Stoning the Jamarat (Ramy al-Jamarat)
Ramy al-Jamarat
Overview
Ramy al-Jamarat is throwing seven pebbles at each of the stone pillars at Mina — the Jamarat — starting with the largest on the 10th and then all three on the following days. It re-enacts how the Prophet Ibrahim (عليه السلام) rejected Satan, and is an obligatory act of Hajj.
Qur'an
There is no explicit, direct Qur'anic command to stone the Jamarat; the rite is established by the Sunnah and ijma'. Indirect support: Surah Al-Baqarah —'وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ'('And remember Allah during [these] numbered days') — the 'numbered days' are the days of Tashreeq at Mina on which the stoning is performed, and many mufassirun include the ramy under the commanded dhikr, since the takbir accompanies each pebble.
'وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ'Reference · Qur'an 2:203
Hadith
- •PRIMARY (the act plus the basis of obligation): Narrated Jabir ibn 'Abdillah (RA) — 'I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) stoning [Jamrat al-'Aqabah] from atop his mount on the Day of Nahr, and he was saying: Take your rites of pilgrimage from me (li-ta'khudhu manasikakum), for I do not know whether I shall perform Hajj after this Hajj of mine.'.Reference · Sahih Muslim 1297Grade · Sahih (in Sahih Muslim)
- •ORDER, COUNT, AND TAKBIR: Narrated Salim (RH) from Ibn 'Umar (RA) — 'He used to stone the nearest Jamrah (Jamrat al-Dunya, by the Khayf mosque) with seven pebbles, saying takbir with each pebble, then advance until he reached level ground and stand facing the qiblah supplicating; then he would stone the middle Jamrah (al-Wusta) and likewise stand and supplicate; then he would stone Jamrat al-'Aqabah from the bottom of the valley and not stand by it; and he said: Thus I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) do it.'.Reference · Sahih al-Bukhari 1751Grade · Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari)
How to stone the Jamarat
- 1Al-Jamrah al-Sughra الجمرة الصغرىThe first (smallest), nearest Masjid al-Khaif. Stone it with seven pebbles, saying the takbir with each. Then move forward past it, face the Qibla, raise your hands and make a long du'a.
- 2Al-Jamrah al-Wusta الجمرة الوسطىThe middle jamrah. Stone it with seven pebbles and the takbir. Then go down to the left, face the Qibla, raise your hands and again make a long du'a.
- 3Jamrat al-'Aqabah جمرة العقبةThe last (largest), nearest Makkah. Stand with the Ka'bah on your LEFT and Mina on your RIGHT, stone it with seven pebbles and the takbir — then leave WITHOUT stopping for du'a.
At Jamrat al-'Aqabah the Prophet (ﷺ) stood with the Ka'bah on his left and Mina on his right — Sahih al-Bukhari 1751 (Ibn Mas'ud).
Applies to
All Hajj types equally (Tamattu', Qiran, Ifrad). The pebble count is the same for all: 7 on the 10th; 21 on the 11th and 21 on the 12th; plus 21 on the 13th if staying — a total of 49 pebbles with the early departure (nafr awwal) or 70 with the later departure (nafr thani).
If missed
Leaving the stoning of an entire day, or abandoning the ramy altogether, obliges a dam (sacrifice in the Haram, distributed to the poor) per the majority; omitting a single pebble or a small number is made up by a sadaqah (a handful of food) per some jurists. It does not invalidate the Hajj, since it is not a rukn.
Dam / Fidyah if omitted
Related conditions & rulings
Timing & place
Day of Nahr (10th): Jamrat al-'Aqabah only, seven pebbles — best performed after sunrise (Duha); permissible from after the middle of the night per Shafi'i/Hanbali (especially for the weak, per Asma' bint Abi Bakr's (RA) practice) and from Fajr per Hanafi/Maliki; it may be made up through the day (majority: until Fajr of the 11th). Days of Tashreeq (11th, 12th, 13th): all three jamarat in order, seven pebbles each, after zawal (past midday) per the majority; the Hanafi school allows stoning before zawal on the 13th (last day) only. Whoever leaves before Maghrib on the 12th (nafr awwal) is exempt from the 13th.
Mina — the three pillars/basins: Jamrat al-Sughra (al-Dunya, nearest to Masjid al-Khayf), Jamrat al-Wusta (the middle), and Jamrat al-'Aqabah (al-Kubra, nearest to Makkah).
Common mistakes
- •Throwing all seven pebbles in one handful (this counts as a single throw)
- •Stoning the three jamarat out of order on the Tashreeq days (invalid per the three madhabs that make order a condition)
- •Stoning before zawal on the Tashreeq days (impermissible per the majority)
- •Using oversized stones, shoes, or slippers instead of small pebbles
- •Throwing with anger in the belief that one is literally 'hitting Shaytan'
- •Appointing a proxy without a genuine excuse
- •Pebbles that do not land in the basin (al-hawd)
Across the madhabs
The four schools agree that ramy is wajib (not a pillar) and that the count is seven pebbles per jamrah, so there is no divergence on the classification or count itself. They diverge on two sub-rulings. (a) order on the days of Tashreeq (al-Sughra -> al-Wusta -> al-'Aqabah): a condition of validity per Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali; a sunnah (recommended, not required) per Hanafi. (b) time: for Jamrat al-'Aqabah on the 10th, the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools allow stoning from after the middle of the night (especially for the weak), while the Hanafi and Maliki schools begin it from Fajr/dawn (best after sunrise); for the Tashreeq days the majority require stoning after zawal (past midday), whereas the Hanafi school permits stoning before zawal on the 13th (the last day) only.
Notes
Stoning Jamrat al-'Aqabah on the 10th is the first of the three acts of the first tahallul (with halq/taqsir and tawaf al-ifadah). The talbiyah ceases at the first pebble of Jamrat al-'Aqabah. It is sunnah to pause for a long supplication facing the qiblah after the first (Sughra) and second (Wusta) jamrah on the Tashreeq days, but not after al-'Aqabah. Contemporary fatwa bodies permit night-time and proxy stoning far more readily today because of lethal overcrowding.