VOLUME TWENTY-SIX
THE BOOK OF JURISPRUDENCE
PART SIX:
HAJJ

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him—was asked:

“Is ‘umrah (the minor pilgrimage) obligatory? If so, what is the evidence for this?”

He answered:

Section

Scholars hold two opinions on whether ‘umrah is obligatory. Both opinions are found in the schools of al-Shāfi‘ī and Ahmad, though the well-known position reported from both is that it is obligatory. The other opinion is that it is not obligatory; this is the position of Abū Hanīfah and Mālik.

The latter opinion is stronger, for Allah made only Hajj obligatory when He said:

“Pilgrimage to the House is a duty people owe to Allah.”

He did not make ‘umrah obligatory; rather, He required the completion of both. Thus, He required those who begin either pilgrimage to complete it, but He made only Hajj obligatory to undertake in the first place. Likewise, all the authentic hadiths prescribe only Hajj as obligatory. Moreover, ‘umrah contains no kind of rite that is not already included in Hajj: it consists of entering and leaving the state of ritual consecration, circumambulating the House, and passing between