Hadith: If I had formerly known what I came to know lately, I would not have brought the sacrificial animal with me. Had there been no sacrificial animal with me, I would have ended my state of lhrām

عن جابر بن عبد الله رضي الله عنهما قال: «أَهَلَّ النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابُه بالحج، وليس مع أحد منهم هَدْيٌ غير النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وطلحة، وقدم علي رضي الله عنه من اليمن. فقال: أَهْلَلْتُ بما أَهَلَّ به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأمر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أصحابه: أن يجعلوها عمرة، فيطوفوا ثم يُقَصِّرُوا ويَحِلُّوا، إلا من كان معه الهَدْي، فقالوا: ننطلق إلى مِنًى وَذَكَرُ أَحَدِنَا يَقْطُرُ؟ فبلغ ذلك النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم- فقال: لَوِ اسْتَقْبَلْتُ من أَمْرِي مَا اسْتَدْبَرْتُ ؛ ما أَهْدَيْتُ ، ولولا أن معي الهَدْيَ لَأَحْلَلْتُ. وحاضت عائشة. فَنَسَكَتْ المنَاسِك كلها، غير أنها لم تَطُفْ بالبيت. فلما طَهُرت وطافت بالبيت قالت: يا رسول الله، تَنْطَلِقُونَ بحج وعمرة، وأنطلق بحج؟ فأمر عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر: أن يخرج معها إلى التَّنْعِيمِ ، فاعتمرت بعد الحج».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions assumed Ihrām for Hajj, and none except the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and Talhah had sacrificial animals. ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived from Yemen and said: "I have assumed Ihrām for what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had assumed Ihrām for." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered his Companions to perform ‘Umrah and make Tawāf then shorten their hair and end their lhrām except those who had sacrificial animals with them. They said: "How can we proceed to Mina (for Hajj) when our penises are dripping with semen?" When that reached the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) he said: "If I had formerly known what I came to know lately, I would not have brought the sacrificial animal with me. Had there been no sacrificial animal with me, I would have ended my state of lhrām." And ‘Ā'ishah got her menses, so she performed all the rituals of Hajj except Tawāf around the Ka‘bah, and when she became purified (from her menses) and performed Tawāf she said: "O Messenger of Allah, you are all returning with Hajj and ‘Umrah while I am returning with Hajj only?" So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered (her brother) ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abu Bakr to accompany her to Tan‘īm and she performed ‘Umrah after Hajj.
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) describes the Hajj of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him) saying that he and his Companions assumed Ihrām for Hajj. None of them brought sacrificial animals except the Prophet and Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullāh. ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib was in Yemen, so he came for Hajj, and out of his profound religious understanding, he assumed his Ihrām and made his intention for Ihrām the same as that of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When they reached Makkah, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to dissolve their Ihrām for Hajj and make it for ‘Umrah, and make their Tawāf and Sa‘i for ‘Umrah, then shorten their hair and end their Ihrām. This was for those who did not bring a sacrificial animal. As for the ones who brought a sacrificial animal with them –and the Prophet was one of them – they had to keep their Ihrām after making Tawāf and Sa‘i. The ones who were ordered to alter their Ihrām from Hajj to ‘Umrah said out of astonishment and their sense of the seriousness of the matter: How can we end our Ihrām and have sexual intercourse with our wives then head to Mina for Hajj while we had recently been ritually impure (after intercourse). This reached the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and the fact that they found it difficult, so he calmed them by saying: If I had known what I know now, I wouldn’t have brought the sacrificial animal that prevented me from ending my Ihrām like you all have. So they were satisfied and reassured by his words. ‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) got her menses when they approached Makkah, so she became Qārinah (performing Hajj Qirān), because her menses prevented her from making Tawāf. She performed all the Hajj rituals except Tawāf and Sa‘i. Then when she became pure after her menses ended, and she made Tawāf for her Hajj, she felt sad because the majority of the Companions –including the wives of the Prophet– performed the rituals of ‘Umrah separately and the rituals of Hajj while she had to merge her ‘Umrah with her Hajj. So she said: O Messenger of Allah, you all are leaving after having performed both Hajj and ‘Umrah, and I am leaving with Hajj only. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) consoled her and ordered her brother ‘Abdur-Rahmān to take her to Tan‘īm, and she performed ‘Umrah after Hajj.