‘Ā’ishah. There was disagreement over which of these two accounts should be preferred. Abū Muhammad ibn Hazm (1) said that the account of ‘Ā’ishah and Jābir deserved preference. A number of scholars followed him in this, favouring this account for several reasons (2):
First: It has two narrators (3), and their account deserves preference over that of one.
Second: ‘Ā’ishah was closer to him than anyone else, enjoying a closeness, special relationship, and distinction that no one else possessed.
Third: Jābir’s account of the Prophet’s pilgrimage, from beginning to end, is the most complete. He remembered the events accurately, down to their smallest details. He even retained a detail unrelated to the pilgrimage rites: the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, dismounted along the way on the night of Jam‘ (4), relieved himself near the mountain pass, and then performed a light ablution. Someone who remembered such a detail so precisely is all the more likely to have accurately remembered where he prayed on the Day of Sacrifice.
Fourth: The Farewell Pilgrimage took place in March, when night and day are of equal length. He departed from Muzdalifah for Minā before sunrise, addressed the people there, slaughtered a large number of sacrificial camels and distributed them. Some of their meat was cooked for him, and he ate from it. He also stoned the pillar and shaved his head,