I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he was in al-Bathaʿ and he said: ʿWhat did you enter ihram for?ʿ I said: I have entered ihram for the same as the Prophet ﷺ did. He said: ʿHave you brought a sacrificial animal?ʿ I said: No. He said: “Circumambulate the House and go between as-Safa and al-Marwah, then exit ihraam.” So I circumambulated the House and went between as-Safa and al-Marwah, then I went to a woman of my people and she combed my hair and washed my head. I used to give fatwas on that basis during the caliphate of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. During one season when I was performing Hajj, a man came to me and said: You do not know the latest fatwa of Ameer al-Muʿmineen concerning the Hajj. I said: O people, if we gave a fatwa, Ameer al-Muʿmineen is coming to you, so follow him in performing Hajj. When he came I said: What is this thing that you have introduced to the rituals [of Hajj]? He said: We see in the Book of Allah that Allah, may He be exalted, says: ʿAnd perform properly (i.e. all the ceremonies according to the ways of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Hajj and ‘Umrah (i.e. the pilgrimage to Makkah) for Allahʿ [al-Baqarah 2:196], and if we follow the Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ, he did not exit ihraam until he offered the sacrifice.
قَدِمْتُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَهُوَ بِالْبَطْحَاءِ فَقَالَ بِمَ أَهْلَلْتَ؟ قُلْتُ بِإِهْلالٍ كَإِهْلالِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَ هَلْ سُقْتَ مِنْ هَدْيٍ؟ قُلْتُ لَا قَالَ طُفْ بِالْبَيْتِ وَبِالصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةِ ثُمَّ حِلَّ فَطُفْتُ بِالْبَيْتِ وَبِالصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةِ ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُ امْرَأَةً مِنْ قَوْمِي فَمَشَّطَتْنِي وَغَسَلَتْ رَأْسِي فَكُنْتُ أُفْتِي النَّاسَ بِذَلِكَ بِإِمَارَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَإِمَارَةِ عُمَرَ فَإِنِّي لَقَائِمٌ فِي الْمَوْسِمِ إِذْ جَاءَنِي رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ إِنَّكَ لَا تَدْرِي مَا أَحْدَثَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي شَأْنِ النُّسُكِ فَقُلْتُ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ مَنْ كُنَّا أَفْتَيْنَاهُ فُتْيَا فَهَذَا أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَادِمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ فَبِهِ فَاْئتَمُّوا فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ قُلْتُ مَا هَذَا الَّذِي قَدْ أَحْدَثْتَ فِي شَأْنِ النُّسُكِ؟ قَالَ إِنْ نَأْخُذْ بِكِتَابِ اللهِ فَإِنَّ اللهَ قَالَ {وَأَتِمُّوا الْحَجَّ وَالْعُمْرَةَ لِلَّهِ} [البقرة 196] وَإِنْ نَأْخُذْبِسُنَّةِ نَبِيِّنَا ﷺ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَحِلَّ حَتَّى نَحَرَ الْهَدْيَ