As for the hadith narrated from ‘Ā’ishah, that she travelled with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, from Medina to Mecca to perform ‘umrah, and upon reaching Mecca said:

“O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! You shortened your prayers while I offered mine in full, and you broke your fast while I fasted.”

He replied: “You have done well, ‘Ā’ishah.” She said: “He did not reproach me.”

This was recorded by al-Nasā’ī. Al-Dāraqutnī narrated:

“I set out with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, for ‘umrah in Ramadan. He broke his fast while I fasted, and he shortened his prayers while I offered mine in full.”

He said: “Its chain of transmission is sound.”

Even if this report were authentic, it would contain no evidence that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, offered his prayers in full. “It would establish only his permission to offer them in full. Moreover, this version of the hadith is not authentic.” Rather, it is erroneous for several reasons:

First: Al-Bukhārī and Muslim narrate from ‘Ā’ishah that “the prayer during travel is two rak‘ahs.” Her nephew, who knew her better than anyone else, explained that she offered her prayers in full during travel only on the basis of an interpretation she adopted, not an explicit text she possessed. It is therefore clear that she possessed no explicit text on this matter.

Second: The hadith states that “she set out with him to perform ‘umrah in Ramadan—the ‘umrah of Ramadan—and she was fasting.” This is false by scholarly consensus, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, never performed ‘umrah in Ramadan. All his ‘umrahs were in Shawwāl. Since he never performed ‘umrah in Ramadan, and none of his ‘umrahs took place when fasting was obligatory for him, this hadith is invalid.