Allah the Exalted said: “That is for those whose home is not in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram.” Who are those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram?

The questioner : Allah the Exalted said: Who are those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram? Are they the people of Makkah or the people of the Haram? And what is your opinion of one who says: “It is permissible for a Muslim to perform tamattu' and qiran without his family”? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
What the questioner mentioned is part of a verse that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, mentioned regarding one who performs tamattu', saying: Those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram are the people of Makkah and whoever is within the distance of shortening prayer from the Haram, according to the scholars' disagreement on defining that distance. These are the ones in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram. So, if one is among those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram, then even if he performs tamattu' by going from 'Umrah to Hajj, he owes no sacrificial animal. For example, if a man from the people of Makkah travels to al-Madinah, for instance, during the months of Hajj, and then returns from al-Madinah and enters the state of ihram from Dhu al-Hulayfah for 'Umrah, even though he intended to perform Hajj that year, he owes no sacrificial animal here, because he is one of those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram. If someone did this who is not among those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram, the sacrificial animal would be obligatory upon him, or its substitute if he could not find it. The people of Makkah can perform tamattu' and they can perform qiran, but they owe no sacrificial animal. For example, regarding their tamattu': what I mentioned earlier, that one of the people of Makkah is in al-Madinah and enters Makkah during the months of Hajj in the state of ihram for 'Umrah, intending to perform Hajj from his year, and then performs Hajj; this is tamattu' from 'Umrah to Hajj, but he owes no sacrificial animal, because he is one of those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram. And an example of qiran: that one of the people of Makkah is in al-Madinah, then enters the state of ihram from Dhu al-Hulayfah during the days of Hajj for 'Umrah and Hajj, combining them; this is qiran, and he owes no sacrificial animal either, because he is one of those in the vicinity of al-Masjid al-Haram.