Staying overnight at Mina during the nights of Tashreeq (Mabit bi-Mina)
Al-Mabit bi-Mina (layali al-tashriq)
Overview
The Mabit is staying overnight at Mina during the nights of Tashreeq (the 11th, 12th, and for some the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah), returning there each night between the daily stonings. Most schools hold it an obligatory act rather than a pillar.
Qur'an
Surah Al-Baqarah —'وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ ۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ'— '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 the one who fears Allah.' The 'numbered days' (ayyam ma'dudat) are the days of Tashreeq spent at Mina, and the ayah grounds the pilgrim's choice between the two-day (nafr awwal) and three-day (nafr thani) stay. This is an indirect basis: the ayah establishes the days and the departure choice, not the explicit wording 'spend the night'; the obligation of the mabit itself is derived from the Sunnah.
'وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ ۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ'Reference · Qur'an 2:203
Hadith
- •PRIMARY (muttafaq 'alayh): Narrated Ibn 'Umar (RA) — 'Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (RA) asked permission from the Prophet (ﷺ) to spend the nights of Mina in Makkah in order to provide water (siqayah) to the people, and he permitted him.'. Imam Muslim titled the chapter 'The obligation of spending the night at Mina during the nights of the days of Tashreeq, and the concession for the water-suppliers' (Wujub al-mabit bi-Mina...), and al-Bukhari titled it 'May those who supply water stay at Makkah during the nights of Mina?' — the very need for a special exemption shows the stay is otherwise required.References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1745 · Sahih Muslim 1315aGrade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
- •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.'.Reference · Jami' at-Tirmidhi 889Grade · Sahih (Darussalam; also authenticated by al-Albani)
Applies to
All Hajj types equally — Tamattu', Qiran, and Ifrad, with no difference in count between them.
If missed
Requires a dam (a sheep/goat, or one-seventh of a camel or cow, slaughtered in the Haram and given to the poor) per the three madhabs that classify it wajib; no penalty per the Hanafi school (which deems it sunnah). It never invalidates the Hajj, since it is not a pillar.
Dam / Fidyah if omitted
Timing & place
The nights of the days of Tashreeq. The night of the 11th and the night of the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah are obligatory for everyone; the night of the 13th is obligatory only for those who do not take the early departure (nafr awwal) — anyone still within Mina at sunset (Maghrib) of the 12th must stay the 13th night. 'Night' runs from Maghrib to Fajr; the majority require presence for the greater part of the night (aktharu al-layl).
Mina, within its defined boundaries.
Common mistakes
- •Sleeping in Makkah or in hotels/tents that lie outside the actual Mina boundary without a valid excuse
- •Assuming a brief token presence suffices instead of staying the greater part of the night
- •Not realising the 13th night becomes obligatory once one remains in Mina past Maghrib of the 12th
- •Confusing the modern overflow camps (e.g. in 'Aziziyyah or near Muzdalifah) with Mina proper
Across the madhabs
The schools diverge on both status and penalty. Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali = wajib, and missing the nights without a valid excuse obliges a dam (sacrifice). Hanafi (Abu Hanifah) = sunnah/mustahabb, so leaving it is disliked (makruh) but incurs no dam. The wajib schools also differ on the exact expiation for a partial omission: Maliki -> a dam; Shafi'i -> a mudd of food for one missed night (graduating upward, with a full dam for missing all the nights per some); Hanbali -> a well-known narration requires no expiation for missing a single night.
Notes
The mabit at Mina on the nights of Tashreeq is distinct from the sunnah stay at Mina on the day of Tarwiyah (8th) and from the obligatory stop at Muzdalifah (night of the 10th). Departing Mina on the 12th before sunset is the permitted nafr awwal (Qur'an 2:203); if the sun sets on the 12th while one is still in Mina, one must remain for the 13th. The purpose of the mabit is tied to the stoning — one stays overnight in order to stone the jamarat the following day.