Category: Islam

‘The Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- would not perform an extra Umrah exiting out of Makkah, after already having performed one, as many of the people do nowadays. Rather all the Umrahs that the Messenger performed were upon entering Makkah.

He -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- lived in Makkah for thirteen years after the revelation had first descended, and it is not reported from the outset about him that he performed Umrah exiting from Makkah in that time period.

So, the Umrah that the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- performed and legislated, is the Umrah of entering into Makkah, there is no Umrah for the person who is in Makkah and he goes outside the boundary of Makkah whereby he can enter again and perform Umrah. This was not ever done by anyone at the time of the Prophet, except by ‘Aeysha alone out of all those who were with her. This was because she had made the intention and entered into Ihram but had begun her menstrual cycle. So the Prophet ordered her to connect up her Umrah with the Hajj, and informed her that her Tawaf of the House and going between Safa and Marwa, would indeed be sufficient for her Hajj and Umrah together (instead of performing a separate Umrah).

So she found that her female companions were returning with a Hajj and a separate Umrah, since they had intended to perform Hajj at-Tamattu (with an Umrah and a Hajj), and they had not begun their menstrual cycle and did not have to combine their Umrah in with the Hajj. However, she would have only returned with an Umrah within her Hajj, so he -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- ordered her brother to take her to perform an Umrah from at-Tan’eem, to soothe her heart, and her brother did not perform an Umrah from Tan’eem in that Hajj nor did anyone else from those who were with him.’

[Taken from: ‘Zad al-Ma’ad’ 1/94]

Muhammad Nasir- Deen Al-Albaani (d.1420A.H) -Rahimullaah- was asked:

‘Is it permissible for me to perform Umrah twice in one journey, since I am from Jordan. The first one from Abyaar Ali (the local name for the Meeqat Dhul Hulayfah just outside Madina), and the second from at-Tan’eem (outskirts of Makkah), just like ‘Aeysha -Radhi Allaahu anha. If this is not permissible, then can I perform it for my deceased father or mother? May Allah reward you with goodness.

The Shaykh answered:

‘The person who wants to repeat an Umrah then it is necessary for him to return to the Meeqat from whence he entered into Ihraam, whether that is for his own self or for his parents.
As for entering into Ihraam from at-Tan’eem, from whence the Noble lady ‘Aeysha entered into Ihraam, then this ruling is specific for ‘Aeysha and those who are in a similar condition to her.

I term this Umrah from at-Tan’eem as the Umrah of the menstruating woman. The reason for this is because when ‘Aeysha -Radhi Allaahu anha- went out with the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- to perform the farewell Hajj, and she had entered into Ihraam to perform Umrah, but when she reached a place close to Makkah, known as ‘Sarif’ the Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- entered upon her and found her crying. So he said to her:

مالك أنفست

‘Why are you crying? Have you started your menstrual cycle?’

She replied: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allaah.’

He –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:

هذا أمر قد كتبه الله على بنات آدم، فاصنعي ما يصنع الحاج غير ألَّا تطوفي ولا تصلي

‘This is a matter which Allaah has written for the daughters of Adam, so do that which the person performing Hajj does, except do not perform the Tawaf and do not perform the Salat.’

So she did not perform the Tawaf or the Salat until she had become clean in Araafat, then she continued with the rites of Hajj and accomplished Hajj completely. When the Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- had decided to travel and return to Madina, he entered upon ‘Aeysha in her tent and again he found her crying.

He asked her: ‘What is wrong with you?’

She said: ‘What is wrong with me? The people are returning with Hajj and Umrah, and I am returning with Hajj without Umrah.’

The reason was because her menstruation had caused her Umrah to be changed to a Hajj, a Hajj Mufrad (Hajj without Umrah), so here she is saying, she is crying out of grief of what she missed out from performing an Umrah before performing the Hajj, whereas her co-wives like Umm Salamah and other than her, returned with Umrah and Hajj, and that is why was crying.

She said: ‘Why should I not cry? The people are returning with a Hajj and Umrah and I am returning with a Hajj.’ So the Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- had compassion on her and ordered her brother AbdurRahmaan bin Abi Bakr as-Siddiq to accompany her, with him on his camel and go out with her to at-Tan’eem. So he did that and she returned, and performed an Umrah and soothed her soul.

This is why we say, if a woman is afflicted with that which had afflicted ‘Aeysha from amongst the women, whereby her menstrual cycle started, while she wanted to perform Umrah, and she could not complete the Umrah, so that her Umrah was changed into a Hajj. So here a woman can perform Umrah in place of what she missed out on, in the same way that Allaah legislated upon the tongue of His Messenger for ‘Aeysha, so the woman who was menstruating goes out again to at-Tan’eem and comes and performs an Umrah.

As for men then, Alhamdulillah they do not menstruate so they do not take the ruling of the menstruating woman. The proof is, as some of the scholars of Seerah and history of the Companions, say: a hundred thousand Companions performed Hajj with the Messenger, not one of them did an Umrah the like of the Umrah of ‘Aeysha -Radhi Allaahu anha, so if that was something good then they would have proceeded us in that action. Therefore, the person who wants to perform an Umrah returns to the Meeqat and enters into Ihraam from there, whether for himself or for his mother and father.

This is sufficient and praise be to Allaah Lord of all the worlds.’

[Taken from: ‘Silsilah Huda wa Noor’ no.2]