Those who prohibited converting Hajj into ʿumrah, or prohibited tamattuʿ altogether, said: “This was exclusively for the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” They argued that the people of the pre-Islamic era disliked performing ʿumrah during the months of Hajj and would say: “When the camels’ saddle sores have healed, the tracks have faded, and Safar has passed, ʿumrah becomes lawful for whoever performs it.” They said: “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore commanded his Companions to perform ʿumrah to demonstrate that it was permissible during the months of Hajj.”

Ahmad and others considered this view mistaken for several reasons.

First, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had already performed his three earlier ʿumrahs during the months of Hajj. He performed his first ʿumrah, that of al-Hudaybiyah, in Dhū al-Qaʿdah; his make-up ʿumrah in Dhū al-Qaʿdah; and his ʿumrah from al-Jiʿrānah in Dhū al-Qaʿdah. It is established in the authentic hadith collection that ʿĀ’ishah was told:

“Ibn ʿUmar says that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed ʿumrah in Rajab.”

She replied: “May Allah forgive Abū ʿAbd al-Rahmān! The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never performed ʿumrah in Rajab, and he never performed an ʿumrah without Ibn ʿUmar accompanying him.”

The scholars agree with ʿĀ’ishah’s statement that all his ʿumrahs took place in Dhū al-Qaʿdah, the middle month of the months of Hajj. How, then, can it be said that the Companions did not know that ʿumrah was permissible during the months of Hajj until he commanded them to convert their Hajj into ʿumrah, when he had already performed it three times?

Second, it is established in the two authentic hadith collections, on the authority of ʿĀ’ishah, that he told them at the mīqāt (designated boundary for entering ihrām):

“Whoever wishes to enter ihrām for both ʿumrah and Hajj may do so.”

Thus he made clear to them the permissibility of