What do we do on the ninth day?

The Shaykh : So what do we do on the ninth day? When the sun rises, the pilgrim proceeds to 'Arafah. If it is feasible for him to descend at Namirah, which is a well-known place, let him do so. If it is not feasible, let him continue until he reaches 'Arafah and descend in any place within 'Arafah, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood at 'Arafah and said: He may stand in any place, but he must be certain that he is within the boundaries of 'Arafah. The state, may Allah guide it, has placed clear and prominent markers delineating 'Arafah. Do not be misled by those who descend before the boundaries, even if they are many. Walk until you are certain that you have entered the boundaries of 'Arafah, and remain in 'Arafah. When the sun declines, call the adhan and pray Zuhr in two rak'ahs and 'Asr in two rak'ahs, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so. He prayed Zuhr in two rak'ahs and 'Asr in two rak'ahs in the valley of 'Arafah, combining them by advancing the later prayer. So follow your Prophet. After this, devote yourself to dhikr, du'a', and reciting the Qur'an. If you repeat "There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is over all things competent," from the combined 'Asr prayer until Zuhr until sunset, that would be better, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Even though, praise be to Allah, a person has other dhikr. Most Muslims have other dhikr, they have the Qur'an, they have du'a' where they call upon Allah with whatever good of this world and the Hereafter they wish. This is a place of du'a' and a time of du'a'. Call upon Allah with whatever you wish, especially at the end of the day. So what did we do on the ninth day? We prayed Zuhr and 'Asr combined and shortened, and devoted ourselves to du'a' and dhikr. If you become weary, for a person may grow weary from Zuhr to sunset, there is no harm in giving yourself your share of rest, whether by sleeping, reading a book, or discussing with your brothers what is beneficial, without argument. It is recommended that if a person wishes to read a book on this day, he should strive to read books that soften the hearts and require humility, for the occasion demands it. After the sun sets, the work in 'Arafah ends. The pilgrim proceeds from there to Muzdalifah and prays Maghrib and 'Isha' combined and shortened. The prayer that is shortened is 'Isha', while Maghrib is not shortened. He sleeps in Muzdalifah until Fajr breaks. Then, when Fajr breaks, he prays Fajr after the adhan and the sunnah of Fajr. He remains remembering Allah (Mighty and Majestic) either in his place, or if it is feasible for him to go to al-Mash'ar al-Haram, where the mosque is today, let him do so. If it is not feasible, then in his place, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning Muzdalifah until it lightens. When it lightens greatly, he departs before the sun rises. So what do we do on this night? Where do we head? From 'Arafah to Muzdalifah, and we pray Maghrib and 'Isha' combined and shortened there, and we stay until Fajr breaks, then we pray Fajr after the adhan and the two rak'ahs of Fajr. After that, we remain in Muzdalifah until it lightens greatly, remembering Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and seeking His forgiveness, then we depart to Mina. Here we ask: Is it permissible to depart from Muzdalifah before Fajr? We say yes, it is permissible, but in the last part of the night. Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) would watch the moon, and when it set, she would walk to Mina. It is permissible to depart from Muzdalifah in the last part of the night, meaning around two in the morning or close to that. However, it is better to remain in Muzdalifah until you pray Fajr and remember Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then depart, unless you have with you women, children, or weak people for whom the crowding of people is difficult. Then you and they should depart before Fajr, in order to reach Mina before Fajr so that you may stone the pillar, the Jamarat al-Aqabah, before the congestion from those coming from Muzdalifah occurs. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation for women, especially the weak ones, to depart from Muzdalifah in the last part of the night. And Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to send his family from Muzdalifah in the last part of the night so that they would reach Mina for the Fajr prayer. As for him, he would remain in Muzdalifah and stone the pillar there, before Fajr or with Fajr. This is the benefit of the dispensation: that a dispensation is granted to weak people to depart in the last part of the night. As for the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him with the camels of 'Abd al-Muttalib and said: Scholars have differed on the authenticity of this hadith. Some weakened it and said it is not a proof, and some authenticated it. On the view of authentication, this prohibition is from the category of disapproval and what is better, not from the category of prohibition, since we do not know that departing early from Muzdalifah has any benefit except that a person may stone before the crush of the people.