the two; rather, she remained in ihram for Hajj alone. They said: When she left ihram, she did so for Hajj only, and she still owed an Umrah to make up for the one she had abandoned. According to these scholars, the Umrah she subsequently performed was obligatory because it made up for the one she had abandoned. According to the majority, however, it was not obligatory, but permissible.

The ruling concerning any woman who arrives intending to perform Umrah followed by Hajj, leaving ihram between them, but begins menstruating before circumambulation, follows these first two views: should she be instructed to enter ihram for Hajj, thereby combining Hajj and Umrah, or should she abandon Umrah in favour of Hajj?

There is a third view, reported from Ahmad: she had combined Hajj and Umrah, but the Umrah performed as part of this combination does not discharge the obligation of Umrah. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore instructed her to perform her obligatory Umrah.

A fourth view, mentioned by some Mālikī scholars, holds that she was prevented from performing the arrival circumambulation because of menstruation, and that this Umrah was her obligatory Umrah. This is the weakest of the views for several reasons; the preceding view is the next weakest.

Underlying this disagreement is the following: according to the latter group, someone combining Hajj and Umrah must first circumambulate the House and perform the passage between al-Safā and al-Marwah for Umrah, then circumambulate and perform that passage for Hajj. On their view, menstruation prevents her from performing the rites of someone combining Hajj and Umrah, just as it prevented her from performing Umrah followed by Hajj with a release from ihram between them. According to the first group, however, someone combining Hajj and Umrah need only perform one circumambulation and one passage between al-Safā and al-Marwah, just like someone performing Hajj alone. Thus, if she is menstruating, the arrival circumambulation is waived for her, and she postpones the passage between al-Safā and al-Marwah until she performs it