it is...
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : The apparent thing is, I will tell you, the apparent thing is not clear now. These four directions, okay.
The student : Yes.

The Shaykh : This is north, this is south, this is west, and this is east. This is Makkah, and this is the south. When these people come to the miqat, they face north. When we come to the miqat, we face south, and the Ka'bah is between us, between this southern miqat—let us call it that—and Makkah, one kilometer, for example. Is it permissible for us to adopt a miqat close to Makkah, at the same distance, one kilometer? You say there is alignment.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, what do you call the alignment? I do not think so.
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : I told you I do not think so. So you are with me.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : So let us now define what is meant by alignment, correct? Okay, we have here Dhul-Hulayfah, and here on the coast, al-Juhfah.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : ... .
The student : .

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : Meaning: those who commit sins, transgressions, and lewd acts, and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) , meaning: one who mixes with sin and wrongdoing. And the one who errs (al-khati') is from the root of erring, whereas the one who makes a mistake (al-mukhtai') is from the root of making a mistake, and the one who makes a mistake is one who encounters something incorrect without intending it.