so he makes it an Umrah. As for us, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded his Companions to enter into Ihram with a specific ritual (nusuk), saying: "Whoever among you wishes to declare intention (ihlal) for Hajj and Umrah, let him do so; and whoever wants to declare intention for Hajj, let him do so; and whoever wants to declare intention for Umrah, let him do so." The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his Companions only entered into Ihram with a specific one, according to what we have mentioned in the authentic hadiths. The Companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who were with him in his Hajj, were aware of his states, followed his actions, and were knowledgeable of both the outward and inward aspects of his affairs; they are more knowledgeable of it than Tawus, and his hadith is Mursal (disrupted). Al-Shafi'i does not use solitary Mursal narrations as evidence, so how can he adopt this position while it contradicts the widely circulated, agreed-upon reports! Precaution is possible by making it an Umrah; then if he wishes, he remains a Mutamatti' (one performing Tamattu'), and if he wishes, he incorporates the Hajj into it, thus becoming a Qarin (one performing Qiran).

Section: If he enters into Ihram absolutely, [meaning he intends Ihram] for a ritual without specifying Hajj or Umrah, it is valid, and he becomes a Muhrim (one in a state of Ihram). This is because Ihram is valid even with ambiguity, so it is valid with absolute intention (itlaq). Once he has entered into Ihram absolutely, he has the choice to direct it to whichever of the rituals he wishes, because he has the right to initiate the Ihram with whichever of them he desires; therefore, he may direct the absolute Ihram toward that. It is better to direct it toward Umrah because if he is outside the months of Hajj, Ihram for Hajj is disliked or forbidden. If he is within the months of Hajj, then Umrah is better because Tamattu' is more excellent. Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: He makes it an Umrah, because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded Abu Musa, when he had entered into Ihram with the same intention as the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), to make it an Umrah. It is the same here.