Standing at al-Mash'ar al-Haram (Muzdalifah)
Al-wuquf 'inda al-Mash'ar al-Haram (bi'l-Muzdalifah)
Overview
After Fajr on the 10th at Muzdalifah, it is sunnah to stand at al-Mash'ar al-Haram facing the Qiblah, making takbir, tahlil and du'a with raised hands until the sky brightens, before setting out for Mina.
Du'a
Standing at al-Mash'ar al-Haram (after Fajr)
فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُم مِّنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِندَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ
Fa-idha afadtum min 'Arafatin fa-dhkuru-llaha 'inda-l-Mash'ari-l-haram, wa-dhkuruhu kama hadakum
And when you depart from 'Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram; and remember Him as He has guided you.
Face the qiblah after praying Fajr early at Muzdalifah, raise the hands, and make takbir, tahlil and du'a until the sky is very bright — departing before sunrise.
Source · Qur'an 2:198; Sahih Muslim 1218
Grade · The words are Qur'an 2:198; the standing at al-Mash'ar al-Haram is in Sahih Muslim 1218 (Jabir's (RA) Hajj).
The tahlil made there
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
La ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir
There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things.
Part of the takbir, tahlil and dhikr at the Mash'ar.
Source · Sahih Muslim 1218
Grade · Sahih (Sahih Muslim).
Qur'an
Surah al-Baqarah. Arabic:'فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُم مِّنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِندَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ'.Translation (Sahih International sense): 'But when you depart from Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram (the Sacred Monument). And remember Him, as He has guided you...'. This is the direct ayah naming al-Mash'ar al-Haram and commanding dhikr there after departing Arafat.
'فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُم مِّنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِندَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ'.Reference · Qur'an 2:198
Hadith
1) (the long hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) on the Farewell Hajj): after praying Fajr early at Muzdalifah, the Prophet (ﷺ) mounted al-Qaswa, came to al-Mash'ar al-Haram, faced the qiblah, supplicated to Allah, magnified Him (takbir) and declared His oneness (tahlil/tawhid), and kept standing until the daylight was very bright; then he departed before the sun rose. 2) Urwah ibn Mudarris al-Ta'i (RA) — and (also an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah): 'Whoever attends this prayer of ours (Fajr at Muzdalifah) and stands with us until we depart, having stood at Arafah before that by night or day, has completed his Hajj and fulfilled his duty (qada tafathah).'
References · Sahih Muslim 1218 · Jami' at-Tirmidhi 891 · Sunan Abi Dawud 1950
Grade · Sahih Muslim 1218: Sahih (Sahih Muslim), Jami' at-Tirmidhi 891: Sahih (the 'Urwah ibn Mudarris (RA) report; at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Khuzaymah: sahih; al-Albani: sahih), Sunan Abi Dawud 1950: Sahih (the 'Urwah ibn Mudarris (RA) report)
Applies to
All Hajj types — Tamattu', Qiran and Ifrad — equally; there is no difference in the Muzdalifah standing between the types.
If missed
For this sunnah standing/du'a specifically: no penalty, Hajj remains valid, only the reward is missed. However, omitting the underlying wajib mabit at Muzdalifah — i.e., leaving before its required time (before midnight, or before Fajr per the Hanbali) without a valid excuse — obliges a dam per the four schools. Per the minority rukn view, entirely missing the Muzdalifah wuquf would invalidate Hajj (this is not the position of the four madhabs).
Timing & place
The morning of the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah (Yawm al-Nahr), at Muzdalifah: from just after praying Fajr (prayed early, at first light) until the sky brightens greatly (isfar) — the Prophet (ﷺ) departed deliberately just before sunrise. This intentional pre-sunrise departure differs from the pre-Islamic Arabs, who used to wait until the sun had risen before leaving.
Al-Mash'ar al-Haram in Muzdalifah (the area between Arafah and Mina, within the Haram boundary). The Prophet (ﷺ) stood at the Mash'ar (the site associated with today's Masjid al-Mash'ar al-Haram, also called Quzah), but the whole of Muzdalifah is a valid standing place: 'I am standing here, and all of Muzdalifah is a place of standing.'
Common mistakes
- •Leaving Muzdalifah before midnight (or before the permitted time) without being among the excused weak — dropping the wajib mabit and obliging a dam per the majority.
- •Not stopping at Muzdalifah at all (driving straight through to Mina).
- •Believing the pebbles for the Jamarat must be gathered at Muzdalifah — they may be collected anywhere, including Mina; only the seven for the first day's Jamrat al-Aqabah need be ready.
- •Waiting until after sunrise to depart, contradicting the sunnah of leaving before sunrise.
- •Thinking one must physically reach the exact Mash'ar/Masjid to be valid — the entire plain of Muzdalifah suffices.
- •Neglecting to pray Fajr early, or spending the standing time idle instead of in dhikr and du'a.
Across the madhabs
The du'a/standing at the Mash'ar itself is sunnah by agreement; the divergence is over the underlying obligation of being at Muzdalifah, included for completeness. A minority — Ibn Khuzaymah, and a view attributed to some of the Salaf and to the Dhahiris — holds the Muzdalifah wuquf a rukn without which Hajj is invalid, citing the 'Urwah ibn Mudarris (RA) hadith; the four schools reject its being a rukn and treat it as wajib.
- •Hanafi: the wuquf/staying at Muzdalifah is wajib (missing it obliges a dam); the morning standing at the Mash'ar is sunnah.
- •Maliki: dismounting/stopping (nuzul) at Muzdalifah for part of the night is wajib (a brief stop, roughly the time to unload, suffices); the morning standing/du'a is sunnah.
- •Shafi'i: the mabit (presence at Muzdalifah past midnight, even briefly) is wajib (missing obliges a dam); the Mash'ar standing after Fajr is sunnah.
- •Hanbali: the mabit until after Fajr is wajib (missing obliges a dam), though the weak may leave after midnight; the morning standing is sunnah.
Notes
Distinguish two acts at Muzdalifah: the wajib mabit (staying for the night's required portion) versus this sunnah morning standing/du'a at the Mash'ar. On arrival the night before, Maghrib and Isha are combined (jam' ta'khir, delayed) with one adhan and two iqamahs — a related sunnah of the night. 'Al-Mash'ar al-Haram' literally means 'the Sacred Landmark/Monument' (also called Quzah). The minority rukn view (Ibn Khuzaymah and some Salaf), based on the Urwah ibn Mudarris (RA) hadith, would make missing the Muzdalifah wuquf invalidate Hajj; the four schools instead treat Muzdalifah's mabit as wajib (dam if missed) and hold that only the Arafah standing is the rukn of wuquf.