A question: If a voluntary Hajj is invalidated, must it be made up?

The answer is yes, because his statement, “Except for Hajj,” is an exception to his statement, “There is no obligation to complete a voluntary act, nor to make up one that has been invalidated, except for Hajj.” Thus, if a man enters into ihram for ‘umrah and, during the ‘umrah, has intercourse with his wife, he must continue with that ‘umrah and then make it up, because he invalidated it through intercourse. But if he commits a prohibited act, does the ‘umrah become invalid?

The answer is no, because none of the prohibited acts invalidates either ‘umrah or Hajj, except intercourse before the first stage of release from ihram. This, along with the preceding matter, is among the ways in which Hajj and ‘umrah differ from the rest of the acts of worship.

His statement, “Laylat al-Qadr is hoped for during the last ten nights of Ramadan”: it seems to us that discussing Laylat al-Qadr does not properly belong here. Its proper place is either under the chapter of i‘tikaf or that of voluntary prayer.

As for i‘tikaf, this is because the Prophet ﷺ observed i‘tikaf only in hopes of encountering Laylat al-Qadr.

As for voluntary prayer, this is because it is legislated to spend Laylat al-Qadr in worship. In our view, there is no particular connection between Laylat al-Qadr and voluntary fasting; however, since the scholars had completed their discussion of fasting and its related matters, they mentioned Laylat al-Qadr.

The scholars differed over identifying Laylat al-Qadr, holding more than forty opinions, which al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentioned in his commentary on al-Bukhari.

There are several matters to discuss concerning Laylat al-Qadr:

The first matter: Does it remain, or has it been removed?