Bulugh al-Maram 768

‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When you have thrown the pebbles and shaved your heads, perfume and everything except women become lawful to you.’ Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud; its chain is weak.

1 — Munkar (rejected) in this wording. This is Ahmad’s wording (6/143), with the addition ‘and changed out of your garments.’ Al-Daraqutni (2/276) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (5/136) reported it through the same route, and both add ‘and sacrificed.’ I say: The defect in the hadith is al-Hajjaj ibn Artah, who often errs and practices tadlis. Al-Bayhaqi therefore said: ‘This is among al-Hajjaj ibn Artah’s confused reports.’ I say: Abu Dawud also reported it (1978)—with al-Hajjaj in its chain—with the wording: ‘When one of you has thrown the pebbles at Jamrat al-‘Aqabah, everything except women becomes lawful to him.’ This wording is sound, as it is corroborated by an authentic chain from ‘A’ishah reported by Ahmad (6/244), whose wording is: ‘I perfumed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with ذريرة for the Farewell Pilgrimage, for both exiting and entering ihram: when he entered ihram, and when he threw the pebbles at Jamrat al-‘Aqabah on the Day of Sacrifice, before circumambulating the House.’ Another corroborating report is found with Ahmad (2090) and others, from Ibn ‘Abbas, with wording like Abu Dawud’s. Its narrators are trustworthy, except that its chain is interrupted; scholars differed on whether it is prophetic or a Companion report. In summary, the hadith is sound without the mention of shaving and sacrifice. Accordingly, everything except women becomes lawful only after throwing the pebbles at Jamrat al-‘Aqabah, in accordance with this sound evidence. This was also the view of a group of early Muslims, including ‘A’ishah, Ibn al-Zubayr, and ‘Alqamah.

A note: Some people issue fatwas and fill pilgrims’ ears during Hajj with the claim that exiting ihram occurs only after performing two of three acts—throwing the pebbles at Jamrat al-‘Aqabah, shaving or shortening the hair, and the circumambulation of Ifadah. They must abandon their position in favor of sound evidence. If they say, ‘We follow the evidence,’ intending by this the present hadith with its rejected addition, we ask: Why did you omit the sacrifice, when it is included in the hadith? This is especially pertinent since Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) held that view, as recorded in Masa’il Salih (3/103/1431). He said: ‘I asked: If a pilgrim in ihram throws the pebbles, shaves, and sacrifices before circumambulating the House, may he hunt outside the Sacred Precinct?’ He replied: ‘Yes. Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not say, “When you have shaved and sacrificed, everything becomes lawful to you”?’ Do they hold that view? I doubt it.’