Thabir is a well-known mountain there. It was elevated, so that the sun would become visible over it before it appeared over the surrounding mountains. They would watch this mountain, and once it was illuminated, they would set out (1).

Thus, the people of the pre-Islamic era hastened to depart at both the beginning and end of the night: they would leave Arafat before sunset and depart from Muzdalifah after sunrise. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, differed from them at both times: he remained at Arafat until the sun had set, and he left Muzdalifah before it rose.

Question: If someone departs from Muzdalifah before dawn, is it prescribed for him to supplicate at al-Mash‘ar al-Haram?

Answer: Yes. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, would send his family ahead, and they would remember Allah at al-Mash‘ar al-Haram. He would then instruct them to leave before dawn (2).

“Once he reaches Muhassir, he hastens for the distance of a stone’s throw, and he collects seventy pebbles, ranging in size between a chickpea and a hazelnut.”

His statement, “Once he reaches Muhassir, he hastens for the distance of a stone’s throw.”

The evidence for this is that when the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, reached Muhassir, he urged his she-camel onward so that she moved swiftly (3). This is because the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, hastened through it, and Allah the Exalted says: “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example” [al-Ahzab 33:21]. Muhassir is the bed of a great valley, so named because it hinders those who pass through it—that is, it obstructs them—because the valley which