Friday, as is explicitly stated in the sound ḥadīth of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, as will be cited below. When the Prophet ﷺ arrived on Sunday, the fourth of the month, he began—as we have already mentioned—by circumambulating the House, and then by running between al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah. When his saʿy ended at al-Marwah, he ordered all who had not brought a sacrificial animal to come out of their state of consecration without exception. The order was therefore binding, and they obeyed, though some did so regretfully because he ﷺ himself did not release his consecration on account of driving the animals. They were keen to conform to him and follow his example. Seeing what weighed on them, he ﷺ said:

“Had I known beforehand what I now know, I would not have brought the animals; rather, I would have made it an ʿUmrah.”

That is: had I realized that this would cause you hardship, I would have left the animals behind so that I could dissolve my consecration just as you have done. From here the evidence—on which Imām Aḥmad relied—becomes clear for the superiority of tamattuʿ. Imām Aḥmad said: “I have no doubt that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed qirān, yet tamattuʿ is better because he expressed regret at missing it.”

The answer is that the Prophet ﷺ did not regret foregoing tamattuʿ because it is intrinsically superior to qirān for the one who has brought the sacrificial animal; rather, he regretted it only to spare his Companions the difficulty of seeing him remain in consecration while he instructed them to release theirs. For this reason, and Allah knows best, when Imām Aḥmad reflected on this subtle point, he stated elsewhere that tamattuʿ is better for anyone who has not driven the animal—since the Prophet ﷺ told his Companions who had not brought animals to do tamattuʿ—whereas qirān is better for the one who has driven the animal, precisely as Allah Most High chose for His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, during the Farewell Pilgrimage and commanded him to perform. Allah knows best.

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After finishing his saʿy between al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah and ordering those who had not brought animals to dissolve their consecration, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—set out with the people until he halted at al-Abṭaḥ, east of Mecca. He remained there for the rest of Sunday, and for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, until he led the dawn prayer on Thursday morning. Throughout those days he led the prayers with his Companions there and did not return to the Kaʿbah at all.

Al-Bukhārī said: “Chapter: One who does not approach the Kaʿbah and does not perform Ṭawāf until he goes out to ʿArafah and then returns to perform Ṭawāf.”