for supplication is one of the acts of worship.

That statement does not mean that standing on ʿArafah constitutes the whole of Hajj; rather, the pilgrimage includes other rites, pillars, obligations, and recommended practices. The ḥadīth merely underscores the importance of standing on ʿArafah, declaring it the greatest of the pilgrimage’s pillars. Allah knows best.

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Question: Allah the Exalted says in His Mighty Book, in Sūrah al-Baqarah, “The pilgrimage is [in] well-known months” (2:197). Does this mean that the rites of Hajj can be carried out in any of those months—Shawwāl, Dhū al-Qaʿdah, and Dhū al-Ḥijjah? What exactly is the meaning indicated by the verse? I also ask: Is the door of independent legal reasoning (ijtihād) in Islamic law still open, or has it been closed?

Answer: Had you read the end of the verse you would have found the answer, for Allah Most High says: “The pilgrimage is [in] well-known months; so whoever undertakes the pilgrimage therein, let him avoid sexual talk, sin, and dispute during the pilgrimage” (2:197). The meaning of the noble verse is that whoever enters the state of ihrām for Hajj during these months—Shawwāl, Dhū al-Qaʿdah, and the first ten days of Dhū al-Ḥijjah—his ihrām becomes binding and valid.

As for the rites of Hajj themselves, they are performed only at their appointed times—on the days of Hajj that begin with the Day of ʿArafah and the rites that follow it. What is valid during these months, starting from the onset of Shawwāl, is merely to enter the state of ihrām for Hajj. Whoever does so in this period, his ihrām is duly established and sound. This is the meaning of the divine words “so whoever undertakes the pilgrimage therein,” that is, whoever enters the state of ihrām for Hajj—not whoever actually performs the rites during those months, for the rites of Hajj are confined to a specific time that begins with the Day of ʿArafah and what comes after it.