Two other reconciliations of these accounts have been proposed, both mistaken:

The first is that he performed the farewell circumambulation twice: once after sending her off but before she had finished, and once after she had finished, as a farewell. Besides being clearly mistaken, this does not resolve the difficulty but increases it. Consider this carefully.

The second is that he moved from al-Muhassab to the ridge of al-Aqabah, fearing that staying at al-Muhassab would cause hardship for the Muslims. She then met him while travelling down towards Mecca, while he was travelling up towards al-Aqabah (1). This is worse than the first explanation, for he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not leave by way of al-Aqabah at all. Rather, he left from the lower part of Mecca through the lower mountain pass, as all agree. Moreover, even if this were assumed, it would not reconcile the two hadiths.

Abū Muhammad ibn Hazm (2) stated that, after leaving from the lower part of Mecca, he returned to al-Muhassab and ordered the people to depart. This too is mistaken. The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not return to al-Muhassab after his farewell circumambulation; rather, he proceeded directly to Medina.

In one of his works, he stated that he did this so that, through his entry and departure, he would be, as it were, incorporating Mecca (3) into a circle. He spent the night at Dhū Tuwā, then entered from the upper part of Mecca, left from its lower part, and returned to al-Muhassab. This return would have been along the Yemen-facing side of Mecca, completing the circle. For when he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—arrived, he stayed at Dhū Tuwā, then approached Mecca from