one who combines Hajj and ʿumrah in a single ihrām falls within the designation of someone performing tamattuʿ, as we shall explain. This indicates that eating from the sacrificial offering of someone performing tamattuʿ is recommended, whereas this is not the case with a compensatory sacrifice. It is also established in the two Sahīh collections, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fed his wives from the sacrificial offerings he slaughtered on their behalf, and they were performing tamattuʿ.”

This is among the evidence cited by Imam Ahmad.

Second, the act that necessitates compensation is, in principle, prohibited, such as invalidating Hajj through intercourse, committing prohibited acts, or omitting obligatory acts. A person may not invalidate his Hajj, nor may he commit a prohibited act or omit an obligatory act without a valid excuse. Tamattuʿ, however, is permissible without qualification. If its sacrifice were compensatory, tamattuʿ would not be permissible without qualification. Thus, we know that it is a ritual sacrifice and an offering, and that it is among the ways Allah has granted ease to the Muslims. He has permitted them to leave ihrām for an interval, with the sacrificial offering taking the place of remaining continuously in ihrām, because of the hardship that continuous ihrām entails.

It is therefore comparable to shortening the prayer when travelling, a traveller’s breaking the fast, or someone wearing leather socks wiping over them. For someone wearing them, wiping is preferable to removing them and washing his feet, according to the apparent position of Ahmad’s school. This is because, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was wearing leather socks that he had put on in a state of ritual purity, he would wipe over them rather than remove them and wash his feet. By contrast, when he was not wearing leather socks, he would wash his feet.

It is established in the Sahīh that he would say in his sermon:

“The best speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.”