A question is sometimes raised in any discussion about the pilgrimage and how to make it easier. The question wonders how long should the pilgrims stay at Arafat? Everyone insists that they must not leave before sunset. Some people suggest that a shorter stay could ensure easier movement of traffic.
All pilgrims must attend at Arafat on 9 Dhul-Hijjah. The time of attendance extends from midday to dawn on the following day. It is very important to ensure that one attends for a part of the day and a part of the night. Hence, no one tries to leave before sunset. Having said that, we must point out that if a pilgrim cannot reach Arafat before sunset, but arrives during the night, his attendance is valid and his pilgrimage is complete, provided that he does the other duties properly. This is clearly outlined by the Prophet. One of his companions joined him at Muzdalifah, saying that he left his far away home intending to do the pilgrimage, declaring his intention every time his route took him up a hill or down a valley, but could only catch up with the Prophet and his companions at Muzdalifah. The Prophet said to him: “If a person aims to do the pilgrimage and attends at Arafat for a short period of day or night, then offers the dawn prayer at Muzdalifah, his pilgrimage is complete and valid.”
Does this mean that we can split the attendance at Arafat into two shifts: one during the day, allowing those participating in it to leave shortly after sunset, and one that starts after nightfall? This needs a very deep study by a group of eminent scholars who look into the details of this great duty and what it involves. One can initially say in objection to such suggestion that the Day of Arafat is a very special day, and attendance at the place at the time required is very important. For one thing, this is a day and place when abundant blessings are showered by God on those that undertake the journey to be there. To stop them from trying to get the full blessing will not go down easily with any of them. On the other hand, arranging two shifts of attendance at Arafat will create new problems, because large crowds will be moving into two opposite directions. We may end up creating more problems than those we hope to solve.
When we look into all the details of this duty and the facilities available for it, we realize that attendance at Arafat does not constitute much of a problem, because the area is large enough to accommodate twice the number of pilgrims, or even more. The difficulty arises when the pilgrims leave, because of the great numbers and the volume of traffic. Thus it is a question of logistics and crowd movement. The Saudi authorities continue to study the ways and means to deal with this problem. It has been mentioned that a train service running between the areas where the pilgrimage duties are offered will be provided. This could be greatly helpful in ensuring easier movement.
