Hajj: Does Throwing the Pebbles Before Noon Invalidate It?

13 August, 2019

Q As-salamu `alaykum. What is the correct time for throwing the pebbles in Hajj? Some people insist that it should start after zawal while others say it could be done after Fajr?

Answer

Wa `alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

In this fatwa:

Pilgrims may throw the pebbles any time during all the days of throwing, i.e. from the morning until the dawn of the following day. This is allowed for pilgrims so that they have plenty of time to perform this ritual at ease, especially if there is a valid excuse like heavy rain and the like.

Responding to your question, eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Abdul Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef, a renowned scholar and da`iyah, states:

Many Muslim jurists — in the past and present — allow throwing the pebbles in Hajj before the zawal (noon). For example, Abu Hanifah, Ibn Al-Jawzi, some Shafi`i jurists allowed throwing before the zawal. Moreover, many contemporary Muslim scholars permit throwing pebbles before the zawal.

Given the above, throwing pebbles before noon is valid and correct taking into consideration the difficulties, harms, and hardships that pilgrims face because of limiting the time of throwing the pebbles.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.