Whenever he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached al-Marwah, he ascended it, faced the House, proclaimed Allah’s greatness and oneness, and did as he had done on al-Safā. When he completed his passages between them at al-Marwah, he unequivocally commanded everyone who had no sacrificial animals with them to leave ihrām (ritual consecration), whether they had entered it for Hajj and ‘umrah together or for Hajj alone. He instructed them to leave ihrām completely, permitting marital intercourse, perfume, and tailored clothing (1), and to remain in that state until the Day of al-Tarwiyah. He himself did not leave ihrām because he had brought sacrificial animals. It was there that he said: “Had I known at the outset what I know now, I would not have brought the sacrificial animals, and I would have made it an ‘umrah.”
It has been reported that he too left ihrām, but this is unquestionably an error, as we have explained earlier.
There he prayed three times for forgiveness for those who shaved their heads, and once for those who shortened their hair (2). There too, immediately after he instructed them to change their pilgrimage to ‘umrah and leave ihrām, Surāqah ibn Mālik ibn Ju‘shum asked him whether this applied only to that year or forever. He replied: “Rather, forever.” Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Alī, Talhah, and al-Zubayr did not leave ihrām because they had sacrificial animals. His wives (peace and blessings be upon him), however, left ihrām, although they had entered it for Hajj and ‘umrah together, except for ‘Ā’ishah: she did not leave ihrām because release was impossible for her (3) owing to her menstruation (4). Fātimah left ihrām because she had no sacrificial animals, whereas ‘Alī did not because he had brought his sacrificial animals. He instructed anyone who had entered ihrām with the same intention as his (peace and blessings be upon him) to remain in ihrām if they had sacrificial animals, and to leave it if they did not.
Throughout his stay (5), until the Day of al-Tarwiyah, he would pray at the lodging where he was staying