6 - Chapter: When the month is obscured

2325 - Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us, saying: Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to me, saying: Mu'awiyah ibn Salih narrated to me, from Abdullah ibn Abi Qays, who said:--------------------------------------------

It was also recorded by Ibn Majah (1660) from Muhammad ibn Umar al-Muqri', from Ishaq ibn Isa, from Hammad ibn Zayd, from Ayyub, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurayrah, without his statement: "And all of Arafah is a place of standing..." This chain is weak due to the unknown status of Muhammad ibn Umar al-Muqri'.

It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi (706) from Muhammad ibn Isma'il, from Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir, from Ishaq ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from Abdullah ibn Ja'far, from Uthman ibn Muhammad al-Akhnasi, from Sa'id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah, also without his statement: "And all of Arafah is a place of standing..." This chain is hasan and connected.

It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi (813) via the route of Yahya ibn al-Yaman, from Ma'mar, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from A'ishah. Yahya ibn al-Yaman is weak and prone to many errors, and one more reliable than him contradicted him by making it from the musnad of Abu Hurayrah.

The statement "All of Arafah is a place of standing..." is supported by the hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah mentioned previously (1907), (1936), and (1937).

Al-Khattabi said: The meaning of the hadith is that error is waived from people in matters that are subject to ijtihad. So if a group of people exercised ijtihad and did not see the crescent until after thirty days, and thus did not break their fast until they completed the count, then it became established to them that the month had been twenty-nine days, their fasting and breaking of the fast are valid, and they bear no burden of sin or blame. Likewise, this applies to the Hajj if they erred regarding the Day of Arafah—they are not required to repeat it, and their sacrifice suffices them. This is but a leniency from Allah, Glorified be He, and gentleness toward His servants.

Al-Tirmidhi said following the hadith: Some scholars of hadith explained this hadith, saying: Its meaning is only that fasting and breaking the fast are with the congregation and the majority of the people.

His statement: "And all the mountain passes of Makkah are a place of sacrifice"—al-fijaj is the plural of fajj, which is the wide road. His statement: "All of Jam'"—Jam' is al-Muzdalifah. The meaning is that the place of standing at Arafah, the place of sacrifice in Mina and Makkah, and the place of standing at Muzdalifah are not restricted to the specific spots where the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stood and sacrificed. Rather, it is permissible to stand in all places of Arafah and all places of Muzdalifah, and it is permissible to sacrifice in all places of the Sacred Precinct, whether in Mina or Makkah.