before I had slaughtered.” He replied, “Slaughter, and you will not be at fault.” Another said, “I slaughtered before I stoned the pillar.” He answered, “Stone it, and you will not be at fault.” He was never asked about anything that had been done earlier or later except that he said, “Do it, and there is no sin,” and he did not restrict this concession to those who were forgetful or ignorant.

Some scholars—among them the Ḥanafīs—maintained that the removal of liability applies only to the ignorant and the forgetful. They cite the narrator’s words in the hadith, “I was unaware,” and argue that an unqualified text must be interpreted in light of the qualified one. Accordingly, the ruling is confined to that situation, whereas a deliberate actor remains obliged to follow the Prophet ﷺ in the order of the rites, in view of his statement, “Learn your rites from me.”

Al-Ṭaḥāwī said this view allows two possible interpretations:

1. The Prophet ﷺ granted the concession as a matter of ease and facilitation, so the pilgrim may advance or postpone whatever rite he wishes.
2. His words “there is no sin” mean, “You incur no blame for what you did of these acts out of ignorance, not intentionally.” The dispensation was due only to their lack of knowledge of the rites, for the questioners were Bedouins with no understanding of the pilgrimage.

• Is a compensatory sacrifice (dam) required of someone who performs a later rite before an earlier one? The majority hold that no sacrifice is due, because advancing or delaying the rites is permissible in every circumstance.

Benefit:
There is no disagreement among the scholars that performing some of these rites before others is still valid for both the deliberate and the forgetful, and that the obligation is thereby discharged.

Al-Mughnī states, “We know of no disagreement among them that departing from the prescribed order does not invalidate these acts or prevent them from fulfilling their purpose.”

Al-Ṭabarī said, “The Prophet ﷺ did not waive liability except after the act had already sufficed; for had it not sufficed he would have ordered its repetition, as ignorance and forgetfulness do not relieve a responsible person of the ruling that binds him.”