Kadā’ (1), then camped there after completing the circumambulation, and again after completing all the rites. He then left from the lower part of Mecca and went around its right-hand side until he reached al-Muhassab. He interprets his second command to depart as meaning that, on returning to al-Muhassab, he encountered some people who had not yet left, ordered them to depart, and immediately set off for Medina.

He has indeed disgraced (2) himself and his book with this insipid, distasteful nonsense, which invites ridicule. Were it not necessary to point out the errors of those who have misrepresented the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—we would refrain from mentioning such words. What he actually did is as clear as though you could see it: he camped at al-Muhassab, prayed the noon, afternoon, sunset, and night prayers there, and slept for a while. He then set off for Mecca, performed the farewell circumambulation there at night, and left from its lower part for Medina. He neither returned to al-Muhassab nor travelled in a circle. In Sahīh al-Bukhārī (3), Anas reports:

The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—prayed the noon, afternoon, sunset, and night prayers and slept for a while at al-Muhassab. He then rode to the House and circumambulated it.

In the two Sahīh collections (4), Ā’ishah reports: “We set out with the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace…” She related the hadith, then said: “When (5) Allah had brought the Hajj to completion and we had departed from Minā, we camped at al-Muhassab. He summoned Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī Bakr and said: ‘Take your sister outside the Sacred Precinct, then both of you finish