By the will and grace of Allaah Almighty, I will go to Hajj this season. However, I have the following problem: due to the unavailability of places on the plane, I will have to go back to my country the morning of the twelfth day of Thul-Hijjah. This means that I will have to throw the three pebbles on the first day of tashreeq and will not be able to stay and throw pebbles on the two following days. Should I throw the pebbles in advance on the first day, or should I authorize someone to throw the pebbles on my behalf? Am I required to slaughter one or two sacrificial animals? Is my Hajj valid in the first place? Kindly note that there is a place on some plane, but the flight's date is Thul-Hijjah 22, and I cannot stay on till this date given my work circumstances, as I cannot take such a long leave. I am a doctor and live in Europe.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Throwing the pebbles is obligatory, and staying overnight at Mina is obligatory as well. So it is not permissible for you to leave any of these rituals. You should perform them, even if it leads you to delay your travel. It is not valid for you to authorize someone to throw pebbles on your behalf because you are able throw them yourself, and such authorization is permissible only when the person is unable to do it. Also, it is not valid for you to throw the pebbles on the first day instead of doing this on all the days of tashreeq, for pebble-throwing is not valid before its due time.

However, if your delay because of this will cause you unbearable hardship due to your work circumstances, and you cannot take a leave and thus are unable to throw the pebbles or stay overnight at Mina, then you are required to slaughter two sacrificial animals in Mecca and their meat should be distributed among the poor people in the Sacred Precincts. Your Hajj will be valid, for abandoning an obligatory act does not invalidate one's Hajj.

There is a way out provided by those who regard it permissible to throw pebbles before noon on the second day of tashreeq, a view that is reported to have been adopted by Abu Haneefa and Ahmad. So you may throw the pebbles in the morning of the twelfth day and then head to Mecca. According to this view, you will not be required to slaughter a sacrificial animal.

Allaah Knows best.