“Uthmān was asked about tamattu‘ in Hajj and replied, ‘It was for us, not for you.’”

This is the entirety of the evidence they cited for restricting it to the Companions.

Those who permit converting Hajj into ‘umrah, and those who consider it obligatory, respond: None of this provides you with any proof. These reports fall into two categories: invalid reports that cannot be authentically attributed to their purported sources at all, and authentic reports from someone who is not infallible, whose words cannot be set against the statements of the infallible Prophet.

As for the first category, al-Muraqqa‘ is not someone whose narration constitutes authoritative evidence, much less one whose narration should take precedence over authentic texts that need no patching (1). When al-Muraqqa‘’s hadith was cited against him, Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “And who is al-Muraqqa‘ al-Asadī?” Moreover, Abū Dharr (2) himself narrated the Prophet’s command, peace and blessings be upon him, to convert Hajj into ‘umrah. The most that has been reported from him—if authentic—is that (3) this was exclusive to the Companions; that is his own opinion. Ibn ‘Abbās and Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī, however, said that it applies to the entire Muslim community. Thus, Abū Dharr’s opinion is opposed by theirs, while the authentic, explicit texts remain unchallenged.