What is the ruling on leaving Muzdalifah after 1:30 AM to stone the Aqabah pillar out of fear of severe congestion?
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The questioner : The questioner, Hamid Ahmad al-'Umrani from Makkah al-Mukarramah, asks: What is the ruling on leaving Muzdalifah after 1:30 AM to stone the Aqabah pillar out of fear of severe congestion?
The Shaykh : Yes. There is nothing wrong with that if the moon has set, for it does not set unless most of the night has passed on the night of the tenth. In that case, it is permissible to depart from Muzdalifah to Mina to stone the Aqabah pillar. However, if a person is strong and the congestion does not burden him, he should remain until he prays Fajr, supplicates to Allah the Exalted after the prayer, and then proceeds to Mina before the sun rises. Those who are granted a dispensation to depart from Muzdalifah in the last part of the night may stone the pillar when they arrive in Mina, even before Fajr. As for the hadith prohibiting the stoning of the Aqabah pillar until the sun rises, there is a concern regarding its chain of narration. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes. There is nothing wrong with that if the moon has set, for it does not set unless most of the night has passed on the night of the tenth. In that case, it is permissible to depart from Muzdalifah to Mina to stone the Aqabah pillar. However, if a person is strong and the congestion does not burden him, he should remain until he prays Fajr, supplicates to Allah the Exalted after the prayer, and then proceeds to Mina before the sun rises. Those who are granted a dispensation to depart from Muzdalifah in the last part of the night may stone the pillar when they arrive in Mina, even before Fajr. As for the hadith prohibiting the stoning of the Aqabah pillar until the sun rises, there is a concern regarding its chain of narration. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh.