Which method of Hajj is best: tamattu', qiran, or ifrad?

The Shaykh : Which method of Hajj is best: tamattu', qiran, or ifrad?
The scholars of jurisprudence have differed since ancient times in their answers to this question. Some say that the best is qiran, and their evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the Farewell Pilgrimage as a qiran. This is the correct, established, and stronger of the various narrations that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding his pilgrimage, indicating that he was performing qiran. There are those who say that he (peace be upon him) performed tamattu', and some who say he performed an ifrad pilgrimage. However, the correct view is that his pilgrimage was qiran. Those who hold that the ifrad pilgrimage is the best cite some narrations in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called out the talbiyah for Hajj. But this does not contradict the fact that he combined 'Umrah with Hajj, which is explicitly stated by some of the Companions, including Anas ibn Malik, who said: "I was holding the reins of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) she-camel when he entered the state of ihram for Hajj from Dhu al-Hulayfah. I heard him say: ." Therefore, following the majority of hadith scholars, we have no doubt that the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) pilgrimage was qiran. Consequently, there is no room for comparison between the qiran pilgrimage and the ifrad pilgrimage, because the ifrad pilgrimage has no basis for being preferred. This is because, on the one hand, it is not established that the Messenger (peace be upon him) performed an ifrad pilgrimage, and on the other hand, it is not established that he performed Hajj in the manner of ifrad, as indicated by his (peace be upon him) statement. Therefore, the only room for comparison remains between qiran and tamattu'. We also have no doubt that tamattu' with 'Umrah before Hajj is the best; indeed, it is obligatory. This is because, although the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) pilgrimage was qiran as we mentioned earlier, there was an accompanying circumstance that accompanied the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) pilgrimage, which distinguishes it from the pilgrimages of most pilgrims in most times and eras.
This accompanying circumstance is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) brought the sacrificial animals with him from Dhu al-Hulayfah; that is, when he (peace be upon him) entered the state of ihram for qiran, he had already brought the sacrificial animals. Therefore, the ruling for one who performs Hajj as a qiran and brings the sacrificial animals differs from the ruling for one who performs Hajj as a qiran and does not bring the sacrificial animals. We derived this difference from the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) Farewell Pilgrimage, which was a single pilgrimage. It is established from the hadith of the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj and the people performed Hajj with him in thousands, they were of three types: some were performing qiran, some were performing ifrad, and some were performing tamattu'. The qiran group were those who were performing qiran with the Messenger (peace be upon him). The ifrad group were divided into two: the majority of them did not bring the sacrificial animals, but rather slaughtered them in Mina, while a small number of them brought the sacrificial animals from Dhu al-Hulayfah, as we mentioned, along with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Based on this, we can say that among those who performed Hajj with the Messenger (peace be upon him), some brought the sacrificial animals and some did not. As for those who did not bring the sacrificial animals, if one was performing tamattu', you will see in what follows that this is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) approved for them. And as for those who did not bring the sacrificial animals and were performing qiran or ifrad, the Messenger (peace be upon him) said to them at the beginning, when they were setting out from Madinah to Makkah: . Here we find that the Messenger (peace be upon him) encouraged them but did not make it obligatory upon them. He encouraged those among them who had not brought the sacrificial animals and had not intended tamattu' to say: . But he said: . Then, in another stage, the Messenger (peace be upon him) repeated this encouragement to them. However, when he arrived in Makkah, circumambulated the Ka'bah, and performed sa'y, he said to them: . Previously, he had said: .
Finally, the ruling of Allah was established on the tongue of His Prophet, in his (peace be upon him) statement: . So some of them hastened to exit the state of ihram. The meaning of the Messenger's (peace be upon him) statement is that he should annul his previous intention, whether it was an ifrad Hajj or a qiran Hajj. He should annul this intention and convert it to a new intention, which is 'Umrah. The necessary consequence of this is that as soon as he finishes the sa'y between al-Safa and al-Marwah, he should cut his hair or shave it. By doing so, the 'Umrah is completed and he exits the state of ihram from it, remaining in a state of permissibility until the eighth day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, which is called the Day of Tarwiyah. I said that some of the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) hastened to exit the state of ihram by annulling their Hajj and converting it to 'Umrah. But others among them remained in their state of ihram. When the news reached the Messenger (peace be upon him), he became angry. The Lady Aisha saw this and said: "Who has angered you, O Messenger of Allah? May Allah anger him" — or she said a phrase to that effect. He said: . Then the Messenger (peace be upon him) addressed them again and said: . At that time, the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) hastened and all of them exited the state of ihram. As Jabir and others said: "The incense burners glowed and we went to the women," meaning they exited the state of ihram.
From this, we derive that the tamattu' pilgrimage is obligatory for every pilgrim, except for one who brings the sacrificial animals from the state of ihram (al-hal). Such a person has the precedent of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as his pilgrimage was of that nature. However, in his final statement: , there is an indication that the best for us, after the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) pilgrimage, is also not to bring the sacrificial animals. This is the best course. But if someone does so, we have no right to rebuke him, because the Messenger (peace be upon him) did so. This is unlike the ifrad pilgrimage, and unlike the qiran pilgrimage in which the sacrificial animals are not brought. As you heard, this is the command of the Messenger (peace be upon him) to annul the Hajj and convert it to 'Umrah, and his anger at those who did not hasten to obey the Messenger (peace be upon him) in annulling their Hajj and converting it to 'Umrah.
Therefore, we affirm, in writing and in speech, that anyone who intends to perform Hajj should make his pilgrimage a tamattu'. Then, as a thanksgiving to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he should offer a sacrificial animal if he finds a way to do so. If not, he should fast for seven days, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) detailed in the Qur'an, saying: . Many people, to whom the words of our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) apply: , flee from this ruling by one of those legal stratagems, because they know that tamattu' obligates the offering of a sacrificial animal, or fasting for ten days as you heard, if the sacrificial animal is not available. Their stratagem is that they perform qiran for Hajj and then combine 'Umrah with Hajj. Instead of following the command of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and indeed the explicit text of the Qur'an, to perform 'Umrah before Hajj, they perform 'Umrah after completing the rituals of Hajj, in order to escape the sacrificial animal or fasting that Allah has obligated upon them.
Then they do not lack people who argue for them using the hadith of the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), where she performed 'Umrah after Hajj while she was with the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). They take this as a justification for performing 'Umrah after Hajj, as if they think they are doing a good deed! Because none of the Messenger (peace be upon him), then the Companions who were with him, then the Salaf who came after them, understood this jurisprudence. They all performed 'Umrah before Hajj, then offered the sacrificial animal or fasted, except for these people who use stratagems, who perform 'Umrah after Hajj, thereby escaping this obligation of the sacrificial animal or fasting. It must be known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had with him tens of thousands of Companions performing Hajj, and none of them performed 'Umrah after Hajj except the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). And this is a specific ruling for her, not because she was Aisha, but because she was menstruating.