Mina is now part of Makkah al-Mukarramah
Question
Is Mina now part of the blessed city of Makkah, when considering shortening Ṣalāh and other issues such as Qurbānī?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
The preferred and more cautious view is that Mina is now part of the blessed city of Makkah. This is the view of many of my teachers including Mufti Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī (b. 1362/1943), Mufti Aḥmad Khānpūrī (b. 1365/1946) and Mufti Shabbīr Aḥmad (b. 1376/1957) along with many others including Mufti Fārūq Mīrthī (d. 1436/2015), Mufti Muḥammad Salmān Manṣūrpūrī (b. 1386/1967), Mufti Shabbīr Aḥmad Qāsmī and Mufti ʿĀshiq Ilāhī Bulandshahrī (d. 1422/2001), the former resident ḥanafī Mufti in Saudi Arabia. The local Arab scholars also share this view (see al-Sharh al-Mumtiʿ ʿalā Zād al-Mustaqnīʿ, 7:285; Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn ʿUthaymīn, 24:62).
The fact that the boundaries of Mina have been determined by Sharīʿah or that in the Prophetic era it was not part of the blessed city does not preclude it from being part of the city now. The two things should not be confused and are not mutually exclusive. The Prophet ﷺ shortened his ʿAṣr Ṣalāh in Dhū al-Ḥulayfah (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 1089; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 690) as it was not within the boundaries of the blessed city of Madīnah, however, today it is within the boundaries of the blessed city of Madīnah and therefore a resident of Madīnah who is travelling cannot shorten his Ṣalāh here. Likewise, there are now parts of Makkah al-Mukarramah that are not part of ḥaram. In the era of the Prophet ﷺ, the blessed city was totally part of the ḥaram. The boundaries of ḥaram, Mina, Arafah, Muzdalifah are fixed, however, this does not mean that the boundaries of Makkah al-Mukarramah are fixed and that these places cannot be part of or overlap with the city.
This does not mean that Mina and Makkah are now the same in relation to the laws of ḥajj; a person will not fulfil the Sunnah by residing in Makkah during the days of ḥajj. It simply means that for the purpose of being considered a musāfir (traveller) or a muqīm (resident), Minā is now part of Makkah al-Mukarramah. As for the laws of ḥajj that specifically relate to Mina, these can only be fulfilled in Mina, the boundaries of which are fixed (see Maḥmūd al-Fatāwā, 2:269; Kitāb al-Nawāzil, 7:481-525).
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
20 Rajab 1439 / 6 April 2018
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed
Note: The discussion of whether Mina is part of Makkah al-Mukarramah has been ongoing for over two decades. It should be noted that Makkah al-Mukarramah has expanded significantly over the past two decades including around Mina and is expected to expand further. This strengthens the view that Mina is part of Makkah al-Mukarramah. For those not aware of the new and expanding developments, these can be reviewed on Google Maps.
