Today is the day of Tarwiyah, the day that the city of Mina is covered in white, the day of Tarwyiah is one of the sacred days of Al-Hajj, actually it is the first day of the rituals of Hajj.
The meaning of Tarwiyah:
The word "Tarwiyah" is an Arabic word that means "To quench thirst" , and the eighth day of the month of Dhui-Hijjah is called the day of Tarwiyah because pilgrims move from Mecca to Mina on this day, and they used to fill up water in Mecca before beginning their journey, and "Mina" is a desert suburb of Mecca, about seven kilometers north-east of Mecca.
As it was difficult, and in fact, it was impossible to get water on the road between Mecca and Mina, so pilgrims long ago, used to get ready for this long day by feeding their animals and making sure that their camels had enough water for the long journey ahead and also they were fetching water for themselves and fill their containers and water skin-bags.
Acts of the pilgrims on The day of Tarwiyah:
The day of Tarwyiah is officially the first day of Al-Hajj rituals, on which the pilgrims prepare themselves to enter the state of Ihram which means the intention of entering into asceticism coupled with an act of Al-Hajj such as Talbiyah, and Talbiyah means to say (I respond to You, Oh Allah, no partner for you, the thanks and the grace are for you and the ownership, there is no partner for you).
The pilgrims also prepare themselves with proper hygiene as clipping the fingernails, shaving the underarms and the pubic areas, trimming the mustaches, and then, men wear clothes that are not sewn, as they wear two white garments, but women wear their regular clothes.
Then they start their journey to Mina continuing in repeating the Talbiyah, and some pilgrims go to the Haram " the Sacred Msjid" to do Tawaf " circling the Kaaba", before going to Mina.
In Mina, the pilgrims stay their for the entire day and night until the dawn of the next day, they usually stay in tents and they spend their time in remembrance of Allah Almighty, supplication, Talbiyah and prayer, as they pray the noon prayer, the afternoon prayer, the Maghrib prayer, and the evening prayer, in their respective times but in the form of "Qasr" and it means to shorten each four Raka'as into only two Raka'as, without combining any prayer with another prayer, as on the authority of Jaber ibn Abdullah, said about the Prophet –peace and blessings be upon him- ( And on The day of Tarwyiah, they went to Mina, and they started to perform Hajj, and the Messenger of God –peace and blessings be upon him- prayed the noon, the afternoon, the maghrib, the evening, and the dawn prayers there, then he stayed a little until the sunrise).
After the evening prayer, it would be better for the pilgrims to sleep early to preserve their energy for the next day, The day of Arafat, the most important day of Al-Hajj, and they pray the dawn prayer then leave Mina after the sunrise, heading to the mount of Arafat.
And finally, may Allah Almighty accept them and forgive their sins, and grant them honorable Hajj, Amen.
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