to complete their prayers when he led them in prayer in Mecca during the Conquest of Mecca, saying to them, “Complete your prayers, for we are travelers.”

Had the Meccans risen after praying the noon prayer behind him and completed it as four units, then risen after the afternoon prayer and completed it as four units, then risen after praying the night prayer behind him and completed it as four units, and continued throughout his stay at Minā to complete their prayers behind him, the Companions would not have failed to report such a thing.

[EID PRAYER AT MINĀ ON THE DAY OF SACRIFICE]

Among the matters in which people may err is the belief held by some that it is recommended to perform the Eid prayer at Minā on the Day of Sacrifice. Some who profess expertise in jurisprudence even perform it, relying upon generalities of wording or analogy. This is a manifest disregard of the Sunnah, for neither the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor his successors ever performed an Eid prayer at Minā. Rather, the Eid prayer at Minā is the [stoning] of Jamrat al-Aqabah. For those attending the pilgrimage, stoning Jamrat al-Aqabah occupies the same place as the Eid prayer does for others. For this reason, Ahmad recommended that the people of the cities perform their Eid prayer at the time of the sacrifice at Minā. For this reason also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon on the Day of Sacrifice after stoning the pillar, just as he would deliver a sermon outside Mecca after the Eid prayer. Stoning the pillar is the greeting of Minā, just as tawāf is the greeting of the Sacred Mosque.

[GREETING THE SACRED MOSQUE]

A similar view was expressed by a group of scholars, including Ibn Aqīl: they held that when a pilgrim in consecration enters the Sacred Mosque, it is recommended for him first to perform the prayer of greeting the mosque, as in other mosques, and then to perform the tawāf of arrival or [a similar tawāf]. The leading scholars and the great majority of jurists, including Ahmad’s followers and others, reject this.

First, because it is contrary to the mass-transmitted Sunnah established by the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)