Chapter
His Guidance ﷺ in Hajj and ‘Umrah

After the Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ performed four ‘umrahs, all in Dhū al-Qa‘dah (1):

The first was the ‘umrah of al-Hudaybiyyah, in the sixth year AH. The polytheists prevented him from reaching the Sacred House, so he slaughtered the sacrificial animals (2) where he had been stopped at al-Hudaybiyyah. He and his Companions shaved their heads and left the state of ihram, and he returned to Medina that same year.

The second was ‘Umrat al-Qadiyyah, the following year. He entered Mecca, stayed there for three days, and then departed after completing his ‘umrah. The scholars differed over whether it made up for the ‘umrah from which he had been prevented the previous year or was a new, independent ‘umrah. There are two scholarly opinions, both also reported from Imam Ahmad. The first holds that it was a compensatory ‘umrah; this is the position of Abū Hanīfah. The second holds that it was not compensatory; this is Mālik’s position.

Those who considered it compensatory argued that it was called ‘Umrat al-Qadā’—the compensatory ‘umrah—and that this designation reflected its legal status. The others replied that qadā’ here refers to concluding an agreement, since he had negotiated an agreement with the people of Mecca concerning it, rather than to making up a missed act of worship. They said, “This is why it was called ‘Umrat al-Qadiyyah—the ‘umrah of the agreement.” They further argued, “Those who were prevented from reaching the Sacred House numbered fourteen hundred, and not all of them accompanied him for ‘Umrat al-Qadiyyah (3). Had it been compensatory, none of them would have stayed behind.”

This latter opinion is more correct, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not command those who had accompanied him to make up that ‘umrah.