stoning, sacrifice, and shaving or shortening. If he performs these, everything becomes lawful for him except matters relating to women: intercourse, intimate physical contact, and contracting a marriage. This is the well-known position of the madhhab.
It is also said that only intercourse and intimate physical contact are prohibited, not contracting a marriage or proposing marriage; thus, it is permissible to conclude a marriage contract or make a proposal after the first stage of release from consecration. This is because the Prophet’s words, peace and blessings be upon him, “except women,” strongly suggest that what is meant is sexual enjoyment, whether through intercourse or otherwise—especially since one who has completed the first stage of release is no longer described as being in a complete state of consecration.
According to the madhhab, if someone stones, offers the sacrifice, shaves his head, and then marries before performing tawaf around the House, the marriage is prohibited and invalid. This may occur in circumstances other than the case just mentioned: a person may perform the Tawaf al-Ifadah in a manner that is not valid, then return to his country and marry during that period, before correcting his error in the tawaf. According to the madhhab, his marriage is invalid.
According to the second view—which was the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, and which is correct—it is permissible to conclude a marriage contract after the first stage of release, and the contract is valid.
This is one of the matters in which a person should exercise caution. Thus, if a man comes to us who has found himself in this predicament and concluded a marriage contract before performing the Tawaf al-Ifadah, or proposed to a woman before performing the Tawaf al-Ifadah, we say: Do not repeat it, because declaring it prohibited and invalidating the contract after it has taken place entails hardship. But if someone comes to us seeking advice and says, “Would you give me a legal ruling allowing me to propose marriage or conclude a marriage contract after I have completed the first stage of release?”