between them (1). Those who supposed there was a contradiction did so only because they did not fully understand what the Companions meant by their words, interpreting them instead according to terminology that arose after their time.

I came across an excellent discussion by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah sanctify his soul (2)—on the agreement between their reports, which I reproduce in his own words. He said (3): “The correct view is that the hadiths on this subject agree with one another, differing only in minor respects of the kind found elsewhere. It is authentically reported from the Companions that he performed tamattu‘ (Hajj with ‘umrah), and in their usage, tamattu‘ included qirān (combining Hajj and ‘umrah). Those from whom it was reported (4) that he performed Hajj alone also reported that he performed tamattu‘.

As for the first point, the two Sahīh collections (5) relate from Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab: ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī met at ‘Usfān, and (6) ‘Uthmān used to prohibit tamattu‘ or ‘umrah. ‘Alī said, “Why would you forbid something that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did?” ‘Uthmān replied, “Leave us alone.” ‘Alī said, “I cannot leave you alone.” When ‘Alī saw this, he declared his intention to perform both together.’

This shows that, in their usage, someone who combined the two was performing tamattu‘, and that this was what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had done. ‘Uthmān agreed with him that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had done so. Their disagreement, however, concerned whether this was the preferable course for us, and whether converting Hajj into ‘umrah was prescribed for us—a matter also disputed by the jurists. Thus, ‘Alī and ‘Uthmān agreed that he had performed tamattu‘, and what they meant by tamattu‘ was qirān.