8. Hajj Q and A:

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاتة 

 بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِٱلرَّحِيمِ

8. Allah says in Quran, "Remember Allah at al-Mashar al-Haram" [2:198]. Where is located?

Masjid al-Mashar al-Haram is a mosque in Muzdalifah. It is located midway between Masjid al-Khayf in Mina and Masjid Nimra in Arafat, in close proximity to Mount Quzah. Hajj pilgrims stay on the night of 9-th of Dhul-Hijja at their Hajj.

After their prayer at Arafat on the 9th day of Dhul- Hijja, at or before sunset all the pilgrims move to Muzthalifa. The whole crowd move from Arafath to Muzthalifa by road. As they arrive there, one by one they perform Maghrib and Isha prayer with one adhan and two iqamas. Till midnight one can hear azan call continuously. The stay at Muzthalifa in the night is obligatory in Hajj. Muzthalifa is a large open place stretches for about four kilometres in length covering an area of 12.25 square kilometers. Here the pilgrims collect about 50 pea sized pebbles to through at Jamrath.

Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) reported:

"At farewell pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ moved from Arafath and came to Muzdalifah, where he prayed Maghrib and Isha with one azan and two iqamas, and as he was moving, he did not offer any prayer in between them. The Prophet ﷺ then went to sleep until shortly before the break of dawn, choosing not to engage in night worship as he normally did. He was most certainly exhausted, having spent the day worshipping, travelling and teaching.

The Prophet ﷺ performed Fajr salah with one azan and one iqama, just as the time for the prayer had begun. He observed the prayer slightly earlier than what he was normally accustomed to."

Abdullah ibn Masud I narrates: "I never saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offer any prayer except at the proper time, apart from Maghrib and Isha in Muzdalifah and Fajr on that day, which he offered before the usual time.”

After completing the prayer, he mounted his she-camel and ascended Mount Quzah, which overlooked the mosque. He turned towards the Qibla and raised his hands in supplication until it had become light. The Prophet ﷺ thanked, praised and glorified Allah, all the while reciting the Talbiyah, thereby fulfilling the divine instruction: "But when you depart from Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mashar al-Haram. [2:198]

During this supplication, the Prophet ﷺ smiled. Upon seeing this, Abu Bakr(RA) and Umar (RA) asked him why he was cheerful.  Al-Abbas ibn Mirdas al-Sulami narrates: "Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar (RA) said to him: ‘May our mother and father be ransomed for you, this is not a time when you usually laugh. May Allah make your years full of laughter, why are you smiling?”

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The enemy of Allah, Iblis, when he came to know that Allah answered my prayer and pardoned my nation, took some dust and started to sprinkle it on his head, uttering cries of woe and dejection, and what I saw of his anguish made me laugh."

 الحمدلله