Thus, the hadith jurists, such as Ahmad and others, followed his Sunnah in all these matters, although some of them, as well as others, may thereafter depart from it because of an interpretation that obscures the Sunnah from them.

[Tamattu for One Who Combines Hajj and Umra in a Single Journey and Enters Ihram during the Months of Hajj]

One example is that they deemed it recommended for Muslims to perform Hajj as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded his Companions. Since all the reports concur that he instructed his Companions to leave ihram and convert their pilgrimage into tamattu, they recommended tamattu for anyone who combines the two rites in a single journey and enters ihram during the months of Hajj, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded.

They also understood that although they considered it permissible for someone to perform Hajj alone and then, immediately afterward, perform Umra from outside the Sanctuary, no one did so during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) except Aisha—according to those who maintain that she abandoned her Umra and entered ihram for Hajj, as the Kufans hold. According to the majority of jurists, however, she became one who combined Hajj and Umra under a single ihram; on this view, neither Aisha nor anyone else did so.

They likewise understood that anyone who had not brought a sacrificial animal and combined the two rites should not do so, even though most of them—including Ahmad and others—held that it was permissible. For no one did so during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) except Aisha, according to those who maintain that she combined Hajj and Umra under a single ihram.

The leading hadith authorities—jurists and scholars such as Ahmad and others—did not disagree that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself did not perform Hajj alone, nor did he perform tamattu in a manner that involved leaving ihram. Any of Ahmad’s followers who says that he performed tamattu and left ihram is mistaken. Likewise, whoever says that he did not perform Umra as part of his Hajj is mistaken.

As for the notion held by some jurists that he performed Umra after completing his Hajj, as those who prefer to perform Hajj alone do when they combine the two rites, no one has transmitted this, nor has it ever been maintained by anyone knowledgeable about the Hajj of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They unanimously agree that neither the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself nor any of his Companions performed Umra after Hajj, except Aisha. For this reason, there is no