the east, in the direction of al-Tāʾif. Badr, by contrast, lies between Medina and Mecca. The two battles were six years apart, but they are mentioned together because Allah Most High sent down angels in both to support the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the believers in battle. He then went and besieged the polytheists at al-Tāʾif, before returning and distributing the spoils of Hunayn at al-Jiʿrānah. After distributing the spoils of Hunayn, he performed ʿumrah from al-Jiʿrānah, entering Mecca rather than leaving it to enter ihrām.

His fourth ʿumrah accompanied his Hajj. He combined ʿumrah and Hajj in a single ihrām, as agreed by those knowledgeable about his Sunnah and by the Companions. No Companion is reported to have said that he performed tamattuʿ in which he left ihrām between the two rites. Rather, they used the term tamattuʿ for qirān—combining the two in a single ihrām. Nor is any Companion reported to have said that, when he combined them, he performed two tawāfs (circumambulations) and two saʿīs (rites of walking between al-Safā and al-Marwah).

The accounts transmitted from the Companions describing his Hajj are generally consistent. They have caused confusion only among those who did not understand what the Companions meant. All the Companions reported to have said that he performed Hajj alone—such as ʿĀʾishah, Ibn ʿUmar and Jābir—also said that he combined ʿumrah with Hajj as tamattuʿ. Indeed, this is established in the two Sahīhs from ʿĀʾishah and Ibn ʿUmar through a chain of transmission more authentic than that of the report that he performed Hajj alone. By tamattuʿ they meant qirān, as is also established in the authentic hadith collections.

When a person wishes to enter ihrām, if he is combining ʿumrah and Hajj in a single ihrām, he says: “I answer Your call for ʿumrah and Hajj.” If he is performing tamattuʿ, he says: “I answer Your call for ʿumrah, to be followed by Hajj as tamattuʿ.” If he is performing Hajj alone, he says: “I answer Your call for Hajj.”