Shaykh Muhammad al-'Umr: Is the virtue of 'Umrah in Ramadan limited to the beginning, middle, or end of the month, as the common people say?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh Muhammad al-'Umr: Is the virtue of 'Umrah in Ramadan limited to the beginning, middle, or end of the month, as the common people say?
The Shaykh : 'Umrah in Ramadan is not limited to its beginning, its middle, or its end; rather, it is general throughout the first, middle, and last parts of the month, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): He (peace and blessings be upon him) did not restrict it to a specific time. Therefore, if a person travels during Ramadan and performs 'Umrah in it, he is like one who performed Hajj.
Here I pause to warn some of the brothers who go to Makkah to perform 'Umrah. Some of them advance their arrival by one or two days before Ramadan, so they perform 'Umrah before the month enters, and thus they do not obtain the reward that is attained by one who performs 'Umrah in Ramadan. It would be better and more appropriate if they delayed their travel so that the day of their entering into ihram for 'Umrah falls within Ramadan. Also, there are some people who come at the beginning of the month to perform 'Umrah; if it is the middle of the month, they go out to al-Tan'īm and perform another 'Umrah, and at the end of the month they go out to al-Tan'īm and perform a third 'Umrah. This practice has no basis in the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for nineteen days in the Year of the Conquest and did not go out to al-Tan'īm to perform 'Umrah, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Makkah in Ramadan. He did not go out to al-Tan'īm to perform 'Umrah after the fighting ended. Rather, he performed 'Umrah when he returned from the expedition to Ta'if, stopped at al-Ja'ranah, and distributed the war spoils there. One night he entered Makkah and performed 'Umrah from al-Ja'ranah, then he left that same night (peace and blessings be upon him). In this is evidence that it is not befitting for a person to leave Makkah in order to perform 'Umrah from al-Tan'īm or from elsewhere in the non-sacred area (haram), because if this had been a good thing, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have been the first of people to do it and the most deserving of it, because we know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most eager of people for good. And because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the legislator and the conveyor of the message from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), if this had been among the prescribed matters, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have clarified it for his Ummah, either by his saying, or by his doing, or by his approval. None of that occurred. And following, even if it is little, is better than innovating.
The Shaykh : 'Umrah in Ramadan is not limited to its beginning, its middle, or its end; rather, it is general throughout the first, middle, and last parts of the month, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
An 'Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to a Hajj
عمرة في رمضان تعدر حجةHere I pause to warn some of the brothers who go to Makkah to perform 'Umrah. Some of them advance their arrival by one or two days before Ramadan, so they perform 'Umrah before the month enters, and thus they do not obtain the reward that is attained by one who performs 'Umrah in Ramadan. It would be better and more appropriate if they delayed their travel so that the day of their entering into ihram for 'Umrah falls within Ramadan. Also, there are some people who come at the beginning of the month to perform 'Umrah; if it is the middle of the month, they go out to al-Tan'īm and perform another 'Umrah, and at the end of the month they go out to al-Tan'īm and perform a third 'Umrah. This practice has no basis in the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for nineteen days in the Year of the Conquest and did not go out to al-Tan'īm to perform 'Umrah, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Makkah in Ramadan. He did not go out to al-Tan'īm to perform 'Umrah after the fighting ended. Rather, he performed 'Umrah when he returned from the expedition to Ta'if, stopped at al-Ja'ranah, and distributed the war spoils there. One night he entered Makkah and performed 'Umrah from al-Ja'ranah, then he left that same night (peace and blessings be upon him). In this is evidence that it is not befitting for a person to leave Makkah in order to perform 'Umrah from al-Tan'īm or from elsewhere in the non-sacred area (haram), because if this had been a good thing, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have been the first of people to do it and the most deserving of it, because we know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most eager of people for good. And because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the legislator and the conveyor of the message from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), if this had been among the prescribed matters, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have clarified it for his Ummah, either by his saying, or by his doing, or by his approval. None of that occurred. And following, even if it is little, is better than innovating.