of the followers of al-Shāfi‘ī and Ahmad, such as Abū al-Khattāb in his work on the five acts of worship—namely, that Meccans and others alike may shorten their prayers, and that shortening them there is on account of the pilgrimage rites.

The evidence supports this latter view: it has not been established that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed the Meccans who prayed behind him at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah and Minā to complete their prayers in full, as he instructed them when he led them in prayer in Mecca during the conquest, saying:

“Complete your prayers in full, for we are travellers.”

For if the Meccans had stood up after praying Zuhr behind him and completed four rak‘ahs, then stood up after praying ‘Asr and completed four rak‘ahs, then stood up after praying ‘Ishā’ behind him and completed four rak‘ahs, and had continued completing their prayers in full behind him throughout his stay at Minā, the Companions would not have failed to report something like this.

Another matter in which people may err is the belief held by some that offering the Eid prayer at Minā on the Day of Sacrifice is recommended. Indeed, even some engaged in jurisprudence perform it, relying on general textual statements or generalizations drawn by analogy. This betrays an obvious disregard for the Sunnah, for neither the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor his caliphs ever offered an Eid prayer at Minā. Rather, the equivalent of the Eid prayer at Minā is the stoning of Jamrat al-‘Aqabah. For those attending the pilgrimage, stoning Jamrat al-‘Aqabah takes the place of the Eid prayer for others. This is why Ahmad recommended that people in the towns offer their prayer at the time when sacrifices are slaughtered at Minā. This is also why the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, delivered a sermon on the Day of Sacrifice