The Book of Hajj-07a

The reciter: Yahya ibn Yahya narrated to us, he said: Abu Mu'awiyah informed us, from Hisham ibn 'Urwah, from his father, from 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: كان قريش ومن دان دينها يقفون بالمزدلفة ، وكانوا يسمّون الحمس ، وكان سائر العرب يقفون بعرفة، فلمّا جاء الإسلام أمر الله عزّ وجلّ نبيّه صلّى الله عليه وسلّم أن يأتي عرفاتٍ فيقف بها ، ثمّ يفيض منها، فذلك قوله عزّ وجلّ : ثمّ أفيضوا من حيث أفاض النّاس The Quraysh and those who followed their religion used to stand at Muzdalifah, and they called it al-Hams. The rest of the Arabs used to stand at 'Arafah. When Islam came, Allah the Exalted ordered His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to come to 'Arafah and stand there, then proceed from it. That is what He the Exalted said: "Then proceed from the place from which the people proceeded.".

The Shaykh : We have previously mentioned in the hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood at his place in 'Arafah and said: . The hadith indicates by its explicit wording that all of 'Arafah is a standing place, from all sides. It indicates by its implied meaning that what is outside 'Arafah is not a standing place. Accordingly, the valley of 'Aynah is not a standing place, because it is not part of 'Arafah. It was said: Rather, it is part of it, but it is not a standing place because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to stay away from it, saying: .
The wisdom behind his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): is to make it clear to the people that the standing place is not limited to a specific location in 'Arafah; all of it is a standing place. It is as if he is saying to the people: Take your time, each one should stand in his place. Accordingly, the standing of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) there is not due to any special virtue of that location, but perhaps—and Allah knows best—it was so that he would be behind the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), because the place where the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) stood is the furthest point of 'Arafah.
By this, we know that the mountain where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood has no share of sanctity, contrary to the opinion of the ignorant masses who consider this mountain sacred. They climb it, pray there after 'Asr, and hang rags on it as if they were the idols of Dhat Anwat, and they write inscriptions on the rocks. All of this is among the religious innovations that students of knowledge must clarify to the people so that they may be upon clear understanding. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: , meaning: He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood at al-Mash'ar al-Haram, and "Jama'" means that all of Muzdalifah is a standing place. We mentioned that Muzdalifah is named so because it is the closest of the two Mash'ars to Makkah. As for the one who said it is named so because the people "mudallif" (approach) in it to draw near to Allah, that does not match the wording, because the word Muzdalifah is an active participle. If the intention was what some scholars mentioned, it would have been .
And he said: , thereby clarifying that all of Mina is a place of sacrifice. It came in the hadith in the Sunan: . We have previously explained that whoever slaughters the sacrificial animal of Tamattu' or Qiran, or what became obligatory due to leaving an obligatory act, and slaughters it outside the boundaries of the Haram, it is not sufficient. Based on this, we must warn the people who go on the day of 'Id to the sheep outside the Halal in 'Arafah or elsewhere and slaughter them there, that their sacrifices are not sufficient for them.
The hadith of 'Aishah: She said: The Quraysh and those who followed their religion used to stand at Muzdalifah, meaning: those who worshipped in their manner. This is an indication that the Quraysh were upon a religion regarding Hajj, but they added to it and subtracted from it, because Hajj was transmitted among the people and inherited from generation to generation until it reached the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They stood at Muzdalifah and they called it (with a dammah on the ha), the plural of . Why did they stand at Muzdalifah? Out of the tribal pride of the pre-Islamic age. They said: We are the people of the Haram, and it is not possible for us to go outside the Haram in our Hajj. The people stand at 'Arafah, and 'Arafah is in the Halal. So, due to their tribalism and the pride of the pre-Islamic age, they stood at Muzdalifah.
She said: And the rest of the Arabs used to stand at 'Arafah. When Islam came, Allah the Exalted ordered His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to come to 'Arafah and stand there, then proceed from it. That is what He the Exalted said: , meaning: from the place from which the people proceeded. And what is the place from which the people proceeded? It is 'Arafah.