Mistakes made when Entering the Haram Firstly: Some people think that it is essential for the pilgrim doing Hajj or Umrah to enter through a specific gate of al-Masjid al-Haraam. So some people think that if they are doing Umrah they must enter through the gate called Baab al-Umrah, and that this is essential and is prescribed in shareeah. Others think that they must enter through Baab al-Salaam, and that entering through any other gate is a sin or is makrooh. There is no basis for this. The pilgrim doing Hajj or Umrah may enter through any gate, but when he enters the mosque he should enter with his right foot first and say what is narrated for entering all mosques, and send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and say, “Allaahumma aghfir li dhunoobi waftah li abwaab rahmatika (O Allaah forgive me and open to me the doors of Your Mercy).” Narrated by Muslim, 713. Secondly: Some people have invented specific duaa for when one enters the Mosque and sees the Ka’bah, and have introduced duaas that were not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). This is a kind of bidah (innovation). Worshipping Allaah with words, actions or beliefs that were not known to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions is innovation and misguidance which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us against. Thirdly: Some people - even those who are not doing Hajj – mistakenly believe that the greeting for al-Masjid al-Haraam is tawaaf, in the sense that it is Sunnah for everyone who enters al-Masjid al-Haraam to do tawaaf, basing that on the view of some of the fuqaha that the Sunnah when entering al-Masjid al-Haraam is to do tawaaf. In fact this is not the case. Al-Masjid al-Haraam is like all other mosques, concerning which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit down until he has prayed two rakahs.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 444; Muslim, 714. But if you enter al-Masjid al-Haraam to do tawaaf other than the tawaaf of Hajj or Umrah, or for a voluntary tawaaf, then it is permissible for you to do tawaaf without praying two rakahs first. This is what is meant by saying that the greeting for al-Masjid al-Haraam is tawaaf. Based on this, if you enter with no intention to do tawaaf, rather you are waiting for the prayer or you are coming to attend a lesson etc, then al-Masjid al-Haraam is like any other mosque and it is Sunnah to pray two rakahs before you sit down, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined that.
________________________________ Mistakes made on the way to Muzdalifah and in Muzdalifah 1 : When they leave Arafah for Muzdalifah some people push and shove others, and they are in too much of a hurry which sometimes leads to trafiic accidents. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left Arafah in a calm and dignified manner. He pulled the reins of his she-camel al-Qaswa tight so that her head touched the saddle (in order to keep her under perfect control), and he gestured to the people with his hand to slow down. But when he found an empty space ahead of him, he would hasten, and whenever he happened to pass over an elevated tract of sand, he slightly loosened (the camel’s reins) till she climbed up. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) paid attention to what was going on in this journey, but if it is the matter of a choice between going quickly and taking one's time, then taking one's time is preferable. 2 : Some people stop before they reach Muzdalifah, especially those who are walking, because they get tired, and they stay there until they pray Fajr, then they go to Mina. Whoever does that has failed to stay overnight in Muzdalifah, and this is a very serious matter, because staying overnight in Muzdalifah is one of the essential parts of Hajj according to some scholars, and one of the obligatory duties of Hajj according to the majority, and Sunnah according to others. The correct view is that it is one of the obligatory duties of Hajj, and the pilgrim must stay overnight in Muzdalifah, and not leave until the time when it is permissible for him to leave, as we shall see below inshaAllaah. 3 : Some people pray Maghrib and Isha on the way in the usual manner, before they reach Muzdalifah. This is contrary to the Sunnah, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stopped on the way and urinated and made wudoo, Usaamah ibn Zayd said to him, “Are you going to pray, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “The prayer is still ahead of you.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1669; Muslim, 1280. And he did not pray until he reached Muzdalifah. He entered it after the time for ‘Isha’ prayer had begun and he prayed Maghrib and Isha there, joined at the time of Isha. 4 : Some people do not pray Maghrib and Isha until they reach Muzdalifah, even if the time for Isha has ended. This is not permissible; it is haraam and is a major sin, because delaying prayers until the time for them is over is haraam according to the evidence of the Quraan and Sunnah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, As‑Salaah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours” [al-Nisa’ 4:103] The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained and defined these times, and Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allaah, then indeed he has wronged himself” [al-Talaaq 65:1] “And whoever transgresses the limits ordained by Allaah, then such are the Zaalimoon (wrongdoers)” [al-Baqarah 2:229] If a person fears that the time for Isha’ may end before he reaches Muzdalifah, then he has to pray even if he has not yet reached Muzdalifah. He should pray according to his situation: if he is walking, then he should stop and pray, standing, bowing and prostrating. If he is riding and cannot get down then he should pray in his vehicle, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can” [al-Taghaabun 64:16] But it is unlikely that he will not be able to get out of his vehicle in this case, because everyone could get out and stand at the side of the road, to the right or the left, and pray. Whatever the case, it is not permissible for anyone to delay Maghrib and Isha prayer until the time for Isha is over on the grounds that he wants to follow the Sunnah and not pray until he reaches Muzdalifah, because this delay is contrary to the Sunnah, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) delayed it, but he still prayed it within the proper time. 5 : Some pilgrims pray Fajr before its time, praying and leaving. This is a serious mistake, because prayer offered before its time is not accepted, rather it is haraam because it is overstepping the limits set by Allaah. Prayers are to offered at set times, the beginning and end of which are defined in shareeah, so it is not permissible for anyone to offer a prayer before its time begins. The pilgrim has to pay attention to this matter, and not pray Fajr until after he is certain or thinks it most likely that the time for Fajr has begun. It is true that he should hasten to pray Fajr in Muzdalifah, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that, but that does not mean that he should pray it before its time begins. The pilgrim should beware of doing that. 6 : Some pilgrims leave Muzdalifah before they have spent the minimum period of time there, so you see them passing through and not stopping, and saying that just passing through is sufficient. This is a serious mistake, because passing through is not sufficient, rather the Sunnah indicates that the pilgrim should stay in Muzdalifah until he prays Fajr, then he should stop at al-Mashar al-Haraam, making duaa to Allaah until it has become very light, then he should set out for Mina. (What is meant by it becoming very light is when the daylight has spread before the sun actually rises). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted a concession to the weak among his family, allowing them to leave Muzdalifah at night. Asma bint Abu Bakr used to watch for the setting of the moon, and when the moon disappeared she left Muzdalifah and went to Mina. This – leaving after the moon has set – should be the criterion, because it was the action of one of the Sahaaabah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave permission to the weak among his family to leave at night; in this hadeeth he did not give a definition of night, but the actions of the Sahaabi explain that. So the factor that should determine when the weak and others for whom the crowding is difficult should leave Muzdalifah is when the moon sets on the night of the tenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah, which is definitely after midnight, when approximately two-thirds of the night have passed. 7 : Some people stay up on the night of Muzdalifah praying qiyaam, reading Quraan and reciting dhikr. This is contrary to the Sunnah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not worship Allaah in this manner on this night, rather in Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had prayed Isha, he lay down until dawn came, then he prayed Fajr. This indicates that there is no tahajjud or worship or tasbeeh or dhikr or reading Quraan on this night. 8 : Some pilgrims stay in Muzdalifah until the sun has risen, and they pray Salaat al-Shurooq or al-Ishraaq, then they leave after that. This is a mistake because it involves going against the teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and is in accordance with the ways of the mushrikeen. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left Muzdalifah before the sun rose, when it had become very light, but the mushrikoon used to wait until the sun rose. Whoever stays in Muzdalifah worshipping Allaah until the sun rises is imitating the mushrikeen and is going against the Sunnah of the greatest of the Messengers (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). >From Daleel al-Akhta’ allati yaqa’ fiha al-Haaj wa’l-Mu’tamir (Mistakes made >by pilgrims performing Hajj and ‘Umrah) ________________________________ Mistakes made during the Farewell Tawaaf Shaykh Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “It was proven in al-Saheehayn that Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The people were commanded that the last thing they should do in Makkah was to circumambulate the Kabah, but an exception was made for menstruating women.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1755; Muslim, 1328. 1 : Some people do not make tawaaf the last thing that they do, rather they go down to Makkah and do the farewell tawaaf when they still have to stone the jamaraat, then they go out to Mina and stone the jamaraat and then leave. This is a mistake and that does not suffice as the farewell tawaaf in this case, because it is not the last thing that the person does in Makkah, rather the last thing that he does is stoning the jamaraat. 2 : Some people do the farewell tawaaf and then stay in Makkah after that. This means that their farewell tawaaf is invalidated, and they must do another one when they are going to leave. But if a person stays in Makkah after doing the farewell tawaaf in order to buy something or to load his luggage etc, there is nothing wrong with that. 3 : Some people, when they do the farewell tawaaf and want to leave the Mosque, walk backwards, saying that they do not want to turn their backs to the Kabah. This is a bidah (innovation) which was not done by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or by any of his companions. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) venerated Allaah and His House and if this were indeed an act of veneration towards Allaah and His House, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have done it. The Sunnah is, when a person has completed the farewell tawaaf, to leave the Mosque walking forwards, even if he turns his back towards the Kabah in this situation. 4 : Some people, after doing the farewell tawaaf, stop at the door when leaving the mosque and turn to face the Kabah, as if bidding farewell to it, and they make duaa or say salaams and so on. This is also a kind of bidah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do that. If it were something good the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have done it. >From Daleel al-Akhta’ allati yaqa’ fiha al-Haaj wa’l-Mu’tamir (Mistakes made >by pilgrims performing Hajj and ‘Umrah). source-islam-qa.com Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveIslam_LiveIslam/ What Seperates our Group from the rest ? Only Authentic Information about Islam is passed backed by Quran or Hadith's. In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate "May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You" Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
