The person in a state of iḥrām does not discontinue the talbiyah until he has stoned the Jamrah of al-ʿAqabah, for it is firmly established that “the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—continued his talbiyah until he cast the stones at the Jamrah of al-ʿAqabah.”

Yet the jurists differed over the precise moment at which it should be broken off. One group held that it ends only after all the pebbles have been thrown, citing the report from Ibn ʿAbbās: “Al-Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās was riding behind the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and he kept pronouncing the talbiyah until he stoned the Jamrah of al-ʿAqabah, ceasing the talbiyah with the last pebble.”

Another group maintained that it ends with the very first pebble that is cast, and this view is narrated from Ibn Masʿūd. Other opinions have been transmitted regarding the time of discontinuing the talbiyah, but these two are the most renowned.

They also disagreed about the point at which the talbiyah is dropped in ʿUmrah. Mālik said that one stops the talbiyah upon reaching the Sacred Precinct (ḥaram), and this was likewise the view of Abū Ḥanīfah. Al-Shāfiʿī, however, held that it is discontinued when the pilgrim begins ṭawāf. Mālik’s precedent in this regard was that of Ibn ʿUmar and ʿUrwah, whereas al-Shāfiʿī’s reasoning is that the talbiyah is, in essence, a response to the summons to circumambulate the House, so it is not broken off until the pilgrim actually embarks upon the rite.

The root of the disagreement lies in the tension between analogical reasoning and the practice of certain Companions. The majority of scholars—as we have noted—agree that a pilgrim in iḥrām for ʿUmrah may incorporate the rites of Hajj into it, but they differ over whether ʿUmrah may be incorporated into Hajj.

Abū Thawr stated: “Neither may Hajj be adjoined to ʿUmrah, nor ʿUmrah to Hajj, just as one prayer cannot be inserted into another.”

These, then, are the acts performed by the pilgrim in his capacity as a muḥrim, and they constitute the first actions of Hajj. The rite that follows is the circumambulation performed upon entering Mecca; let us therefore discuss ṭawāf.

[Discussion on Circumambulating the House]

Our treatment of ṭawāf will cover its manner, its conditions, its status as obligatory or recommended, and the number of its circuits.

Description. The overwhelming majority are agreed that the form of every ṭawāf—whether obligatory or non-obligatory—is to begin at the Black Stone; if the pilgrim can kiss it he does so, or else touches it with his hand and kisses the hand if possible. He then keeps the House on his left, moves forward on his right, and circumambulates seven circuits. He trots (ramal) in the first three circuits and walks in the remaining four; this applies to the ṭawāf of arrival upon entering Mecca, for both the pilgrim performing Hajj and the one performing ʿUmrah, though not for the tamattuʿ pilgrim. There is no ramal for women. He also touches the Yemeni Corner, which lies diagonally opposite the Black Stone, for this description is established by the practice of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him.