We say to him: Remember Allah while you are in bed. As for prayer, if no one can see him, there is no harm in it; but if he can be seen, then he should not pray, because if someone sees him on this blessed night, he may follow his example without knowing that he has an excuse—especially if he is a student of knowledge and someone whom others take as an example.

The fourth issue: Is departing at the end of the night restricted to those with excuses, or is it general?

Answer: Some scholars held that it is restricted to those with excuses, such as the weak, women, and the like.

Others held that it is permissible without restriction, for those with excuses and others alike.

The evidence for the first view is as follows:

First: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, remained in Muzdalifah until he had prayed Fajr and it had become very bright, and he said: “Learn your rites from me.” (1)

Second: Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, wished that she had sought the Messenger of Allah’s permission to depart before Fajr, as Sawdah had sought his permission. She said that, had she sought his permission, it would have pleased her even more greatly. (2) That is, she was emphasizing how much she would have liked to have done so.

We know of no sound evidence for the second view.

The fifth issue: If someone were to ask: Why did the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, not keep his household with him and, once they reached Mina, wait until the crowds had thinned?