are practiced there: people gather to listen to whistling and hand-clapping on the mid-month night1 and during the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, and on similar occasions. They touch and wipe certain stones, even though the Law permits istilām (seeking blessing by touching) only of the two Yemeni corners of the Ancient House. They also fancy that the man-made footprint on display is the footprint of the Prophet ﷺ, while some of the ignorant even imagine it to be the footprint of Allah— and the like of these absurdities2.

175 – Accordingly, if a visit is free of these and other innovations it is legitimate, yet travelling to the frontier zones for ribāṭ is superior to it. Choosing the less excellent over what is more excellent when both are equally possible is not commendable3.