Muzdalifah

Mosque and pebble-collection zone at Muzdalifah.

Muzdalifah (Arabic: مزدلفة) is an open, level area near Mecca in Saudi Arabia associated with the Hajj. It lies just southeast of Mina on the route between Mina and Arafat.

Hajj

The stay at Muzdalifah is preceded by a day at Arafat, consisting of glorifying Allah, repeating the Supplication, and repentance to Allah and asking Him for forgiveness. In Arafat, one must perform the Zuhr and 'Asr prayers in a combined and abbreviated form during the time of Zuhr. After sunset on the ninth day of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah, sometimes arriving at night because of over-crowding. After arriving at Muzdalifah,pilgrims pray the Maghrib and Isha prayer jointly where as the Isha prayer is shortened to 2 rakhs.

At Muzdalifah, pilgrims collect pebbles (49, because seven are thrown at each of the three pillars each day) which will be thrown in the Stoning of the Devil ritual in Mina during the next 3 or 4 days. Pilgrims then spend the night at Muzdalifah, often sleeping in the open air, before leaving for Mina the next morning.

The open-roofed mosque at Muzdalifah is known as Al-Mash'ar al-Haram ("The Sacred Grove").[1][2][3][4]

References

  1. David E. Long The Hajj Today: A Survey of the Contemporary Pilgrimage to Mecca 1979 "With thousands of Hajjis, most of them in motor vehicles, rushing headlong for Muzdalifah, the potential is there for one of ... There is special grace for praying at the roofless mosque in Muzdalifah called al-Mash'ar al-Haram (the Sacred Grove) ..."
  2. Danarto A Javanese pilgrim in Mecca 1989 Page 27 "It was still dark when we arrived at Muzdalifah, four miles away. The Koran instructs us to spend the night at al-Mash'ar al-Haram. the Sacred Grove at Muzdalifah, as one of the conditions for the hajj . We scrambled out of the bus and looked ...
  3. Lindsay Jones Encyclopedia of religion - 2005 Volume 10 - Page 7159 "The Qur'an admonishes: "When you hurry from Arafat, remember God at the Sacred Grove (al-mash' ar al-haram)," that is, at Muzdalifah (2:198). Today a mosque marks the place in Muzdalifah where pilgrims gather to perform the special saldt ..."
  4. Ziauddin Sardar, M. A. Zaki Badawi - Hajj Studies 1978 -- Page 32 "Muzdalifah is an open plain sheltered by parched hills with sparse growth of thorn bushes. The pilgrims spend a night under the open sky of the roofless Mosque, the Sacred Grove, Al Mush'ar al-Haram. On the morning of the tenth, all depart ..."

Coordinates: 21°23′33″N 39°56′16″E / 21.39250°N 39.93778°E / 21.39250; 39.93778

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