then completing it would have been obligatory. Since completing it is not obligatory, making it up is even less so.

If, however, he begins a vowed fast, may he discontinue it?

The answer is no, because it is obligatory. If he discontinues it, he must make it up.

Except for Hajj. Laylat al-Qadr is hoped for during the last ten nights of Ramadan, with its odd-numbered nights being more likely. The twenty-seventh night is especially likely, and one should supplicate during it with the supplications that have been narrated.

His statement, “Except for Hajj,” means that Hajj must be completed even if it was undertaken voluntarily, and if it is invalidated, it must be made up even if it was voluntary. This is due to the saying of Allah, Exalted is He: “Complete the Hajj and the ‘umrah for Allah.” [al-Baqarah 2:196]

This verse was revealed before Hajj was made obligatory, since it was revealed in the sixth year, at al-Hudaybiyyah, whereas Hajj was only made obligatory in the ninth or tenth year. Nevertheless, Allah commanded that they be completed, even though they were voluntary acts that had not yet been prescribed. The sunnah likewise indicates that making up an invalidated Hajj is obligatory.

The wisdom behind this is that Hajj and ‘umrah cannot be performed without hardship, especially in earlier times. After undergoing such hardship, a person should not invalidate them, for that entails a great loss—unlike prayer, fasting, and similar acts.

In his statement, “Except for Hajj,” the author did not mention ‘umrah. Is this by way of mentioning one thing while intending both, or is there another view holding that completing ‘umrah is not obligatory?

The answer is that it apparently falls under the former: ‘umrah is called the lesser Hajj, as stated in the well-known mursal hadith of ‘Amr ibn Hazm, which the Ummah has accepted, wherein it says: “ ‘Umrah is the lesser Hajj.” (1) Accordingly, ‘umrah is like Hajj: if one begins it voluntarily, he must complete it; and if he invalidates it, he must make it up.