Mutammatti’ unable to perform umrah
Question: A woman came in to iḥrām with the intention of ʿumrah to perform Ḥajj tamattuʿ. However, before reaching Makkah she started her menstruation. What should she now do as she will finish her menses only after ʿArafāt?
Answer
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Such a woman must stay in the state of iḥrām without performing ʿumrah. She will continue with the rituals of Ḥajj as normal and perform her ṭawāf az ziyārah only after she has finished her menses. Her Ḥajj will change from tamattuʿ to ifrād.
However, as she was unable to perform her ʿumrah after coming into the state of iḥrām for it, she must do an ʿumrah after the days of Ḥajj are over. Furthermore, she will also have to give a dam.
In reality, she will not do anything extra or less than other pilgrims who are doing ḥajj tamattuʿ. The difference will be in when and why. Others will do the ʿumrah before ḥajj; while she will do it after ḥajj. Likewise, others will sacrifice an animal for tamattuʿ; she will do so for cancelling her initial ʿumrah. Yes, she will face the difficulty of remaining in the state of iḥrām until the days of ḥajj; but this is also a test from Allah and she will most definitely be rewarded for this patience.
This exact scenario occurred with the Mother of the Believers ʿĀyshā رضي الله عنها. She came into the state of iḥrām but then began her menses one day before reaching Makkah, and therefore was unable to perform her ʿumrah with everyone else. Most of the companions performed their ʿumrah and came out of the state of iḥrām on Sunday the 4th of Ḍhul Ḥijjah; she had to remain in iḥrām until Saturday the 10th of Ḍhul Ḥijjah. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم consoled her and reminded her that is the decree of Allah. She then performed an ʿumrah after the days of Ḥajj.
قال السرخسي (المتوفى سنة 483هـ): وإذا قدم القارن مكة فلم يطف حتى وقف بعرفات كان رافضا لعمرته عندنا… والأصل فيه حديث عائشة رضي الله عنها فإن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم دخل عليها بسرف، وهي تبكي قال ما يبكيك لعلك نفست فقالت نعم فقال هذا شيء كتبه الله تعالى على بنات آدم فدعي عنك العمرة أو قال ارفضي عمرتك وانقضي رأسك وامتشطي واصنعي جميع ما يصنع الحاج غير أن لا تطوفي بالبيت، فقد أمرها برفض العمرة لما تعذر عليها الطواف… وفي الموضع الذي صار رافضا لها عليه دم لرفضها لأنه خرج منها بعد صحة الشروع قبل أداء الأعمال فيلزمه دم اعتبارا بالمحصر، وعليه قضاء العمرة لخروجه منها بعد صحة الشروع فيه (المبسوط: 36/4)
And Allah knows best
Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad
Checked and approved by Muftī Ṭāhir Wādī
