Proceeding to ʿArafah

The rite that follows is for the pilgrim to depart on Yawm al-Tarwiyah (8 Dhū l-Ḥijjah) to Mina and spend the night there, the eve of ʿArafah.

All scholars agree that on Yawm al-Tarwiyah the imām leads the people in Mina in the prayers of Ẓuhr, ʿAṣr, Maghrib, and ʿIshāʾ in shortened form. They likewise concur that performing these prayers in Mina is not a prerequisite for the validity of Ḥajj should time be too tight. When the Day of ʿArafah arrives, the imām proceeds with the people from Mina to ʿArafah, where they halt.

Standing at ʿArafah

The discussion here concerns the ruling, the manner, and the conditions of this rite.

Ruling. There is unanimous agreement that standing at ʿArafah is a pillar of Ḥajj, and that anyone who misses it must perform another Ḥajj in the following year, and—according to most jurists—offer a sacrificial animal (hady), because the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Ḥajj is ʿArafah.”

Manner. The imām should arrive at ʿArafah on the Day of ʿArafah before the sun passes the meridian. When it does, he delivers a sermon, then combines Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr at the beginning of Ẓuhr’s time, after which he remains at the station until sunset. They agreed on this description because it is unanimously transmitted from the action of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

There is no dispute that conducting the pilgrimage rites belongs to the supreme ruler—or to whomever he deputes—and that one prays behind him whether he is righteous, sinful, or an innovator. The Sunnah is for the imām to come to the mosque at ʿArafah with the people on that day; when the sun declines he preaches, as noted, and then combines Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr.

They differ about the timing of the muʾadhdhin’s adhān at ʿArafah for Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr:
• Mālik: The imām preaches until he has delivered a substantial—or partial—portion of his sermon, then the muʾadhdhin calls the adhān while the imām is still speaking.
• Al-Shāfiʿī: The adhān is given when the imām begins the second sermon.
• Abū Ḥanīfah: As soon as the imām ascends the pulpit he orders the muʾadhdhin to call the adhān, exactly as in the Friday prayer; when the adhān ends, the imām delivers the sermon, descends, and the muʾadhdhin gives the iqāmah. Abū Thawr said likewise, by analogy with Friday.

Ibn Nāfiʿ relates from Mālik that the adhān at ʿArafah is made after the imām sits to preach. In Jābir’s ḥadīth it is reported: “When the sun declined, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ordered that al-Qaṣwāʾ be brought forward and saddled. He came to the base of the valley, addressed the people, then Bilāl called the adhān, pronounced the iqāmah and the Prophet led the Ẓuhr prayer; he pronounced the iqāmah again and led the ʿAṣr prayer, with nothing between them, after which he went to the place of standing.”

They also disagreed as to whether these two prayers should be combined with two adhāns and two iqāmahs, or with one adhān and two iqāmahs, so that