639 – ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “He positioned the House (the Kaʿbah) on his left and Minā on his right, then threw the Jamrah with seven pebbles and said, ‘This is the place where the one upon whom Sūrah al-Baqarah was revealed stood.’” Agreed upon (1).

Key expressions in the ḥadīth
• maqām – the spot where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood when he stoned the Jamrah.

Lessons drawn from the ḥadīth

1. The preferred manner of stoning Jamrat al-ʿAqabah is to stand in the valley with Makkah to one’s left and Minā to one’s right. Al-Qastallānī said that it is cast from its lower side, and the scholars agree that whichever side it is thrown from, it is still valid.
2. The wisdom behind this—Allah knows best—is that the target of Jamrat al-ʿAqabah lies to the south and was formerly blocked to the north by the ʿaqabah that has now been removed. A thrower who follows Ibn Masʿūd’s description faces the target directly, benefits from the downward slope, and is safe at that time from the pebbles of other pilgrims. By contrast, the two other Jamrahs are open on all sides, so turning toward the qiblah when throwing at them is recommended, as with other acts of worship.
3. The ʿaqabah at whose foot Jamrat al-ʿAqabah once stood was demolished in 1377 AH to widen the streets of Minā. The Jamrah now stands exposed in the middle of the valley and can be approached from any direction, though the target area itself remains as it was: a half-circle surrounding the post that marks the Jamrah.
4. The ḥadīth proves that the stoning is to be done with seven pebbles thrown consecutively, one after another.