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What should I do if my mosque says the Day or Arafah is different from the day the Hajjis go to Arafah?

What should I do if my mosque says the Day or Arafah is different from the day the Hajjis go to Arafah?

Although I recommend people to follow their local community when it comes to fasting in Ramadan and celebrating Eid, I would not recommend anyone to fast on the day the Hajjis are celebrating Eid.

The Ummah should unite during the days of Dhul Hijjah. We should show solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are performing Hajj.

It breaks the spirit of unity that Hajj embodies to suggest that millions of Hajjis standing on the plains of Arafat are in the wrong.

Therefore I would recommend all Muslims who are able to fast on the Day of Arafah when the Hajjis are at Arafah, not on a different day.

Muslims should not fast on the day that the Hajjis are celebrating Eid al Adha if their mosque is celebrating Eid the following day. But if your family/community/country has chosen to follow a different calendar, then attend Eid salah with them for the sake of unity in your locality.

It is forbidden to fast on Eid Day and the three days after

We do not fast on the tenth day, which is Eid and it is forbidden to fast on Eid and the three days following it.

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) forbade fasting on the day of al-Fitr and al-Nahr (the tenth day of Dhul Hijjah). (Bukhari)

The Prophet (peace be on him) also said:

The days of al-Tashreeq are days of eating, drinking and remembering Allah. (Muslim)

The days of al-Tashreeq which are the three days after Eid al-Adha (the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah).

May Allah enable us to please Him during these blessed days. Ameen

Shaykh Haytham Tamim 26th June 2023

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.