This is the place of the one upon whom Surat al-Baqarah was revealed” (1).

At the present time, this may be difficult. We have already mentioned a beneficial principle: giving consideration to the act of worship itself takes precedence over giving consideration to its location. Thus, if one approaches it from the north, it may be easier, since there is no obstruction from a mountain or mountain pass. What matters is that you stone it from whichever place is easiest for you, and that the pebbles land within the designated target area. If a pebble lands within the target area and then rolls away, it counts, because remaining there is not a condition. If it lands outside the target area and then rolls into it without anyone’s intervention, it also counts. But if it strikes the column—which has been placed as a marker—and the pebble rebounds outside the target area, it does not count.

Therefore, one should not throw with excessive force. It is sufficient to have a probable conviction that the pebble has landed within the target area, for most acts of worship are based on what is most likely, and certainty is difficult to attain in our time. This is part of the ease granted by the Sacred Law. What matters is that you perform it with humility, conscious that you are engaged in worship, and magnify Allah by saying, “Allahu akbar.”

His statement, “And he ceases reciting the talbiyah before it,” means the talbiyah for Hajj, or for Hajj and Umrah in the case of one performing qiran. He ceases it before stoning, based on the statement of al-Fadl ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, “continued reciting the talbiyah until he stoned Jamrat al-Aqabah” (2). Accordingly, he continues reciting the talbiyah while travelling from Mina to Arafah, from Arafah to Muzdalifah, and from Muzdalifah to Mina.

He ceases reciting the talbiyah when he begins stoning, because once he begins, another prescribed remembrance commences: the takbir.