They asked, “And those who shorten, O Messenger of Allah?”
He replied, “O Allah, have mercy on those who shave!”
They again said, “And those who shorten, O Messenger of Allah?”
He answered, “And those who shorten.”

The scholars are unanimously agreed that women do not shave; the Sunnah for them is to shorten their hair.

They then differed over whether shaving or shortening is itself a rite that is incumbent on both the pilgrim performing ḥajj and the pilgrim performing ʿumrah. Mālik maintained that shaving is a rite for both ḥajj and ʿumrah, that it is superior to shortening, and that it is required of anyone who has missed the pilgrimage or has been prevented from completing it by an enemy, illness, or any other excuse. This is also the view of a group of jurists, with the exception of the one prevented by an enemy: Abū Ḥanīfah said that in his case neither shaving nor shortening is obligatory. In general, whoever counts shaving or shortening as a rite imposes a blood offering for omitting it, whereas whoever does not regard it as a rite imposes nothing.

[The Expiation Owed by the Mutamattiʿ]

As for the expiation due from a pilgrim performing tamattuʿ, which Allah has prescribed in His words,

“So whoever enjoys ʿumrah until the time of ḥajj, let him offer whatever is easy of sacrificial animals” (Qur’an 2:196),

there is no disagreement about its obligatory nature. The dispute concerns the question: who exactly is the mutamattiʿ?—a matter that has already been discussed.

Discussion of this expiation revolves around the same five points as before: on whom is it obligatory? what is required? when does it become due? for whose benefit? and where is it to be discharged?

1. On whom is it obligatory? By unanimous agreement, it is due from the mutamattiʿ, though, as noted, the legal definition of a mutamattiʿ is disputed.

2. What is required? The majority of scholars hold that “whatever is easy of sacrificial animals” means a sheep. Mālik argued that the term hady can apply to a sheep, citing the verse concerning compensation for game:

“…as a sacrificial animal to reach the Kaʿbah” (Qur’an 5:95),

and it is established by consensus that a sheep may be required in that context. Ibn ʿUmar, however, maintained that the word hady applies only to camels and cattle, interpreting the phrase “whatever is easy of sacrificial animals” to mean: a cow of lesser value than another cow, or a camel of lesser value than another camel.

3. The order of the expiation. All concur that this expiation is sequential: if one cannot find an animal to sacrifice, he must fast. They disagreed, however, about the point in time after which his obligation shifts from the animal to fasting.

Mālik said: once he has begun fasting, his obligation has transferred to fasting, even if he subsequently acquires an animal during the fast.

Abū Ḥanīfah said: if he acquires an animal while fasting the first three days, the sacrifice becomes obligatory; if he acquires it while fasting the seven days, it does not. This issue parallels the case of a worshipper who, having performed dry ablution, finds water while already in prayer. The root of their disagreement is whether a condition required at the outset of an act of worship must remain in force throughout its performance.

Abū Ḥanīfah distinguishes between the three and the seven because, in his view, the three days are a substitute for the sacrificial animal, whereas the seven are not.

All agree that if he fasts the three days within the first ten days of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah, he has