1. Is it true that the wearing of socks is obligatory for women during performing Tawaf and Sai’e?
2. Is it permissible for men to wear a jacket during Ihram in winter, only to protect themselves against cold weather?
3. I wish to do the pilgrimage in the Qiran method, intending to buy the sacrifice coupon here in Riyadh or in Makkah in advance of pilgrimage. Is this allowed?
4. If a follower of the Shaf’ie school of thought is doing the Tawaf with his wife, it is very likely that they may accidentally touch each other during Tawaf. That will invalidate their ablutions. Is it permissible for them to intend doing the Tawaf according to another school of thought?
5. Is it permissible to do the stoning in the morning hours to avoid the rush?
6. Is it permissible to use cream, Vaseline or lip balm during Ihram?
1. A woman should cover all her body during Ihram, or the state of consecration, with the exception of her face and her hands, up to her wrists. She may not cover these while she is in that state. To cover them is to violate the rules of Ihram and requires compensation. She may wear any clothes she likes, whatever their color may be, provided that she keeps her face and hands uncovered. She may wear socks if she wishes, or she may wear long garments, which cover her feet. She does not have to wear socks, but socks or stockings or trousers may be very helpful in giving her the necessary cover for her legs and feet.
2. A man may not wear a jacket during Ihram, not even when the weather is cold. However when the pilgrimage season is in the coldest period of the year, and he feels very cold, he may cover himself with a blanket, or any garment, provided that he does not wear it as he wears normal clothes. The proper way is to wrap it around his body. It is also permissible to cover him with a blanket or a similar article when one sleeps.
3. May God facilitate and accept your pilgrimage. May I remind you that although the Prophet, peace be upon him, did his pilgrimage in the Qiran method, he stated very clearly that the Tamattu’ method is the one to be preferred.
As for the sacrifices, it is perfectly appropriate to offer it through the general scheme, buying a coupon from a bank before or during the pilgrimage. Even when you buy the coupon at any bank and assign it to the organizing committee before the pilgrimage, the organizers undertake to actually do the sacrifice on behalf of all the subscribers at the time when it become due.
4. The best way out of the difficulty the reader refers to with regard to the invalidation of ablution in touching one’s wife or the body of any woman who is permissible for one to marry is to study the opinions of all schools of thought, and weigh their evidence in support of their respective views. When one does that, he may very likely conclude that a different opinion is more strongly supported. It is not right to take the opinion of a different school of thought only because it is convenient. On this point I feel that the view which considers ablutions invalidated on touching a woman if the contact is accompanied with a feeling of desire is weightier. If there is no feeling related to the sexual desire, then the contact does not invalidate the ablution.
5. The stoning time on the second, third and fourth days of the Eid starts when Zuhr or midday prayer has fallen due, lasting until sunset as the preferred time and until midnight as acceptable time. It is important for pilgrims to try to avoid the rush, and they can easily do that by delaying their stoning until about one-hour before sunset. Even then it is easy to choose the easier spots at the Jamrahs. If one chooses the ramp and approaches the Jamrah away from the center, then when he reaches it, he walks to the opposite side. That is to say that he moves half a circle around it and then comes to it as though he is coming from Makkah to Mina he will find the crowding there to be much less. Women may delay stoning until after Isha prayer, or alternatively they ask their men companions to do it on their behalf. A woman must never go in the thick of the crowd to do her stoning. She will be squeezed and may be crushed. No woman should allow herself to be in such a situation. It is definitely not a situation to offer a duty of worship in.
6. The use of Vaseline, cream or lip balm or any similar material is permissible if such products are free from perfume, and they are used as medication to soften the skin in affected areas. ~
1. Some agents provide pilgrimage with tents within the vicinity of Muzdalifah instead of Mina, saying that the overcrowding is the reason for that. I wonder whether it is appropriate for pilgrims to stay the nights of their two or three days in that area instead of Mina.
2. A friend of mine performed the pilgrimage last season and followed all the rules, except for the stay in Mina for the last three days. He was allotted a place a few yards outside Mina, toward Muzdalifah. Is this valid? If not, does he have to make any compensation?
1. The place to stay these two or three days is Mina. Many scholars consider the stay in Mina, which means spending most of the night there, to be a duty. However, many others including the Hanbali school of thought consider it to be a Sunnah. Thus, according to the latter view, missing out on staying in Mina does not require compensation, although it is against the proper practice.
Moreover, the standard rule that applies in all situations is that people are not accountable for what they are forced to do. If Mina is all taken up to the extent that one cannot find a place there, and as a result one stays in the adjacent area, intending to fulfill his duty of pilgrimage, then God may be pleased to accept his action as though he stayed in Mina. He will do well if he comes within the vicinity of Mina at night and stay there whatever time he can, without going into too much trouble. On the other hand, if he tries hard to stay in Mina and in the process he causes harm or inconvenience to other Muslims, then he is wrong because it is forbidden to cause harm to another Muslim.
2. Staying two or three nights in Mina after returning from Arafat is a duty according to some schools of law, and a Sunnah, or recommended according to others. If we consider it a duty, then missing it requires compensation, but if we consider it a Sunnah then no compensation is required to be given by anyone who misses it. Imam Ibn Hazm says: "A person who does not stay in Mina does badly, but has no compensation to pay."
All this applies to a person who has the chance to stay in Mina but leaves it out without a compelling reason. Your friend was out of Mina because of the congestion that leaves no room for many pilgrims, considering the limited space available in Mina. Therefore, we say without hesitation that his pilgrimage is perfectly appropriate and no compensation is necessary. All schools of law agree that people who are engaged in serving the pilgrims, such as those attending to water supplies, are exempt from staying in Mina. Al-Abbas, the Prophet’s uncle, sought his permission to stay in Makkah, so that he could attend to water supplies, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, permitted him that.
During pilgrimage, Muslims do the ritual of stoning at three spots, which people call: big, medium and small Shaytan, or Satan. Are there 3 different kinds of Satans or do these belong to Satan’s family? Does he have a family?
The three adjectives and the word Shaytan are simply popular usage. The fact is that there is no devil or Satan at any of these places. The correct name of the whole area is Aqabah, and each of the stoning places is called Jamrah. The name denotes that each one is the place where jimar, i.e. little stones, are thrown. In Arabic they are called the first or nearest, the middle and the grand Jamrah. These descriptions are easy to understand. The first is the nearest to Mina where the pilgrims stay. The grand Jamrah is called grand because it is the only one to be stoned on the first day. Thus, stoning at this Jamrah is done on 3 or 4 successive days, while at the other two it is done one day less.
Abraham refused to listen to him and tried to drive him away by throwing stones at him. He shifted his place twice and Satan still tried to persuade him not to do the sacrifice, but he stoned him every time. That is the action we commemorate, expressing our resolve that we will obey God in all situations. It is not an action of stoning Satan Himself, because Satan is not there at the Jamrahs.
Yes Satan has a family. God says in the Qur'an:
“When we told the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ they all prostrated themselves, except Iblis. He was one of the Jinn, and he turned away from His Lord’s command. Will you, then, take him and his offspring for your masters instead of Me, Although they are your foes? How vile an exchange on the part of the evildoers.” (18: 50) ~