The apparent meaning of the author’s words—may Allah have mercy on him—is that if he lacks the price, he is deemed unable to obtain it even if he can find someone to lend it to him. There is no doubt that if his lack of funds is due to genuine inability, then he is not required to borrow, even if he finds someone willing to lend to him; rather, we would advise him not to borrow.
But if his lack of funds is not due to inability—rather, he is wealthy, but his travel expenses have, for example, been lost, and he can very easily borrow from his companions or others—then the apparent meaning of the author’s words is that, in this case, he is deemed unable to obtain it.
Yet there is some reservation about this, for such a man would not be described as one who cannot find it. Moreover, it is generally the case that a person in this situation can borrow very easily and find someone to lend to him without this causing him any hardship.
It is preferable that the last of them be the Day of ‘Arafah
His statement, “It is preferable that the last of them be the Day of ‘Arafah,” means that he fasts the seventh, eighth, and ninth days, so that the last of them is the Day of ‘Arafah. They said: In this case, he should enter ihram for Hajj on the seventh day, so that he may fast the three days during the Hajj itself.
There are two points to consider here: entering ihram for Hajj before its time, and making the last of the days the Day of ‘Arafah.
As for the first, entering ihram for Hajj before the eighth day is contrary to the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ. What appears from the circumstances of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—who performed tamattu‘ is that they were poor, since they had not brought sacrificial animals with them; otherwise, they would have brought them as the wealthy people did. If they were poor, then fasting was their obligation. We strongly presume that the Companions who exited ihram did not enter ihram again until the eighth day; so how can we say that one should enter ihram on the seventh day? Furthermore, according to this view, we