that is, he drew near to Jamʿ; hence it was called al-Muzdalifah.
It is related from Abu Salih, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that Abraham, peace be upon him, saw in a dream on the night before the Day of Tarwiyah that he was being commanded to slaughter his son. When morning came, he spent the entire day pondering: “Is this vision from Allah, exalted is He, or from Satan?” Thus, that day was called the Day of Tarwiyah. Then he saw the same thing again on the night of Arafah, and when morning came, he knew that it was from Allah, exalted is He. Thus, the day was called the Day of Arafah.
It was also said that it was given this name because people confess their sins on that day. It was further said that it derives from al-ʿurf, meaning a pleasant fragrance. Minā was named so because blood is poured out there; entrails and blood are found there, so the place is not pleasant, whereas Arafat is free of these and is therefore pleasant.
His saying, exalted is He: “So remember Allah”—through supplication and the talbiyah—“at the Sacred Monument.” This is the area between the two mountains of Muzdalifah, extending from the two passes of Arafat to al-Muhassir; the two passes and al-Muhassir are not part of the Sacred Monument. It was called a monument because a monument is a sign, and it is among the landmarks of Hajj. The root meaning of “sacred” is prohibition: it is forbidden to do there what has not been permitted. Muzdalifah was called Jamʿ because the two night prayers are combined there. Departure from Arafat takes place after sunset, and departure from Jamʿ takes place before sunrise on the Day of Sacrifice.
Tawus said: “The people of the pre-Islamic period would depart from Arafah before the sun had set, and from Muzdalifah after the sun had risen. They would say, ‘Shine forth, Thabir, so that we may set out.’” (1) Thus, Allah delayed the former departure and advanced the latter.
Abu al-Hasan al-Sarakhsi informed us; Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Hashimi informed us; Abu Musʿab informed us, from Malik, from Musa ibn Uqbah, from Kuraib, the freedman of Abd Allah ibn Abbas, from Usamah ibn Zayd, who said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, departed from Arafah. When he reached the mountain pass, he dismounted and urinated, then performed minor ablution, but did not perform it thoroughly. I said to him, ‘The prayer, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘The prayer lies ahead of you.’ He then mounted, and when he reached Muzdalifah, he dismounted and performed minor ablution thoroughly. Then the call to commence the prayer was given, and he prayed Maghrib. After that, each person made his camel kneel at his lodging place. Then the call to commence the Isha prayer was given, and he prayed it, without offering anything between the two prayers.” (2)
Jabir said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, proceeded until he reached Muzdalifah. There he prayed Maghrib and Isha with one call to prayer and two calls to commence the prayer, and he did not offer any voluntary prayer between them. Then he lay down until dawn rose. He prayed Fajr when the morning light had become clear, with a call to prayer and a call to commence the prayer. Then he mounted al-Qaswa and came to the Sacred Monument. Facing the qiblah, he supplicated to Allah, proclaimed His greatness, declared His sole divinity, and affirmed His oneness. He remained standing until it had become very bright, then departed before the sun rose.” (3)