In Sahīh al-Bukhārī (1), it is also reported from him that Surāqah said to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “Is this exclusively for you, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “Rather, for all time.”

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, thus made clear that this ‘umrah—to which some of them had converted their Hajj (2)—was for all time, and that ‘umrah had become part of Hajj until the Day of Resurrection. This shows that the ‘umrah of tamattu‘ is part of Hajj.

Some (3) people have raised two objections to citing his words, “Rather, for ever and ever,” as evidence.

The first is that he meant that performing it discharges the obligation not merely for that year, but forever. This objection is invalid. Had he meant that, he would not have said, “For all time,” since this perpetual applicability concerns all Muslims, not a particular group. Moreover, he said: “‘Umrah has become part of Hajj until the Day of Resurrection.” Had their question concerned whether the obligation recurred, they would not have confined it to ‘umrah; rather, they would have asked about Hajj. They also asked him: “Is this ‘umrah of ours for this year alone, or for all time?” Had they meant to ask whether it was obligatory every year, they would have asked him as they did concerning Hajj: “Every year, O Messenger of Allah?” He would then have answered them as he did concerning Hajj, saying: “Leave me be so long as I leave you be. Had I said, ‘Yes,’ it would have become obligatory” (4). Furthermore, they asked him: “Is this exclusively for you?” He replied: “Rather, for ever and ever.” Thus, both the question and the answer explicitly establish that it was not exclusive to them.