Dear shaikh, assalamu aalaikum, This year i & my wife done hajj.alhamdullilla. dURING 3RD DAY OF PEBBLE THROWING, We stone in first Jamarh at long distance with maximum force due to heavy rush.We are not certain that all pebbles fall into pit in first jamarah.Due to rush we moved to second jamarah & throw 7 pebbles near to PIT. After that we found rush has moved in first jamarah so again we go to first jamarah and thrown agin 7 pebbles near to PIT and this time we are certain all our 7 pebbles fallen into Pit. THEN WE DIRECTLY go TO 3RD JAMARH AND THROW 7 PEBBLE NEAR THE pit. Now we are certain 100% that we thrown 7 pebbles in all jamarah but the order is Second jamarh, first jamarah and 3rd jamarah So please clarify do we need to offer a sacrifice for changing the order of Pebble throwing at Jamrah? Zaja k allah for your advise

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we should say that your throwing at the first Jamrah at the first time is not to be counted as you were not sure whether or not the pebbles fell into the pit, and the jurists said that one has to be certain that he threw the pebbles into the pit when throwing the Jamaraat, and that the throwing of the pebbles is not valid if there is doubt about it. However, some scholars said that it is enough to believe with all likelihood (that the pebbles fell into the pit). Shaykh Zakariyya Al-Ansaari said in Asna Al-Mataalib: “It is a condition that one throws the pebbles into the pit with certainty; if one doubts about it, then it is not sufficient because the presumption is that it did not fall into the pit and he is obliged to throw again.” [End of quote]

Al-Buhooti of the Hanbali School of jurisprudence, said in his commentary on Muntaha Al-Iraadaat: “It is a condition to know that he has thrown the pebbles into the pit, and so it is not enough for him to believe so, because the presumption is that the obligation remains in his liability and it is not cleared unless with/by certainty. But it is also reported from him (Ahmad)that it is sufficient to predominantly believe so. I said: (the latter opinion) is consistent with the principles of the School, unless it is said that there is no difficulty in (attaining) certainty (in this situation).” [End of quote]

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen preferred the view that it is sufficient to believe in all likelihood that one has thrown the pebbles into the pit. He said in Ash-Sharh Al-Mumti‘: “It is for this reason that a person should not be too stringent concerning throwing the pebbles, and believing with all likelihood that the pebbles fell into the pit is enough because most acts of worship are based on belief with likelihood, and being certain in our time is difficult.” [End of quote]

Therefore, if you believe with all likelihood that the pebbles fell into the pit, then this is enough and your throwing of the first Jamrah a second time was unnecessary; but if you do not believe with likelihood that the pebbles fell into the pit, then you did well by throwing the pebbles a second time; however, you made a mistake by not following the sequence, as you should have thrown the middle Jamrah before the third Jamrah because the sequence is a condition for the validity of throwing the pebbles according to the view of the majority of the scholars, with the exception of the Hanafi School. The Fiqh Encyclopedia reads:

“The sequence for throwing the pebbles during the days of Tashreeq:

One should start with the small Jamrah, which is next to the Al-Khayf mosque, then the middle Jamrah, and then the Jamrat Al-‘Aqabah; this is the view of the majority of the scholars (Maaliki, Shaafi'i and Hanbali Schools)…. This order is a condition for the validity of the throwing of the Jamaraat…. The Hanafi view, however, is that this sequence is a Sunnah and if one does not follow it, it is a Sunnah (recommended) for him to do it again. This is the view of Al-Hasan and ‘Ataa’; they provided as evidence that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sequenced it in this manner…. The majority of the scholars provided this as evidence that it is an obligation to respect the sequence of the Jamaraat exactly as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did, but the Hanafi School interpreted this as being a Sunnah and not an obligation; and they provided evidence from the Hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet said: “Whoever does any of the rites in advance or delays them, he is not required to do anything.” [End of quote]

According to the view of the majority of the scholars, the person who does not respect the sequence is obliged to offer a sacrifice. According to a Fatwa from the Permanent Committee: “It is an obligation to respect the sequence when throwing the pebbles (Jamaraat) on the 11th day of Tashreeq and the two other days (the 12th and 13th) and that is by the pilgrim beginning with the small Jamrah, then the middle Jamarah, and then the biggest Jamrah (Al-‘Aqabah). If you do not respect this order, you are obliged to repeat anew. If you do not repeat at the time of throwing the Jamaraat during the days of Mina, you are obliged to offer a sacrifice: a sheep that should be slaughtered in Makkah and distributed among its poor; and this is sufficient.” [End of quote]

However, the Fatwa that is possible for us to issue to you is that it is more cautious for you to offer a sacrifice, but we anticipate that there is no blame on you if you do not do so if you did not observe the sequence due to your ignorance of it being obligatory or due to you accepting the opinion of those who say that it is a Sunnah.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said about the one who did not respect the sequence in throwing the pebbles: “As long as the person has enough time, then he is obliged to respect the sequence. If we are asked during the days of Tashreeq that one did not throw in sequence, then it would be easy for us to say: go back and throw the pebbles in sequence, but if the time is too late, like when the days of Tashreeq are over, and then he comes and says: I have thrown the pebbles starting from the Jamrat Al-‘Aqabah, then it would be acceptable to issue a Fatwa to him that his throwing is valid, as there is no saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, about the necessity of respecting the sequence in throwing the pebbles; we only have his action and his saying: “Take from me your rites”; especially as many scholars said: the sequence of washing the body parts of Wudhoo’ is exempted in case of ignorance and forgetfulness, as well as the sequence in performing the missed prayers out of ignorance and forgetfulness, and the sequence in joining two prayers out of ignorance. This indicates that if the sequence is not respected with an excuse, then the person is excused for this because he performed the act of worship even if it was in a manner not in sequence.”