performed Hajj as tamattuʿ. According to this view, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed tamattuʿ, brought sacrificial animals, and instructed his Companions to perform tamattuʿ. There would therefore be no grounds for preferring qirān.

However, Ahmad’s explicit position, followed by the leading early scholars of his school, is that the Prophet performed Hajj as qirān, but instructed those of his Companions who had not brought sacrificial animals to perform tamattuʿ: they were to leave ihrām and make their pilgrimage tamattuʿ. He said:

“Had I known beforehand what I now know, I would not have brought sacrificial animals, and I would have made it ʿumrah.”

According to this view, the issue concerns unqualified and qualified statements. Ahmad did not explicitly state that tamattuʿ is preferable for someone who brings sacrificial animals. Rather, he preferred tamattuʿ because the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—instructed his Companions to perform it, and because he said:

“Had I known beforehand what I now know, I would not have brought sacrificial animals, and I would have made it ʿumrah.”

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—only instructed those who had not brought sacrificial animals to leave ihrām. He only expressed a preference for making it ʿumrah; someone who has not chosen to make it ʿumrah while bringing sacrificial animals does not leave ihrām.

Furthermore, Ahmad did not say that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed Hajj as tamattuʿ in its specific sense. Rather, he explicitly stated that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed Hajj as qirān. He said:

“I have no doubt that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed qirān, but tamattuʿ is preferable to me, because it was the later of the two instructions from the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”