`The Three Jamarat of Mina`... Learn about the reason for the name and the conditions for throwing stones.

Arab Weather - On the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah, pilgrims throw stones at the largest Jamarat al-Aqaba, which is the Jamarat closest to Mecca. During the three days of Tashreeq, pilgrims throw stones at the three Jamarat. The pilgrim starts with the smallest Jamarat, then the middle one, and then the largest Jamarat (al-Aqaba). He throws seven pebbles at each one, saying with each throw: “In the name of God, and God is Great.” He supplicates after each Jamarat, except for the largest Jamarat al-Aqaba. He raises his hands facing the Kaaba and supplicates as he wishes.

"Sabq" sheds light on the nature of the three Jamarat, the reasons for their name, and their story with the prophets Adam, Abraham, and Muhammad, peace be upon them, in addition to the conditions for throwing stones and the wisdom behind them, the difference between throwing stones at Jamrat al-Aqaba and the rest of the Jamarat, and the story of the sign, the wall, and the three levels.

Throwing time

The time for throwing the first pebble is from the pilgrim's arrival in Mina on the day of Eid. As for the days of Tashreeq, the throwing begins from the sun's zenith (the time of the noon call to prayer) until dawn of the following day, but in the Sunnah it is between noon and sunset.

Seven pebbles and a sign

The three Jamarat are places in Mina. At each place, the pilgrim throws seven pebbles, each one larger than a chickpea and smaller than a hazelnut. In the early days of Islam, these places were unmarked. Then, a square pillar was erected at each place, along with a basin surrounding the pillar, to indicate the place of throwing.

A wall... and 3 floors

During the Saudi era, a wall was built in every place where the stoning was performed, to replace the square pillar, and the basin was expanded. Several floors were built above those places, and on each floor a wall and a basin were built, to accommodate the large numbers of pilgrims. Whoever throws in the basin, their throwing is valid whether they hit the marker (the wall) or not.

The reason for the name and its story with Adam

The three places for throwing pebbles were named Jamrat, in reference to the pebbles that are thrown with them. Jamrat means small pebbles, and the place of the Jamarat in Mina was named Jamrat because it is thrown with the Jamarat (pebbles). It was also said that it is a collection of pebbles that are thrown from the Jamrat. It was also said that it was named this because they say “ajmara” if it is fast. And from this is what was mentioned in the story of Adam with Satan: “Adam threw stones at Mina, and Satan burned the coals in front of him.” And in the hadith, when Abraham, the friend of God, came to the rituals, Satan appeared to him at Jamrat al-Aqaba, and threw seven pebbles at him until he sank into the ground. Then he appeared to him at the second Jamrat, so he threw seven pebbles at him until he sank into the ground. Then he appeared to him at the third Jamrat, so he threw seven pebbles at him until he sank into the ground. And for this reason, the wisdom of being satisfied with the first day at al-Aqaba is evident, based on his action with Adam in this situation, and on the three days following Abraham, where Satan whispered to him in the three places. And with this, the reason for repeating the Jamrat on the three days becomes clear.

emulation and rule

Muslims today throw it in imitation of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, who threw it in this manner and said: “Learn your rituals from me, learn your rituals from me.”

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz said: A group of scholars stated that the wisdom behind this is to humiliate, degrade, and compel Satan and to demonstrate opposition to him, because this happened to Abraham (peace be upon him) when God showed him the sacrifice of his son Ishmael. However, it is established among the scholars that the wisdom must be proven with clear evidence from the Qur’an or Sunnah. If it is proven, then it is light upon light and good upon good. Otherwise, the believer accepts God’s law and acts upon it even if he does not know the wisdom and reason for it, while believing that God Almighty is Wise and All-Knowing, as He said: “Indeed, your Lord is Wise and All-Knowing,” and He Almighty said: “Indeed, God is All-Knowing and All-Wise.” He is All-Knowing of what He legislates for His servants, All-Knowing of what He has decreed for them, All-Knowing of every event in the future, just as He is All-Knowing of everything that has happened in the past. And He has perfect wisdom in everything, glory be to Him, the Most High, for He has perfect knowledge, perfect wisdom and perfect power. He never legislates anything in vain, nor does He do anything in vain. Rather, all of that is for a perfect wisdom, a great reason and a praiseworthy goal, even if people do not know it. This is what every believer must believe, for God, glory be to Him, is the All-Wise, All-Knowing in what He decrees and determines, and in what He legislates for His servants, including the issue of stoning the Jamarat.

Why is the Great Jamarat called Jamarat al-Aqaba?

The Great Jamrat was called Jamrat Al-Aqaba because it was located at the base of a mountain, and the narrow, rugged path in a mountain is called Aqaba. In language dictionaries, it says, “Aqaba: the rugged path in a mountain, and the plural is Aqaba, Aqab, and Aqabat.” So it was named Jamrat Al-Aqaba because of its location. In the past, pilgrims used to climb the mountain and throw stones at the bottom of the mountain, but the mountain adjacent to it has been removed at the present time.

Throwing conditions

When throwing the pebbles, the object must be pebbles, and they must fall into the circular basin. They must be thrown separately, i.e., one throws them one after the other. It is not valid to throw all seven pebbles with one hand. If one throws all seven pebbles with one hand, it will be counted as one throw. As for the order of throwing the pebbles, one begins with throwing the smallest pebble, then the middle pebble, then the Aqaba pebble, and the reverse is not valid.

Differences between Jamrat Al-Aqaba and the rest of the Jamarat

The difference between stoning Jamrat al-Aqaba on the day of Eid and stoning the three Jamarat on the days of Tashreeq is that stoning Jamrat al-Aqaba is for it alone on the day of Eid, while stoning on the days of Tashreeq is for the three Jamarat, starting with the smallest Jamrat, then the middle one, then Jamrat al-Aqaba, with seven pebbles for each Jamrat, meaning the total number of pebbles the pilgrim throws is twenty-one pebbles per day.

There is another difference in the timing of stoning. The time for stoning Jamrat al-Aqaba begins from the pilgrims’ arrival in Mina after spending the night in Muzdalifah on the night of Eid. The weak, the sick, the elderly, and others leave Muzdalifah for Mina after sunset on the night of Eid. When they reach Jamrat al-Aqaba, it is permissible for them to stone it. That is, stoning Jamrat al-Aqaba may begin after midnight on the night of Eid, while others leave Muzdalifah after sunrise. According to the correct view, stoning Jamrat al-Aqaba continues until dawn on the night of the eleventh day.

The time for stoning the Jamarat on the days of Tashreeq begins when the sun passes its zenith on each of the three days, which is the time for the Dhuhr prayer. The time for stoning ends at dawn of the following day. It is best to do the stoning before sunset because it is an act of worship, and it is recommended to do worship at its earliest time, and because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it and said, “Learn your rituals from me.” It is permissible to stone at night, according to the correct view, especially for those who have an excuse, such as the elderly, the weak, and the sick.

Source: Sabq Newspaper