Mu'jam al-Saghir

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: In the Noble Qur’an, Allah Almighty has permitted performing Hajj al-Tamattu‘, and there are two forms of tamattu‘:

(1) Performing ‘umrah before Hajj during the months of Hajj, and then, in the same journey, entering into the state of ihram again for Hajj—this is technically called Hajj al-Tamattu‘.

(2) Taking advantage of a single journey to perform both Hajj and ‘umrah with one ihram; technically, this is called Hajj al-Qiran. However, according to the Qur’an, both of these are called tamattu‘. Now the question arises: from which form of tamattu‘ did ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr radi Allahu anhu, ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu, and likewise ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu prohibit? The correct view is that the prohibition of tamattu‘ was initiated by ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu, and ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr radi Allahu anhu, and others followed him in this.

And the two forms of mut‘at al-hajj from which ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu used to prohibit are as follows:

(1) To annul the ihram of Hajj and, in its place, first perform ‘umrah, and then on the 8th of Dhu’l-Hijjah, enter into ihram for Hajj—this is called mut‘a al-faskh. ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu considered this to be specific to the Hajj of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, as is the position of the majority, and for this reason, he would punish those who performed mut‘a al-faskh. However, the view of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas radi Allahu anhu was that whoever does not have a sacrificial animal (hady), i.e., does not bring a hady with him from the miqat, must still act upon mut‘a al-faskh. This is also the position of Imam Ahmad rahimahullah, Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah, Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah, Ibn Hazm rahimahullah, and others.

(2) ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu used to prohibit tamattu‘ and qiran because he wanted Hajj and ‘umrah to be performed in separate journeys, so that the circumambulation (tawaf) of the House of Allah would continue throughout the year, and people would perform Hajj and ‘umrah in two separate journeys. This way, they would have to endure more hardship and difficulty, and their reward would increase. Thus, in his view, performing Hajj al-Ifrad (Hajj alone) and then performing ‘umrah was superior, which is why he used to say: “Separate your Hajj from your ‘umrah.” And this manner of performing Hajj and ‘umrah is, by consensus, superior according to the four Imams (a’immah arba‘ah). (Zad al-Ma‘ad, vol. 2, pp. 193–194)

Therefore, ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu used to encourage and urge people towards Hajj al-Ifrad instead of Hajj al-Tamattu‘ and Hajj al-Qiran, not to declare them prohibited. However, since he was the caliph, his prohibition would take the form of a decisive directive. The details regarding mut‘a marriage will be discussed in the chapter on marriage.

Explanation:
1:
To abstain from killing and bloodshed, that is, during times of tribulation (fitnah), to keep oneself away from turmoil and remain engaged in worship is akin to migrating towards Madinah.

Benefits and Issues:

➊ During times of tribulation and corruption, it is better to remain isolated than to participate in the turmoil. The best way to do this is to spend as much time as possible in worship.

➋ Monasticism (rahbaniyyah) is prohibited, but seclusion during times of tribulation is not included in monasticism, because monasticism means avoiding even permissible social interaction with people and engaging in such strictness in worship that it goes against the Sunnah. Whereas the purpose of this seclusion is to protect oneself from becoming involved in killing, bloodshed, and corruption. During this period, one may engage in recommended (nafl) acts of worship to such an extent that, apart from fulfilling the rights of oneself and one’s wife and children, one does not participate in any other doubtful activity.

➌ In migration (hijrah), one leaves one’s homeland, and in seclusion, one limits relations with the people of the homeland to protect oneself from their evils and mischief. In this respect, both actions are similar. And the reward for both is also very great.