What is the ruling on departing from Muzdalifah after midnight if you are with a group that includes elderly people?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for me to depart from Muzdalifah after midnight if the group is leaving with a number of elderly people, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : He asks if it is permissible to depart from Muzdalifah after midnight if he is with a group that includes elderly people. We say, yes, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is better to wait a little until the moon sets, because the Sunnah did not restrict this to half the night. However, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) restricted it to half the night, because if half the night has passed and then one departs, the greater part of the night remains in Muzdalifah, so they granted him a dispensation. But what is reported from the Salaf, such as Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both), is that they departed from Muzdalifah when the moon set. The setting of the moon on the night of the tenth day is about two-thirds of the night. So if you wait until the last part of the night, it would be better than departing at midnight.
The Shaykh : He asks if it is permissible to depart from Muzdalifah after midnight if he is with a group that includes elderly people. We say, yes, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is better to wait a little until the moon sets, because the Sunnah did not restrict this to half the night. However, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) restricted it to half the night, because if half the night has passed and then one departs, the greater part of the night remains in Muzdalifah, so they granted him a dispensation. But what is reported from the Salaf, such as Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both), is that they departed from Muzdalifah when the moon set. The setting of the moon on the night of the tenth day is about two-thirds of the night. So if you wait until the last part of the night, it would be better than departing at midnight.