His remarks on the individual Hajj and the hardship involved in it.

The Shaykh : I said that, according to the scholars, Hajj has three characteristics or types: the individual Hajj, the combined Hajj, and the tamattu' Hajj. The tamattu' Hajj is certainly the best of them; in fact, it is the obligatory one, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to be lax and enter the state of ihram with anything other than the tamattu' Hajj. However, this issue has been a subject of scholarly disagreement since ancient times, and as the Lord of the Worlds said: . Therefore, you will find that the majority of pilgrims enter the state of ihram for the individual Hajj.
And guiding the people—of course, all the people—is an impossible matter, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) willed it thus when He said: . So what happens—and peace and mercy of Allah be upon you—is that some people may enter the state of ihram for Hajj in the first month of the months of Hajj, which is Shawwal, as I mentioned earlier. Consequently, they must remain in their state of ihram until the Day of Sacrifice. When they depart from Muzdalifah and come to the Jamarat al-Aqabah in Mina and stone it, they have exited the state of ihram in the lesser sense, according to the stronger opinion of the scholars. Another opinion holds that one must combine the stoning with either shaving the head or slaughtering the sacrificial animal. In any case, after the end of Shawwal, Dhu al-Qi'dah, and ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, during all these days, the person is in a state of ihram and is not permitted to cut hair or nails, nor to have sexual relations with his wife or interact with her, nor to do similar things, as indicated in the previous verse . Thus, the duration of this individual pilgrim's state of ihram becomes long, and this entails great hardship. This is perhaps the reason, or one of the reasons, why the pure Shari'ah finally ruled that one who has performed the individual Hajj should annul this individuality and make his Hajj a tamattu' Hajj, then exit the state of ihram, and then enter the state of ihram for Hajj again on the eighth day. Therefore, it is permissible for a Muslim to enter the state of ihram in any of the three months of Hajj; this is the intended meaning of specifying the time for entering the state of ihram for Hajj. If one is performing the individual Hajj or the combined Hajj without bringing the sacrificial animal, he remains obligated to stay in his state of ihram, and this entails great hardship. As for the one performing the combined Hajj who has not brought the sacrificial animal, his ruling is the same as that of the one who performed the individual Hajj, so he must annul the Hajj and turn it into an 'Umrah. Therefore, the most excellent and easiest is the tamattu' Hajj, because it begins with 'Umrah, from which one exits the state of ihram within a day or two, and then waits until the eighth day enters, which is the Day of Tarwiyah, the day before 'Arafah. On this day, one enters the state of ihram for Hajj again, after having performed 'Umrah in advance of this Hajj, as is our practice today. This is the answer to the previous question.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.