the Abbasids.

He prays Zuhr and ‘Asr there, shortening them as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did. All the pilgrims, both the people of Mecca and others, pray behind him, shortening and combining the prayers. The imam delivers a sermon to them, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did while mounted on his camel. When he finishes the sermon, the muezzin gives the adhān and the iqāmah, and then he leads the prayer, as established in the Sunnah.

He shortens the prayers at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah and Minā, and both the people of Mecca and others shorten them. Likewise, they combine the prayers at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah and Minā, as the people of Mecca used to do behind the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah and Minā. They also did so behind Abū Bakr and ‘Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both.

Neither the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor his caliphs instructed any of the people of Mecca to perform the prayers in full. Nor did they tell them at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah or Minā, “Complete your prayers, for we are travellers.” Whoever attributes this to them is mistaken. Rather, what is reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is that he said this during the campaign of the Conquest, when he led them in prayer in Mecca.

During his Hajj, however, he did not stay in Mecca; rather, he stayed outside it, and there he led his Companions in prayer. When he went out to Minā and ‘Arafah, the people of Mecca and others went with him. When he returned from ‘Arafah, they returned with him, and when he prayed at Minā during the days spent there, they prayed with him. He did not tell them, “Complete your prayers, for we are travellers.” Nor did the Prophet define