Why did the Rightly Guided Caliphs shift from tamattu' to ifrad, when they were the most eager of people for good?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah forgive you: Why did the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them) shift from tamattu' to ifrad, when they were the most eager of people for good? And may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : The Rightly Guided Caliphs shifted to commanding ifrad—specifically, ifrad of Hajj—by way of ta'wil (interpretation) on their part (may Allah be pleased with them). They saw that if people performed tamattu' and took 'Umrah and Hajj in a single journey, the House would be left without anyone to keep it active through tawaf and sa'y. This is because journeys in that era were arduous, making it difficult for a person to return to the House frequently. So, if a person performed 'Umrah and Hajj in one journey, he would limit himself to that, and the House would remain abandoned for the rest of the year. Therefore, they saw that ifrad was better so that the House would remain active throughout the year. They interpreted the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as being intended to remove the corrupt belief of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). The people of the jahiliyyah used to say: "It is not possible to perform 'Umrah in the months of Hajj." They would say: "When Safar has passed, the camel's back is relieved, and the trace is erased, 'Umrah becomes permissible for whoever performs it."
This means: Do not perform 'Umrah except after a period has passed following Hajj. Their intention with this was to keep the House constantly active. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his manual of rites: "If one performs 'Umrah in one journey and Hajj in another, then ifrad is better without any disagreement". This is what he said (may Allah have mercy on him), and he likely took this from the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. However, there is some hesitation in the heart regarding this. It is said: Tamattu' is better absolutely, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it and made it definite, and he did not say: "Except for one who has brought an 'Umrah before." Since he did not make an exception, it is known that tamattu' is better, and that what the Rightly Guided Caliphs adopted is only by way of ta'wil (interpretation). But adhering to the generality of the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is more appropriate.
The Shaykh : The Rightly Guided Caliphs shifted to commanding ifrad—specifically, ifrad of Hajj—by way of ta'wil (interpretation) on their part (may Allah be pleased with them). They saw that if people performed tamattu' and took 'Umrah and Hajj in a single journey, the House would be left without anyone to keep it active through tawaf and sa'y. This is because journeys in that era were arduous, making it difficult for a person to return to the House frequently. So, if a person performed 'Umrah and Hajj in one journey, he would limit himself to that, and the House would remain abandoned for the rest of the year. Therefore, they saw that ifrad was better so that the House would remain active throughout the year. They interpreted the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as being intended to remove the corrupt belief of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). The people of the jahiliyyah used to say: "It is not possible to perform 'Umrah in the months of Hajj." They would say: "When Safar has passed, the camel's back is relieved, and the trace is erased, 'Umrah becomes permissible for whoever performs it."
This means: Do not perform 'Umrah except after a period has passed following Hajj. Their intention with this was to keep the House constantly active. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his manual of rites: "If one performs 'Umrah in one journey and Hajj in another, then ifrad is better without any disagreement". This is what he said (may Allah have mercy on him), and he likely took this from the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. However, there is some hesitation in the heart regarding this. It is said: Tamattu' is better absolutely, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it and made it definite, and he did not say: "Except for one who has brought an 'Umrah before." Since he did not make an exception, it is known that tamattu' is better, and that what the Rightly Guided Caliphs adopted is only by way of ta'wil (interpretation). But adhering to the generality of the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is more appropriate.