been authentically established that he performed four ‘umrahs, one of them during the Farewell Hajj. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not leave his state of consecration, contrary to what some followers of Ahmad supposed.

Their position is that someone prevented from completing the pilgrimage is not required to make it up. This is sounder than the position of the Kufan scholars. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions were prevented from performing ‘umrah in the year of al-Hudaybiyah. The following year, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed ‘umrah, but some of those who had been with him did not. Those present at al-Hudaybiyah numbered more than fourteen hundred; they were the ones who pledged allegiance beneath the tree. Some of them died before the ‘umrah of al-Qadiyyah.

Their position is also that it is not recommended for anyone—indeed, it is disliked—to enter the state of consecration before reaching the designated geographical boundary. The Kufan scholars, however, recommend entering it before that boundary. The position of the scholars of Medina accords with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the practice of his rightly guided caliphs.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed three ‘umrahs before the Farewell Hajj: the ‘umrah of al-Hudaybiyah and the ‘umrah of al-Qadiyyah, for both of which he entered consecration at Dhū al-Hulayfah; and the ‘umrah in the year of Hunayn, for which he entered consecration at al-Ji‘rānah. Then came the Farewell Hajj, for which he entered consecration at Dhū al-Hulayfah. He never entered consecration from Medina. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would not have consistently neglected what was preferable. And his caliphs