Allah has placed greater flexibility in the Hajj than we find in any of the other prescribed acts of worship. We can see this during the Farewell Pilgrimage, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was in Minâ and people were coming to him and asking him about a number of different situations.
One man came and said: "I did not realize what I was doing, and I shaved my head before sacrificing my animal."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "Sacrifice the animal. There is no difficulty."
Another man came and said: "I did not realize what I was doing, so I slaughtered my camel before stoning the Jamrah."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "Stone it. There is no difficulty."
Whatever problem the people came to him with concerning the rites of Hajj, he told them: "Do so. There is no difficulty." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (83) and Sahîh Muslim (1306)]
Therefore, scholars should adopt this as a general policy for legal verdicts where there is no specific text, since this is a categorical ruling form the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he applied in many different circumstances: "Do so. There is no difficulty."
The Sunnah of our Prophet (peace be upon him) brings together all the concessions and facilitations that we find dispersed throughout the various books of Islamic Law. This is because one scholar will adopt a certain concession found in the Sunnah but not recognize another, while a second scholar will do the opposite. The Sunnah, however, accommodates both.
We find that a person can perform the prescribed acts of the Day of Sacrifice - which is the tenth day of Dhû al-Hijjah - in any order he chooses, without any problem. This flexibility is not found in any other prescribed act of worship. If a worshipper were to prostrate in prayer before bowing, or sit before standing, everyone would agree that his prayer would be invalid.
We find that the Hajj is unique even when it comes to the intentions for it. Our intentions, as we know, are the most essential condition of all acts of worship. However, with the Hajj, there is unprecedented flexibility. If someone intends to offer it as an obligation, it brings no harm if it is actually his second Hajj, which is a voluntary act of worship. It will be valid as a voluntary Hajj.
Likewise, if someone says: "I will make this Hajj as a voluntary act, so I can practice for my obligatory Hajj which I will make in the future," that person's Hajj will still fulfill the person's obligation, and his intention to the contrary will have no effect.
Likewise, a person can enter into the state of ihram with an ambiguous intention that does not specify exactly the type of Hajj being undertaken. This is what 'Alî did. He had come from Yemen for Hajj, and the Prophet asked him: "What intention did you declare upon entering into the state of ihrâm?"
'Alî replied: "That it will be whatever the Prophet (peace be upon him) has undertaken." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed 'Alî that if he had not brought his sacrificial animal with him, he would already have left the state of ihrâm." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (1558) and Sahîh Muslim (1250)]
We even find flexibility when it comes to the acts that are specifically prohibited in the Hajj. Shaving the head, for instance, is prohibited by the Qur'ân and Sunnah, and its prohibition is a matter of consensus (ijmâ'). Nevertheless, if it is necessary for someone to shave his head for some reason, he may do so and offer expiation. We see this in the case of Ka'b b. 'Ajrah who tells us [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (4190) and Sahîh Muslim (1201):
The Prophet (peace be upon him) approached me during the time of Hudaybiyah while lice were crawling all over my face. He asked me: "Are you suffering from the lice on your head?"
I said: "Yes."
He then said: "Shave your head. Then you must fast for three days, or feed six poor people, or offer a sacrifice."
Another way that Islamic Law shows its flexibility is in the fact that it gives three options for how to perform the Hajj: tamattu', ifrâd, and qirân. There is juristic consensus, or at least almost unanimous consensus, on this matter. [al-Mughnî (3/238) and Sharh al-Nawawî 'alâ Sahîh Muslim (8/134)]
Al-Albânî holds the view that the only valid option is tamattu'. He attributes this view to Ibn 'Abbâs and others. I do not regard the attribution of this view to Ibn 'Abbâs to be correct. Ibn 'Abbâs did not mean this categorically. He did not regard 'Umrah as being for the inhabitants of Mecca. What this means is that the inhabitants of Mecca could not opt to perform tamattu'.
Some scholars have said that all three ways of performing the Hajj are equally meritorious. However, it is more accurate to say that qirân is better for a pilgrim who brings his sacrificial animal with him. Also, in the case of a pilgrim who performs 'Umrah during the months of Hajj and then returns home, it is best for him to offer his Hajj as ifrâd. This is essentially what the scholars have to say about the matter.
It is important that we recognize there is flexibility in all of this. There is no blame on anyone in these matters. Scholars and students of knowledge should take the pilgrims' circumstances into consideration and they should make their rule of thumb "Do so. There is no difficulty" as long as the issue at hand is one wherein there is leeway and room for concessions.
A scholar must also recognize the disagreements that exist among people and the different backgrounds that they are coming from. The scholars of different countries adopt various opinions and follow different schools of thought. It is difficult to the point of impossibility to insist that everyone adopts the same viewpoint. The flexibility of Islamic Law does not allow for restricting people to one school of thought in certain particulars of the Law.
