Islamic Fiqh > Hajj and umra > The three forms of hajj: tamattu', qiran and ifrad
Combining hajj and 'umra or separating them: the three codified forms, their proof and the tamattu' expiation.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
The fuqaha agree: the hajj is valid according to each of the three rites: ifrad, qiran and tamattu'. The proofs: "And perform for Allah the hajj and the 'umra", "Whoever enjoys the 'umra towards the hajj, let him offer what he can as an offering" (al-Baqara 196), and Aisha's word: "We set out with the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the year of the farewell pilgrimage: some entered ihram for the 'umra, some for hajj and 'umra, some for hajj; and the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered ihram for the hajj. Those who were in ihram for the hajj or for the hajj and the 'umra did not release themselves before the day of sacrifice" (al-Bukhari 1487, Muslim 1211). an-Nawawi reports the consensus after the divergence of some companions, Ibn Qudama states the scholars' agreement, and al-Khattabi: "The umma did not diverge: ifrad, qiran and tamattu' are all lawful".
Consecrating oneself for the 'umra alone within the hajj months, performing it, releasing oneself, staying in Mecca in a profane state, then consecrating oneself for the hajj: an offering is then due by agreement. It is called tamattu' because the pilgrim enjoys after his 'umra women, perfume and all that is forbidden to the consecrated one, and lightens one of the two journeys' burden. Its conditions: the 'umra before the hajj's ihram and its acts before it (the Hanafis judge four circuits enough to make the pilgrim a mutamatti'); the 'umra within the hajj months (agreement; the Hanafis look at the majority of the acts, the Malikis a single pillar performed in those months, the Shafi'is in the sound view and the Hanbalis the ihram and the acts together); the hajj and the 'umra in the same year (agreement; Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib: the companions performed the 'umra in the hajj months and, without hajj that year, offered nothing); no return home between the two for the Hanafis, on pain of annulment for want of a sent offering; release from the 'umra before the hajj's ihram (agreement, except the one who sent his offering among the Hanafis); and not being of Mecca's people (the tamattu' offering does not strike the frequenter of the Sanctuary by agreement, Ibn Qudama citing the Quran itself: "this for him whose folk are not present at the Sacred Mosque"); and the non-corruption of the 'umra or the hajj according to the Hanafis and a narration of Ahmad. On qiran itself, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Aisha, consecrated for the 'umra then moved to the hajj: "You are released from your hajj and your 'umra together".
The outsider who entered tamattu' and decides to reside in Mecca owes the offering by a consensus reported by Ibn al-Mundhir, even one born Meccan who moved to live elsewhere and returned (the view of Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ishaq); the Meccan who travelled and returned owes nothing.
Consecrating oneself for the hajj and the 'umra together: the majority (Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is) requires the 'umra to be valid and the hajj's ihram to precede it without corruption; the Hanafis, the early al-Shafi'i and a narration of Ahmad validate qiran even upon a corrupted 'umra, in a disliked way. The 'umra's tawaf must fall wholly or mostly within the hajj months; and the hajj's ihram must precede the beginning of the 'umra's tawaf for the Shafi'is, Ashhab and Ibn Abd al-Barr (a single lap performed excludes it), while Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis tolerate fewer than three laps.
It is obtained by shaving alone for the Hanafis, by the throwing of al-'Aqaba for the Malikis and the Hanbalis (in the sound view); among the Shafi'is the hajj has two releases tied to the throwing, the shaving and the tawaf: two of the three acts give the first, the third the second. What it opens: everything except intercourse for Abu Hanifa; everything except women and hunting for Malik (perfume disliked without penalty); everything except intercourse for al-Shafi'i (in one view; on intercourse's preludes, the marriage contract, hunting and perfume he has two views); everything except intercourse, the marriage contract and its preludes (kissing, touching with desire) for Ahmad.
Whoever has no offering fasts three days during the hajj and seven upon return (al-Baqara 196); it is better to fast them after returning to one's family. Fasting them before completing the hajj's acts is not lawful by agreement. At Mecca after the hajj: the Shafi'is (in the madhhab) allow it only with the intention of residence; the majority (Hanafis, Malikis, Hanbalis) and one opinion of al-Shafi'i allow it, "upon your return" aiming at the return from the hajj's acts. The Hanafis add: the three days missed before the day of sacrifice are no longer made up by fasting (the Prophet forbade fasting those days) but by the offering; unable to manage it, he releases himself with two offerings due.
The choice of the rite depends on distance and means: tamattu' suits the comer from afar (an offering due), ifrad the latecomer, qiran whoever wants a single ihram. Most scholars hold tamattu' the fullest of the three.