and supplicating to Him during circumambulation, the standing, and other rites; and speaking little except to enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, or remember Allah Most High.

Whoever performs what is obligatory and avoids what is forbidden has completed Hajj and ‘Umrah for Allah. In this deed, he follows a moderate course and is among the people of the right. But whoever also performs what is recommended is more perfect in his observance and more complete in his Hajj; he is among the foremost, brought near to Allah. Whoever neglects what is commanded and does what is forbidden, yet fulfills the essential pillar of Hajj and avoids what invalidates it, has performed a deficient Hajj. He is rewarded for the Hajj rites he performs and punished for what he neglects. He has thereby discharged the fundamental obligation, despite being punished for what he has neglected. Whoever fails to fulfill an essential pillar of Hajj or commits an act that invalidates it has performed an invalid Hajj that does not discharge the obligation; rather, he must repeat it. There may nevertheless be disagreement over whether he is rewarded for what he has performed, even though it does not discharge the obligation. The more likely correct view is that he is rewarded for it.

Thus, “Hajj falls into three categories”: perfect through the performance of recommended acts; complete through the performance of obligatory acts alone; and deficient through falling short of what is obligatory. The jurists likewise divide ablution and the full ritual bath into perfect and sufficient forms. By “perfect,” however, they mean performing both the obligatory and recommended elements; by “sufficient,” they mean restricting oneself to the obligatory elements.

This applies to “prescribed acts.” The same applies to “observable entities.” For example, the term “tree” denotes the whole consisting of the trunk, leaves, and branches; and after its leaves are gone, it