[The Ruling on a Pilgrim Who Is Doubtful about the Day of ʿArafah]

Answer—and Allah grants success: The Hajj of such a hesitant person, as described, is valid, for several reasons:
1 – He performed what he was able with respect to standing, and there is no certainty of error: “Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.” [al-Baqarah: 286]
2 – The scholars of the madhhab said: if an error becomes evident after due diligence (taḥarrī), it suffices; and so said the scholars of the other madhāhib. This indicates that nothing is required of the one standing except to strive to achieve the standing to the extent of his ability—whether he was correct or mistaken
3 – It has come in the transmitted report: “And your ʿArafah is the day you are made to recognize it (ʿArafatukum yawma tuʿarrafūn),” which indicates that the Day of ʿArafah is the day on which people recognize (are made to know) it; thus the hesitant person should not give weight to his hesitation.
4 – Before the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muslims used to perform Hajj, and the Hajj occurred at other than its proper time due to the nasīʾ (postponement). In that period, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) sent ʿAlī (peace be upon him) as commander over the pilgrims, having sent before him Abū Bakr.
5 – In the eras of the Umayyads and the ʿAbbāsids, and throughout history, the Hajj was under the authority of kings and caliphs, and they controlled the determination of the Day of ʿArafah and the Hajj rites. None of the scholars impugned the validity of people’s Hajj; rather, it has been reported: “Indeed, the injustice of a tyrant does not invalidate the Hajj.”
If it be said: Why have you ruled it valid, whereas all other acts of worship—if it becomes apparent that they were performed outside their proper time—are invalid and must be made up (as qaḍāʾ)?
We say: Other acts of worship can be repeated and made up by the legally responsible person, unlike Hajj: he cannot make it up except with great financial loss and severe hardship; it may even be impossible for him altogether, and Hajj may only be feasible for him once in his lifetime. For that reason, it differs from the other acts of worship.
Based on what we mentioned under number five, the ruler’s determination of the Day of ʿArafah—together with the prohibition of standing before or after it—constitutes justification for standing with the people and suffices.
The earlier report is: “Al-Fiṭr is the day when the people break the fast, and al-Aḍḥā is the day when the people offer sacrifice.” It was narrated by al-Tirmidhī from ʿĀʾishah, who said it is ḥasan; and he also narrated it from Abū Hurayrah, and said: ḥasan; and it was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Mājah. Al-Tirmidhī also narrated it from the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah and authenticated it; and it was narrated by al-Dāraqutnī and Abū Nuʿaym in al-Maʿrifah.
And it was said in Subul al-Salām: likewise in Hajj, for it has been transmitted: “And your ʿArafah is the day you are made to recognize it (wa ʿarafātukum yawma tuʿarrafūn).”
If it be said: What you mentioned pertains to the one who is uncertain about the day of standing; what is the ruling on the Hajj of one who is certain of the Day of ʿArafah while the people stand on a different day, and the state prevents those who wish to stand on other than the day it announced?
We say: The prevention by the authorities is an excuse by which it is valid to stand with the people. The proof is His saying, "Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity" [al-Baqarah:286]. This pilgrim, certain of the Day of ʿArafah, has expended what he could in expenses and travel for Hajj, stood with the people, and was prevented from repeating the standing; what he was prevented from and barred from falls from his obligation. He must complete the rites that are within his capacity.
If it be said: It has come that “Hajj is ʿArafah,” and there is no disagreement that standing at ʿArafah is a pillar of Hajj without which it is not complete; and the scholars have said that whoever misses the standing at ʿArafah has missed the Hajj and must exit his iḥrām by performing an ʿUmrah—so how have you excluded the person mentioned from this ruling and judged his Hajj valid?
We say: Because the person we mentioned has done what he could; he did not miss the standing due to a matter returning to his own capacity and ability, but rather he missed it due to something external to his capacity, power, and ability. Thus his ruling differs from that of one who missed the standing for other reasons.
If it be said: Then this should also apply to the sick person.
We say: It is possible for the sick person to stand, even if unconscious; his companions may cause him to stand—unlike the one we have mentioned.
What we have stated is supported by the previous report; and it is mentioned in Subul al-Salām from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī that one must conform to the people even if that conflicts with his personal certainty.
The scholars of the madhhab said: If an error becomes evident after due diligence, the standing is valid.
I say: Due diligence (taḥarrī) is to look at the indications and signs, such as the waxing and waning of the new moon and its setting—this is for those who know the lunar stations. As for one who does not know them, it suffices him to ask those who do.
Clarification of the second matter: the scholars of the madhhab—and likewise the scholars of the other Islamic madhāhib—said that whoever stood after due diligence and then the error became evident afterwards, his standing is valid, and they did not require him to stand on two days. Rather, they ruled that the standing and the Hajj are valid, because he fulfilled what was in his capacity in trying to hit the correct day for standing; and Allah Most High has said: "Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity". [al-Baqarah: 286]
The proof of the soundness of what the scholars of the madhāhib have said in this regard is what has been transmitted concerning the reason for the revelation of His saying, "And to Allah belong the east and the west; so wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing". [al-Baqarah: 115]—that it was revealed about people to whom the direction of the Kaʿbah became confused on a dark night. One group said: the direction of the Kaʿbah is this way; another said: rather, it is this way; and yet another said: here. So each group prayed toward a direction and drew a line on the ground toward which they had prayed. When morning came, they found the lines not toward the qiblah. This verse was revealed concerning their prayer, and Allah accepted their prayer toward other than the qiblah because they had exerted their utmost in seeking out the direction of the qiblah. And the scholars of the other madhāhib said: the one who is uncertain stands with the people, and that suffices him even if the error later becomes evident; and upon this they interpreted the ḥadīth: “And your ʿArafah is the day you are made to recognize it (wa ʿarafātukum yawma tuʿarrafūn).”
Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1