Mistakes made when doing Tawaaf
These are mistakes that occur during tawaaf, and are of various types:
1 : Uttering the intention out loud when wanting to do tawaaf, so you see the pilgrim standing facing the Black Stone when he wants to do tawaaf, saying, "O Allaah, I intend to do seven circuits of tawaaf for Umrah" or "O Allaah, I intend to do seven circuits of tawaaf for Hajj," or "O Allaah, I intend to do seven circuits of tawaaf in order to draw closer to You."
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did tawaaf before you and he did not speak the intention out loud when he did tawaaf. The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did tawaaf before you and did not speak the intention out loud when they did tawaaf, or when doing any other act of worship, so this is a mistake.
2 : Some of those who do tawaaf push and shove too much when they touch the Black Stone and the Yemeni Corner, and they are disturbed by the overcrowding and disturb others. They may be pushing and shoving a woman, and the Shaytaan may tempt him and fill his heart with desire when he is crowding this woman in this narrow place. People are only human and may be overwhelmed by their souls that prompt them to do evil, so an evil action may take place in the shadow of the House of Allaah. This is a matter that becomes even worse in light of where it takes place, although it is a fitnah in any place it happens.
It is not prescribed to push and shove when touching the Black Stone or the Yemeni Corner, rather if it is easy for you to do so in a calm and dignified manner, then you must do it, and if it is not easy for you to do it, then you should just point to the Black Stone.
With regard to the Yemeni Corner, there is no report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that he pointed to it, and we cannot compare it to the Black Stone, because the Black Stone is greater than it, and it was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pointed to the Black Stone.
Just as crowding is not prescribed in this situation and there is the fear that it may cause fitnah when one is crowded together with women, so too it may also cause annoyance, because in crowded situations a person will inevitably hear words that he dislikes and he will feel annoyed and angry when he leaves this place.
What the person who is doing tawaaf should do is always remain calm and dignified, so that he will have the proper presence of mind for worshipping Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Tawaaf around the House and (Saai) between al-Safa and al-Marwah and the stoning of the Jamaar have only been prescribed so that remembrance of Allaah (dhikr) will be established."
3 : Some people think that tawaaf is not valid unless one kisses the Black Stone, and that kissing the Black Stone is one of the conditions of tawaaf being valid, and of Hajj and Umrah being valid too. This is a mistaken notion.
Kissing the Black Stone is Sunnah, and it is not an independent Sunnah either, rather it is Sunnah for the one who is doing tawaaf. I do not know that kissing the Black Stone is Sunnah except in tawaaf. Based on this, since kissing the Black Stone is Sunnah and is not obligatory and is not a condition of Tawaaf, then if a person does not kiss it, we do not say that his tawaaf is invalid or that his tawaaf is lacking and he is sinning. Rather his tawaaf is valid and if there is a lot of crowding then pointing is better than touching, because this is what the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did when the place was crowded, and because by doing this a person avoids harm that he may do to others or that others may do to him.
If someone were to ask us: If the Mataaf (place of tawaaf) is very crowded, what do you think – is it better to push in and touch and kiss the Black Stone, or to point to it?
We say that it is better to point to it, because that is the Sunnah. That was narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
4 : Kissing the Yemeni Corner. There is no proof concerning this from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and if an act of worship is not proven from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) then it is bidah and is not an act of worship that brings one closer to Allaah. Based on this, it is not prescribed to kiss the Yemeni Corner, because that was not proven from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Rather that was narrated in a daeef (weak) hadeeth that cannot be taken as evidence.
5 : Some people, when they touch the Black Stone or Yemeni Corner, touch it with their left hands in a careless manner. This is a mistake, because the right hand is better than the left hand, and the left hand is only used for unclean things such as cleaning oneself after relieving oneself, or rinsing ones nose, and so on. When it comes to matters of kissing and respect, the right hand should be used.
6 : They think that touching the Black Stone and the Yemeni corner is done for barakah or blessing, not as part of the ritual of tawaaf, so they touch them seeking barakah from them. This is undoubtedly contrary to the purpose, for the purpose of touching the Black Stone or wiping it or kissing it is to glorify Allaah.
Hence when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) touched the Black Stone he said: "Allaahu akbar," as an indication that the purpose of this action is to glorify Allaah, not to seek barakah by touching this stone.
Hence when the caliph Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) touched the Black Stone he said: "By Allaah, I know that you are just a stone and can neither cause harm nor bring benefit. Were it not that I had seen the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kiss you, I would not have kissed you."
This mistaken notion held by some people – that the purpose behind touching the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone is to seek barakah – has led some of them to bring their young children and touch the Corner or the Stone with their hands, then wipe their children with their hands. This is a corrupt belief that should be denounced. We should explain to people that these stones can neither harm nor benefit, and that the purpose of touching them is to glorify Allaah and establish His remembrance (dhikr), and to follow the example of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
All of these matters and others are not prescribed in shareeah. Rather they are innovations (bidah) and do not benefit those who do them in any way. But if the one who does that is ignorant and does not realize that this is bidah, then there is the hope that he may be forgiven. But if he knows that this is bid'ah or is negligent and does not ask about his religion, then he is sinning.
7 : Some people recite a specific duaa in each circuit. This is a kind of bidah that was not narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or his companions. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not recite a specific duaa in each circuit, and neither did his companions. The most that can be said concerning that is that between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say: "Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!" [al-Baqarah 2:201 – interpretation of the meaning].
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Tawaaf around the House and (Saa'i) between al-Safa and al-Marwah and the stoning of the Jamaar have only been prescribed so that remembrance of Allaah (dhikr) will be established."
This bidah is even more wrong when the person carries a small booklet in which there is a duaa for each circuit, and he reads this booklet, not knowing what he is saying, either because he does not know Arabic and does not understand the meanings, or because although he is an Arab and speaks Arabic he does not know what he is saying. We even hear some of them say du'aa's that clearly deviate from Islamic teaching; for example, we have heard someone saying, "O Allaah, make me independent of means by Your Majesty (jalaalika) so I have no need of that which You have forbidden" when he should have said, "by that which You have permitted (halaalika)."
We also see some people reading this booklet, and when they finish the duaa for the circuit they are doing, they stop and do not recite any other duaa for the rest of that circuit. If there are not many people in the Mataaf, they finish the circuit before they finish the duaa, so they cut the duaa short.
The remedy for that is to explain to the pilgrims that during tawaaf a person can say whatever duaa he wants, and he can remember Allaah (dhikr) however he wants.
Mistakes that are made
when stoning the Jamaraat
It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that he stoned Jamarat al-Aqabah which is al-Jamarah al-Quswa which is closer to Makkah, with seven pebbles, during the morning of the Day of Sacrifice, saying "Allaahu akbar" with every pebble which was a little bigger than a chicken-pea.
Ibn Maajah (3029) narrated that Ibn Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me on the morning of al-Aqabah when he was standing atop his camel: "Come and pick up for me." So I picked up for him pebbles which were a little bigger than a chickpea. He put them in his hand and said, "With pebbles like this stone (the Jamaraat)… and beware of going to extremes, for those who came before you were destroyed because of going to extremes in religion."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah, 2455.
Ahmad and Abu Dawood narrated from Aaishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Tawaaf around the House, [Sa'ee] between al-Safa and al-Marwah and stoning the Jamaraat have been prescribed to establish the remembrance of Allaah."
This is the reason why the stoning of the Jamaraat has been prescribed.
There are many mistakes committed by some pilgrims when stoning the Jamaraat.
1 : Some people think that the stoning of the Jamaraat is not valid unless it is done with pebbles from Muzdalifah. Hence you will find them going to a lot of trouble to gather the pebbles from Muzdalifah before they go to Mina. This is a mistaken idea, because the pebbles may be taken from anywhere, from Muzdalifah, from Mina, or from any place. The point is that they should be pebbles.
There is no report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) picked up the pebbles from Muzdalifah, so that we could say that this is Sunnah. It is not Sunnah, and it is not obligatory to pick up the pebbles from Muzdalifah, because the Sunnah is either the words or actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or what he approved of – none of which apply in the case of picking up pebbles from Muzdalifah.
2 : Some people, when they pick up the pebbles, wash them, either for fear that someone may have urinated on them, or to clean them, because they think that if they are clean, this is better. Whatever the case, washing the pebbles is an innovation (bidah), because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do that, and worshipping Allaah by doing something that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do is a kind of bidah. If a person does that without the intention of it being an act of worship then it is foolishness and is a waste of time.
3 : Some people think that these Jamaraat are devils, and that they are actually stoning devils, so you may see them becoming very emotional and very angry, as if the Shaytaan himself is in front of him, and this leads to the following grave errors:
1- This is a mistaken notion. We stone these Jamaraat as an act of remembering Allaah, following the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as an act of worship. If a person does an act of worship and does not know its benefits, but he does it only as an act of worship for Allaah, this will be more indicative of his humility and submission to Allaah.
2- A person may become very angry and emotional, so you see him disturbing people greatly, as if the people in front of him are vermin and he doesnt care about them or the weak among them, he just goes forward like a crazy camel.
3- A person may not remember that he is worshipping Allaah by stoning these Jamaraat. Hence he neglects to say the dhikr prescribed in shareeah and says words that are not prescribed in shareeah, such as saying, "O Allaah, we are angry with the Shaytaan and are pleased with al-Rahmaan (the Most Merciful)," even though this is not prescribed when stoning the Jamaraat; rather what is prescribed is to say "Allaahu akbar," as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do.
4- Based on this false belief you will see some people picking up large rocks and throwing them, because they think that the bigger the rock, the greater the effect and revenge on the Shaytaan. You also see them throwing shoes, pieces of wood and the like, which are not prescribed for throwing.
So if we say that this belief is false, what do we then believe about stoning the Jamaraat? We believe that we stone the Jamaraat as an act of veneration and worship of Allaah, and following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
4 : Some people are careless and do not care whether the pebbles land in the pit around the Jamaraat or not.
If the pebbles do not land in the pit around the Jamaraat, then the stoning is not valid. It is sufficient for the person to think it most likely that the pebbles have landed in the pit around the Jamaraat, and it is not essential to be certain, because certainty in this case may not be possible; if one cannot be certain that he should act on what he thinks is most likely. The Lawgiver allows a person to proceed on the basis of what he thinks is most likely, if he is uncertain as to how many rakahs he has prayed, three or four, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Let him decide what is most likely the case, then complete it on that basis." Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1020.
This proves that in matters of ibaadah it is sufficient to base ones actions on what he thinks is most likely the case. This is because Allaah wants to make things easy because it may not be possible to be certain.
If the pebbles land in the pit around the Jamaraat, then the duty has been discharged, whether they stay in the pit or roll out of it.
5 : Some people think that the pebbles must hit the pillar in the pit. This is a mistaken notion, because it is not essential for the stoning to be valid that the pebbles should hit this pillar. This pillar is only there as a marker for the pit in which the pebbles land. If the pebbles land in the pit that is sufficient, whether they hit the pillars or not.
6: One of the most serious mistakes that are made is when some people take the matter of stoning the Jamaraat lightly, and delegate someone else to do it on their behalf even though they are able to do it. This is a serious mistake, because stoning the Jamaraat is one of the rituals of Hajj. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And perform properly (i.e. all the ceremonies according to the ways of Prophet Muhammad), the Hajj and 'Umrah (i.e. the pilgrimage to Makkah) for Allaah"
[al-Baqarah 2:196]
This means completing Hajj with all its rituals in full. So each person must do them himself, and not delegate someone else to do it on his behalf.
Some people say, "The place is too crowded and it is too difficult for me." We say to them, "If the crowding is too bad when the people first come to Mina from Muzdalifah it will not be so bad at the end of the day, or at night. If you do not manage to stone the Jamaraat during the day, then you can do it at night, because night is also the time for stoning, although the day is preferable. But it is better for a person to come and do the stoning at night in a calm, dignified and humble manner than to come during the day fearing that he may die because of the overcrowding, and he may throw his pebbles and they may not land in the pit. The point is if someone uses the overcrowding as an excuse, we say to him: Allaah has given plenty of room for manoeuvre, so you can stone the Jamaraat at night.
Similarly if a woman is afraid of something if she stones the Jamaraat with the people, she can delay it until the night. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not allow the weak ones among his family – such as Sawdah bint Zamah and those like her – to forego stoning the Jamaraat and to delegate someone else to do it on their behalf; rather he gave them permission to leave Muzdalifah at the end of the night, to stone the Jamaraat before the place became crowded. This is the greatest evidence that a woman should not delegate this task just because she is a woman.
Yes, if a person is disabled and unable to stone the Jamaraat by himself, either during the day or at night, then in this case it is permissible for him to delegate it to someone else, because he is incapable of doing it. It was narrated from the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) that they used to stone the Jamaraat on behalf of their children, because the children were unable to do it.
Whatever the case, being careless with regard to this matter – i.e., delegating the stoning of the Jamaraat, except for those who have excuses which mean that they are unable to do it – is a serious mistake, because it is carelessness with regard to an act of worship, and negligence with regard to a duty.
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