Q. You have mentioned that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died on Rabiul Awwal 12, but I am told that in the Seerah of Ibn Hisham it is mentioned that he died on the 2nd day of that month. Please clarify.

Z.A.M. Zinde, Al-Kharj

A. Ibn Hisham does not mention a date of the Prophet’s death, but he mentions the day, which is a Monday. However, Al-Suhaili, who has annotated Ibn Hisham’s book with rich information and accurate footnotes, has this to say about the date: "Scholars are unanimous that God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) died on Monday, except for one, Ibn Qutaibah, who suggests that it was a Wednesday. All of them agree that it was in Rabie I, but they say, or most of them say that his death was on the 12th day of that month. However, this is not possible. It can only be either on Rabiul Awwal 2 or 13, 14 or 15 of that month. That is because all Muslims are unanimous that the Arafat day during the Prophet’s pilgrimage was a Friday." Al-Suhaili then relates all the possible permutations of which day each succeeding month started and confirms his conclusion.

May I say that knowing the exact date of the Prophet’s death is not of much importance. We do not mark the day of his death, nor indeed the day of his birth, except to recognize God’s favors which He has bestowed on us by sending us His final Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Advice given in pilgrimage

Q. My relatives who came from abroad to pilgrimage followed a book written as a guide to pilgrims by a scholar in their home country. In this book, readers are told to put out their left foot first when they leave home, because if they leave with their right foot first, all blessings will depart from the house with them. Is this right?

Moreover, when they did their Umrah, as they intended their pilgrimage in the tamattu’ method, they offered their sacrifice in Makkah about 12 days before the day of pilgrimage itself. I inquired about this and I was told that it was wrong. They had to sacrifice again or to fast 10 days. But they did neither. What is their position?

A.H. Khan, Riyadh

A. The first point about leaving home with the left foot first is absurd. If one is doing something good, it is always better to start with the right side, but this is merely a recommendation. If one starts with the left side, that is acceptable. If one does not pay attention, one’s duty or action is perfectly correct. There is no truth in what your relatives have been told about all the blessings depart from the house if they put out the wrong foot first. God does not work in that way. If He wants to bless a person or his house, He showers those blessings on him without reckoning.

As for the sacrifice, I realize that if he went to several scholars, he is likely to hear the same answer as he was given, which requires those pilgrims to repeat their sacrifice. However, this is an advice based on the knowledge the person concerned has. Most probably he is not taking a comprehensive view of the issue. According to the Shafie school of thought, a person doing the pilgrimage in the tamattu’ method may offer the sacrifice immediately after completing his Umrah, even though there may remain several weeks to the pilgrimage itself. This view is based on the Qur’anic verse stating the tamattu’ method. It says: "He who takes advantage of performing the Umrah before the pilgrimage shall make whatever offering he can easily afford." (2: 196)

According to the Shafie school, the fact that he completed the Umrah and released himself from ihraam, he has taken the advantage, which means, in pilgrimage terminology, tamattu’. Thus the sacrifice becomes due and it may be offered at any time after that. It must be offered in Makkah or Mina, and most of it should be given to the poor of the Haram area. Having said that, I should add that if one delays the sacrifice until the sacrifice day in Mina, then that is following the Prophet’s example. In short, the sacrifice of your relatives is acceptable, God willing. They do not have to do anything extra.