al-Hijjah. The more eloquent pronunciation is with a fatḥah in the first—Dhu al-Qadah—and a kasrah in the second—Dhu al-Hijjah.

His statement, “and ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah”: this is the well-known position of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is the view adopted by his followers. However, an objection to this view is that Allah says:

“Hajj is in well-known months.” [al-Baqarah 2:197]

The word “months” is a plural, and thus denotes three. If He had said “in months,” the three months would have been the time-container, and what is contained need not fill the entire container; thus, two months and part of a third would suffice.

But He said, “well-known months,” and the well-known rule in the Arabic language is that the smallest plural is three. Accordingly, the months of Hajj are three. This is the position of Imam Malik (1) (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is closer to being correct than the author’s view, since it accords with the apparent meaning of the verse: “well-known months.”

If someone were to say: Does this mean that you permit the people to stand at Arafah on the fifteenth of Dhu al-Hijjah?

We would say: We do not permit that, just as it is not permissible for the people to stand at Arafah on the tenth of Shawwal. These months do not mean that Hajj may be performed on every day within them.

What further indicates the weakness of the author’s statement is that the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days are among the days of Hajj, during which Hajj rites are performed: the stoning of the pillars and staying overnight. How, then, can they be excluded from the months of