Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- The first release from ihram occurs when a pilgrim has performed two of the three rituals: throwing the pebbles, shaving or cutting of hair, and tawaf.
2- If he has performed all of the three, the second and final release also occurs.
In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
There are two types of release from Hajj; scholars refer to it as the first and the second release.
The first release from ihram occurs when a pilgrim has performed two of the three rituals: throwing the pebbles, shaving or cutting of hair, and tawaf.
In this case, a pilgrim is allowed to change into ordinary clothes and free of the taboos associated with ihram except for spousal relations.
If, on the other hand, he has performed all of the three, the second and final release also occurs, and hence he is free of all restrictions, including spousal relations.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.