and the leading authority on them—said: “Everyone among Allah’s creation who is able to undertake them is obliged to perform Hajj once and ‘umrah once, except the people of Mecca. They are obliged to perform Hajj, but not ‘umrah, because they circumambulate the House, and this suffices for them.”

Tāwūs said: “‘Umrah is not obligatory for the people of Mecca.” This was narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah.

The statements of these early scholars and others imply that they did not regard ‘umrah as recommended for the people of Mecca, let alone obligatory. Thus, Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated in his major work, al-Musannaf:

Ibn Idrīs narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from ‘Atā’, who said: “‘Umrah is not obligatory for the people of Mecca.”

Ibn ‘Abbās said: “People of Mecca, there is no ‘umrah for you; your ‘umrah is simply circumambulating the House. But whoever puts a valley floor between himself and the Sacred Precinct must not enter Mecca except in a state of ihrām (ritual consecration).”

He said: “I asked ‘Atā’, ‘Does Ibn ‘Abbās mean a valley outside the Sacred Precinct?’ He replied, ‘The floor of a valley outside the Sacred Precinct.’”

He also said: Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from ‘Amr ibn Dīnār, from Ibn Kaysān, who said: “I heard Ibn ‘Abbās say: ‘It does you no harm, people of Mecca, not to perform ‘umrah. But if you insist, put a valley floor between yourselves and the Sacred Precinct.’”

He also said: Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd al-Qattān narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Khalaf ibn Muslim, from Sālim, who said: “If I were one of the people of Mecca, I would not perform ‘umrah.”

He also said: ‘Ubayd Allāh ibn Mūsā narrated to us, from ‘Uthmān, from ‘Atā’, who said: “‘Umrah is not obligatory for the people of Mecca. ‘Umrah is performed by those who visit the House to circumambulate it, whereas the people of Mecca circumambulate whenever they wish.”