when going to ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah, among them Tāwūs and others.

Ibn ‘Uyaynah himself, who narrated this report from Ibn ‘Abbās, used to shorten his prayers when going to ‘Arafah during Hajj. Companions of Ibn ‘Abbās, such as Tāwūs, would say: “Do you think that the people—meaning the people of Mecca—prayed during Hajj differently from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?” This is conclusive proof. It is well known that the people of Mecca who performed Hajj with him were very numerous. They went out with him to Minā and prayed behind him. Throughout the days spent at Minā, he led only shortened prayers, and everyone prayed behind him: the people of Mecca and all the other Muslims. He did not command any of them to perform their prayers in full, nor has anyone transmitted such a command, whether through an authentic or a weak chain of transmission.

After him, Abū Bakr and ‘Umar likewise led the people of Mecca and others in prayer during Hajj without commanding anyone to perform the prayers in full. Yet it is authentically reported that when ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb led the prayer in Mecca, he said: “People of Mecca, perform your prayers in full, for we are travellers.” This is also reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as addressed to the people of Mecca in the year of the conquest, not during the Farewell Hajj. During the Farewell Hajj, he did not pray in Mecca, but rather at his lodgings. Abū Dāwūd and others narrated this report, though its chain of transmission is open to criticism.

The point is that anyone who reflects on the Prophet’s leading the people of Mecca and others in prayer at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah and Minā, and on the fact that no Muslim has ever reported that he commanded them to perform their prayers in full, will know with certainty that they shortened their prayers behind him. This is common knowledge that could not have escaped Ibn ‘Abbās or anyone else. Hence, no Companion is known to have instructed the people of Mecca to