In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and from the misdeeds of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray; and whomever He leaves to stray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah shower abundant blessings and peace upon him, his family, and his Companions.

To proceed:

Gaining deep understanding (fiqh) of the religion is among the noblest acts by which a Muslim draws near to his Lord, exalted and blessed be He. It is the principal means of fulfilling true servitude to the Almighty, especially when it concerns the five pillars of Islam—its great supports.

Because the rulings of ḥajj and ʿumrah are among the most intricate of all rulings—as Shaykh al-Islām, may Allah have mercy on him, stated: “The science of the rites is the subtlest branch of worship” (1)—scholars have devoted separate works to explaining their questions and subdivisions, detailing their rulings and evidences. These writings range from concise summaries to extensive treatises, and every one of the four legal schools has produced an independent composition on the rites.