بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The linguist and Qur’ān expert, Abū al-Hasan ‘Alī al-Wāhīdī said:
The statement of Allāh, The Most High:
وَأَتِمُوا الْحَجَّ وَالْعُمْرَةَ لِلَّهِ
{And complete the Hajj and the ʿUmrah for Allāh} – the verse.
Regarding the obligation of ʿUmrah, there are two views:
1) The first, is that it is obligatory (wājibah), which is the position of ʿAlī, and Ibn ʿAbbās, and the view of al-Shāfiʿī in his latter (opinion). [T.N: Among those who held it obligatory [are] Ibn ʿUmar, Jābir, Zayd, ʿAtāʾ, Ibn al-Musayyib, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, ʿAlī ibn al-Husayn, the two Sufyāns, and Qatādah; and it is the established position of the Hanbalīs]
Ibn ʿAbbās said: By Allāh, ʿUmrah is indeed the companion of Hajj in the Book of Allāh; {And complete the Hajj and the ʿUmrah}.
Masrūq said: ʿUmrah holds the same rank in relation to Hajj as zakāh holds in relation to prayer, then he recited this verse.
Whoever holds ʿUmrah to be obligatory interprets “completing” (al-itmām) in the sense of initiating; meaning: establish them both and perform them along with all the acts they contain, as in the statement of Allāh, The-Most High:
وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَهُنَّ
{And when Ibrāhīm was tested by his Lord with [certain] words, and he fulfilled them} [al-Baqarah: 124]
meaning: he performed them and carried them out.
And [similarly] His statement:
ثُمَّ أَتِتُوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى الَّيْلِ
{Then complete the fast until nightfall} [al-Baqarah: 187];
meaning: then begin (the fast) and complete it, for He mentioned completion immediately following (the permission for) eating and drinking.
2) The second view: that ʿUmrah is a Sunnah and not obligatory, which is the position of the scholars of Irāq.
They interpreted the verse to mean: complete them both when you have entered into them, just as one who performs a voluntary Hajj is required to continue it once he has begun.
The first view is more appropriate, as it combines both aspects of “completing” (al-itmām); its meaning being: begin the ʿUmrah, and when you have entered into it, complete it. Indeed, one may say to someone who has not yet embarked upon a matter: “Complete this matter.” [From the words of al-Tha’labī who adds: “and also because those who hold it obligatory are more numerous, and the narrations pairing the obligation of Hajj and ʿUmrah together are more apparent and well-known.”]
(Tafsīr al-Basīt 4/7-10)
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