reported about ‘Abd Allah ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with him—. He would instruct the people, whenever they came for the Pilgrimage, to perform tamattuʿ: that is, they should enter iḥrām for ʿumrah, complete it and release themselves from consecration, then enter iḥrām for ḥajj on the Day of Tarwiyah. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—may Allah be pleased with him—on the other hand, forbade tamattuʿ because he preferred that people perform ʿumrah in its own season and ḥajj in its own season, so that the House would remain constantly frequented by visitors, alternating between those performing ʿumrah and those performing ḥajj. He did so as a personal juristic judgment—may Allah be pleased with him—and such ijtihād is excused; nonetheless, the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ is unquestionably given priority.

In brief, a man once asked ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās for a ruling on this matter. Ibn ʿAbbās told him to perform tamattuʿ: to enter iḥrām for ʿumrah and then exit it.

That man later saw in a dream someone saying to him, “An accepted ḥajj and an accepted ʿumrah.” He related the dream to Ibn ʿAbbās, who had issued the fatwā. Ibn ʿAbbās rejoiced and told him to stay so that he could give him something from his stipend—in other words, a gift in thanks for the glad tidings contained in the dream, which confirmed the soundness of Ibn ʿAbbās’s verdict—may Allah be pleased with him.

The point is: when someone brings you good news, the least you should do is pray for him or give him whatever gift you are able, each person according to his means.

Kaʿb continues: “When I entered the mosque I found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sitting with his Companions. Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allah—may Allah be pleased with him—stood up, shook my hand, and congratulated me on Allah’s acceptance of my repentance.

“By Allah, no other Emigrant stood up to greet me except Ṭalḥah, and he never…”