Hastening the departure from Mina after two days (nafr awwal) or delaying it to the third day (nafr thani)
Al-ta'ajjul fi yawmayn (al-nafr al-awwal) aw al-ta'akhkhur (al-nafr al-thani)
Overview
A pilgrim may choose to leave Mina early, on the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah after that day's stoning (nafr awwal), or to stay the extra night and stone again on the 13th (nafr thani). The Qur'an declares both departures free of sin.
Qur'an
Surah al-Baqarah —'وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ ۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ'— 'And remember Allah during [these] numbered days. But whoever hastens [to leave] in two days — there is no sin upon him; and whoever delays [to the third] — there is no sin upon him — for him who fears Allah.' This is the direct, primary daleel: the 'numbered days' (ayyam ma'dudat) are the days of Tashreeq spent at Mina, and the ayah itself grants the pilgrim the choice between the two-day (nafr awwal) and the three-day (nafr thani) stay.
'وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ ۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ'Reference · Qur'an 2:203
Hadith
Supporting: Narrated 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'mar (RA) — the Prophet (ﷺ) had it proclaimed: 'The days of Mina are three; whoever hastens on in two days there is no sin on him, and whoever delays there is no sin on him.' The Prophet's (ﷺ) own practice on the Farewell Hajj was to delay (nafr thani) — staying until he had stoned the jamarat on the 13th and departing that afternoon — which establishes that delaying is the more meritorious option.
Reference · Jami' at-Tirmidhi 889
Grade · Sahih (Darussalam; also authenticated by al-Albani).
Applies to
All three Hajj types equally (tamattu', qiran, ifrad); the choice and its conditions are identical, with no count difference between them.
If missed
No penalty attaches to the choice itself — the pilgrim freely picks either departure. A penalty arises only if a required stoning is then abandoned: taking the early departure (nafr awwal) is valid only if the pilgrim has completed stoning all three jamarat on the 12th (after zawal per the majority) and physically leaves Mina's boundary before sunset of the 12th. If sunset of the 12th finds him still in Mina, the concession lapses and he must stay the night and stone the three jamarat on the 13th; leaving without doing so omits a wajib (ramy) and obliges a dam (a sacrifice). Neither choice ever invalidates the Hajj.
Timing & place
The choice is exercised on the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah. For nafr awwal: after stoning the three jamarat on the 12th (after zawal per the majority), the pilgrim must leave Mina's boundary before sunset (Maghrib) of the 12th. If Maghrib of the 12th arrives while he is still within Mina, the early-departure window closes and he must stay the night and stone the three jamarat on the 13th (after zawal), departing thereafter (nafr thani).
Mina — the pilgrim departs from within its boundary — and the three Jamarat (al-Sughra, al-Wusta, al-'Aqabah), which must be stoned before departure on the day one leaves.
Common mistakes
- •Thinking that 'hastening' allows leaving Mina on the 12th without first stoning all three jamarat that day — the early departure still requires completing that day's stoning
- •Lingering in Mina until after sunset of the 12th while intending nafr awwal, which then obliges staying for the 13th
- •Stoning before zawal on the 12th (the majority require after zawal)
- •Assuming hastening is superior when in fact delaying is more virtuous
- •Conflating the departure from Mina with the Farewell Tawaf (a separate act performed on leaving Makkah)
Across the madhabs
The four schools agree on the substance: both the early (nafr awwal) and late (nafr thani) departures are permitted per 2:203, and delaying to the 13th is more virtuous. The practical divergence is not over this choice but over the stoning that precedes departure — the majority (Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) require the stoning on the day of departure to be after zawal (midday), whereas the Hanafi school permits stoning before zawal on the 13th (the last day) for one departing, and is more lenient on timing.
Notes
'Ta'ajjul' (hastening) is the nafr awwal, departing on the 12th; 'ta'akhkhur' (delaying) is the nafr thani, staying the night of the 12th–13th and stoning on the 13th. The ayah's closing 'for him who fears Allah' (li-man ittaqa) signals that the whole matter lies within the bounds of taqwa and that neither party sins. This item is the departure choice itself; the underlying obligation of the mabit (spending the nights at Mina) and of the ramy (stoning) are treated as separate items.