What to do
These are the rites of the day, in the order the Prophet ﷺ did them:
- Stone Jamrat al-ʿAqabah with seven pebbles, saying Allahu akbar with each one. Stop the talbiyah when you begin.
- Offer your sacrifice (hady), if you are performing tamattuʿ or qiran. Most pilgrims arrange this through an official voucher.
- Shave or trim your hair. Shaving is better for men. Women cut a fingertip’s length from the end of their hair.
- Perform tawaf al-ifadah, the tawaf of hajj, and the saʿy if it is due from you.
After stoning and shaving or trimming, the restrictions of ihram are lifted except marital relations. After tawaf al-ifadah (and the saʿy, if it is due), all of them are lifted.
If the order changes
On this day people asked the Prophet ﷺ about rites they had done out of order.
فَمَا سُئِلَ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنْ شَىْءٍ قُدِّمَ وَلاَ أُخِّرَ إِلاَّ قَالَ: افْعَلْ وَلاَ حَرَجَ
[On the Day of Sacrifice people asked the Prophet ﷺ about rites they had done in a different order.] That day, whenever he was asked about something done earlier or later, he said: Do it, there is no harm.
The schools differ on whether the order is required, and whether a mistake in it needs a compensation. Follow the guidance of your group’s scholar.
Why we do it
لِتَأْخُذُوا مَنَاسِكَكُمْ، فَإِنِّي لاَ أَدْرِي لَعَلِّي لاَ أَحُجُّ بَعْدَ حَجَّتِي هَذِهِ
I saw the Prophet ﷺ throwing pebbles from his camel on the Day of Sacrifice, and he was saying: Take your rites from me, for I do not know, perhaps I will not perform hajj after this hajj of mine.
Every rite of this day goes back to Ibrahim: refusing Shaytan, giving up what he loved for Allah, and returning to the House he built.3
Your heart today
It is Eid. Your family at home is celebrating, and you are where the celebration began. With each pebble, throw away something you want to leave behind. When you shave your head, remember that you are coming out of hajj like a newborn, and decide what you will not take back with you.
Du’as for today
Our Lord, accept from us
When When you finish each rite, and at the end of your hajj. Ibrahim and Ismail said it while raising the foundations of the Ka'bah.
رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
TransliterationRabbanā taqabbal minnā, innaka antas-samīʿul-ʿalīm.
MeaningOur Lord, accept this from us. You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
Source Qur'an, Al-Baqara 2:127 4