invalidating his rites. If the prohibitions of ihram were invalidating, they would invalidate the rites even when necessity made them permissible. This is as we say regarding a fasting person who is compelled to eat and drink: if he eats and drinks, his fast is rendered invalid.

We say that it is “corrupted,” rather than “nullified,” because to say that it is “nullified” means that one exits from it, whereas to say that it is “corrupted” means that one must continue with it even though it has been corrupted. Hajj is nullified by only one matter: apostasy—may Allah protect us—even if the person later repents and accepts Islam again; he is commanded to make it up.

Intercourse occurs through penetration of the glans into the vagina or the anus. It is prohibited by the explicit text of the Quran. Allah, Most High, says:

“So whoever has made Hajj obligatory upon himself therein, there is to be no sexual relations…” [al-Baqarah 2:197]

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) explained this as intercourse (1). Intercourse has two cases:

The first is when it occurs before the first stage of release.

The second is when it occurs after the first stage of release.

The first stage of release is attained by stoning Jamrat al-Aqabah on the Day of Eid. If he has not stoned the jamrah, he remains in a state of complete ihram. Once he has stoned it, the first stage of release is attained according to many scholars.

According to others, however, release is not attained except by stoning together with shaving the head or shortening the hair. Thus, if he shaves or shortens his hair along with the stoning, he has attained the first stage of release.

The second stage of release is attained, in addition to stoning and shaving or shortening the hair, by performing tawaf and sa‘i, if he is performing tamattu‘; or if he is performing ifrad or qiran and had not performed sa‘i along with the arrival tawaf.