Hajj differs from other acts of worship in some Fiqh (jurisprudence) related rules. It is known that leaving an obligation or a pillar in an act of worship deliberately nullifies it, whereas in Hajj it is different. When an obligatory ritual or a pillar is missed, Hajj does not become invalid, even if this was done deliberately. However, leaving such a ritual or act necessitates doing something which guarantees either correcting Hajj (in the case of an obligation being missed) or ending it without it counting as a Hajj (in the case of a pillar being missed). Scholars have mentioned other differences in this regard. Based on the facts mentioned above, let us try to understand the following two Ahadeeth and other relevant ones.

The Prophet stood in Mina during the Farewell Hajj and people were asking him questions. A man said, “Unaware, I got my head shaved before slaughtering.” The Prophet replied: “Slaughter [now], and there is no harm [in doing so].” Another man said, “Unknowingly, I slaughtered the Hady [sacrificial animal] before casting my pebbles.” The Prophet said: “Throw the pebbles now, and there is no harm [in doing so].” On that day, when the Prophet was asked about anything (about the rituals of Hajj) done either before or after (its stated time), his reply (regarding carrying on with the next ritual was the same): “Do it [now], and there is no harm [in doing so].” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

In another narration, when the Prophet was delivering a Khutbah (sermon) on the Day of An-Nahr, (Slaughter) a man stood up and said, “I thought that such-and-such was to be done before such-and-such. I got my hair shaved before slaughtering.” Another said, “I slaughtered the Hady before throwing the pebbles.” And so many people asked about many similar things. The Prophet said: “Do it [now], and there is no harm in all these cases.” Whenever the Prophet was asked about anything on that day, he would reply: “Do it [now], and there is no harm in it.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Lessons to be Learned from the Ahadeeth:

The subject of these Ahadeeth was mentioned in different narrations and in different forms, and what we conclude from the scholars' commentaries on these Ahadeeth is that they are referring to the rituals of Hajj done on the Day of An-Nahr in particular. All the narrations with their different wordings were reported on the rituals of that day in which most of the Hajj rituals are performed, such as casting the Jamrah (Pillar) of Al-‘Aqabah (Al-Jamrah Al-Kubra), slaughtering the Hady, shaving or shortening the hair and Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah (the circumambulation of the Ka’bah for Hajj). Therefore, these Ahadeeth in no way imply that there is no blame in performing all rituals of Hajj before or after their stated time. Put differently, it is not correct to cast the Jamaraat (pebbles) before standing in ‘Arafah, nor is it correct to make Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah before standing in ‘Arafah or making Sa’y (walking between Mounts Safa and Marwah) in the Tamattu‘ Hajj before the Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah.

The agreed-upon Sunnah in the order of the acts of the Day of An-Nahr is as follows:

Casting the Jamrat Al-‘Aqabah, slaughtering the Hady, shaving or shortening the hair and then Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah. Scholars have unanimously agreed on the fact that it is recommended to follow this order and that it would be valid and correct if the pilgrim performed any of the acts of the Day of An-Nahr before or after the other. However, they differed about the obligation of any expiation: some said that expiation is obligatory and others said it is not. The majority of scholars held that there should be no sort of expiation on the pilgrim who shaved his head before casting the Jamrah or performed any act of the Day of Nahr before or after its due time forgetfully, ignorantly or even deliberately. Al-Hasan and Taawoos were reported to have said, “There is no expiation on the pilgrim who shaved his head before throwing [the Jamrah].” ‘Ataa’ ibn Abu Rabaah was reported to have said, “Whoever performed a ritual of Hajj [on the Day of An-Nahr] before another one, there would be no sort of expiation on him.”

The opinion of the majority of scholars stating that performing acts of the Day of An-Nahr in order is not obligatory is supported by the Prophet's saying: “Do it [now] and there is no harm [in doing so].” Had the Hadeeth been only for removing sin from the forgetful or ignorant pilgrim, then there would have been no significance in it. This is because for every obligatory action one misses forgetfully or ignorantly, he incurs no sin for it although he is required to compensate for the fault or shortcoming committed according to the nature of that particular act of worship. Unlike the one who does so on purpose, who is not required to compensate for the fault and the shortcoming, but also incurs sin for ignoring the obligation or the fundamental act deliberately. Knowing this, we understand that the Prophet's saying: “Do it [now], and there is no harm [in doing so].”, does not only remove the sin from the pilgrim who disturbs the order of the acts on the Day of An-Nahr forgetfully or ignorantly, since this is an inherent principle of the Islamic Sharee‘ah and is not exclusive to the acts of the Day of An-Nahr. Rather, it encompasses every Muslim who misses any of the Hajj rituals forgetfully or ignorantly. Despite the removal of sin, he would still be required to make up for the fault committed according to the instructions of the Islamic Sharee‘ah.

Thus, if the case is as such, then the Prophet's saying: “Do it [now], and there is no harm [in doing so]”, implies something beyond the mere removal of sin, and that is the removal of the consequences resulting from disturbing the order of the acts of the Day of An-Nahr. The pilgrim who does not adhere to the order of the acts of this day is not obliged to offer compensation or an alternative or the like. Since disturbing this order does not require any sort of compensation, the pilgrim who does this deliberately is equal to the forgetful and ignorant one. Had the order been obligatory, it would have been a Sharee‘ah obligation which could not be renounced by forgetfulness or ignorance. The Hadeeth indicates that it is an act of Sunnah to perform the acts of the Day of An-Nahr in order, preferably in the order done by the Prophet . Nevertheless, there is no sort of compensation in leaving this order.

Some narrations state that the questioner was ignorant of the rulings of Hajj, but this does not necessitate that removing the sin is exclusive to the state of ignorance. That is because describing the questioner as ignorant was to indicate the context of the question and by no means implies limiting the ruling to such a case to the exclusion of others.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Hadeeth with its various and different narrations serves as a principle in the rulings of Hajj in general. It is also strong evidence on correcting many rituals of Hajj which encounter the pilgrims of the Sacred House of Allah. The Hadeeth makes the issue flexible and broad – a fact which shows the easiness of this Sharee‘ah and its objective to alleviate hardship from people. How truthful is Allah The Almighty when He Says in His Wise Revelation (what means): {He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty.} [Quran 22:78]