The story of the Hajj of our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
Opposing the practices of the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era).
The people of the Jahiliyyah used to consider ‘Umrah forbidden after Hajj.
Until the months of Dhu al-Hijjah and Muharram had passed.
They would only permit it starting in Safar.
However, the ‘Umrah of our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, took place immediately after the conclusion of Hajj in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, noted the Prophet’s, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, approval of our Mother ‘A’ishah’s action, stating:
"By Allah, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not have ‘A’ishah perform ‘Umrah in Dhu al-Hijjah,
except to abolish the practice of the polytheists."
For this clan of Quraysh, and those who followed their religion,
used to say:
"When the camel’s hump heals,"
"and the wound on its back recovers,"
"and the month of Safar begins,"
"then ‘Umrah becomes permissible for those who wish to perform it."
Thus, they forbade ‘Umrah until Dhu al-Hijjah and Muharram had passed.
So, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not have ‘A’ishah perform ‘Umrah,
except to invalidate that claim of theirs.
Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, performing the farewell circumambulation (Tawaf al-Wada‘) at dawn.
Once the Prophet, peace be upon him, was reassured that our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, had arrived and completed her ‘Umrah,
he gave the signal to depart.
The time of our Mother ‘A’ishah’s arrival was during the last part of the night (Sahar),
as she herself reported:
"Then I came to him at the time of Sahar."
He then signaled to his Companions to prepare for departure,
and they set out.
He passed by the Ka‘bah before the morning prayer,
and performed Tawaf upon leaving.
Then he departed, heading toward Madinah.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, had delayed his Tawaf of the House until the very last moment before his departure.
He performed it before the dawn prayer,
as our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, informed us, saying:
"He performed Tawaf before the morning prayer."
The dawn prayer overtook the Prophet, peace be upon him,
while he was still at the Sacred Mosque,
so he led them in the dawn prayer.
Then he set off for Madinah.
Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, was unable to perform the farewell Tawaf when they arrived before dawn,
due to her illness.
By then, the call to the dawn prayer had been made.
She complained of this to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and he said to her:
"When the Iqamah for the morning prayer is called,"
"perform Tawaf on your camel while the people are praying."
"Perform Tawaf behind the people while you are mounted."
Umm Salamah said:
"So I performed Tawaf while the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was praying beside the House,"
"reciting Surah al-Tur and the Book inscribed."
This is another situation, O sister in need,
that a woman might face,
which is falling ill during the final days of Hajj,
making her unable to perform the farewell Tawaf.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, permitted her to perform it while mounted,
similar to how one might perform it today using a wheelchair.
In the Prophet’s, peace be upon him, guidance to Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Salamah,
regarding performing Tawaf while the people were praying,
and performing it behind them,
there are benefits for women.
Among them is that a woman should not intermingle with men during Tawaf,
and that she should choose a time when men are occupied,
such as performing Tawaf while they are praying.
All of this is to keep women away from intermingling and physical proximity to men.
This is despite her being the Mother of the Believers,
in the purest of places, and during a great act of worship.
Yet, she is commanded to keep away from men.
What, then, should we say about mixed work environments,
where a woman spends more time than she spends in her own home with her husband and children?
An ‘Umrah in Ramadan is like a Hajj with me.
We all wish we could have been with the Prophet, peace be upon him, during his Hajj,
to drink from his guidance and be honored by his companionship.
But Allah has decreed for us to live in another time,
to try us and test the sincerity of our following of our Prophet.
From the mercy of Allah, the Almighty, toward us,
He has provided us with a door through which we can attain the reward of a Hajj with the Prophet, peace be upon him,
even if we live in a time other than his.
This is through an ‘Umrah performed in the month of Ramadan.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, returned from the Farewell Hajj,
he met Umm Sinan al-Ansariyyah.
He asked her, "What kept you from performing Hajj?"
She replied, "The father of so-and-so," meaning her husband.
"He had two camels; he went on Hajj on one of them,"
"and the other was used to irrigate our land."
He said, "An ‘Umrah in Ramadan fulfills a Hajj,"
"or a Hajj with me."
Meaning: You receive the reward and merit of a Hajj with me.
This is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills.
This incident occurred with more than one woman during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
It also happened with Umm Ma‘qal.
Umm Ma‘qal, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
"When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, performed the Farewell Hajj,"
"we had a camel."
"Abu Ma‘qal dedicated it in the cause of Allah."
"Then we fell ill, and Abu Ma‘qal passed away."
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, had set out,"
"and when he finished his Hajj, I went to him."
"He said, 'O Umm Ma‘qal,'"
"'what kept you from going out with us?'"
"She said, 'We had prepared ourselves,'"
"'but Abu Ma‘qal passed away.'"
"'We had a camel,'"
"'which he was to perform Hajj upon.'"
"'Abu Ma‘qal had bequeathed it in the cause of Allah.'"
"He said, 'Why did you not go out on it?'"
"'For Hajj is in the cause of Allah.'"
"'But since you missed this Hajj with us,'"
"'perform ‘Umrah in Ramadan,'"
"'for it is a Hajj.'"
So, whoever among you, O sisters, is able,
to perform ‘Umrah in Ramadan,
do not neglect it,
for it carries a great reward.
This is the matter of "the appearance of the litters" (zuhur al-hasr).
During the Farewell Hajj,
the Prophet, peace be upon him, took
all his wives with him for Hajj,
to fulfill the obligation of Islam upon them,
the pillar of Hajj,
which is the fifth pillar of Islam.
After the rituals of Hajj were completed,
the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to his wives:
"This is the appearance of the litters."
He said, "It is only this Hajj,"
"then we must remain in our litters within our homes."
They all used to perform Hajj,
except for Zaynab bint Jahsh
and Sawdah bint Zam‘ah.
They used to say:
"By Allah, no beast shall move us,"
"after we heard that from the Prophet, peace be upon him."
Our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, understood from this hadith
that Hajj was not obligatory upon them after that Hajj,
and she did not understand it as a total prohibition
of Hajj after that.
That is why the scholars said,
in defense of ‘A’ishah,
that she interpreted the aforementioned hadith,
just as others among her peers interpreted it,
to mean that
no Hajj was obligatory upon them other than that one.
This was reinforced for her by his saying, peace be upon him:
"But the best of Jihad"
"is Hajj and ‘Umrah."
And Allah knows best.
This concludes the story of our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
and the rest of the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him, the Mothers of the Believers,
during the Farewell Hajj,
and the accompanying stances of the female Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all.
And our final prayer is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.