the rites, it would not have been subject to degrees of excellence, like the permissible acts. Moreover, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his Companions performed it throughout all their Hajj and 'Umrah, and they did not fail to do so. If it were not a religious rite, they would not have persisted (17) in doing it, nor would they have performed it [except rarely] (18); for it was not a custom of theirs, so they would not have performed it as a habit, nor did it contain special merit, so they would not have performed it for its merit. As for his command to exit the state of ihram, its meaning—and Allah knows best—is to exit through the performance of the act, because that was well-known among them, and thus, mentioning it was dispensed with. It is not impossible to exit a state of worship by doing something that was prohibited during it, such as the salam (taslim) in the prayer.

Section: It is permissible to delay the shaving or shortening of hair until the last of the days of sacrifice (al-nahr), because if it is permissible to delay the sacrifice which precedes it, then delaying the shaving is even more appropriate. If one delays it beyond that, there are two narrations: The first is that there is no blood sacrifice (dam) required of him. This is the opinion of 'Ata', Abu Yusuf, and Abu Thawr, and it is similar to the school of al-Shafi'i, because Allah the Almighty clarified the beginning of its time in His saying, Exalted is He: "And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal reaches its place of slaughter" (19). He did not clarify its end, so whenever he performs it, it suffices him, just like the circumambulation of the visit (tawaf al-ziyarah) and the sa'i. Furthermore, it is a rite he has delayed (20) until the time it is permissible to perform it, so it is like the sa'i. According to Ahmad, a blood sacrifice is required for delaying it, which is the school of Abu Hanifah, because it is a rite he has delayed beyond its proper place, and whoever abandons a rite must offer a blood sacrifice. There is no difference in the delay between a small or large amount of time, or whether it was done intentionally or out of forgetfulness. Malik, al-Thawri, Ishaq, Abu Hanifah, and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: Whoever leaves it until he has exited the state of ihram must offer a blood sacrifice, because it is a rite that he should perform while in the state of ihram for Hajj, like the rest of its rites. To us, the previous evidence stands.

Section: It is recommended for the bald person, who has no hair on his head, to pass the razor over his head. This is narrated from Ibn 'Umar, and it is the opinion of Masruq, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Nakha'i, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, and the People of Reason (Ashab al-Ra'y). Ibn al-Mundhir said: All of those whom we have memorized from among the scholars have reached a consensus (21) that the bald person should pass the razor over his head. It is not considered an obligation (22). Abu Hanifah said: It is obligatory; because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If I command you to do something, perform of it as much as you are able" (23). This is because if he had hair, it would be obligatory upon him to remove it by passing the razor over his head, so when one of these two conditions is impossible, the other remains obligatory. To us, the location for shaving is the hair, so the obligation is dropped in its absence, just as the obligation of washing a limb in ablution (wudu) is dropped if it is missing. Furthermore, it is a passing [of the razor] that if performed while in the state of ihram, would not require a blood sacrifice, so it is not required upon exiting the state of ihram, like passing it over the hair without shaving.