ʿumrah pilgrimages (1); and they also realized that Ibn ʿUmar’s statement that the Prophet performed an ʿumrah in Rajab was a mistake.
Commentary
Although every one of these narrators is trustworthy, no one is immune from error. Accordingly, the Prophet ﷺ married Maymūnah while in a state of ritual release, for she herself testified that he married her when he was ḥall (out of iḥrām), and the same was affirmed by Abū Rāfiʿ, the envoy between them. His prayer inside the House—that is, within the Kaʿbah—is likewise unquestionably established; Ibn ʿAbbās’s denial is understood simply as his being unaware of it. The report that he performed four ʿumrahs is also sound.
The Prophet ﷺ performed four ʿumrahs: the first was the ʿumrah of al-Ḥudaybiyyah; the second, the compensatory ʿumrah (ʿumrat al-qaḍāʾ); the third, the ʿumrah of al-Jiʿrānah; and the fourth, the ʿumrah that accompanied his Hajj, for he was performing qirān (combining Hajj and ʿumrah under a single consecration). These are the four ʿumrahs; he never performed any other. Hence Ibn ʿUmar’s assertion that the Prophet performed an ʿumrah in Rajab is a slip on his part, may Allah have mercy on him.
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They also knew that during the Farewell Pilgrimage the Prophet practiced tamattuʿ (performing ʿumrah first, exiting iḥrām, and then performing Hajj) in perfect security, and that ʿUthmān’s remark to ʿAlī, “On that day we were afraid” (2), is likewise an error.
Commentary
ʿUthmān—may Allah be pleased with him—did not favor tamattuʿ and maintained that the Messenger ﷺ adopted it only because he was afraid. This, however, is incorrect, for the Messenger performed tamattuʿ in complete safety; there was no fear involved at all.