would have to say: Enter ihram before dawn on the seventh day, so that the fast encompasses all three days. This too is open to question.

As for the second point—making the last of them the Day of ‘Arafah—this too is open to question, because the Prophet ﷺ “forbade fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah at ‘Arafah” (1), and “was brought a cup of milk, which he drank in front of the people while standing at ‘Arafah” (2), so that they would know that he was not fasting.

Fasting at ‘Arafah causes a person, at the end of the day—which is the best part of that day—to become lethargic, sluggish, and exhausted. He will therefore lack the energy for supplication, which is at its best at the end of the day. Thus, if he fasts, he misses a tremendous purpose of the Day of ‘Arafah: having the energy to supplicate at the end of the day.

The correct view, then, differs from what the scholars of the school hold in this matter from both angles.

Issue: The point at which it becomes permissible to fast them—that is, the three days—begins from the time one enters ihram for ‘umrah.

If someone were to ask: How can it be permissible for him to fast them from the moment he enters ihram for ‘umrah, when Allah, Exalted is He, says: “during Hajj”?

We say: It is permissible because the Prophet ﷺ said: “ ‘Umrah has been incorporated into Hajj” (3).