Muzdalifah

Muzdalifah is a large open plain in the valley between Mina and Arafat, southeast of Makkah in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. It forms part of the holy sites of the Hajj and lies inside the area that only Muslims may enter.

On the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, after standing at Arafat until sunset, pilgrims move to Muzdalifah. They pray the Maghrib and Isha prayers together there, with Isha shortened to two rak'ahs, and spend the night under the open sky, following the practice of the Prophet Muhammad during his Farewell Pilgrimage.

Pilgrims collect small pebbles at Muzdalifah for the stoning of the Jamarat in Mina on the following days. Al-Mashar al-Haram mosque stands in the area and is mentioned in the Quran. After the dawn prayer on the tenth day, pilgrims leave for Mina.

Muzdalifah has wide paths, lighting, toilets and water points to handle the millions of pilgrims in a single night. Access is part of an organised Hajj package with a permit, and the area is empty for most of the year.

The Quran names the place directly. Surah al-Baqarah 2:198 tells pilgrims to remember God at al-Mash'ar al-Haram, the Sacred Monument, when they pour down from Arafat, and the mosque of that name, with an open roof, marks the spot. The next verse, 2:199, tells pilgrims to move on from the place where the people move on. Before Islam the Quraysh and allied tribes such as the Banu Kinanah, Banu Khuza'a and Banu 'Amir camped at Muzdalifah and did not go out to Arafat with the other Arabs, and the verse ended that distinction.

Because of the crowds, some pilgrims reach the plain only late at night. Pilgrims are advised to gather pebbles soon after arrival and to keep their group's meeting point and bus number with them, as the move to Mina after dawn is the busiest transfer of the Hajj.