and a concession presupposes an original binding ruling. The duty of providing water was entrusted to al-Abbas, and he would give the pilgrims Zamzam water free of charge as an act of devotion to Allah and as a display of generous hospitality. In pre-Islamic times, it was also a means of attracting people to perform Hajj, since the people of Mecca benefited economically from the pilgrims; thus, they made matters easy for them and served them in order to encourage them to undertake Hajj.

Second: the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Learn your rites from me.” (1) And he spent the night at Mina.

It has also been said that it is a sunnah rather than an obligation. When Imam Ahmad was told that someone held that abandoning it requires a sacrificial offering, he laughed and said, “That is too strict.” This indicates that he regarded spending the night at Mina as a sunnah.

As for spending the night at Muzdalifah, the author’s view that it is one of the obligatory duties of Hajj is a middle position between two views: one is that spending the night there is an integral pillar of Hajj, while the other is that it is a sunnah. This has already been explained. (2)

His statement, “other than those responsible for providing water and tending the livestock,” means that those responsible for providing water are the ones who give Zamzam water to the pilgrims, while tending the livestock refers to caring for the pilgrims’ camels. In former times, people travelled to Hajj on camels; when they camped at Mina, they needed someone to tend their camels, since keeping them at Mina would cause overcrowding, and sufficient fodder might not be available for them. Therefore, the herdsmen would take them to other places for grazing, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, granted the herdsmen permission to forgo