or an additional recommended circumambulation, it may be said that it is preferable in this respect. Yet this is contrary to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Moreover, even if it were conceded that this is recommended, it would not follow that doing more is always better. Rather, what is preferable may be easier: tamattuʿ is preferable to performing Hajj alone, yet it is easier; not fasting while travelling is preferable, yet it is easier; and shortening the prayers is likewise preferable to praying four units, yet it is easier.

Another argument for preferring someone performing tamattuʿ is that his first circumambulation is obligatory, since it is the circumambulation of ʿumrah, whereas the first circumambulation of someone performing qirān is the arrival circumambulation, which is not obligatory; and what is obligatory is preferable. This claim, however, is not conceded. Merit depends on the extent of the benefit in an act, whereas obligation entails harm in leaving it undone.

Ahmad’s statements consistently maintain that tamattuʿ is preferable for someone who has not brought sacrificial animals and arrives during the months of Hajj. This is because the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—commanded everyone who performed Hajj with him to leave ihrām and make their pilgrimage an ʿumrah, except those who had brought sacrificial animals.

Ahmad’s position is also that if someone makes one journey for Hajj alone and another for ʿumrah, performing them separately in this way is preferable for him to tamattuʿ. He explicitly stated this in more than one place. Jurists of his school also mention it, including al-Qādī Abū Yaʿlā in his commentary, and others. This is likewise