To our sister pilgrim, let me say a final word: she should be, in the House of Allah, more adherent to the religious etiquettes, more disciplined and more decent. She should not crowd with men, nor pray between their rows, nor pass in front of them while they are praying; and she should let her prayer be behind men in the places assigned to women.
May Allah The Almighty make us and you of those who respond to Allah and His Messenger, , when he calls them to what gives them life, Make our Hajj accepted, our sin forgiven, our endeavor appreciated, and our deed accepted. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.} [Quran 18:30]
Mistakes when throwing the pebbles
1- Some people mistakenly think that throwing is not valid unless the pebbles are taken from Muzdalifah. That is why they trouble themselves so much in picking up the pebbles from Muzdalifah before going to Mina. That is a mistake, since it is valid to take them from anywhere; Muzdalifah, Mina or any other place, provided that they are pebbles.
2- Some people wash the pebbles once they pick them up, by way of precaution lest somebody may have urinated on them, or by way of cleaning, assuming that if they are clean it would be better. Washing the pebbles is a religious innovation since it was not done by the Messenger of Allah, ; and to worship Allah The Almighty with a deed which was not done by the Messenger of Allah, , is a religious innovation; and if it is done with no intention of worship, it would be foolish and a waste of time.
3- Some people mistakenly think that the Jamrahs are devils, and that they throw at devils, which causes some of them to come with great violence, hatred and anger, as if Satan is really in front of him as they throw pebbles at the Jamrahs. Of course, this leads to great evils including:
a- This is a false assumption, since we throw those pebbles out of remembrance of Allah The Almighty, in imitation of the Messenger of Allah, , and achievement of worship.
b- When one comes in a state of strong excitement, hatred, anger, and violence, while thrusting his way through the crowds, he surely will cause much harm to the people, as if they were insects before him: he neither cares for them, nor takes heed of the weak among them but rather rushes forward as if he were mad.
4- As for Jamrat Al-‘Aqabah, it is well-known that they should throw it in such a way that the pebbles fall into the basin. But they throw it from the East direction of the wall, and in this way, the pebbles do not fall into the basin, since the wall obstructs them. No doubt, to throw in such a way is invalid, for it is requisite for the validity of throwing that the pebbles should fall into the basin; and once the pebble falls into the basin, one becomes free from obligation of it, whether it remains in the basin or rolls beyond it. But it is not requisite to verify that the pebble has certainly fallen into the basin: it is sufficient to be almost certain that it has fallen into it.
5- Some people think that the pebble must hit the pillar itself, but this is not correct. It is not requisite, for the validity of throwing, that the pebble hits the pillar. This pillar was only made as an indication of the basin into which the pebble should fall. If the pebble falls into the basin, it will be sufficient, whether or not it has hit the pillar.
6- Another serious mistake is that some people take throwing the pebbles lightly and deputize others to throw on their behalf, although they are able to throw by themselves. That is indeed a grave mistake.
Some people justify this by citing the overcrowded area and their difficulty to make their way through it. But let us tell them that if there is a great crowd when the people first arrive at Mina from Muzdalifah, it is not so at the end of the day, nor at night; and if you miss the throwing during the day, you may throw at night, since the night is also a time for throwing, but the day is better. The point is that whoever argues [about their inability] on the basis of the crowd, let us tell him that Allah The Almighty made this matter flexible, so you may throw at night too.
Others say that if a woman throws, she would be forced to crowd with men. We say to such people that if a woman fears anything as regards throwing with the people, let her delay throwing to the night. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah, , gave no concession to weak persons in his family like Sawdah bint Zam‘ah, may Allah be pleased with her, and others not to throw by themselves but instead to deputize others to throw on their behalf, which means that it is impermissible. On the contrary, he gave them permission to leave Muzdalifah towards the end of the night, in order to be able to throw before the crowds of people filled the place. This provides the greatest evidence for the fact that the woman should not deputize anyone to throw on her behalf just because she is a woman.
But if somebody is unable to throw by himself, whether during the day or at night, then, it will be permissible for him to deputize another person to throw on his behalf, because he is incapable.
7- We have previously mentioned that it is permissible to throw with pebbles taken from any place, even if a pebble falls from the hand of anyone while throwing the Jamrah. In such a case, he could pick up a pebble from the ground underneath his feet, whether it is the same pebble that fell from him or someone else, in which case, there is no blame on him to take from the ground underneath his feet where he is throwing, and then throw it, regardless of being close to the basin, since there is no evidence to support the claim that if he throws it, it will not be sufficient for him.
8- Some people throw pebbles less in number than what is mentioned: some only throw three, four or five. That indeed disagrees with the Sunnah, since it is due on him to throw seven pebbles, as the Messenger of Allah, , did: he threw with seven pebbles and no less. But some religious scholars say it is permissible if the pebbles are less than seven by one or two, as it was done by some Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. If somebody comes to tell us that he has only thrown six pebbles, whether forgetfully or in ignorance, we will then excuse him and say to him: Nothing is due on you, since the like of it was reported from some Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Otherwise, the basic rule is that what is valid, under Sharee‘ah, (Islamic legislation) is to throw seven pebbles as was reported from the Messenger of Allah, .
9- Some people throw the pebbles all at once with one hand, and that is a grave mistake. According to some religious scholars, if one throws more than one pebble with one hand, only one pebble is counted for him. So, it is due to throw the pebbles one by one, as was done by the Messenger of Allah, .