—indeed, he held that converting one’s Hajj into ‘umrah was obligatory. He would say:

“Anyone who has circumambulated the House and passed between al-Safā and al-Marwah, without having brought a sacrificial animal, has thereby left ihram.”

He cited as evidence the Prophet’s instruction to his Companions to leave ihram during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and the words of Allah Most High:

“Then their place of sacrifice is at the Ancient House.”

The view that tamattu‘ is obligatory is held by a group of hadith scholars and Zāhirīs, such as Ibn Hazm and others. It is also the position of the Shia. However, the overwhelming majority of the Companions, the four imams, and others hold that tamattu‘, ifrād, and qirān are all permissible. Nevertheless, the people of Mecca, Banū Hāshim, and the hadith scholars consider tamattu‘ preferable. Thus, those versed in his Sunnah, the adherents of his Sunnah, and the people of his city, near which the pilgrimage rites take place, all consider it preferable. These three groups are the people most closely connected to him. This is also one of al-Shāfi‘ī’s two positions. Abū Yūsuf considers tamattu‘ and qirān equal in merit.

The majority permit all three because it is authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to his Companions:

“Whoever among you wishes to enter ihram for ‘umrah may do so; whoever wishes to enter ihram for Hajj may do so; and whoever wishes to enter ihram for both Hajj and ‘umrah may do so.”

As for his subsequent instruction to his Companions to leave ihram and make their pilgrimage an ‘umrah—except for those who had brought sacrificial animals—the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wanted them to combine Hajj and ‘umrah, rather than perform an ‘umrah from Mecca, even if they undertook a journey