Short answer
Not in the Hanafi school. Going to Mina on 8 Dhul Hijjah and spending the nights there during the days of stoning are sunnah, so missing them is disliked but needs no penalty. The stoning itself is wajib. The other three schools make the nights of Mina wajib, with a dam for missing them.
Staying in Mina on the 8th and the night before Arafah is sunnah. Spending the nights of the 11th and 12th (and the 13th if you stay) in Mina is sunnah mu'akkadah; staying elsewhere without an excuse is makruh but has no dam. Stoning on those days is wajib.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Spending most of the nights of tashreeq in Mina is wajib; missing them requires a dam.
- Maliki
- Spending the nights in Mina is wajib, with a dam for missing a night.
- Hanbali
- Spending the nights in Mina is wajib, with a penalty for missing them.
Explanation
Mina is the valley between Makkah and Muzdalifah, inside the Haram, where pilgrims camp in tents and stone the jamarat. The Quran tells pilgrims to remember Allah during the numbered days and allows leaving after two days. The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Mina on those nights. He gave his uncle al-Abbas permission to spend them in Makkah to serve water to the pilgrims.
The schools read that permission differently. The majority say asking permission shows the stay was required. The Hanafis say the stay is a sunnah of the Prophet, and the permission was to avoid leaving a sunnah, not a wajib.
- 8th (Yawm al-Tarwiyah): go to Mina, pray Zuhr to Fajr there, then leave for Arafah. Sunnah.
- Nights of the 11th and 12th: sunnah to spend in Mina. If your group's tents are in the Mina extension beside Muzdalifah, that is acceptable.
- Leaving on the 12th: allowed after stoning, ideally before sunset. If you are still in Mina at dawn on the 13th, stoning that day becomes wajib.
- Stoning: wajib each day; see stoning rules.
Even though no dam is due in the Hanafi school, try hard to stay in Mina as the Prophet did. For the full schedule see the day-by-day Hajj guide.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:203
۞ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فِىٓ أَيَّامٍۢ مَّعْدُودَٰتٍۢ ۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَآ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَآ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ لِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ ﴿٢٠٣﴾
And remember Allah during [specific] numbered days. Then whoever hastens [his departure] in two days - there is no sin upon him; and whoever delays [until the third] - there is no sin upon him - for him who fears Allah. And fear Allah and know that unto Him you will be gathered.
The days of Mina are days of remembrance.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1634
Sahih... أن يبيت بمكة ليالي منى من أجل سقايته ...
"Al-Abbas asked permission to spend the nights of Mina in Makkah for his work of giving water, and he allowed him."
The basis of the schools' different readings on the nights of Mina.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, bab al-ihram, on the days of Mina. Staying in Mina on its nights is sunnah; leaving it is makruh with no penalty.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hajj. The night of Arafah in Mina is sunnah.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Hajj, on the nights of Mina. The Hanbali view that the stay is wajib.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.