As for the evidence offered by the second party—those who hold that ʿumrah is not obligatory—it is the famous, sound ḥadīths that enumerate the obligations of Islam without mentioning ʿumrah. Among these is the report of Ibn ʿUmar:
“Islam is built upon five,”
in which Hajj is cited on its own. Likewise is the ḥadīth of the man who asked about Islam, for in some of its chains the wording is only:
“and that he make pilgrimage to the House.”
They also argue that the Qur’ānic command to “complete” does not necessarily establish obligation, for it applies equally to voluntary and obligatory acts—that is, once one embarks upon them, one must complete them and not break off.
Those who deem ʿumrah a Sunnah further adduce certain reports, among them the narration of al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāt from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said:
“A man asked the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—about ʿumrah: ‘Is it obligatory?’ He replied, ‘No; yet performing ʿumrah is better for you.’”
Abū ʿUmar Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr remarks, “This solitary report is not a conclusive proof.”
Others who consider it merely supererogatory also cite what is related from Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥanafī: that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said,
“Hajj is obligatory, whereas ʿumrah is voluntary.”
This ḥadīth, however, has a broken chain and is therefore weak.
Hence the root of the disagreement lies in the conflicting reports on this issue, and the uncertainty whether the command to complete the rites conveys obligation or not.
[Discussion of the Second Category: The Pillars of Hajj and ʿUmrah]
[Discussion of the Conditions of Iḥrām]
[Discussion of the Spatial Miqāt]
The first topic within the second category is to define the acts that constitute this form of worship in each of its types, along with the abstentions required during it.
As we have said, this worship is of two kinds: Hajj and ʿumrah. Hajj itself has three modes: ifrād, tamattuʿ, and qirān. Each involves specific acts, performed at specific sites and within specific times. Some of those acts are obligatory, others not; and there are abstentions that are stipulated for those acts. Each rite has its own rulings—either upon release from the consecrated state or when unforeseen impediments arise.
Accordingly, this category first divides into a discussion of the acts and a discussion of the abstentions, while the third category will deal with the legal rulings that arise from them. Let us begin with the acts. Some are shared by all four rites—that is, the three forms of Hajj and the ʿumrah—and some are unique to each. We shall start with what they have in common and then proceed to what is specific to each.
Thus we say: The first act in both Hajj and ʿumrah is the act known as iḥrām.