the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, to perform circumambulation and sa‘i, and said: “Your circumambulation of the House and of Safa and Marwah suffices for both your Hajj and your Umrah.” (1)

As for entering ihram from the miqat, this is because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, designated the miqats and said: “They are for those who live there and for whoever comes to them from elsewhere intending Hajj or Umrah.” (2) As for shaving, this has already been discussed.

He did not mention the Farewell Circumambulation. The apparent meaning of his words is that Umrah does not require a Farewell Circumambulation, for omitting something in a context of explanation indicates that it is not to be taken into consideration. Accordingly, the Farewell Circumambulation for Umrah is not obligatory according to the well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him. There are two views on this matter:

The first is that it is obligatory.

The second is that it is a sunnah.

In my view, the stronger opinion is that the person performing Umrah must perform a Farewell Circumambulation, just as it is obligatory for the pilgrim performing Hajj, for the following reasons:

First: the general wording of the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “Let no one depart until his final rite is at the House.” (3)

If someone were to say: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, made this statement during the Farewell Pilgrimage concerning Hajj, and did not say it concerning Umrah,”

we would reply: Yes, we concede that; but this was because Allah had not made it obligatory until that time