and performed tawaf, or has shaved and performed tawaf, he enters the first stage of release. Although what is reported in the sunnah is that he enters the state of release upon stoning, or upon stoning together with shaving, they said: since Tawaf al-Ifadah (the principal circumambulation) has an effect on the second stage of release, it should likewise have an effect on the first stage of release. This is because, when he has stoned, shaved, and performed tawaf, he enters the second stage of release.

If someone were to say that the release of the one who brings a sacrificial animal with him is also contingent upon slaughtering it, that would have some basis in the Prophet’s saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “I have sacrificial animals with me, so I will not come out of ihram until I slaughter them.” (1)

His statement, “Shaving and trimming are rites,” means that shaving and trimming are acts of worship. He explicitly mentioned this in order to refute those who say that they merely lift one of the prohibitions and are not rites in themselves. On that basis, any prohibited act could take the place of shaving, since the point, they claim, is simply to establish that one has exited ihram. Some have said something similar concerning the concluding salutation in prayer: that what is intended is to do something incompatible with the prayer, and that if one does something incompatible with it, this suffices in place of the salutation.

This is a weak view. Shaykh al-Islam said: “If that were so, there would be no difference between shaving one’s head and shaving one’s pubic hair”—on the view that the prohibitions of ihram apply to all bodily hair. He spoke the truth, may Allah have mercy on him. Based on the claim that it merely lifts a prohibition, they also said that it would suffice for a person to trim two or three hairs. All of these are views with no basis—that is, they have no evidence. The correct view is that it is a rite, an act of worship, and a means of drawing near to Allah.