Is it permissible to repeat 'Umrah in a single journey?

The questioner : Is it permissible to perform 'Umrah more than once in a single trip?

The Shaykh : Yes. This is a matter about which people ask very, very often. This is because many people, upon hearing the authentic hadith , took this hadith in its absolute sense and did not restrict it to the practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. It is obligatory that absolute hadiths be restricted by the practice of the Salaf, because the Salaf understood the texts better than we do and were more zealous than we are regarding acts of worship. So let us look: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions ever leave Makkah for al-Tan'īm, or for 'Arafah, or for other places in the permitted area (al-Hal) to perform 'Umrah? Let us look. There is no hadith, neither authentic nor weak, that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or any of his Companions left Makkah for the permitted area to perform 'Umrah, even though they had already performed 'Umrah first. In fact, they did not even leave to perform 'Umrah when they had not performed it first. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Makkah in Ramadan and stayed there for nineteen days. He did not leave for the permitted area to perform 'Umrah. Was there any obstacle preventing him? We do not know of any obstacle, because we say that perhaps on the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or tenth day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) might have been occupied with managing the lands he had conquered. But after that, he had ample time, and yet he did not leave to perform 'Umrah, nor did any of his Companions do so. Therefore, based on this, absolute texts must be restricted by what? By the actions and practice of the Salaf. If it had been among the prescribed matters for a person to leave Makkah for the permitted area to perform 'Umrah, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have indicated this to his Ummah, because he was responsible for conveying the message, either by his speech, or by his action, or by what? By his approval. None of these occurred. If someone were to say: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not permit 'A'ishah to leave Makkah for al-Tan'īm and perform 'Umrah? We say: Yes, he did.
But this hadith is not evidence for what people do today. Whoever knows the story knows the great difference between what people do today and what 'A'ishah did. 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) arrived with her husband, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and with his other wives. They had entered the state of ihram for 'Umrah during the Farewell Pilgrimage, intending to combine it with Hajj. Along the way, what happened to 'A'ishah? 'A'ishah started menstruating. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to her while she was crying, and she told him that she had started menstruating. He said to her, comforting and reassuring her: Then he ordered her to enter the state of ihram for Hajj, so she entered ihram for Hajj and became one performing Qiran. When she finished ? He said to her: She said: No, I want to perform 'Umrah.
When he saw that she was insistent, he said to her brother, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn... ibn Abi Bakr: So he took her out to al-Tan'īm, because al-Tan'īm is the closest place in the permitted area to Makkah. The closest place in the permitted area to Makkah is al-Tan'īm. So he took her to al-Tan'īm and she entered the state of ihram. Her brother 'Abd al-Rahman did not enter the state of ihram. So we say: If someone experiences what 'A'ishah experienced, and she leaves Makkah to perform 'Umrah after Hajj, we do not blame her, because this occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he approved it and permitted it. But the fact that her brother 'Abd al-Rahman did not perform 'Umrah indicates that it was not their way for a person to go out to Makkah and perform 'Umrah. This is a clear matter. If it had been their way, the opportunity would have been easy and available for 'Abd al-Rahman. But since he did not do it, it is known that this was not customary among them. Some of those who insist on the permissibility of 'Umrah say: Perhaps 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr shaved his head during Hajj and had no hair left on his head.
It is said: This is an objection from one who makes the evidence follow his opinion, rather than making his opinion follow the evidence. Because first, do we know that 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) was among those who shortened their hair or among those who shaved? We do not know. It is possible he was among those who shaved, and it is possible he was among those who shortened. Both are permissible.
Second, even if he did shave, when would he have shaved? On the Day of 'Id, the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days, and the night of the fourteenth. How many days is that? Four days. Is it not possible for some hair to grow that can be shaved in this period? Yes, especially for a young man, whose hair grows in this period. Third, even if he did not shave until the third day of the days of Tashriq and there was not a single hair on his head, would we say to one who has no hair: Do not perform 'Umrah? What would we say? Perform 'Umrah and use the razor for shaving if it is possible to remove something; otherwise, nothing is required of you. Even if we said that only one who can shave his head or shorten his hair can perform 'Umrah, we would say to every bald man: Do not perform 'Umrah. And no one has said this. The important thing, my brothers, is that repeating 'Umrah is not among the prescribed matters, nor is it the way of the righteous Salaf. It is sufficient for us to be like them, so that perhaps we may catch up with them halfway. As for making acts of worship follow our desires, what was done in the past, we say: This is prescribed, this is wrong. But some of them came to us with something. He said: I want the second 'Umrah to be for my father or my mother. We say: Even if you wanted this, is the doer one person? Yes, the doer is one person. But if you performed 'Umrah when you first arrived, and then your father, who is from the people of Makkah, came and performed 'Umrah, would we say: No? But you are the one performing 'Umrah, and you are the one to whom the rulings of the rites apply. Therefore, if a person performs 'Umrah on behalf of his father, on whom do the prohibitions of ihram apply: on the one performing 'Umrah or on the father? On the one performing 'Umrah, my brothers. This is a man who said: Labbaik, 'Umrah on behalf of my father. And his father was in bed with his mother. Is it permissible for his father to have intercourse with his mother?
My people. Yes. 'Adil says: No. But we say: Yes. That is to say, if a person enters the state of ihram for 'Umrah on behalf of someone, do the prohibitions of ihram apply to the one in ihram or to the person for whom the 'Umrah is performed? To the one in ihram. So if he says: Labbaik, 'Umrah on behalf of my father, and wears the ihram garments and avoids the prohibitions, and his father has intercourse with his mother, there is no harm. So the rulings of ihram apply to whom? To the doer. So you have now come from your country intending to perform 'Umrah for yourself; do not repeat it, even if it is for someone else, because the rulings of the rites apply to the doer. This is one point.
Second, is it better for a person to perform 'Umrah on behalf of his father, or to perform Hajj on behalf of his father, or to fast on behalf of his father, other than the obligatory fast?
No, it is not better. This is permissible but not required. The evidence for this is that when a questioner asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: ? He said: Yes, and maintaining family ties, which you have no other connection to except through them. He did not say: And perform 'Umrah for them, or perform Hajj, or pray. No. If this had been among the required matters, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have guided to it. It is authentic from him that he and does not perform 'Umrah for him? He makes du'a for him. Therefore, if a questioner asked us and said: What do you say, and I put you between me and Allah, what do you say? Is it better that I make du'a for my father or my mother, or that I perform 'Umrah? We would say: It is better that you make du'a and perform 'Umrah for yourself, and make du'a for your father and mother. And this is the third time we are discussing this issue, because people keep coming back to it. Otherwise, we do not like to repeat what we have discussed before, as that is a waste of time. But given that people keep returning to this, and this is a matter that should, indeed must, be clarified by students of knowledge to the general public, and the general public are close to all good. If a person knows that it is better to make du'a for his father and mother without taking the 'Umrah for them, he will say: Praise be to Allah, since this is better and easier for me, and less burdensome, with no hardship or expenditure of money, then I will follow what is better.