What is better for the people of Makkah or those residing there: going out to al-Hill to perform 'Umrah, or performing tawaf around the House?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is better for the people of Makkah or those residing there: going out to al-Hill to perform 'Umrah, or performing tawaf around the House?
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that the people of Makkah are not like the people of other regions, because the people of other regions come to Makkah intending to perform 'Umrah or Hajj, but the people of Makkah go out from it. Therefore, if the people of Makkah wish to perform 'Umrah, it is obligatory for them to go out to al-Hill and enter the state of ihram from there. It is not permissible for them to enter ihram from their homes, based on the evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Similarly, if the people of Makkah wish to enter ihram for 'Umrah, they must go out to al-Hill, whether to at-Tan'im, al-Ja'ranah, the direction of al-Hudaybiyyah, or the direction of 'Arafah. The important thing is that they go out to al-Hill, enter ihram from there, and then come to Makkah.
But is it better for them to do that, or is it better for them to perform tawaf around the House?
Some scholars said: It is better for them to perform tawaf around the House and not go out for 'Umrah. However, what appears from the general evidence is that if they go out for 'Umrah, especially in Ramadan, that is better, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1349a.
But repeating 'Umrah as the ignorant do, that is the error.
Some people, while in Makkah, perform 'Umrah at the beginning of the day and perform 'Umrah at the end of the day. In fact, I saw a man who performed 'Umrah and shaved half of his head, leaving the other half. I saw him performing sa'y, so I asked, "Why is he doing this?"
He said: "This part I shaved is for yesterday's 'Umrah, and the rest is for today's 'Umrah."
Yes, this is truly an error. Yes. If he were to perform 'Umrah four times, how much would he shave? He would shave a quarter, like this.
And this is from the ignorance of people, O people. People need to be made aware.
So how long did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stay in Makkah during the Conquest of Makkah? Where are the students of knowledge?
The student: Nineteen days.
The Shaykh : He stayed in Makkah for nineteen days and did not go out to perform 'Umrah. He did not go out to perform 'Umrah. Does the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not know that it is prescribed? No.
Does the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have any negligence in leaving a praiseworthy act? Far be it from him, (peace and blessings be upon him).
He did not go out to perform 'Umrah, even though at-Tan'im is close. But when he returned from al-Ta'if and stayed at al-Ja'ranah to distribute the war spoils, did he perform 'Umrah or not?
He performed 'Umrah because he had gone out of Makkah for other than 'Umrah, so when he returned, he performed 'Umrah.
So, regarding this repetition that some people do, we say: This is contrary to the Sunnah.
Someone comes to us and says: "I am performing 'Umrah today for myself, and I will perform 'Umrah tomorrow for my father or my mother." What do you say?
The student: It is a religious innovation.
The Shaykh : Ah.
The student: It is a religious innovation.
The Shaykh : We tell him first to ask: Is performing 'Umrah on behalf of a deceased person prescribed? Because this is a matter that requires consideration. Is it prescribed for a person to perform 'Umrah or Hajj for a deceased person other than the obligatory one?
This is a point of disagreement among scholars.
The matter itself is subject to disagreement. As for repeating it like this: one day for you, one day for your father, the next day for the grandfather, the fourth for the grandmother, the fifth for the maternal aunt, and the sixth for the paternal aunt, this has not been established by the Shari'ah at all.
Therefore, we say: For every 'Umrah, there is a journey. That is, one journey has one 'Umrah. If you want to perform 'Umrah for your father and your mother, then when you return to your country and Allah makes it easy for you to return, make the 'Umrah for your father or your mother.
As for repeating it like this, the Companions—by Allah—are deeper in knowledge than us and more eager for good than us. They did not do this.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that the people of Makkah are not like the people of other regions, because the people of other regions come to Makkah intending to perform 'Umrah or Hajj, but the people of Makkah go out from it. Therefore, if the people of Makkah wish to perform 'Umrah, it is obligatory for them to go out to al-Hill and enter the state of ihram from there. It is not permissible for them to enter ihram from their homes, based on the evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
He ordered 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr to take 'A'ishah out to al-Hill so that she could enter ihram from there.
أمر عبدالرحمن بن أبي بكر أن يخرج بعائشة إلى الحل لتحرم منهBut is it better for them to do that, or is it better for them to perform tawaf around the House?
Some scholars said: It is better for them to perform tawaf around the House and not go out for 'Umrah. However, what appears from the general evidence is that if they go out for 'Umrah, especially in Ramadan, that is better, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
An Umra is an expiation for the sins committed between it and the next
العمرة إلى العمرة كفارة لما بينهماBut repeating 'Umrah as the ignorant do, that is the error.
Some people, while in Makkah, perform 'Umrah at the beginning of the day and perform 'Umrah at the end of the day. In fact, I saw a man who performed 'Umrah and shaved half of his head, leaving the other half. I saw him performing sa'y, so I asked, "Why is he doing this?"
He said: "This part I shaved is for yesterday's 'Umrah, and the rest is for today's 'Umrah."
Yes, this is truly an error. Yes. If he were to perform 'Umrah four times, how much would he shave? He would shave a quarter, like this.
And this is from the ignorance of people, O people. People need to be made aware.
So how long did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stay in Makkah during the Conquest of Makkah? Where are the students of knowledge?
The student: Nineteen days.
The Shaykh : He stayed in Makkah for nineteen days and did not go out to perform 'Umrah. He did not go out to perform 'Umrah. Does the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not know that it is prescribed? No.
Does the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have any negligence in leaving a praiseworthy act? Far be it from him, (peace and blessings be upon him).
He did not go out to perform 'Umrah, even though at-Tan'im is close. But when he returned from al-Ta'if and stayed at al-Ja'ranah to distribute the war spoils, did he perform 'Umrah or not?
He performed 'Umrah because he had gone out of Makkah for other than 'Umrah, so when he returned, he performed 'Umrah.
So, regarding this repetition that some people do, we say: This is contrary to the Sunnah.
Someone comes to us and says: "I am performing 'Umrah today for myself, and I will perform 'Umrah tomorrow for my father or my mother." What do you say?
The student: It is a religious innovation.
The Shaykh : Ah.
The student: It is a religious innovation.
The Shaykh : We tell him first to ask: Is performing 'Umrah on behalf of a deceased person prescribed? Because this is a matter that requires consideration. Is it prescribed for a person to perform 'Umrah or Hajj for a deceased person other than the obligatory one?
This is a point of disagreement among scholars.
The matter itself is subject to disagreement. As for repeating it like this: one day for you, one day for your father, the next day for the grandfather, the fourth for the grandmother, the fifth for the maternal aunt, and the sixth for the paternal aunt, this has not been established by the Shari'ah at all.
Therefore, we say: For every 'Umrah, there is a journey. That is, one journey has one 'Umrah. If you want to perform 'Umrah for your father and your mother, then when you return to your country and Allah makes it easy for you to return, make the 'Umrah for your father or your mother.
As for repeating it like this, the Companions—by Allah—are deeper in knowledge than us and more eager for good than us. They did not do this.