When you arrive in Mina, you will be struck by the fact that everything looks the same, so you must be careful not to get lost. Acquaint yourself with the area around your camp and identify some distinguishing landmarks so you know your way back to the camp.
In Mina
You will stay in Mina for the full day and part of the following day (9th of Dhul Hijjah). After settling down in your tent, you will perform Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha prayers in Qasr form, i.e. you will shorten the prayers as if you were a traveller.
You will spend the night of the 8th of Dhul Hijjah in Mina. The wisdom behind staying overnight in Mina is to prepare you for Wuquf in Arafat and to seek Allah’s pleasure and mercy. Therefore, recite the Quran, proclaim the Talbiyah, and make sincere du’a on this day in preparation for the next.
With this, your first day of Hajj has been completed.
Spending the day at Mina is considered a sunnah rather than an obligatory duty. Therefore, if you were to miss the stay at Mina, you would have missed out on a significant sunnah, but you wouldn’t incur any compulsory fidyah for not fulfilling it.
History
Yawm al-Tarwiyah (Arabic: يوم التروية; “The Day of Quenching Thirst”), observed on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah, derives its name from an old practice where pilgrims would drink water in Makkah and carry it to Mina, a place where water was scarce. This practice ensured they had sufficient water for their needs throughout the Hajj.
During his Farewell Hajj, the Prophet ﷺ performed Fajr at al-Abtah on Thursday, the 8th of Dhul Hijjah, before leaving for Mina on his mount in mid-morning. When the caravan left al-Abtah, those of his companions who had previously left the state of Ihram after having performed Umrah reentered into Ihram with the intention of performing Hajj. They chanted the Talbiyah with their departure for Mina. During the journey, Bilal I protected the Prophet ﷺ from the heat of the sun by providing him with shade.
The Prophet ﷺ and his companions spent the rest of the day and the night at Mina, observing the Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha and Fajr prayers during their stay there. The prayers consisting of four rak’ahs were shortened to two rak’ahs, i.e. Qasr salah was performed, and each prayer was carried out within its respective timeframe.
