15. 11th, 12th & 13th of Dhul Hijjah: The Days of Tashriq

The three days following the Day of Naḥr (Eid al-Aḍḥā) are the Days of Tashrīq (the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul Ḥijjah). These days are included among the days of Eid and are from the greatest days of the year. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The greatest day in the sight of Allah is the Day of Naḥr (10th of Dhul Ḥijjah) and then the Day of Qarr (11th of Dhul Ḥijjah)” (Abū Dāwūd).

The 11th is known as the Day of Qarr because the pilgrims reside in Mina for worship (qarra means to reside), whilst Naḥr is in reference to the slaughtering of the animal.

These three days are specified for glorifying Allah, and pelting the Jamarāt.

Stoning the Jamarat

After midday on the 11th of Dhul Ḥijjah, the Prophet ﷺ walked to the Jamarāt. Starting at the first one, he threw seven small stones, glorifying Allah with each stone. He then walked away from the crowd, stopped and faced the qiblah, continued to praise Allah and made duʿā’ for a very long time (equivalent to the time it takes to recite Sūrah al-Baqarah).

He ﷺ then walked to the second Jamarah doing the same as the first, but making duʿā’ for an even longer period.

He ﷺ then walked to Jamarah al-ʿAqabah, threw seven stones, glorifying Allah with each one, and walked away without stopping.

He ﷺ repeated the above on both the 12th and 13th of Dhul-Ḥijjah.

Reflect: The duʿā’ after stoning embodies your complete reliance on Allah in every moment of your lifelong battle against the human and jinn devils.

Act: Ensure you make duʿā for as long as possible after stoning the first two jamarāt on these days.

The Secrets of Stoning the Jamarat

This has been covered in detail previously. Please see article.

Staying in Mina

The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Minā until the 13th of Dhul Ḥijjah. Do your best to follow the sunnah by spending the nights in Minā, instead of returning to your hotel. These are also days of eating, drinking and remembering Allah. Thus, during these days, try to eat from your uḍḥiyah (qurbānī) if possible.

Tip: You may have exited your iḥrām, but the days of ḥajj are not yet over. Don’t wait for the days to finish so you can get back to Makkah or to your hotel. Instead, treat each day as a special gift from Allah.

The Secrets of Staying in Mina

1. Keep busy in the remembrance of Allah. This is when you have the most time in ḥajj so make the most of this precious free time. Thank Allah for the immense blessings He has bestowed upon you for allowing you to complete your ḥajj, and seek forgiveness for all of your shortcomings during your journey. Allah ﷻ says,

فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمْ مَّنَـٰسِكَكُمْ فَاذْكُرُوْا اللّٰهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ اٰبَآءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّقُوْلُ رَبَّنَآ اٰتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُۥ فِى الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلاَقٍ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَّقُوْلُ رَبَّنَآ اٰتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَّفِى الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَّقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

“When you have fulfilled your sacred rites, remember Allah as you used to remember your forefathers, or even more. There are some who say, “Our Lord! Grant us good in this world,” but they will have no share in the hereafter… Yet there are others who say, “Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire” (2:200-1).

Reflect:

a) People used to remember their forefathers and parents during these days, but Allah is telling us to remember Him even more.

b) Remember Allah as you used to remember your parents when you were young:

i) Just as you clung to your parents, seeking comfort from them, cling to Allah.

ii) Just as you never strayed too far from your parents, never drift away from Allah.

It is the remembrance of Allah that truly elevates His servants and not boasting about ancestors. The scale for human value is the scale of taqwā: the scale of connection to Allah, His remembrance, and consciousness of Him. People will be weighed by this scale, and their worth and ultimate outcome will be determined according to it.

2. Eat with the intention to gain strength to remember Allah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The Days of Tashrīq are the days of eating, drinking and the remembrance of Allah” (Muslim).

Ibn Rajab (raḥimahullāh) mentioned that eating and drinking during these days is not merely indulgence, but a way to gather strength for continued remembrance and worship of Allah. He writes, “The Days of Tashrīq combine both blessings of the body and the heart for the believers: the blessings of the body through eating and drinking, and the blessings of the heart through dhikr and gratitude. This is a completion of all blessings. Furthermore, whenever they thank Allah for a blessing, their gratitude in itself is another blessing; and this requires further gratitude. And gratitude never ends.”

3. Reflect on the brotherhood and unity of the believers. The brotherhood in Islam takes a vivid expression here. It is a testament to the beauty of Islam.

Act: Look around you and see the variety of people, from all corners of the world, speaking different languages and coming solely to remember Allah and to please Him. How does that make you feel?

4. Appreciate the divine hospitality. Minā is a gesture of divine hospitality. Allah ﷻ invited you to visit His house and you responded. You offered what you could as a gift: your sacrificial offering (qurbānī). Allah accepted it from you and then out of His generosity, provided a banquet for you lasting a further three days.

5. Live a minimalist life. Minā teaches you how little material possessions you actually need to live. It strips life down to its essentials: a small space to sleep, few possessions which fit in a bag, and sincere worship. Away from the comforts of home, you learn that true richness lies in contentment, and that you can thrive with far less than you think.

Reflect: How can you live more simply, without being trapped by the constant pressure to buy more, have more, earn more and do more, all in the name of happiness?

6. Renew your pledge to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. Minā was the place in which the people of Madinah first heard about the message of Islam from the Prophet ﷺ; it was the place in which they would return for two years, speaking to the Prophet ﷺ and pledging allegiance to follow him, paving the way for the spread of Islam. It was in this place where they pledged the following:

“You pledge allegiance to me upon hearing and obeying in times of energy and laziness; to spend (in Allah’s cause) in hardship and ease; to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; to speak the truth for the sake of Allah, not fearing the censure of any critic; and that you will support me when I come to Yathrib (Madinah), protecting me as you would protect yourselves, your wives, and your children. If you do so, then Paradise is yours” (Aḥmad).

Reflect: How are you fulfilling your pledge to Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ? The Anṣār sacrificed their wealth and lives for the sake of Allah’s dīn. What will you sacrifice for Allah’s dīn? What is your project to help the ummah?

7. Focus on taqwā. Allah ﷻ says, “And remember Allah on the appointed days. Whoever departs swiftly on the second day (from Minā) is not sinful, neither are those who stay behind (till the third), so long as they are mindful (of Allah). And be mindful of Allah, and know that you will be gathered before Him” (2:203).

This is a timeless command for taqwā, especially once you have completed ḥajj. It reminds you to carry the taqwā you embodied during ḥajj into every moment of your life.

Taqwā isn’t just for sacred seasons. Unlike the people of Jāhiliyyah, who returned to sin and corruption once ḥajj ended, you are told to remain steadfast.

Ḥajj should result in a permanent transformation to the state of taqwā and not just a temporary change.

8. Seek opportunities to do good. You will see poverty and people sleeping on the floor without any tents.

Act: Find someone in real need. Give them a generous gift. Imagine they’ve just made duʿā’ to Allah, and your gift is the answer to that prayer. See how their love for Allah deepens and their connection to Him increases.

Reflect: Imagine how this act will increase Allah’s love for you.

9. Remember you are Allah’s guest. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The Days of Tashrīq are the days of eating, drinking and the remembrance of Allah” (Muslim).

Reflect: You are Allah’s special guests. That’s why fasting is prohibited in these days. Look at how generously He treats His guests. How generous are you with your guests?

10. Free yourself from Shayṭān. The last thing you do when leaving Minā is stoning the Shayṭān, indicating that you have fully liberated yourself from him and your lowly desires.

Remembering Allah in the Days of Tashriq

You should remember Allah (subḥānahū wa ta‘ālā) considerably more in the Days of Tashrīq. ʿUmar b. Khaṭṭāb (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) used to say the takbīr in Minā. The people on hearing him would similarly say the takbīr which would result in the valley of Minā echoing with takbīr.

Continue reciting the takbīrāt of tashrīq once after each farḍ ṣalāh until ʿaṣr of the 13th Dhul Ḥijjah:

اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلِلّٰهِ الْحَمْدُ

Allah is the Greatest. Allah is the Greatest. There is no god worthy of worship but Allah and Allah is the Greatest. Allah is the Greatest and all praise is for Allah Alone.

The wisdom of repeating the takbirāt with fervent passion is to allow the greatness of Allah to become entrenched in the hearts of all Muslims. It is a reminder that it is only Allah (subḥānahū wa ta‘ālā) who is deserving of complete servitude and obedience. When uttering the takbirāt, this reality should be embedded in your heart and mind.

There is special importance given to the remembrance of Allah before, during and after the Days of Tashrīq. As the Days of Tashrīq mark the end to a great season of worship, an apt way of completing these rites is with the remembrance of Allah.

Similarly, in the Qur’ān, Allah commands us to perform dhikr after the completion of various deeds (e.g. ṣalāh, ḥajj, jumuʿah, fighting in His path). The deeper meaning of this command is that whilst other actions may come to an end, the remembrance of Allah continues for the believers in this life and the hereafter.

“All actions come to an end with the ending of this life and nothing of it remains in the hereafter. As for the remembrance of Allah, it endures into the hereafter. The believer lives upon the remembrance of Allah, dies upon it and will be resurrected upon it.” – Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (raḥimahullāh)

Departing From Mina

After completing the rituals at Minā, the Prophet ﷺ encamped at Khayf Banī Kinānah, where he led the congregation in ẓuhr, ʿaṣr, maghrib and ʿishā’. He ﷺ said, “Seventy Prophets offered prayers here” (Bayhaqī). As people began to leave for home, he told them, “No one should depart without bidding farewell to the Kaʿbah” (Abū Dāwūd).

Reflect: 15 years ago, in the same place, the Quraysh and the Banū Kinānah tribe made a treaty to boycott the Banū Hāshim and Banū Muṭṭalib clans (the Prophet’s relatives) to suppress the Prophet ﷺ and his message. Yet, 15 years later, the light of Allah had spread, despite the attempt of the disbelievers. Allah granted the Prophet ﷺ a great victory: He perfected His grace upon him ﷺ and made the religion of Islam complete.