even some of them—had gone beyond the sanctuary during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to undertake ‘umrah from there, this would have been transmitted, just as their departure for ‘Arafāt during Hajj was transmitted. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed the Farewell Pilgrimage, and the people of Mecca went out with him to ‘Arafāt. Yet no one, whether from Mecca or elsewhere, performed ‘umrah from the nearest point outside the sanctuary, either before or after that pilgrimage, except ‘Ā’ishah. This remained the practice throughout the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.

Eventually, as people grew further removed from the age of prophethood, Ibn ‘Abbās, followed by ‘Atā’ and others, said:

“O people of Mecca, ‘umrah is not incumbent upon you; your ‘umrah is simply to circumambulate the House.”

It is well known that, had the people of Mecca performed ‘umrah during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and been commanded to do so, such a practice would not have been unknown to Ibn ‘Abbās, the leading scholar of Mecca and the most knowledgeable person in the Muslim community in his time concerning the pilgrimage rites and other matters.

The same applies to ‘Atā’, who succeeded him as the leading scholar of Mecca—indeed, the foremost authority among all people on the pilgrimage rites. Thus, it used to be said of the four leading scholars among the Successors, who were the authorities of the major cities:

“Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab was the leading scholar of Medina; ‘Atā’ ibn Abī Rabāh, the leading scholar of Mecca; Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī, the leading scholar of Kufa; and al-Hasan al-Basrī, the leading scholar of Basra. The most knowledgeable of them concerning the lawful and unlawful was Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab; concerning the pilgrimage rites, ‘Atā’; and concerning prayer, Ibrāhīm. Al-Hasan was the most comprehensive in his learning.”

Moreover, both Hajj and ‘umrah entail journeying to the House of