Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Once every month." Anas, when his hair grew back (33), would go out and perform Umrah. Both are reported by al-Shafi'i in his Musnad (34). Ikrimah said: "He performs Umrah when the razor can be applied to his hair." Ata' said: "If he wishes, he may perform Umrah twice in every month." As for performing Umrah frequently and in quick succession, it is not recommended according to the apparent view of the predecessors that we have cited. Ahmad similarly said: "If one performs Umrah, one must shave or trim [the hair], and in ten days it is possible to shave the head." The apparent implication of this is that it is not recommended to perform Umrah in less than ten days. He said in the narration of al-Athram: "If he wishes, he may perform Umrah every month." Some of our companions said: "It is recommended to perform Umrah frequently." The statements and conditions of the predecessors indicate what we have said, and because it was not reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions performed them in quick succession; rather, their disapproval of that has been reported, and the truth lies in following them. Tawus said: "Those who perform Umrah from al-Tan'im, I do not know if they are rewarded for it or punished." It was said to him: "Why would they be punished?" He replied: "Because he leaves the circumambulation (tawaf) of the House, goes out to four miles and returns, and by the time he returns from four miles, he could have performed two hundred circumambulations. Every time he circumambulates the House, it is better than walking for nothing." The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed four Umrahs during four journeys; he did not add more than one Umrah in each journey, nor did anyone who was with him. It has not reached us that any of them combined two Umrahs in one journey with him, except for Aisha when she menstruated, so he had her perform Umrah from al-Tan'im; because she believed her Umrah of Qiran had become invalid. This is why she said: "O Messenger of Allah, the people return with Hajj and Umrah, while I return with only Hajj." So he had her perform Umrah for that reason. If there were virtue in this, they would have unanimously agreed not to abandon it.

Section: Ibn Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "An Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to a Hajj." (Agreed upon) (35). Ahmad said: "Whoever catches a day of Ramadan has...