When is it permissible to appoint a proxy for stoning the pillars? And if one appoints a proxy for stoning the Jamrat al-'Aqabah, is he permitted to perform the Tawaf al-Ifadah at the time when the pilgrims are stoning?

The questioner : Is the Tawaf al-Ifadah valid for those who are unable to perform it themselves and have appointed others to stone the pillars, if they perform it at the same time as the stoning?

The Shaykh: How.

The questioner : I mean, a man who is unable to go to stone the pillars appoints someone else to do it. At that time, which is the time for the Tawaf al-Ifadah, are there no people? Can he go down to perform the Tawaf al-Ifadah at the time when he is appointing people to stone the pillars, because the place will be empty of people?

The Shaykh : I think that whoever is able to perform the Tawaf is able to stone the pillars. So if he says he is waiting for a free moment to perform the Tawaf, we would also say he should wait for a free moment to stone the pillars. And it is obligatory, because appointing a proxy is not permissible except for one who is unable. So this person is not unable, as long as he is performing the Tawaf and is able to walk and perform the Tawaf, he is able to stone the pillars. But it can be said that, by Allah, he fears for his safety in the crowd of stoning, so he delays. I mean, this question, like many questions, requires adherence to the condition of ability. Often we ask a man who appoints a proxy for stoning: "Well, when he arrived, he performed the Tawaf al-Qudum, right?" Yes. How did he perform the Tawaf al-Qudum and appoint a proxy for stoning? The one who performs the Tawaf al-Qudum stones the pillars. By Allah, the stoning has more crowding. It may be that the matter has more crowding, so he delays. He stones at night when the crowd and the number of people decrease. But a person who is able mixes things up: he comes to perform an obligation and leaves an obligation, appointing a proxy for this one but not for that one. Why? He did not appoint a proxy for that one because he is able. Why did he appoint a proxy for this one? Is it because he is not able? That is not reasonable. Either he is not able here and there, or he is able here and there, except for a supervening matter. A strong, healthy person might perform the Tawaf al-Qudum, for example, and then become ill and be unable to walk and stone. He appoints a proxy, and there is no objection. But the person himself does not change in his health or well-being; he performs the Tawaf and appoints a proxy for stoning. This is not permissible.

The questioner : My teacher, does this apply to women as well?

The Shaykh : There is no difference; the important thing is ability.

The questioner : I have a point, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.


The questioner : Regarding the Tawaf, there are people who stone before the sun rises and then go down, and there are hundreds of thousands, so the Tawaf is full, crowded with people performing Tawaf. And regarding the stoning, one cannot determine the time of least crowding. I mean, he goes to inform, to see, and returns to inform, unless he goes with the women and the elderly and remains sitting there, because it is chaos. You no longer know when the crowding will be and when the people will be few there, because the people have made it chaos. The people told them to stone before the sun rises, so they stone at Fajr, and some of them stone at the end of the night, before Fajr, and so on. So the Tawaf al-Ifadah, I mean...

The Shaykh : Perhaps you are not there, Abu 'Abdullah. Maybe you can check. What time is it?

The questioner : It is four o'clock.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.