Some who hold ‘umrah to be obligatory have cited the transmitted hadith stating that “‘Umrah is the lesser pilgrimage” as evidence. Yet it actually indicates that ‘umrah is not obligatory, for this hadith points to two kinds of pilgrimage: greater and lesser. The Quran likewise indicates this in His words, “the day of the greater pilgrimage.”

If that is so, declaring ‘umrah obligatory would mean making two pilgrimages obligatory: a greater and a lesser one. Allah Most High, however, has not prescribed two pilgrimages; He has made only one obligatory. When Hajj is mentioned without qualification, it means the greater pilgrimage. This is what Allah has prescribed for His servants and assigned a specified time outside which it cannot be performed, as He says, “the day of the greater pilgrimage.” ‘Umrah, by contrast, is not restricted to any particular time; it may be performed in any month of the year.

Moreover, ‘umrah in relation to Hajj is like ablution in relation to the ritual bath. According to the majority of scholars, someone bathing to remove major ritual impurity need only perform the ritual bath and is not required to perform ablution as well. The same applies to Hajj: Hajj and ‘umrah are two acts of worship of the same kind, one lesser and one greater. Once someone performs the greater, performing the lesser is not obligatory. Nevertheless, performing the lesser as well is better and more complete, just as performing ablution along with the ritual bath is better and more complete.

This is what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions did. He did, however, instruct them to perform tamattu‘, saying:

“‘Umrah has become part of Hajj until the Day of Resurrection.”

This has been explained at length elsewhere. And Allah knows best.