Mina and Muzdalifa not part of Makkah

A person going for Hajj will be staying 5 days in Makka (Hilton Towers) then 5 days in Aziziah; thereafter he will be performing Hajj from the 8th-12th Zilhijjah(5 days) and then will stay an additional 2 days in Aziziah. Altogether the number of days equals 17. I would like to know if this person would become a muqeem or will he still be musaafir? JazaakAllaahu Khairan.

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

Such a person will remain a musafir. This is because for a musafir to become a muqeem, he must make intention of staying at one place for 15 days or more (Note: By “staying at one place” it means spending the night at one place, as the place a person spends his time during the day is irrelevant in this). If he makes intention of staying at two or more places for a total of 15 days, he will not become a muqeem. Since Mina and Muzdalifa are not part of Makkah, the person referred to in your query will not be staying at any one place for 15 days or more. Hence, he will remain a musafir.

The above mentioned ruling is explicitly mentioned in all the Fiqh and Fatawa books. That Mina is not part of Makkah is also explicitly mentioned in the Fiqh and Fatawa books.

(See: Raddul Muhtaar: 2/729 Darul Ma’rifa; Al-Bahr Ar-Raiq: 2/132; Tabyeen Al-Haqaa’iq: 1/212; Sharh Mulla Miskeen ala al-Kanz: pg. 75; Sharh al-Aini ala al-Kanz: 1/95; Al-Fatawa Al-Hindiya: 1/140; Fatawa Mahmudiya: 10/370; Aap Ke Masail: 4/115, 118; Khairul Fatawa: 4/248)

Some contemporary ulama, however, say that Mina and Muzdalifa have now become part of Makkah and therefore a person who intends to stay at Makkah, Mina and Muzdalifa for a total of 15 days or more will become a muqeem. However, since this view is contrary to what is mentioned in the Fiqh and Fatawa books, fatwa cannot be given on this view until and unless the ulama agree on it.

The ruling that we have mentioned (that Mina and Muzdalifa are not part of Makkah and that the person referred to in your query will remain a musafir) is the view of Darul Ifta, Darul Ulum Deoband, India [1] [2] [3] [4]; Darul Ifta, Jamiatul Ulum Al-Islamiya, Binnori Town, Pakistan; Darul Ifta, Darul Ulum Zakariya, South Africa – among other muftis and darul iftas. Even Mufti Rafee’ Usmani sahib advised that fatwa should not be given on the view that Mina and Muzdalifa are now part of Makkah until the matter is further researched or all the ulama agree to it. Mufti Rada ul-Haq sahib of Darul Ulum Zakariya, South Africa has written a detailed fatwa on this topic. (Click to download: Fatawa Darul Ulum Zakariya: 3/517-531)

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Faizal Riza
25/10/2011