The ruling on one who intended ifrad, then after arriving in Makkah changed it to tamattu'

Question: What is the ruling on one who intended Hajj with ifrad, then after arriving in Makkah changed it to tamattu', so he performed 'Umrah and then exited the state of ihram? What is required of him? When does he enter the state of ihram for Hajj? And from where?

Answer: This is the best course of action if the one in the state of ihram for Hajj, or for both Hajj and 'Umrah, arrives. The best is to make it an 'Umrah, and this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered his Companions to do when they arrived. Some of them had combined the two, and some had performed Hajj alone, and they did not have sacrificial animals with them. He ordered them to make it an 'Umrah, so they performed tawaf, sa'y, and shortened their hair and exited the state of ihram, except for the one who had a sacrificial animal with him, for he remains in his state of ihram until he exits from both if he had combined them, or from Hajj if he was in the state of ihram for Hajj on the Day of Sacrifice.
The point is that if one comes to Makkah in the state of ihram for Hajj alone, or for both Hajj and 'Umrah, during the months of Hajj, and does not have a sacrificial animal with him, then the Sunnah is to break his state of ihram into an 'Umrah, so he performs tawaf, sa'y, and shortens his hair and exits the state of ihram. Then he enters the state of ihram for Hajj on the eighth day of Dhu al-Hijjah in the place where he is staying, whether inside the sacred precinct or outside, and he becomes one who performs tamattu', and upon him is the blood of tamattu'.