days of Dhi-l-Ḥijjah9 are particularly spoken of as months of ḥajj (2:197; Bu. 25:33), so that a man can enter into the state of iḥrām10 for ḥajj only in these months, while the actual devotions of ḥajj are limited from the 8th to the 13th Dhi-l-Ḥijjah. Secondly, the going to ‘Arafāt and the assembling there is dispensed with in the case of ‘umrah, while it is an essential part of ḥajj. Another difference is that the sacrifice of an animal as the concluding act is essential to ḥajj but not so in the case of ‘umrah. The ‘umrah may be performed separately, or along with ḥajj, when it is like a parallel devotion to the latter. Though ḥajj is spoken of oftener in the Holy Qur’ān, yet there is an express injunction to accomplish both: “And accomplish the ḥajj and the ‘umrah for Allāh” (2:196). Ḥadīth also speaks of wujūb al-‘umrah, or the obligatory nature of the ‘umrah, and Ibn ‘Umar is quoted as saying: “There is no man but on him rests the obligation of the ḥajj and the ‘umrah”, while Ibn ‘Abbās said that the ‘umrah is the companion of ḥajj in the Book of Allāh (Bu. 26:1). In one ḥadīth it is said that ‘umrah in Ramadzān is equivalent to ḥajj (Bu. 26:4). According to another, ‘umrah is not obligatory (Tr. 9 :86). But any one who performs the ḥajj can easily perform the ‘umrah.

There are two ways in which ḥajj may be combined with ‘umrah, tamattu‘ and qirān. Tamattu‘ (lit., profiting) consists in combining the ḥajj and the ‘umrah in such a manner that the pilgrim should enter a state of iḥrām in the months of ḥajj with the intention of performing an ‘umrah, and get out of that state after the performance of the ‘umrah, again entering into a state of iḥrām in the days of ḥajj. Thus between the ‘umrah and the ḥajj, the pilgrim profits by living in his ordinary condition and is not bound by the strict rules of iḥrām, and for this he is required to make a sacrifice, or fast for three days in the ḥajj and seven days after returning from ḥajj (2:196).11 “The qirān (lit., uniting together) consists in entering into a state of iḥrām in the months of ḥajj with the intention of performing both ḥajj and ‘umrah, and not getting out of that state until both have been performed, or entering into a state of iḥrām in the months of ḥajj with the intention of performing an ‘umrah, and remaining in the same state until the ḥajj is also performed. Thus the difference between tamattu‘ and qirān is that in tamattu‘ there is a break in the state of iḥrām, while in qirān that state is continuous. When ḥajj alone is performed, it is called