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Yaser Birjas | The Days of Hajj Series | Ayyam-ut-Tashreeq

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The Days of Hajj Series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The Three days of Tashreeq: 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul Hijjah

The days of Tashreeq are the days following the Eid day. These are the appointed days Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) mentioned in Surat al-Baqara:

وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْدُودَاتٍ ۚ فَمَنْ تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَنْ تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
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“Celebrate the praises of Allah during the Appointed Days. But if anyone hastens to leave in two days, there is no blame on him, and if anyone stays on, there is no blame on him, if his aim is to do right. Then fear Allah, and know that ye will surely be gathered unto Him.” [al-Baqara 2:203]

The strongest opinion on why they are called Ayyam-ut-tashreeq or the days of Tashreeq is because prior to the invention of the refrigeration system, the hujjaj used to slice the meat they acquired from the udhiya and qurbani, season it with salt and then let it dry in the sun in an early and traditional style of food preservation. The dehydrating of the meat allowed the hujjaj to preserve it and carry it with them on their long journey back from wherever they came.

This process in itself is called tashreeq, and it was derived from the the Arabic word شروق or إشراق which means sunrise or sunshine.  The process entails the exposure of the meat to the sun for a long time. And although most of the hujjaj don’t practice this anymore, if you look carefully in the camps of Mina, perhaps you will see some people still practice the tradition, and you might see the meat “jerky” already hung on ropes and on different sides of their tents.

These days are considered days of celebration and worship. It is not recommended for the hujjaj to fast on these days, rather they should enjoy the celebration of the Eid by feasting, eating and drinking. The Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “The days of Tashreeq are days of eating and drinking (i.e. feasting)” (Muslim).

The wisdom behind these days is to allow the hujjaj to celebrate the season and encourage them to eat from the meat they have offered for the sake of Allah.  The hujjaj in the past used to come from far distances, and meat for them was a very precious meal.  Now that they have plenty of it, they were given the incentive and encouragement to consume it during the days of Eid without any feeling of guilt.  It was normal during these days to walk around the camps of Mina seeing smoke all over the place and smelling nothing but barbecue. Today things are different, and pre-catered meals are becoming the standard.  Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) said:

وَالْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَاهَا لَكُمْ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ ۖ فَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا صَوَافَّ ۖ فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْقَانِعَ وَالْمُعْتَرَّ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرْنَاهَا لَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“The sacrificial camels We have made for you as among the symbols from Allah: in them is (much) good for you: then pronounce the name of Allah over them as they line up (for sacrifice): when they are down on their sides (after slaughter), eat you thereof, and feed such as (beg not but) live in contentment, and such as beg with due humility: thus have We made animals subject to you, that you may be grateful.” [al-Hajj 22:36]

It is only permissible to fast these days for the hujjaj if they were unable to offer the had’y or the sacrificial animal, and therefore these hujjaj become obligated to fast three days during the Hajj and seven when they arrive home. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) said:

فإِذَا أَمِنْتُمْ فَمَنْ تَمَتَّعَ بِالْعُمْرَةِ إِلَى الْحَجِّ فَمَا اسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ الْهَدْيِ ۚ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ فِي الْحَجِّ وَسَبْعَةٍ إِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ ۗ تِلْكَ عَشَرَةٌ كَامِلَةٌ ۗ

“…and when ye are in peaceful conditions (again), if any one wishes to continue the ‘umra on to the Hajj, he must make an offering, such as he can afford, but if he cannot afford it, he should fast three days during the Hajj and seven days on his return, making ten days in all…” [al-Baqara 2:196]

The days of Tashreeq are minimum of two: the 11th and the 12th; the 13th is an optional day for those who desire to stay longer, as Allah mentioned in the ayah previously quoted:

“But if any one hastens to leave in two days, there is no blame on him, and if any one stays on, there is no blame on him, if his aim is to do right.” [al-Baqara 2:203]

The routine of these days which the hujjaj will continue to follow for the two upcoming days and the optional extra day as well until the end of the Hajj season is as follows:

1. The hujjaj are required to spend most of the night, preferably the entire night, of the days of Tashreeq in Mina. During the Eid day at night, the hujjaj should have already been in Mina and after Fajr they will be allowed to move out to Makkah whether to go to the hotel or go to the Haram for prayer and worship. Some hujjaj, if not even most of them, don’t have hotels anymore, and therefore they spend their days and nights in Mina and that is also valid, and as a matter of fact that was the practice of the Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam).

2. During these days the hujjaj continue to offer their udhiya and had’y if they haven’t done so yet. They pray every fard salat in the shortened format just like the traveler but performed in its time without the need to combine between them. They also continue their recitation of the Takbeer until the end of the season. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says:

لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَٰكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَىٰ مِنْكُمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that you may glorify Allah (takbeer) for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.” [al-Hajj 22:37]

Abdullah ibn Umar (radiya Allahu anhu) used to raise his voice with Takbeer while staying in Mina in his camp, and the people would follow his lead and recite their Takbeer until the entire camp resounded with their voices. (Bukhari)

3. The most important practice of these days is the throwing of stones رمي الجمرات at the jamarat site (singular: jamra جمرة the place where the pebbles are thrown and collected). Some call it rajmu-sh-shaytan or the stoning of the devil after the incident of Ibrahim (alayhi salam) with the shaytan or the devil. According to some Muslim scholars and historians, when the shaytan appeared to Ibrahim, he tried to tempt him three times on these sites, and Ibrahim had to cast him away by throwing stones on him.

4. The jamarat are three, located on the northern boundaries of Mina east from Makkah. The closest one from Mina is called al-jamra as-sughra or the minor jamra, then al-wus’ta or the middle one and then the farthest and closest to Makkah al-kubra or the major.

Just few hundred yards away, northeast from the major jamra, a small old masjid is found indicating the location where the early pledge of allegiance known in seerah as bay’ah-tul-aqaba, was given to the Messenger (salla Allahu alayhi was sallam). This was the pledge the people of Yathrib, later known as Madinah and its people the Ansar, had given to the Messenger of Allah to protect him and support his message. This incident prompted the hijra or immigration to Madinah afterwards, marking a new milestone in the history of Islam.

5. With seven pebbles, the hujjaj throw at each and every one of the three jamarat. The pebbles should not be too large, rather each should be as small as a chickpea, and they can be collected from anywhere, even from Makkah itself. The pebbles don’t have to be washed or perfumed as some hujjaj might do, after all it will be thrown at the devil, anyway, according to some. The hujjaj are required to make sure the pebbles land in the pool of stones not outside, and with each stone they say Allahu Akbar. It is disrespectful to the ritual to throw whatever someone might have in his or her hand such as slippers or umbrellas, and it should be treated with full respect for it is the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu alayhi was sallam).

6. The timing of this rite of Hajj is critical. The standard opinion is that this should be performed after the time of zawal or when the time of dhuhr is already in until right before sunset. In modern times, due to the size of the Hajj congregation, the limited time window allocated to perform the ritual has created hazardous conditions and a situation prone to disaster. Therefore, to preserve human life, Muslim scholars have made a concession for the hujjaj to use anytime of the day or night to perform this rite.

7. After finishing throwing the stones at each station the hujjaj stand on the side away from the traffic, facing Makkah and raise their hands with du’a and praise and then move on to the next station starting from the minor, the middle and then the major one for last.

8. Once the hujjaj are done, they move on to Makkah if it is still daylight or go to their camps in Mina if it is already night. Because they need to spend the night in Mina anyway, many hujjaj delay this practice until close to time of sunset so they come from their hotels in Makkah in the last hour of the day, perform the jamarat rites and head to the camps right away all in one trip.

9. The fifth day of Hajj is the 12th of Dhul Hijjah. Any pilgrim who desires to hasten and leave early can end his or her Hajj after they perform the throwing of the stones on that day, and they have to be out of Mina before sunset. If they stayed in Mina after sunset then they are required to remain there for the extra day, the 13th, which is the last and final day of Ayyam-ut-tashreeq.

10. It is during this beautiful time the hujjaj get to connect with each other, learn about different cultures, meet scholars from different parts of the world and also make business and trade with each other among many other things they do there. Ironically, it is a time to celebrate the diversity and yet the unity of the whole Muslim Ummah.

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Sh. Yaser Birjas is originally from Palestine. He received his Bachelors degree from Islamic University of Madinah in 1996 in Fiqh & Usool, graduating as the class valedictorian. After graduating, he went on to work as a youth counselor and relief program aide in war-torn Bosnia. Thereafter, he immigrated to the U.S. and currently resides in Dallas, Texas. He is also an instructor at AlMaghrib Institute, where he teaches popular seminars such as Fiqh of Love, The Code Evolved, and Heavenly Hues. He is currently serving as an Imam at Valley Ranch Islamic Center, Irving, Texas. Sh. Yaser continues to enhance his knowledge in various arenas and most recently obtained a Masters of Adult Education and Training from the University of Phoenix, Class of 2013. In addition to his responsibilities as an Imam, Sh. Yaser is a father of four children, he’s an instructor at AlMaghrib Institute, and a national speaker appearing at many conventions and conferences around the country. He is very popular for his classes and workshops covering a wide range of topics related to the youth, marriage, parenting and family life among other social matters related to the Muslim community. His counseling services, in office and online, include providing pre-marital training, marriage coaching and conflict resolution for Muslims living in the West.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. muslimah

    November 17, 2010 at 11:14 PM

    beautiful. jazak Allahu khayran shaykhuna!

  2. Bintwadee3

    November 17, 2010 at 11:15 PM

    MashaAllaah

    Jazaak Allaahu Khayran wa baarak Allaahu feek shaykhana.

    -Maymuna

  3. Zakariyya

    November 18, 2010 at 3:03 AM

    In the portion of 2:196 in the article, there’s a typo; could moderator/poster/editor replace the tha’ with a ta’, so it says أمنتم?

    • Amatullah

      November 18, 2010 at 7:04 AM

      It does have a taa, not a thaa. You may have thought it was a thaa because the font size is smaller.

  4. Amatullah

    November 18, 2010 at 7:08 AM

    Jazaakum Allahu khayran Shaykh Yaser for this great series. It’s like a behind the scenes version of hajj, it is very beneficial.

  5. abu Abdullah

    November 18, 2010 at 5:02 PM

    jazak Allah khyar shaykh YB :)!!! subahan Allah, I started fasting habitually this morning only to be reminded by my mother from far far away on phone to go and enjoy eating and make dhikr of Allaah.

    i appreciate the series because its very thorough and detailed description. may Allah forgive you and your parents. ameen.

  6. Pingback: Yaser Birjas | The Days of Hajj Series | The Last Day of Hajj | MuslimMatters.org

  7. AbdulHasib

    November 20, 2010 at 6:29 PM

    Bismillah

    as-salamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullah shaykhana,

    ‘Eid Mubarak!

    barakAllahufeekum for the series, mA very beneficial.

    I wanted to add a few notes from something we’re witnessing these few days in Ayam al-Tashriq with regards to the Stoning before Zawal.

    I’m currently in Hajj and working with hajj groups, and seeing the situation live on-site, as well as taking into consideration the allowance for stoning before Zawal that was given in the fatwa a few years ago and what we face currently with regards to the timing.

    The timing of this rite of Hajj is critical. The standard opinion is that this should be performed after the time of zawal or when the time of dhuhr is already in until right before sunset. The size of the Hajj congregation in our modern time and the limited time window allocated to perform it has created a hazardous condition and a situation prone to disaster. Therefore, to preserve the human life Muslim scholars made concession for the hujjaj to use anytime of the day or night to perform this rite of hajj.

    1. With regards to the current situation in Hajj vs. The situation when the fatwa was given to stone at any time.

    Picture: http://www.karwan-e-shabbir.com/images/makkah%20project/Jamarat%20Project%20in%20Menna%20Makkah%20Al%20Mukkerma%20after%20Completion.jpg

    http://www.constructionweekonline.com/pictures/gallery/Projects/jamarat_bridge_web.jpg

    —–a. The Jamarat was only 1 level, and the previous year the fatwa was given, over 300 people died because of the this. The scholars of the Council of Senior Scholars and Fatwa Council in the Saudi Arabia passed the fatwa that due to this condition it was allowed to stone before the time of Zawal in order to preserve human life and allow for the flow of hujjaj. Cue in 2010, there are over 4 floors now, and even in peak times – i.e. right after Dhuhr, it is crowded but not hazardous at all compared to what was faced in the prior condition, billahil hamd.

    2. The ‘illah (cause/reason) for the fatwa does not hold in the current stoning of the Jamarat. The reason for the allowance was the extreme hazard and threat of death that it posed for the hujjaj, and any scholar at the time would know that preservation of human life is first and foremost than establishing the time (i.e. stoning after zawal). The current situation we see a number of subsidiary problems when it comes to Hajj groups and their planning when they take the fatwa that was given:

    ——a. The first problem is that these groups plan for the hujjaj that chose to leave early and on the same day as the 12th day. They plan and book their tickets 6 months in advance so that logistically, the hujjaj have no possibility of stoning after zawal, doing their Farewell Tawaf, and then having enough time to make it to Jeddah to fly out. This is simply a nicely planned “logistical Darurah (necessesity)” that is created 6 months in advance, when the tickets are booked, in order that the hujjaj are forced to take such an allowance because when the time comes they realize they will not be able to stone after zawal – i.e. a “created” darurah. This causes a situation that does not fall under the fatwa of a “hazard to human life.” Rather it’s just bad business practice, i.e. in order to save money, by not planning an extra “travel day.”

    ——b. Confusion ensues by those hujjaj who are not immediately leaving Mina to their homes 2, 3, or even 4 days after the 12th (when most of the Hujjaj leave, Ta’jul): they see that there’s no rush in Jamarat, nor is there a huge hazard, to take the ‘fatwa’ that allows for stoning before zawal, and they are upset and confused whether to follow such an allowance or not.

    ——c. Business practices of Hajj groups and the effect of the Fatwa. There seems to be a clear pattern between how Hajj groups book their tickets for their Hujjaj in order to save themselves money, and a connection with these groups taking the allowance of the fatwa that spoke for a specific ‘illah (reason) in a specific time frame, and to a specific situation. From what we see in the current situation and all indications point to one conclusion: the fatwa is outdated, and there needs to be a rectification based on the current situation.

    ——d. Not all Hajj groups are out to make such business profit based on taking the fatwa, on the contrary, many do want good and to establish the best Hajj for their Hujjaj, but in light of the outdated nature and the lack of “recalling the fatwa,” nor clarification of it in today’s current situation – they are continuing to tell their Hujjaj the fatwa and to stone before zawal.

    Given all that has been mentioned, seeing the situation live on the ground, and discussing this with scholars here, the solution to this isn’t that difficult whatsoever to implement.
    1. There is a current plan by students to write to the Fatwa Council in Saudi Arabia to clarify the situation with regards to stoning in light of the modern building of the Jamarat and the ease of the matter to implement the stoning after Zawal, and to clarify that the reason for the allowance of the previous fatwa, no longer exists.

    2. The Ministry of Hajj can strictly enforce timings and do a better job with crowd control by allocating the crowd to the different levels (even though it’s not Hazardously crowded!). It’s not difficult to route the groups based on the current way it is setup masha’Allah, very easy and it can facilitate constant flow on all levels.

    3. Given if there are people who have issues with the crowds as well as the time, we can turn to the Fatwa of Allowance to Stone in the Nights (not the night BEFORE, the night OF). We can easily take the allowance of the scholars that makes more sense, and that is to stone in the night of the same day, for women, elderly, or anyone – instead of BEFORE zawal, to stone after zawal and after maghrib. The fatwa for this has been given by dozens of major scholars and makes more sense to implement in the current situation to ease the crowds.

    Insha’Allah, the above 2 out of 3 will be implemented soon and hopefully we can get a response from the Council and publish it, and through this can fully establish the means to help the Hujjaj establish the rite of stoning the Jamarat in the most correct way.

    BarakAllahufeekum

    AbdulHasib

  8. tina

    January 13, 2013 at 4:30 AM

    is their such thing as day 7 hajj
    if their is some information can u let me know

  9. Pingback: The Great Fives in Islam! « YasSarNal QuR'aN

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